PLUMS AND DAMSONS

Fan-Shaped Pear TreeFAN-SHAPED PEAR TREE, ONE YEAR AFTER GRAFTING, SHOWING THE LENGTH OF RESULTING SHOOTS

FAN-SHAPED PEAR TREE, ONE YEAR AFTER GRAFTING, SHOWING THE LENGTH OF RESULTING SHOOTS

Thinning Fruit

If you wish for fine fruit or a crop every year, trees must not be overworked, especially in their earlier days. Thin whenever there is a large crop, but do not begin too soon, as some fruits are not fully fertilised, and may fall. Never let fruits touch each other. As the fruits mature, give any grub-eaten to the pigs, and use inferior pears for cooking purposes. Grub-eaten fruit must not lie on the ground.

Summer, Winter, Branch and Root Pruning; Lifting

Summer pruning rests chiefly on the principle that the trees should always be open more or less while in leaf to the sun, the light, and the air. So cut outat any timebranches that crowd the tree or threaten to cross other boughs. Cut from below, so as not to tear bark away. Pears do not bleed from being cut. In July, when the growing time is almost over, cut back to six or seven leaves any strong shoots springing from a main branch, or in cordons, from the stem. If they shoot again, they should again be stopped. In late autumn or winter look over the trees, reduce the shoots to two or three eyes, taking care not to remove bloom buds. Early in the summer, and at any time, remove from the trunk and boughs any shoots threatening to crowd or shade the centre. Keep the tree (especially the centre) open to sun and light. Even large standards are improved by summer pruning. Tree-pruners should be used where the shoots are out of hand-reach. Root pruning is also essential in strong soils where trees are too rank in growth and produce wood rather than fruit. Trees of all kinds may be root pruned with advantage in such soils, and also where the lower soil is bad. Open atrench 20, 30 or 40 inches from the stem (according to size of tree) until the coarse roots are reached. One-third the distance from the stem that the trees are in height is a rule suggested by a recent writer.[8]Cut back such roots with a sharp knife; drive the spade under the stem (if possible) to cut the tap roots, and any others going downwards. Open a trench half round one year, and if necessary attack the other half next year. Be careful not to prune too hard at first, or to injure the fibres. Begin in mid-October. If the ground below is very dry, give warm or rain water. Fruit blooms will probably appear next autumn. If young trees grow very luxuriantly, they may be lifted at the end of October with advantage. Cut the tap root and replant at once. Exposure of the roots is dangerous to vitality. Persons who prune their trees only in winter usually grow wood rather than fruit.

Marketing and Packing

Marketing depends greatly on the neighbourhood. Colour, size and quality ensure a sale everywhere, but only a constant supply of good fruit will attract retail dealers or the London salesmen. Poor stuff will not sell at a good market. The early fruits may be sent in flats (with tops) lent by the salesmen. But these are often lost and involve trouble and expense. Non-returnable boxes to contain half a bushel or a bushel are now in use, but such boxes are too large for the better fruits. Californian pears come to us in good condition in boxes containing each a few dozen fruits, each fruit being separately packed in tissue paper. French pears are also sent in boxes evenly graded and packed in one, two, or three layers. Small boxes bought by the gross are not dear. The following list is taken from Watson, vol. v. p. 369.

GrossLength.Width.Depth.s. d.11½ in.10½ in.7½ in.32 615 in.6 in.7½ in.31 615 in.11 in.7 in.50 015 in.13 in.4 in.53 616 in.8 in.4 in.28 6—Blacknell.

In the larger boxes, strong paper should be put round inside to prevent bruising. All fruit, however sent, should be even in size, of good quality, not diseased or bruised. Pears are more attractive when well packed than apples. Placed with their heads against the two opposite sides in two rows with the stems toward each in a box of suitable size, they may be made to fit closely so as to travel safely. The better and later sorts should be bedded in wood-wool and wrapped in tissue paper, white or coloured, with a sheet of paper between each layer, and the whole firmly packed. Loose fruit are sure to suffer. The contents of each box must be made so firm as not to be moved in the slightest degree. The G.E. and other railway companies provide cheap boxes of a suitable size and allow similar boxes also to be used if nailed. They must not be corded. Wire hinges and a fastening in front have been suggested. Nos. 3, 4 and 5 (G.E.R.), 2s. 6d., 3s., and 4s. per dozen are the best sizes. They will hold 18 to 24 fruits. On G.E.R. 20 lbs. can be sent for 4d. to London; 1d. extra is charged for every additional 5 lbs.; delivery is included. Such boxes could be readily stamped with the grower's name. The companies assist growers by publishing the names of those who have produce to sell.

