are planted among
and alongside of varieties that have the same season of blooming, and
which undoubtedly are good pollenizers, namely the Bursota, Wolf,
Ocheeda and Omaha. The bloom of Surprise being almost sterile, they
will not be a success planted alone.

[Illustration: A Surprise plum tree growing on the place of Prof. A.G.
Ruggles. It bore in 1914 four bushels, having been well sprayed with
arsenate of lead and bordeaux mixture.]

You will perhaps ask if there are no faults or diseases they are subject
to, and we will state, for one thing, the fruit drops too easily when
ripe, and you will either have to pick them before fully matured or find
a good many of them on the ground. They are also occasionally subject to
blossom blight, which was rather a benefit, as it thinned the crop out
to about the proper proportion. We also had considerable plum pocket and
fungous growth one season about ten years ago. Such has been our
experience with the Surprise plum--and will again repeat that until the
society finds a plum equally as good or better, instead of discarding it
on account of unproductiveness and recommending such poor quality
varieties as Wolf, DeSoto and some others, our learned horticulturists
should make a special study of this variety and ascertain the cause of
its unproductiveness, and also to what localities in the state it may be
adapted.

Mr. Pfeiffer: Right here I will say to those gentlemen who are looking
for a cure for brown rot or curculio, they had better plant Surprise
plums. (Applause.)

Pres. Cashman: I am glad the Surprise plum has at least one good friend
in this audience. I think it has several.

Mr. Ludlow: What has been your experience with the Ocheeda? I see you
mention it.

Mr. Pfeiffer: The Ocheeda at the present time, I am sorry to say, I am
disappointed with. I planted some fifteen years ago, and they were nice
large plums, as you have described, and they were on sandy soil. I have
twenty Ocheeda trees now, and they are quite badly subject to brown rot.
Their quality is very nice to eat from the tree out of hand, nice and
sweet.

Mr. Street: I want to second everything Mr. Pfeiffer has said. I joined
this society about twelve years ago, and it was through studying the
reports of this society that I got interested in the native plum. The
Surprise plum does very well with us in Illinois. Professor Hansen is
one of those that are responsible for my starting in with the Surprise.
I