«a6 



I'LUM, APRICOT AND NECTARINE. 



tion so derived into practice. I had already 

 a few plum trees standing near my farm 

 buildings, and I immediately planted others 

 there, so as to make a small orchard of that 

 spot, entirely devoted to plum trees ; add- 

 ing, by wray of experiment, a few apricots 

 and nectarines. I ought to say that I had 

 hitherto failed, if possible, even more com- 

 pletely with these two latter beautiful fruits 

 than with the plum. 



In this small orchard of stone fruit trees, 

 comprising, altogether, perhaps thirty trees, 

 at fifteen feet apart, as soon as the trees 

 came into a bearing state, I directly turned 

 my hogs. I took the precaution, (by the 

 by, a most necessary one, every year,) to 

 have the trunks of the trees closely boarded 

 round, about three feet high, to prevent the 

 hogs from barking them, as they certainly 

 would. The first year the trees set only a 

 tolerable crop ; some of the curculio marks 

 being visible on the fruit. But the second 

 year I had a fine crop, and every year since, 

 without a single exception, I have been able 

 lo gather a good crop of very fine plums. 

 The apricots and nectarines have borne 

 equally well, though sometimes the fruit of 

 the latter tree has shrivelled from some 

 cause unknown to me. 



To be more definite, I ought to add that 

 I have found it best to allow the hogs to 

 " have the run" of the orchard for stone 

 fruit all the year, with the exception of 

 about two or three months. I shut them 

 out as soon as the fruit is fully grown, and 

 begins to turn colour, and approach matu- 

 rity. This enables me to put the orchard 

 in something like a visitable condition for 

 any of my family who themselves wish to 

 gather fine and luscious plums, apricots and 

 nectarines. I keep the hogs out until the 

 latest ripening plums and nectarines are 

 past, when they are again allowed free 

 i«ange of it. In order to accomplish this 



exactly to my mind, I have my hog pen 

 proper on one side of the orchard, with two 

 doors ; one door leading into the orchard, 

 and the other into a small enclosure or yard, 

 which they have the run of only when they 

 are shut out of their regular quarters — the 

 orchard. 



As I understand it, the hogs in the out- 

 set devour all the plums, &c., that drop 

 from the trees in June and July, (as all the 

 insect punctured ones infallibly do.) In 

 this way, they effectually prevent the in- 

 crease of this insect ; since, if the fruit is 

 allowed to remain on the ground, the young 

 maggots soon leave it and go into the 

 ground, where they stay till the time comes 

 round for them to rise out of it to sting the 

 fruit again. By continually rooting in the 

 soil, the hogs not only keep it mellow, 

 and, in the main, free from weeds, but 

 they destroy any grubs of insects that still 

 remain in it ; while the manure they fur- 

 nish to the trees appears to be very much 

 adapted to promote their growth, and keep 

 them in good health. 



I cannot, of course, undertake to say that 

 in a crowded neighborhood, much infested 

 with the curculio, this mode would com- 

 pletely answer the purpose of securing a 

 good crop, because it is well known that 

 this insect is somewhat migratory, though 

 I think it never flies far. But I can say 

 that at my place, some miles distant in the 

 country, where, however, all the farmers 

 round cultivate the plum unsuccessfully, I 

 have had very full success by following the 

 mode pointed out. 



I have observed, in a previous number 

 of your journal, that both a correspondent 

 and yourself recommend depositing a pile 

 of fresh stable manure round the trunks of 

 plum trees, just before they come into 

 blossom, or soon after, in order to prevent 

 the insects from attacking the fruit by the 



