Note 231 — Chapter IV · THE MINOR VARIETIES OF PLUMS (continued 4)

A. L. Bruce, whose name appears so frequently in the pages of The Plums of New York as a breeder of native plums, is of Scotch descent. His father, however, came from Illinois to Texas, settling at Basin Springs, Grayson County, in 1845, where he planted the first orchard in that part of Texas. The son, subject of this sketch, was born October 6, 1861, and was educated in the common schools at Basin Springs, Texas. His work in growing and breeding trees began in his youth, for in 1877 he established himself as a grower and collector of native plums to which he added many of the Triflora varieties that were soon after introduced from Japan. Mr. Bruce’s first definite problem in breeding plums was to find extra early and extra late sorts for Texas; his Six Weeks, Red May, Dayton and several other plums were the results of these efforts. In 1902 Mr. Bruce moved to Donley County in the Panhandle of Texas from which place he has sent out and continues to send out Triflora, native and hybrid plums of unusual merit. Beside working with plums Mr. Bruce is a breeder of peaches, pears, raspberries, dewberries and apples, to all of which fruits he has made more or less notable contributions. Mr. Bruce is still in the prime of life, has many plant-breeding problems projected and his work promises much for horticulture in the Southwest and in the country at large.