44 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



I would not plow a plum orchard after the fifth jear from setting. The 

 soil then is full of roots, and the mutilation of roots by the plow would 

 be too great. The cultivator, or even a spring-tooth harrow, is to be 

 preferred. A great deal is said lately of Breed's weeder. I have never 

 seen one, but certainly if its value as a cultivator is equal to its price it 

 must be valuable indeed. Do not set poor trees. 3[oney invested in 

 such is worse than wasted. 



Perhaps no fruit grown in Michigan needs better soil or more fertiliz- 

 ing than the plum. 



I do not pick any plums until they are ripe and fit for use. 



To destroy the curculio I jar the trees, catching the insects on a sheet, 

 and of course killing them. It is advisable to burn, or in some other way 

 destroy, all fallen jjlums, thereby lessening the next generation of cur- 

 culio, though the better and more often cultivation is given the orchard, 

 the less curculio will there be. 



It is said, do not use strawy or green barnyard manure. I say, use all 

 kinds; do not think wood ashes are as valuable as they have been repre- 

 sented to be, though certainly worth appljdng. 



I have sprayed for shot-hole fungus with good effect. I have not made 

 thorough work of spraying, though, as far as I have gone, I have seen 

 no advantage in spraying for curculio. Men differ in regard to this, 

 mau}^ declaring it will certainly kill or keep off the pest. 



In plums as in all other fruit, the larger and finer they appear, the 

 better they sell. I would advise planting varieties that ripen in succes- 

 sion, from earliest to latest. Bradshaw is the earliest we h.ave in bear- 

 ing, and I think, of all plums on earth, Bradshaw is liked best by the 

 curculio. But after all the anathemas against curculio, I do not think 

 them an unmitigated curse, though they often destroy a crop of plums. 

 Yet I have known them to save the crop where the trees were over- 

 loaded, the curculio being allowed to sting them at will. The fruit was 

 thinned thereby. 



It is well known that if the plums hang in clusters, so as to touch each 

 other, they will be small and lack color as well as flavor. They are also 

 much more likely to rot, as this disease is communicable. 



I have watched the use of Bordeaux mixture by plum-growers, for the 

 rot, but have never observed any good results. 



In gathering from the tree we pick with a knife, cutting the plum from 

 the twig, never pulling them off", though this is only practiced with the 

 large varieties. As to packing, if you expect to hold your grip on the 

 market, and have anything in your pocket-book, be honest. If you care 

 nothing about your own reputation or that of your neighbors, put the 

 culls at the bottom and fine fruit on the top, and the result will be 

 certain. 



BY MR. S. D. WILLARD OF GENEVA, N. Y. 



Mr. Morrill: We have a letter from Mr. Willard which touches on 

 plums. 



Mr. Eeid: Reminding Mr. Willard that this meeting was to be held 

 in Oceana county, for which he seems to have unbounded admiration. I 