Pears in an Unheated Orchard House

With skill and care pears may be successfully grown in an unheated orchard house. They may have apples for their companions, but not cherries, peaches, plums or apricots. The most convenient house is a span-roof from 20 to 24 feet wide, 10 to 12 feet high to the ridge of the roof, and 4½ to 6 feet at the sides. Ventilators should run round the sides 18 inches wide, and hinged at bottom; the top ventilators should be 3 feet wide by 15 inches, 7½ feet apart, on alternate sides of the ridge (Mr T. Somers Rivers, inRoyal Horticultural Journal, vol. xxv., parts i., ii.). A good length for this breadth is 50 to 60 feet. A half-inch wire protection over the ventilators and an inner wired door may be as necessary (as a protection against birds), as it is for cherries. There should be a path made hard with clay and gravel through the centre. Some advise a concrete floor; others prefer to plunge their pots inside as well as out. A lean-to house from 6 to 9 feet wide against a south wall may be of great service. Cordons can be grown on the wall, or planted outside and trained indoors, like vines, near the glass. Trees in pots can also be placed there. With either house, some ground to which the trees in pots can be removed when all danger from frost is over is required. It should be warm and well sheltered. Maiden plants may be put into 8 or 10-inch pots in September, and cut back later on, but time is saved by purchasing older trees of nurserymen; 15 to 18-inch pots will be needed in a few years. If there is a concrete floor, the pots must be raised on bricks, that surplus water may pass off. If the pots are plunged, care must be taken that the water can run away. In June take them into the open air, plunge them in the ground within three inches of the rim, to keep them warm and moist, and to protect the trees from the wind.After the fruit is gathered, the trees should as a rule be repotted. Prepare a fresh pot with broken flints, etc., at the bottom, place a piece of turf on them, next a handful of soot, and some fine soil on that. Have ready some new soil made chiefly of good turfy loam, to which old mortar rubbish or road scrapings, wood ashes, guano, and bone-dust have previously been added. The whole should be well mixed. Then take the tree out with a ball of earth, remove the soil all round the ball with a pointed stick, shorten the rootlets around, and cut any coarse roots away with sharp pruning scissors. Place the topmost roots an inch and a half below the rim, then shake this compost among the roots, finally ramming the soil hard down into the pot. In two or three days soak the ball with rain or warm water. The trees are better in the house until re-established. Sprinkle the leaves daily with soft water. Close and keep the house moist. The pots can then be taken out and plunged once more. The house will probably be wanted. They must be carefully protected in severe weather; place ashes, earth, or manure around them. Another plan is to lay the pots on the ground and cover them with mats. Take them back to the house before the buds begin to move. Shape the trees in winter, and summer prune as may be necessary. They require syringing as well as rich feeding when carrying a crop. A mixture of poultry droppings or night soil (half a barrowful) added to the same amount of sifted soil and of wood ashes, with a peck of soot and a peck of bone dust, all made into a compost a few days before use, is a strong surface-dressing. A layer half an inch thick when the fruit is swelling should be given two or three times, and be watered down with a fine rose. Messrs Bunyard recommend cow manure mixed with malt combings, and (as an artificial) sulphate of ammonia.

Liquid manure (not strong nor cold) must also be given two or three times a week. The fruit must be thinned, and the trees never over-cropped. Large trees in 16 or 18-inch pots need the annual renewal of the soil rather than repotting. The flowers should be fertilised by the admission of bees, by shaking the trees in fine weather about mid-day, or by passing a light brush gently over the blooms from flower to flower. Change of diet as well as air, and frequent syringing with clear water (say Messrs Bunyard) are very necessary ("Modern Fruit Culture," p. 23). But a dry atmosphere is best when pear and plum trees are in flower. Syringing in the open air is good for all trees in dry weather after the fruit has set. The following is a good wash to be applied when the trees are brought into the house in January or February. Put a peck of fresh soot into a coarse sack, and hang it in a tub containing 30 or 40 gallons of water; leave it there for eight or ten days; then remove it and throw in half a peck of fresh lime. Mix well, then take off the surface scum. A decoction of quassia made by boiling 2 or 3 ozs. of chips to a gallon of water for twenty-five or thirty minutes (or steeped in soft water for twenty-four hours) added to the above is a useful insecticide. Syringe with this before the buds appear, but not again until the fruit is set, then once a week, or oftener, as occasion may require.

