The Weekly Kansas chief. [volume] (Troy, Kan.) 1872-1918, 1881-10-06
for The farmer.
Wild Goose Plum.

There are undoubtedly several subyarieties of
this fruit, giving unlike results as to profits and
lT.,inctiycncss, and occasioning dispute among
culiivators. We Published in the Country Gen
neHnR eleven years ago some facts showing this
diversity of character, and that the fruit grown
under that name varied from very large to quite
small. A eHt AT that time in the Prairie EdrheT
represented the fruit more than two inches in
diameter each way, while in 1iitOR's JOsrHai
Kentucky correspondent published figures lit
tie over an inch in diameter the one being at
least four times the weight of the other. We
procured several trees, seedlings from 4 cores
pnntcnt at the south, who Informed ms that they
always came the same from the seed. When they
bore, no difference cOnld be perceived in the spe
cimcns from several trees, but one tree continued
to Outbear by several times any Of the others.
The specimens were very handsome, oval, and
about an inch and a third 10 an inch and a half
long. A correspondent in the last number Ofthe
Gardeners WoEihIs says that the variety sent
ont by Hopes and by Hance SELDOM bears fruit,
but that the trees from William Perry's are
good bearers of an oblong fruit, and that the
Others from California are very productive and
entirely different in charactcr-soine yellow and
others purple The Wild Goose plum, general
Is cultivated in the Western and Southwestern
States, is not usually regarded as high IN quail
ty, but to have proved profitable a saleable
snowy sort, esteemed for its earliness and Gu
linary value. We would not recommend plant
ing the trees at the North and East. more eSpc-
cially where such peaches the Amsden aud
Alexander bear well, and give slightly earlier
and incomparably better frut-unless il lie in
some localities where the peaches and the COM
mon cultivated plum will not succeed. The
Wild Goose will grow freely in almost any soil;
heavy or light and is never subject TO the black
knot. In the present unusually abundant year
for the curculio the fruit has been freely stnng
and portion of it has fallen, no pains being Ia
ken 10 destroy these insects, enough, however,
if left for fair crop, the eggs either not hatch
ing, OF the young larvae finding entrance.
In some localities at the West large profits
have been derived from the sale of the fruit. J.
Lee, of Bullitt County, Kentucky, informed us
4 few years since that his orchard of this plum
yielded on an average, three bushels per tree,
at the rate of 81 400 per acre; and j. III. Harri-
sou stated at the NurseTymen's Convention ut
Rochester in 1s7s that carloads carloads
had for years come into Chicago, and all were
not supplied yet.
Some additional information appears to he
needed by the public generally a TO the best and
most productive sHb-variety, and also on the
modes employed for its propagation, cultivatOrs
differing rs to the best modes for increasing il,
| and the stocks on which il should lie worked,
while some insist that good trees can BE- obtained
| only by employing unwoFked suckers or seed
! lings. There is no dOnbt that those who obtain
large profits from the fruit have the right sort
for their localities but it would he well If col
lection of all the productive sorts could he frui
| ted side by side, and the confusion cleared up
which appears at present to prevail.-CcHRtTy
| Gentleman.