t one time. Only a few of them, however, were ever sent
out. Of these the writer has been growing for quite a number of years
the Eureka, Emerald, Stella, Omaha, B.A.Q. and some others. As a class
they are all reasonably hardy for my section. They grow rapidly, bear
early, usually the season after they are planted or the top grafts set.
They set fruit more freely and with greater regularity, as the seasons
come, than do the best of our native varieties. The fruit is of larger
size and of firmer flesh, while the quality of some of them, like the
B.A.Q., ranks rather low. The quality of others of them, like the
Emerald, is almost beyond comparison.

One year ago in answer to a question by the writer as to why the people
of Iowa did not take more interest in the planting of these hybrid plums
of Mr. Williams, Mr. C.G. Patten stated that it was because the plums
rotted so badly on the trees. Now, Mr. Patten stated the situation
exactly--most of these fine varieties are notoriously bad rotters. The
brown rot seems to be a disease of moist climate. Nature's remedy is an
abundance of sunshine and a dry atmosphere, but we cannot regulate the
climate. Prof. Hansen has sent out a few varieties of these Japanese
Americana hybrid plums, and our Supt. Haralson is doing a great work
along this line. We can only hope--but cannot expect--that Mr. Hansen's
hybrids or Mr. Haralson's hybrids as a class will prove more resistant
to the brown rot than do those of Mr. Williams of the same class.

We have hopes that from some of Mr. C.G. Patten's hybrids of the
Americana and Domestica plum will come some varieties worthy of general
planting, and also of Prof. Hansen's crosses of the Americana plum and
the Chinese apricots.

There is another class of hybrid plums that are something wonderful in
their way, beginning to bear nearly as soon as they are planted, the
very earliest of all plums to ripen its fruit, immensely productive and
of finest quality. I refer to Prof. Hansen's sand cherry hybrid plums.
My opinion is that Prof. Hansen has done all that man can do in the way
of producing elegant varieties of this class of fruit. But there is the
uncertainty, however, or perhaps I had better say the certainty, that
the brown rot will take a good portion of the crop nearly every
season--sometimes only a part of the crop, and other seasons it may take
the entire crop of these fine sand cherry hybrid plums.

Bordeaux mixture has been the one reme