N. B.—Never repot until you have learnt that the ball and roots of the tree are thoroughly moist. Soak the ball, if necessary, for twenty minutes. In surface-dressing leave a space near the tree open, that you may see what water is wanted. Never givestrongliquid manure. As severe frosts and dull weather sometimes occur in March when the trees are in bloom, some hot-water pipes (two rows of 4-inch) may be added if means allow. A span-roof house should run north and south. Only the choicest sorts should be deemed worthy of a house, such as Bon Chrétien, Souvenir du Congrès, B. Brown, B. Superfin, Louise Bonne, B. Hardy, Maréchal de la Cour, Marie Louise, D. du Comice, Josephine de Malines, Winter Nelis, Passe Crassanne, Bergamotte Esperen, and others.

Espalier Trained Tree cut back for GraftingESPALIER TRAINED TREE CUT BACK FOR GRAFTING—THE GRAFTS INSERTED AND CLAYED OVER

ESPALIER TRAINED TREE CUT BACK FOR GRAFTING—THE GRAFTS INSERTED AND CLAYED OVER

Old Standards

Old Standards that have ceased to produce good fruit should be cut down to within a few feet of the stem. The young wood will soon bear better quality. The trunk should be well cleaned and washed.

Irrigation

Wherever possible, irrigation should be applied in dry weather. An aero-motor pump or engine of some kind may raise the water to a tank. It should be allowed to run over the ground for some distance to be warmed and aerated. Apply in strong soil only when the growing season is over.

Labels

Labels add greatly to the interest and pleasure of a garden. Acme labels are popular. Those sent out by John Smith, Label Factory, Stratford-on-Avon, are also good. They may be attached by his copper wire, but those of the form of the rose labels with the name affixed at the top of a long spike are less likely to be lost.

American Pears

The chief pear in the States is the Bartlett, corresponding with our Bon Chrétien. A schoolmaster named Wheeler, of Aldermaston (Berks), raised it about 1770.A nurseryman named Williams brought it out. In 1799 one Enoch Bartlett, of Dorchester, near Boston (U.S.), introduced it into America, and now it is cultivated so widely that it is on sale for three or four months in the year, and exported also to England. Seckle, a good October pear, but small, we have from the States; the original tree is said to be near Philadelphia, about 100 years old. Clapp's Favourite (August) comes from Dorchester, Massachusetts; Dana's Hovey, "a veritable sweetmeat" (November and January), also comes from the same State. It is sometimes called Winter Seckle. Most of our good sorts are grown in the U.S., and Californian pears are now coming to us in great quantities. They are sent in wooden boxes, properly graded and packed. Every fruit is in paper, with the name of the grower on it, and the name of the variety on each box. The excellent quality and careful packing ensure a good demand at a high price. Good American sorts are Lawson or Comet, Block's Acme, Sugar Pear, Bloodgood, and others. Our growers may learn a useful lesson from Californian pears in the London market.

Notes on Varieties

Emile d'Heyst is said to be equal to Marie Louise in quality, to be hardier, and to be a better bearer. It is not a grand grower on the Quince, nor does the fruit keep long (October, November).

Althorp Crassanne is often a first-rate pear. Mr Knight (very eminent a century ago) called it the best of all. It lasts from October to December. The tree is hardy, and a good bearer, but the fruit is hardly large enough for exhibition.

Brockworth Park, almost identical with Bonne d'Ezée, was once a pear of great repute, being large and showy, but the flesh is coarse (November).

B. Bosc is largely grown in Kent as a market pear. It succeeds on a chalky, warm soil. It is sometimes "first rate," Barron (October, November).

Beurré Mortillet (new) (D. G.,i.e.Double Grafted) is a large and handsome September pear; gather before it is ripe.

Conference (Rivers), comparatively new, is large, handsome, and a good bearer, but not first rate (November).

Fondante de Thirriott, or Thiriot (new), grows and bears freely, fruit large and good. "First quality," Barron (November and December).

