114 THE PLUMS OF NEW YORK. 



the standpoints of size, appearance and quality. Yet there are exceptions 

 in which exceedingly fine Domestica plums are grown on light loams. 

 The Station collection of about two hundred varieties of European plums 

 is on stiff clay, but well drained, and the results are uniformly good. The 

 Americanas and Nigras grow very well on much the same soils as the 

 European sorts, speaking from the experience on the grounds of this Station, 

 for varieties of these species are not generally grown in New York. Beyond 

 question the Trifiora plums, next most widely grown in New York after the 

 Domesticas, are giving the best resiolts on light soils — those most favorable 

 for the peach. The ideal soil for this species is a sandy or gravelly loam 

 but they are growing well on soils having either more sand or more clay 

 than the ideal types. The Hortulana and Munsoniana plums incline to 

 the comparatively light types of soils named as being best for the Trifioras 

 rather than to the heavier lands on which the European plums are most 

 commonly grown. 



Plum-growers are well aware of the necessity of good drainage for 

 this fruit but few seem to realize the importance of warmth in a plum soil. 

 The plum, in common with all stone-fruits, grows best, as a rule, on 

 soils having the power to absorb and retain heat, or if the soil have not 

 these properties the location and the cultivation should be such as to pro- 

 vide as far as possible for " bottom heat." 



STOCKS AND PROPAGATION. 



A discussion of stocks naturally follows one of soils, for the two are 

 intimately related. The plum can be successfully grown on various stocks 

 and for this reason the practices of nurserymen are diverse, depending 

 upon the cost of the stocks, the ease with which they may be budded or 

 grafted and the adaptability of the tree to the stocks. Unfortimately 

 there is little experimental data to show which of the several stocks is 

 best for the different plums and since growers seldom know what stocks 

 their plums are growing upon they can give almost no information as to 

 the desirability of propagating on this stock or that. Nurser^nnen know the 

 stocks best adapted to their purpose and from them we have sought infor- 

 mation. 



A letter of inquiry sent to representative nurseryTnen in all parts 

 of the United States as to the relative merits of the several stocks for the 

 different species of plums shows that plum propagators in different regions 

 use somewhat different stocks. In New England and the North Atlantic 



