44 
in nursery rows for budding 2, ODD one-year-old seedlings of the Ameri- 
cana type, from seed grown in Wisconsin. These were planted in two 
blocks and were budded over once with the varieties last named, and 
some others. The rows were four feet apart and the seedlings one foot 
(or less) apart in the rows. But a small percentage of the buds grew, 
the best of the resulting budded trees were sold, but more or less trees 
of all the varieties so budded were left among the seedlings and all grew 
up together and are yet, to-day, to be seen in the same condition. 
Of the trees planted not near other trees of the Almond family, 
numbering some hundreds, not one of them ever matured a fruit during 
the sixteen years they have been old enough to produce, until last 
season, when a few of the varieties ripened a very high crop of fruit, 
the Miner being second only to the Newman in point of productiveness. 
The Newman as an exception to the other varieties has given a fair 
crop each season during the sixteen years, except one, when it failed 
entirely. Ten years ago I was ready to retire beaten, and give up the 
whole plum and plum-tree business in disgust, in fact the whole Al- 
mond famity, for the Plum Curculio seemed determined to destroy all the 
cherries also. I had followed every hint and theory that I had ever 
heard of. 1 carefully examined the flowers of all the varieties, and found 
them, so far as I could see, perfect in all their parts. The first grafts of 
the Wild Goose in the Miner trees continued to bear each year, as did 
the trees in which they were grafted. The isolated trees, scattered 
•over the plantation, were vigorous, healthy, and each year bloomed pro- 
fusely and set fruit freely, but it all fell oft* when quite small, except a 
very small proportion of that on the Wild Goose; some of the fruit of 
this variety would attain half, two- thirds, or even full size, ripen pre- 
maturely and then fall off. But in all such instances there were other 
trees of the Almond family planted not far away, and I can safely say 
that during the twenty years or more that I have had this variety old 
enough to bear, the hundreds of trees of it in my orchards have pot 
matured one fruit if completely isolated from other trees of the Almond 
family. 
One day, when examining the fruit of this variety for Curculio young, 
I was surprised not to find a live grub in them at all, and at that time 
could not find a fruit in which the larva} had ever fed. And I was 
still more surprised upon cutting through the shell to find that the seed 
had not developed and was imperfect. This fact led me to believe that 
the flowers of this variety were not perfect, that the pollen was not 
good. 
Some years ago I received from its disseminator, O. M.Lord, of Min- 
nesota City, Minn., scions (grafts) of a fine new hardy plum found in 
his neighborhood, named the u Rolling Stone.” Five of these I grafted 
into a tree of Wild Goose of bearing age by splice grafting on the ter- 
minal twigs of the main branches. All five of these grafts grew ; one 
of them gave three clusters of bloom the same spring it was grafted, 
