PLUMS AND PLUM CULTURE IN MICIIIGxVlN. 341 



wage a U'ar of extermination against the curcnlio, to refrain altogetlier from.' 

 planting this fruit is doubtless the dictate of wisdom, inasmuch as such will 

 almost certainly see the fruit, if planted, fall a prey to the enemy, while at the 

 same time they must have the unpleasant consciousness that they are become 

 the breeders of insects for the annoyance and injury of their less easy-going 

 neighbors. We would by no means be understood to discourage the planting 

 of the plum, even in the smallest gardens; but rather as urging that such 

 planters should well consider, before planting, whether they have the requisite 

 love of such pursuits, and the pluck necessary to carry them through the con- 

 flict. 



To the large planter, the whole subject appears in a widely different aspect. 

 One of the noticeable uncertainties in almost any business pursuit lies in its 

 liability to be overdone. In plum culture, with the obstacles to be overcome, 

 requiring, to override them, an intelligent acquaintance with the whole sub- 

 ject, together with great thoroughness in execution, comparatively few will 

 venture, and probably even fewer will succeed, although success is fully within 

 the reach of all. These circumstances constiiufo the best possible assurance 

 against the liability to overdo this branch of fruit culture. 



PEOFITABLENESS. 



A plantation of consider:ible extent will fully warrant tiie making of 

 thorough arrangements for the care and manngement of the same, as well as 

 the providing of all requisite facilities for the warfare upon the curculio, in 

 the most eflicieut manner; while, in such cases, the actual expenditure for 

 these purposes will be found to be very small when compared with the value 

 of even a very moderate crop. With a plantation of one hundred trees, in 

 bearing, two men would apply the "jarring process," (or that and the "Ean- 

 som Trap," jointly,) to the whole in about one-and-a-half hours; and if this 

 were required to be repeated three times each day, the whole Avould require 

 but the equivalent of one man's time. This might be required for a period of 

 six weeks at the most, although during very windy or rainy weather no appli- 

 cation would be needed. The cost of apparatus with which to prosecute the 

 warfare against the curculio need not exceed ten or twelve dollars, to which 

 must be added the hire of a trusty man or boy for the above time. These two 

 items will constitute nearly or quite the entire cost of management for the 

 season, in excess of that required for a similar orchard of apples. As to the 

 relative values of the products of each, when grown, we leave those interested 

 to estimate for themselves ; only remarking that so far as we have been con- 

 versant with results in such cases, those derived from the culture of the plum, 

 even with curculio warfare against them, have been highly satisfactory. 



SOIL. 



The soil to be chosen for a plantation of plums should, by all means, be a 

 strong loam, inclining to clay rather than sand; not only because such a soil 

 best suits the plum, but also for the reason that it does not so well suit the 

 curculio, who avoids heavy soils, but luxuriates in light, dry, warm ones. 



ASPECT. 



The aspect to be selected for a plantation of this fruit is a matter of less im- 

 portance than in the case of the more tender fruits ; still, we would object to 

 a very decided southerly slope, and indeed, would prefer a slope in almost any 

 other direction; and such slope would be all the more acceptable if but just 

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