Madame Treyve is a good September pear, red and yellow, in chalky soil. It bears freely, but is not first rate.

Bon Chrétien should be gathered gradually before it is ripe, and laid on the shelves. It is said that you must sit up all night to eat it just at the right time.

D. du Comice is regarded as the best all round Dessert pear grown. Marie Louise is tender and unreliable. Thompson's, some think, the best for flavour. It is smaller, and bears best on the Pear Stock.

Marie Benoist is recommended in many lists as a good late pear, but my experience has not been favourable. It is late and large when it bears.

General Todleben is large and handsome, but usually only fit for cooking (October and November).

Princess (new) is a late Louise Bonne, large and good; the tree bears well.

Beurré or Doyenné Sterkmans is a medium-sized, late pear (December, January, February), flushed bright red on one side; "second rate," Barron.

Beurré de Jonghe is a good Christmas Pear, but a slow grower, and needs a wall or orchard house.

Beurré Bachelier is large, handsome, a good bearer, but quite second rate (November).

Hacon's Incomparable is large and handsome, but second rate (November).

Swan's Egg was a popular pear fifty years ago for market, as the tree is hardy, bears well, and the fruit is good, but rather small (October).

Noveau Poiteau is a good exhibition pear, of vigorous growth, and bears well; the fruit is excellent but does not keep well (November).

Pitmaston Duchess is an increasingly popular pear for market. It is very large, and on a cordon often handsome; in warm seasons of good quality, golden yellow when ripe. Bush trees on Quince bear well (October, November).

Duchesse d'Angoulême was a great favourite formerly, the tree growing and bearing well. Fruit often very large, but coarse and gritty. Crossed with Glou Morceau it has given us a child Pitmaston superior to the parents.

Josephine de Malines is pronounced by Mr Barron to be "always good." Hardy, and bears well on Quince (January-April).

Fouqueray is a large, good pear, an improved B. Bachelier (October).

B. Hardy is a great favourite with birds; they prefer and peck the best fruit.

B. Alexandre Lucas is large and handsome; pyriform, the tree is a good grower (October, November).

Triomphe de Vienne is a large and handsome September pear tree (D. G.), grows and bears well, comparatively new.

Marguerite Marillat, a very large, handsome September pear, bears well: comparatively new.

Michaelmas Nelis is a new variety, of which a specimen fruit has just been sent me by Messrs Bunyard. It is as delicious as the Winter Nelis pear (December and January).

Receipts(from Cassell's "Dictionary of Cookery," slightly abridged)

1.To bake Pears.—Rub half-a-dozen large hard pears with a soft cloth. Put them on a buttered baking tin into a slow oven, and let them bake gently for five or six hours. When tender, they are done enough, and are excellent if eaten with sugar. Probably cost 4d. Sufficient for three or four persons.

2.Another way.—Pare very smoothly a dozen large baking pears. Halve them, take out the cores, put them side by side into a well-brightened block-tin saucepan with a closely fitting cover. Pour over as much cold water as will cover them, add the thin rind of a small lemon, a tablespoonful of strained lemon juice, an inch of stick cinnamon, and fifteen grains of allspice. Put on cover, place the dish in a gentle oven, let it remain until the pears are tender, add a little white wine if liked. If such a saucepan is used, no cochineal will be needed. Time to bake six hours. Probable cost 1s. 8d. Sufficient for eight or ten persons.

To Preserve Pears.—Gather the pears before they are quite ripe, pare, halve, core and weigh them, put into a deep jar, allowing 3 lbs. of sugar to every 4 lbs. of pears, and just enough water to moisten the sugar, and to keep the fruit from burning. The strained juice and thinly-pared rind of a lemon and an inch of whole ginger may be put with every 2 lbs. of pears. Place the jar in a saucepan of boiling water, and let the fruit steam gently for six or seven hours. Turn it into jars, and at once fasten these down securely, and store in a dry, cool place. Two or three drops of cochineal added to the pears after they are cooked improve their appearance. Pears preserved thus will not probably keep good more than three or four months. Probable cost 8d. per lb.

Pears Preserved, Red.—If in preserving pears it is wished to give a deep pink tinge to the fruit and syrup, use a perfectly bright block-tin saucepan. If this is not convenient, add three or four drops of cochineal to the syrup or a small proportion of Red Currant or Red Gooseberry juice.

