356 TEANSACTIONS OF THE HORTICULTUEAL 



genus "plumabus bugabus." It has wings covering its whole body 

 like those of the potato beetle. It is a dull brown or drab in color. 

 It emits a disagreeable odor and is found on blackberries as well as 

 plums. It gnaws a hole through the skin of the plum, then eat 

 their way clear around the stone. They were very numerous two 

 years ago; last year we had no plums. 



We have tried the Weaver and Blackhawk, with no success 

 whatever. W^e should have said that the DeSoto seems to be be- 

 coming unthrifty, some of the trees being entirely dead and many 

 are very unthrifty. It must be that the winter is the cause, as the 

 last two have been of sufficient severity to be responsible for nearly 

 any calamity of that character. 



As to cherries, our experience is not so pleasant in its con- 

 clusion, even as that just related. About twenty years ago we 

 planted a fine lot of 1,500 Early Richmond cherry trees. One 

 thousand of them were planted first and five hundred one year later. 

 The first were worked at the collar, the others were topworked all on 

 Morello. The strange part of it is that the topworked trees, to a tree, 

 died an ignominious death two years ago. While the others, 

 though now becoming somewhat unthrifty, have not died in this 

 regular and wholesale manner, These trees were constantly culti- 

 vated by careful spading, and were regularly pruned in the most 

 scientific manner for many years, and yet we have not had more 

 than two satisfactory crops during this time. 



The cherry is a very perishable fruit, and with a crop of one 

 thousand or more bushels that must be disposed of inside of eight 

 days, great difficulty is experienced, especially if the weather is hot 

 and damp, as it is quite likely to be at this time of the year. We 

 may incidentally remark here, however, that we were not at all 

 bothered in. this respect this year. 



Not willing to give up the cherry as a failure, seven years ago 

 we planted English Morello, Late Richmond, Montmorency and Steed, 

 and, later, Windsor and Ostheim. They have been among small 

 fruit, so, of course, were constantly cultivated. 



English Morello did well and bore some beautiful cherries un- 

 til within two years, when it began to succumb to the inevitable, and 

 now about half are dead. A serious objection to them is that the 

 birds think they are ripe long before they are, so that by the time it 

 comes our turn we have rather " poor picking." 



Late Richmond is as hardy as an oak and makes a splendid 

 growth, but, so far, is unfruitful. What fruit we have seen has been 

 of fair size and good quality. We are in hopes it will soon come 

 around. 



Montmorency is a fine little tree, rather small but perfectly 

 hardy. Fruit quite like the English Morello; we think well of it. 



Steed went by the board before it gave us any fruit. 



Ostheim is no good. 



