WINTER MEETING. 289 



bearers when depending on their pollen, and will improve when inter- 

 mingled with other sorts. Again, if the weather during the blossom- 

 ing period is hot and windy, one variety may waste its pollen before 

 the stigmas are ready, and in such cases the pollen of adjoining sorts 

 may supply the want. 



That plums will reproduce from the seed the same as the parent 

 tree is a mistake. I tested over 100, and not one was the same as the 

 parent tree. There are several sorts of peaches that will reproduce. 

 About 15 years ago we planted 60 Wild Goose plum-trees, 40 of which 

 were budded on seedling peach-trees, and 20 were grafted on seedling 

 peach roots. (For grafting plums we use whole roots ; graft at the 

 crown, using as nearly as possible a graft or scion the size of root.) 

 The 40 trees budded on peach stock commenced dying at six years old, 

 and are now all dead. These 20 grafted on peach roots soon grew on 

 their own roots, and over half are yet alive and healthy. A plum-tree 

 grafted as described will throw out sprouts which certainly will bear 

 the same fruit as the parent tree. I prefer those sprouts of plums 

 and Early Richmond cherries to those budded on other stock. It 

 is true a plum budded on peach stock will come into bearing one year 

 sooner, but those from the sprouts will make much the healthiest tree. 



Further, one-half of my early cherry trees have been killed by 

 gophers eating their roots off, while I seldom lose a sprout grown from 

 a grafted tree. Some object to sprouts. If hogs run in a plum 

 orchard they eat them before they get 10 inches high, and cherries 

 will sprout but little — not enough for me to supply my neighbors. 

 Plum-trees will get their full growth in about 8 years. I plant 12 to 18 

 feet apart, owing to variety and soil. Plnms budded or grown on 

 peach stock require the same kind of soil and culture as peaches. 

 Where grafted, they soon grow on their own roots. They need more 

 moist land (but bear best on dry land) and require less cultivation 

 after the second year, and are much less subject to borers. The plum 

 tree doesn't need much pruning,but more than the cherry, and not 

 one-fourth as much as peach-trees. The pruning should be done while 

 small. 



KILLING THE CURCUMO. 



If spraying is preferred, commence after the bloom drops. I 

 prefer jarring at early morning. Hogs will soon learn to follow and 

 eat more than ten times as many insects as they do in apples. Saw 

 off a limb to make a place to strike on, as it requires a sudden jar 

 to bring down the stung plum in reach of the fowls or pigs, which 

 are indispensable in the plum orchard. Where hogs and poultry are 

 not allowed to pasture, plums should be picked up. Thecurculio will 

 H— 19 