Pears Stewed.—Pare, core, and halve eight or ten good-sized pears, leaving on the stalks or not, according to taste; put them into a tinned saucepan, with 6 ozs. of loaf sugar, 6 cloves, 6 whole allspice, ¾ of a pint of water, and a glassful of port (?). Let them boil as gently as possible until quite soft but not broken. Lift them out, put them on a glass dish, and when the syrup is cold, strain it over them. Some cream or custard added is a great improvement. Time to stew the pears from two-and-a-half to three hours. Probable cost 1s. 4d. Sufficient for five or six persons.

For Compôte of Pears, Pears Frosted and Iced, Pears Pickled, and other such receipts, see same dictionary.

For another method of preserving, see plums.

To Preserve Pears(from an old author).—Pare them very thinly and simmer in a thin syrup; let them lie a day or two in the syrup. Make the syrup richer, and simmer again, and repeat this process till they are clear; then drain and dry them in the sun or a cool oven a very little time. They may be kept in syrup, which makes them more moist and rich, and dried as wanted. Jargonelles are said to be the best for this purpose.

To Bake Pears.—These need not be of a fine sort; but some taste better than others, and often those that are least fit to eat raw are best for baking. Wipe, butdo notpare, and lay them on tin plates, and bake in a slow oven. When soft enough to bear pressure, flatten them with a silver spoon. When done thorough, put them on a dish. They should be baked three or four times, and very gently.

To Stew Pears.—Pare, halve or quarter large pears, according to their size; throw them into water, as the skin is taken off, before they are divided to prevent them turning black. Pack them round a block tin stewpan, and sprinkle as much sugar over as will make them pretty sweet; add lemon-peel, a clove or two, and some allspice cracked; just cover them with water, and add a little red wine. Cover them close and stew three or four hours; when tender, take them out, and strain the liquor over them.

[1]SeeCheal, "Fruit Culture," p. 8.

[2]Rivers.

[3]See an excellent article on Pears in new edition of Thompson's "Gardeners' Assistant," by R. L. C.

[4]See elaborate account in the "Watson's G.'s Assistant," vol. iv. p. 116.

[5]See "Miniature Fruit Garden," p. 64.

[6]See Watson, vol. v., "Storing."

[7]Hedge-sparrow smaller, duller in colour, eggs bluish green, builds in hedges; house-sparrow, eggs white, with brown spots, nests in trees and buildings.

[8]John Wright, "Profitable Fruit Growing."

What is the finest fruit in the world? The secretary and the superintendent of the R.H.S. (in vol. xxvi., parts ii. and iii. of theJournal of the R.H.S.) agree in thinking that Goldoni, a yellow nectarine raised from a peach by the late Francis Rivers is, when properly ripened, without exception, the finest fruit in the world. It has not been my privilege to taste it, yet I venture to think that a thoroughly ripened plum of one of the best varieties must come near it. The incessant demand for greengages is a testimony to the popularity of the plum as a dessert fruit. Next to the apple, it is the most useful of our fruits.

Origin of the Plum

Eminent botanists are of opinion that our plums and damsons have had their origin in thePrunus Communisfound in various parts of Europe and Asia, but others consider that thePrunus Domesticais the parent of the majority. Mr A. H. Pearson of Chilwell, Nott. (v. Journal of the R.H.S., vol. xxi. part ii.), thinks that "the blood" of more than one species is found in the plums of the present day, as varieties closely resembling one another demand different stocks for their well-being when propagated by grafting. The cherry plum isPrunus myrobalana, and of this species there are several varieties, as St Etienne, Mirabelle Précoce,i.e.the Early Mirabelle, Mirabelle Petite, and others. Rivers' Early Prolific is said to be of the same race.

The Bullace is classed by some botanists under thePrunus Instititia, and they place the damson in the same species, but the latter is round, the former oval. The damson, a small plum, may be safely classed with thePrunus Communis. It derives its name from the city of Damascus. Damascena is the word used in Pliny for the district round Damascus, and damson originally meant the Damascus plum. The Chinese have for centuries cultivated plums, and in the United States plums from Japan are coming rapidly into use, and appear to be more successful there than in the British Isles. We find the wordprunum, a plum, in Vergil, Ovid, Martial, and other Roman writers.Prunus, a plum tree, is derived directly from the Greek;prunus silvestris, in Columella and Pliny, is supposed to mean the black thorn or sloe tree. These illustrations prove that the plum has been known for ages, and that its value is recognised in every part of the world. Our word plum is plainly derived from the Latin (probably through the Anglo-Saxon), and the word prune is almost identical withprunum.

