130 THE PLUM IN KANSAS. 



ground. The people who give free run to their poultry, and those as 

 well who keep it confined, if they have ground room suitable for the 

 growth of plum trees, are throwing away dollars in not planting plum 

 trees. Under right management the fruit can be made to pay for the 

 keep of the hens, leaving all returns from them net profit. Plums 

 cannot be successfully grown in all localities, but there is no question 

 about their success within the territory above named., and every one 

 can have the profit of theip who will reach forth his hand to take it." 



PLUMS IN THE CHICKEN YARD. 



A writer in the Indiana Farmer says: "Theories vanish by the 

 side of facts in every avocation. I have at the present writing three 

 Robinson plum trees loaded with ripening fruit and two others with 

 not a plum left. The five trees were set on the same kind of ground 

 seven years ago and have had the same culture. The same results 

 have been derived for the past three years, the three trees bearing a 

 full crop of sound plums, and the two a crop of wormy fruit — worth- 

 less. The three fruiting trees are in the chicken yard ; the others 

 outside. The ground in said yard is not plowed, but early in the 

 spring is swept and kept hard and smooth. Under these trees I scat- 

 ter bran and screenings, and 'biddy' does the work of eating the 

 pestiferous insects. While looking for the little seeds and specs of 

 bran she garnishes her food with the spicy curculio. I know this to 

 be true, for I have the evidence. Now, for seven varieties of plums, 

 I must speak a good word for the Robinson. It always produces. I 

 have Wild Goose, Marianna, English Blue, Lombard, Prunus simonil, 

 etc., but the Robinson gives me the only crop in this year of 1898. I 

 have been out with saw and lumber this morning and propped up the 

 limbs that are hanging almost to the ground with tempting fruit. 

 Even the chicken yard is not a sure defense with other varieties this 

 year, but the Robinson, where plenty of fowls are enclosed and fed, 

 will not disappoint the planter." 



CHICKENS IN THE PLUM ORCHARD. 



One cannot live on a fruit farm and allow the chickens full range 

 during the summer, for they are very destructive to grapes and the 

 smaller fruits. As one of our plum orchards extended quite close to 

 the chicken-house, we decided to fence off one part of the orchard with 

 six-foot wire netting, with the following results : Plums have been 

 almost a total failure with us for the past three years, except within 

 the part fenced off. Some trees within the chicken yard bore as high 

 as five crates last year, while all bore a good crop. The row just out- 

 side of the fence bore perhaps one-half of a good crop, while the next 

 row and the remainder of the orchard bore from a few boxes to noth- 

 ing at all. Trees within the yard this spring are looking much brighter 



