38 
The Colorado Experiment Station 
Thinning 
Thinning- is another item that is of extreme importance. The 
majority of growers do not thin enough, and as a result their fruit 
is too small to be of first-grade. There is very little danger of 
thinning too much. 
Distance oe Planting 
There has been a tendency in the past to plant peaches too 
close together. Numerous orchards have the trees 15x15 feet, and 
some even less. This is entirely too close. For proper develop¬ 
ment they should be at least 18, and preferably 20 feet apart. 
TABLE VI.—PRINCIPAL VARIETIES OF PEACHES WITH PERCENTAGE GROWN IN 
EACH DISTRICT AND IN ENTIRE VALLEY. 
Variety 
Palisade 
Clifton 
Grand Jet. 
Fruita 
Entire 
Valley 
Elberta . 
. 83.0 
88.0 
80.5 
73.5 
83.9 
Carman . 
. 3.6 
4.6 
4.4 
6.6 
3.8 
Salway ... 
. 1.7 
0.7 
1.5 
• • • 
1.5 
Crawford . 
. 1.3 
0.8 
0.7 
• . • 
1.3 
Triumph . 
. 1.1 
0.7 
1.1 
. . • 
1.1 
Champion . 
. 1.0 
1.0 
2.1 
. • . 
1.1 
All others (about 50 varieties) . . . 
. 8.3 
4.2 
9.8 
19.9 
7.3 
Totals . 
.100.0 
100.0 
100.0 
100.0 
100.0 
PLUMS 
Plums are not grown very extensively in Mesa County, total¬ 
ling only about 6,000 trees, and are grown mostly in the eastern 
part of the Valley. They are not profitable commercially as a rule, 
although some varieties yield very fair returns. 
Satsuma is the leading variety, numbering almost one- 
fifth of all the plum trees. It is a good-sized plum with a dark- 
red skin and firm meat. It is one of the Japanese plums, an up¬ 
right grower and a fair bearer. 
The Italian prune comprises 18.2% of the plums. In size it 
is medium to large, with dark-blue skin, firm greenish-yellow flesh 
and good quality. It is a general favorite among the prunes. 
The other important varieties, with percentage of each grown, 
are: Burbank, 9.4%; Agen (French prune), 7.2%; Wild Goose, 
6.5% ; Hungarian prune, 4.6% ; Red June, 4% ; Golden Drop (Sil¬ 
ver prune), 3.2%; Damson, 3%; Green Gage, 2.5%; Bradshaw, 
2.1%; Abundance, 1.8%; Peach, 1.8%. 
Culture oe Plums 
Plums are pruned less heavily than peaches, but are thinned 
much the same. It is almost impossible to prune the native plums 
satisfactorily, as they are such bushy growers. European and Jap¬ 
anese plums are adapted to almost the same conditions as the peach. 
Prunes are also considered under plums in this discussion. 