Soil and Situation

The plum is not so particular as the pear about soil, yet it has its preferences. It is not so deep-rooting as the apple and pear are; the character therefore of the lower soil is not so important. But stone-fruits require lime. In planting for profit, no site should be selected for a large plantation if the soil is deficient in lime. It is true that lime can be added, but this plan may suit a private garden, not a large plantation for profit. The plum being hardier than the pear will flourish in most soils, even in a heavy loam, but not in light sandy or gravelly soil. In the latter case, something may be done by heavy manuring and frequent removal. The trees inthe R.H.S.'s garden at Chiswick are a triumph of skilful culture, as good crops are raised on many trees in a hot and gravelly soil. Some damsons, however, do not thrive there. But such culture is costly. In soils of an intermediate character, much may be done by adding other materials as suggested for pears. If there is any doubt about the amount of lime in the soil, an analysis should be obtained, and special notice taken of the trees in the neighbourhood. The plum (like the pear) will not thrive in a low, wet, undrained locality, nor in one that is very dry or exposed. Drainage is essential to success. If, in a rainy season, water in a clay soil is allowed to remain round the roots, canker or gumming is pretty sure to follow. Excessive moisture is as bad as extreme dryness. The slope of the ground, therefore, is a matter of importance. In Essex there is often land quite level with a heavy clay soil difficult to drain; such soil would not suit plums, though it might suit quinces. The aspect as well as the slope must also be considered. For the better class of plums,i.e.dessert varieties, where sweetness is expected, a position open to the southern sun is best, but they will also thrive if the aspect is S.-E. or even S.-W. Culinary and hardy varieties might be planted in the colder aspects to the N., N.-E. or N.-W. Proper shelter must by no means be forgotten. Bitter north winds may injure the bloom almost as much as frost or rain; strong winds from the E. or S.-W. may do great damage to heavy crops. Mr Lewis Castle in "Plums for Profit" (edited by myself, S.P.C.K.) suggests that "Canadian and Italian poplars make a good break if tall growers are required, but cherry plums, the myrobalan, will grow into a strong hedge in two or three years' time if the height be sufficient." Damson hedges serve a double purpose and afford good protection. He also suggests that some of the ornamental crabs are similarly useful for protection. Ofthese the Transcendant and Hyslop or Dartmouth produce good crops of lovely fruit which are excellent for cooking purposes and would probably sell well.

Propagation and Stocks

The usual method of propagation is by budding and grafting. The stocks on which the different varieties are grafted are raised from stones. Mr Pearson states that six kinds of stocks are used in the best nurseries—i.e.the common plum, the Brussels, the Mussel, the Brompton, the Damas Noir or St Julien, and the Myrobalan. The secret of success is to work the stock with a variety which is of common parentage. Nearly all plums will grow upon the common plum stock, though some of them thrive much better upon other stocks. Prince Englebert and Diamond flourish upon Mussel, but not upon the Brompton. Belgian Purple will not grow upon either Brussels or common plum, but succeeds upon Damas Noir, Mussel, or Myrobalan. The accurate knowledge required points to the wisdom of purchasing trees only from nurserymen who make such trees a specialty.

The late Archdeacon Lea in his excellent book "Small Farms" dwells strongly on the folly of buying cheap stuff. Trees on unsuitable stocks or not true to name bring bitter disappointment after a few years. "Never purchase trees because they are cheap. Visit the nurseries, and pick out trees with clean healthy bark, even though they are smaller than others." If you cannot go or send a reliable man, write in good time and get an early choice. Select and accept only young trees not more than two or three years' old. Budded trees are better than those grafted, as a general rule, the union being better; indeed grafting is usually adopted because budding has failed. In trees that have been budded, there will probably be less gumming.

Planting

Planting is a matter of supreme importance, but the rules for pears and plums are very much the same. Especial care must be taken if the soil is heavy and loaded with moisture. Put the trees on arrival in a trench (see before), and wait until the ground is fit and the soil as fine as possible so that the roots may run freely through it. Get the stakes ready and place them in position before planting. Bind the tree, if tall, at once when planted to the stake by soft willow twigs or other means, taking every care that the bark is not rubbed by the stake. Old cloth or carpet may be used for this purpose, tarred twine or cord being passed round it. Dry stakes well tarred, often last as long as they are needed.

