Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly vol. 7.pdf/48

42 of the peasantry and a principal source of revenue. The prune has always done well with us.

In 1857 Mr. Henry Miller, of the firm of Miller & Lambert, of Milwaukie, who had purchased the orchard of Luelling & Meek, sent to Ellwanger & Barry, of Rochester, N. Y., for the best drying prunes; and in answer received scions of the Italian (Fallenburg), and a little oblong purple prune called the d'Agen, but not the prune grown now as Petite d'Agen or French prune. These scions were worked on bearing plum trees, and soon bore heavy crops. The d'Agen, though a sweet, palatable prune, when green proved to be a poor shipper and watery and unsuitable for drying; so after being pretty extensively tested over the State, was abandoned. The Italian was a large palatable fruit, a good shipper, and yielded thirty-three per cent when dried; making a showy black prune—excellent as a "confection" to eat out of hand; requiring little sugar and of the finest flavor when cooked. The tree is free from all pests, stocky and vigorous; is a regular bearer, carrying its fruits well distributed,and requiring no thinning; remarkable in the respect that it sheds all fruit it can not perfect to a good large size according to the dryness of the season. The tree responds to good treatment but does tolerably in the grass plot and under neglect, and has been called "the poor shiftless man's tree."

About the year 1858 Mr. Seth Lewelling, a brother of Henderson Luelling, set the first Italian prune orchard, five acres, near Milwaukie. Others, noting the elegance of the fruit, in quality, size, and flavor, and its fine shipping and drying qualities, began setting trees in different localities over the State for home use, and as an experiment to test locality, and as a basis for business calculation. About 1870 there was much talk and speculation about prunes and prune growing as a business, for and against, those favoring showing facts and figures, those against