PLU 



469 



PLU 



old buds may be taken from them and which would be destroyed by sliorten- 



inserted on older trees early, to ascer- 



So that, after haviiirr shortened 



tain the value of the fruit. At two years the first and second year's shoots occa- 

 old they are also fit to be stocks for sionally as above, and thereby procured 



budding or graftin 



Grafting and Budding. — The former 

 is to be done in July or March, and the 

 latter in July or August. 



Suckers. — Damsons and bullaces are 

 usually raised in this mode, without 

 grafting or budding 



a proper set of lower horizontals, to 

 give the head its first form, let the 

 whole then be trained in entire, about 

 four, five, or six inches asunder; and, 

 according as the trees shoot every sum- 

 mer, train in a necessary supply of the 

 regular shoots to fill the wall, &c.; at 



Layers of the young wood may be the same time retrench superfluities and 

 made at any time between November irregular wood — still at full length ;it 

 and March. In twelve months they are the above distance. For all plums bear 

 established, and maybe separated from principally upon spurs half an inch or 

 the parent. | an inch long, arising from the sides of 



" Planting and Culture. — The season the branches, from one or two to many 

 for planting all the sorts of plum-trees, years old. When trained, always at 

 is anytime in open weather, from the ' full length; but, if shortened,' they 

 fall of the leaf until the approach ofl would throw out a multiplicity of nsc- 



vegetation in spring 



" The trees of all the varieties will 

 succeed in any common soil, and in any 

 open exposure. Those for walls should 

 generally have an east or southwest 

 wall for some of the choicest sorts ; and 



less wood, and hardly any fruit-spnrs. 



" The wall and espalier plum-trees 

 should be pruned every summer and 

 winter. 



" Standard plum-trees may be trained 

 both as full standards and half-stand- 



some may also be planted against a ; ards, budding or grafting the former 

 north wall, to furnish some late fruit; ' six feet high, and the latter only three 

 and those for espaliers may be planted , or four; or both kinds may be worked 

 around any of the open quarters, as low in the stock, and the first shoot 



may also the standards. 



trained to those heights for a stem, 



" Plant the wall and espalier trees then let them branch away and form a 

 eighteen feet distance; though if the head. These standards may be planted 

 walls, &c., are rather low, twenty feet both in the garden and orchard, at from 

 distance will be requisite, that, in de- • about twenty to thirty feet distance." — 

 fault of a proper height of walling, there j Abercrombie. 



may be more scope to train the branches 

 liorizontally. If the trees thus planted 

 are quite young, being only of one 

 year's shoot from the grafting or bud- 

 ding, they should, in March, be headed 

 down to four or five eyes, to force out 

 lower horizontals in the ensuing sum- 

 mer, which, according as they advance 

 in length, train them in horizontally at 



Forcing. — To obtain an early crop, 

 in March or April, trees planted in 

 large tubs are to be preferred ; but for 

 the general crop, in May or June, the 

 trees are best planted in the borders of 

 the stove. Mr. Loudon says that : — 



" For a crop to ripen in the second 

 week in May, the house must be co- 

 vered in early in January, commencing 



full length, unless you would forward a \ with a temperature of 42^ of Fahrenheit 



further supply of lower branches as fast for the first fortnight; after which the 



as possible, when you may pinch the heat may be gradually raised to .52', at 



young shoot, in May, down to a few which it may continue until the flowers 



eyes. Each will throw out several late- make their appearance. During this 



rals the same year, which train also time frequent changes of air must be 



horizontally at full length during the admitted to strengthen the bloom ; and 



summer's growth; and in winter pruning the crop will be rendered more certain 



cut not only any fore-right and back 

 shoots, but train in all the regular ones 

 at full length ; for the branches of these 

 trees must be shortened only occasion- 

 ally, to procure wood to fill vacancies; 

 because the branches always form fruit 



by keeping the trees in blossom, as long 

 as possible, by ligJit shading where ne- 

 cessary; and when the petals begin to 

 fall, gentle dews may be raised from the 

 surface of the mould. As the fruit 

 forms, the thermometer should be raised 



spurs first towards their extreme parts, to 5S'^. This must be done gradually, 