What is your Object?

What is your object? Before choosing varieties, or planting, it is advisable to ask yourself, what is my object? On the answer the form of plantation and the choice of trees must depend. If for a private house only, the answer is easy. Then comes the question, Is there a wall, and if so, what is the soil and the aspect? Is there an Orchard House? If for market, for what market are you preparing? In the Midlands, the Pershore (= Gisborne's) is a great favourite; in London, the Early Orleans and the Egg Plum; in the North, the Black Diamond, the Wydale and others. In planting damsons the same question should be put. The Midland people won't have the Farleigh Prolific so popular in Kent, and they are right; the Shropshire folks think their damson the best of all and many agree with them. Are you near a jam factory? What plums do they desire or require? Local circumstances and wants should have great weight. If you are near awood and birds are numerous, you may be wise in not growing greengages, yet otherwise they may be the best sort for a large outlay as the demand for them is universal.

Plums for a Private Garden

Let us suppose that the soil is fairly good; the choice of trees is not difficult. We have a selection made in 1892 by a committee of the R.H.S., consisting of forty experts, and their choice has been confirmed in a remarkable degree by a report of the trial of plums at the Chiswick Garden of the R.H.S. in 1901. At this trial on a soil that in a good year is said to suit them generally, ninety-five varieties were tested, and a good account was given of the following ten:—

Plums for Eating.

Rivers' Early Transparent Gage.—"Green or greenish yellow, flushed with red, the finest early dessert plum, a good cropper, habit bushy, compact, vigorous."—R.[9]August 21.

Dennistoun's Superb Gage.—"Green and of greengage flavour, a first-rate dessert variety, of exquisite flavour, cropping well as a bush tree in the open air, habit erect, compact, vigorous."—R. August 26.

Jefferson's.—"Fruit larger than the two former, yellow, covered with small red dots, habit erect, compact, very vigorous, the best 'all round' table kind, succeeds in every form."—R. September 6.

In the list of 1892Belgian Purplewas named as a plum for eating, but it is only fit for the table in warm seasons, "dark purple, of medium size, bears well, habit erect, compact, vigorous."—R. August 19.

Plums for Cooking.

Plum—rivers' Early ProlificPLUM—RIVERS' EARLY PROLIFIC

PLUM—RIVERS' EARLY PROLIFIC

Rivers' Early Prolific, a dark purple fruit, rather small but one which comes in early so that it is often first in the market; thus the tree has time to rest and recover before winter. "A very early and valuable cooking plum; of fair quality for dessert, a great and constant bearer." The tree does not thrive everywhere, nor is it very vigorous.—R. July 23.

Plum—czarPLUM—CZAR

PLUM—CZAR

Rivers' Czar.—"Dark red or purple, of medium size, very good bearer, habit erect, compact, vigorous."—R. August 2.

Victoria, "Fruit large and bright red, very heavycropper, the most popular plum and best for general purposes."—R. August 22.

Cox's Emperor, or Denbigh, or Denbigh Seedling, "a large dark red of the Orleans type, habit erect, compact, vigorous, a very good free bearing plum that always cooks well."—R. August 22.

Gisborne's(like Pershore), "Fruit deep yellow, rather large, habit erect, compact, vigorous, a great bearer."—Early September.

Rivers' Monarch, "Fruit large, bluish-purple, the best late C. (Cooking) plum, habit rather diffuse and vigorous."—R. September 13.

These ten varieties have borne the test of time, and won approval from the R.H.S. in 1892 and 1901. The descriptions are those of the R.H.S. Mr Lewis Castle omits Cox's Emperor and adds;—

Early Orleans, "medium size, reddish purple, good bearer and good C. variety, habit diffuse and moderately vigorous."—R. August 2.

Greengage.—If this is planted, choose July greengage, "rather large for a greengage, habit erect, compact, vigorous, better bearer than old G., fine-flavoured Dessert plum."—R. August 7.

Diamond, "very large, blue-black, very heavy cropper, habit bushy, compact, vigorous, good C. plum."—R. August 23.

