set these on the east side of the orchard, where they got protection
from the west wind. They have borne almost every year, and this year
they are the only ones we had a crop on.

Pres. Cashman: I think we get as near to agreeing on this question as on
most others. It is suggested that we find out how many have had success
and how many have had failures with the Surprise plum. All those who
have been successful in raising Surprise plums will please raise their
hands. (Certain hands raised.) Now, hands down. Those who have been
unsuccessful will please raise their right hands. (Other hands raised.)
It seems there were more successes than failures.

A Member: It has been mentioned that the frost this year killed the plum
crop. I noticed in my orchard previous to that frost when we had a snow
storm, I noticed that the blossoms dried up and fell from the trees
before that hard frost. I think the question of success or failure with
the Surprise, as with other plums, is sort of comparative. I don't know
of any plum of the Americana type that we have a success with every year
any more than any other. So it is relative. I would like to ask if
anyone had the same experience with the blossoms drying and falling off
the trees before that frost.

Mr. Crawford: Perhaps the gentleman will recall the fact we had two
nights in succession of quite severe frost. The first night it was
almost a freeze, and the second we had the snow storm which is given
credit for the plum failure.

Mr. Anderson: The gentleman who read the paper, he is from Winona, where
he has a very much better location for any kind of fruit than the
general run of the state. The other gentleman is from Illinois. Now,
this good location near Winona and the temperature down in Illinois,
does that favor the Surprise plum, and has it anything to do with their
success and our failure?

Pres. Cashman: We will have to leave that to the audience.

Mr. S.D. Richardson: Down in Winnebago I got three trees from the
originator of the Surprise plum, and while I was at the nursery I never
saw any plums, but I propagated some from there and a man in our town
has some Surprise plums from it, and since I left the nursery I think
the man has had some plums from them. I got them from Mr. Penning when
they were first originated, but they never bore plums for me. I had no
other plums around there. Perhaps if they need pollen from other plums
they didn't get it, and this man that ha