278 Plums and Plum Culture 



The several species, and the varieties of the same 

 species even, differ so much in habit of growth, how- 

 ever, that it is impossible to give any general direc- 

 tions of much value as to the best methods of pruning 

 or of forming heads. This is a subject which needs 

 to be better worked out by local experiment. We 

 should understand that we are only on the threshold of 

 intensive pomology in this country and that the refine- 

 ments of coming years will make our present practices 

 seem as crude and ignorant as those of a hundred years 

 ago now seem to us. 



Spraying. — In spite of the fact that plum culture 

 is more of a specialty than apple culture, and therefore 

 apt to be more refined in its methods, spraying has not 

 established itself so thoroughly as a part of the former 

 as it has with the latter. The reason for this appears 

 to be that the fruit grower has not been able to secure 

 the same positive results in spraying plums as in spray- 

 ing apples. And the reason for this, in turn, I 

 suspect, is that the problems of plum spraying are 

 more diverse and complicated; that they demand, 

 therefore, more detailed treatment directed to special 

 ends; and that a general, free-for-all spraying is much 

 less likely to touch the right spot. Nevertheless, it 

 has been abundantly shown in particular cases that 

 proper spraying will remedy most of the diseases and 

 stop the work of most of the insects (curculio and 

 gouger excepted) to which the plum is subject. In 

 particular, attention should be directed to the fact that 

 spraying will prevent most of the damage from monilia, 

 or fruit rot, and from the shot-hole fungus. Many of 

 the other troubles are also allayed or overcome. These 

 matters are discussed further in the chapters on dis- 

 eases and on insects. The plum grower ought to 

 spray, just as much as anyone, but it will require more 

 brains to make his spraying effective. 