Pond's Seedling, "Fruit very large, deep red, habit bushy, compact, vigorous, rather late, free bearing C. plum."—R. September 7.

Prince Englebert, "Rather large, dark purple, habit erect, compact, vigorous, reliable C. plum."—R. August 13.

Coe's Golden Drop, "Fruit large, pale yellow, habit bushy, compact, vigorous, a delicious late D. plum, an indifferent bearer on bush trees, most reliable on walls."—R. September 13.

These remarks are based on the Report of trials at Chiswick in 1901.

If one plum only is wanted, choose Victoria, if three, Early Prolific, Victoria and Monarch; to these Dennistoun's Superb and Jefferson might be added for dessert if five are desired.

All these varieties may be planted as Standards, but are better as half-standards or bushes. If as cordons they must be two feet or more apart, and lifted about once in three years. There is no dwarfing plum stock like the paradise for apples or the quince for pears.

If the dessert varieties are on walls, special attention must be given to pruning and to root-pruning. The growth of coarse thick stems and branches is often fatal to the prospect of good crops.

Pruning and Training

Plums as a rule do not need nor will they bear as much close pruning as pears and apples. But they need special attention in early life.

Standards.—These must be planted, when other crops are to be grown beneath. Quincunx fashion:·:is the best. The rows, as a rule, should be 24 feet apart, and the trees in each row about 20 feet. Plums do not shade as much as apples and pears, yet it is always wise to avoid overcrowding. Some sorts are not as spreading or as vigorous as others. Weak growers like the Early Prolific might be placed between Jefferson and Monarch. Good trees in six or seven years should bring good returns, but the intermediate space may meanwhile be utilised for strawberries, gooseberries, and so on. Standards should be 6 feet high or more. After planting, cut back the shoots to about one-third of their length, the weakest still more, to promote vigorous growth, and cut justabove an outer eye. Keep the centre open. In later years stop gross or robber shoots in June, clipping some leaves of the latter, if necessary. Never allow boughs to cross, and keep all the tree fairly open. When the tree begins to bear, little pruning is necessary. But stopping luxuriant shoots about midsummer is good for the other branches, and for the production of fruit buds before winter. Complete pruning early in August. In winter cut out dead wood, and shorten boughs wherever fresh wood is required. The wood of the Victoria plum is very brittle, and requires special treatment. Shorten the strong growing luxuriant branches of this variety in July; otherwise later on they will break when loaded with fruit. Messrs Bunyard's choice of six for market standards is: Rivers' Early Prolific, Czar, Early Orleans, Victoria, Pond's Seedling, Rivers' Monarch.

Half Standards(3½ feet to 4 feet high) are better, and more manageable. Planted 12 feet apart, gooseberries, etc., may be placed around them; otherwise they may be nearer, even up to 6 or 8 feet. These should be pruned in August unless strong shoots require pinching back. Stop new side shoots at the sixth leaf to produce fruit-buds. Avoid excess. Wounds made in August have a better chance of healing while the sap is still active. Pyramids are not as useful as bushes; the former require a central stem and special training.

In Bushes, keep the tree open, stop strong shoots at midsummer, prune new (side) shoots back to six leaves about mid-August, and take out wood that is not wanted, admitting the sun and air. In winter cut back any boughs where fresh shoots are wanted to a wood bud at an outer eye.

Trees on Walls.—Plums are usually put on east walls, but the best repay a south as well as a westaspect. They require and repay care and skill in training. If the wall is low, the horizontal form is best. The branches should be taken several inches below the line along which they are to be trained, and not at right angles; the sap will flow better, and the tendency of branches to die off will be lessened. The first branch should be 1 foot from the ground, the rest 9 inches apart. Coarse stems and branches must be avoided by moderate root-pruning. The wood must be kept near the wall, that wood and fruit may be better ripened. The fan system is better for a high wall. Train shoots on the tree from the nursery in regular order at equal intervals, cutting back only to ripe wood. Pick off growths on the side next the wall, and others badly placed. Lay in new wood every year, and in August or Early September cut out unsightly branches or spurs if there is other wood to replace them. Prune upper part of tree first, and encourage foliage and fruit spurs over every part. Stop strong growing branches at midsummer, and pinch back side shoots to six leaves about mid-August. Fruit buds will follow. Wire on the wall should be 1½ inch out, with an interval of 1 foot between each wire.

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