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VOL. VII.] 



MAY, 1884. 



[No. 



THE YELLOW EGG PLUM- 



The colored plate which accompanies 

 this number is an excellent represent- 

 ation of a very popular plum. It 

 has been very generally disseminated 

 throughout our Province and has been i 

 found to be specially adapted to strong 

 soils that are well drained. In soils that 

 are damp and cold it does not thrive 

 well. Nor does it seem to fruit in. 

 sandy, light soils as well as do many 

 other vaiieties, the plums frequently 

 dropping from the tree in such soils be- 

 fore they ai-e ripe, although not injured 

 by insects. 



When well grown the fruit is very 

 large, oval in form, narrowing consider- 

 ably at both ends ; and of a clear yellow 

 color, ovei-spread with a delicate white 

 bloom. The flesh is yellow, adheres 

 firmly to the stone, and when ripe is 

 sweet with a mingling of acid sufficient 

 to make it an excellent cooking plum. 

 It is much in demand for canning pur- 

 poses, making a desirable, and at the 

 same time an attractive fruit when thus 

 preserved for winter use. It is hardly 

 good enough in quality or fine enough 

 in texture to rank as a dessert plum, 



but for cooking purposes it has on the 

 whole but few equals. 



There is no doubt but that plums can 

 be profitably giown for market, if the 

 cultivator will only give them the re- 

 quisite attention. The ground in the 

 orchard must be kept well fertilized and 

 free from grass and weeds; and in those 

 parts of the country where the curcu- 

 lio abounds, the process of jarring the 

 trees and catching and killing the in- 

 .sects must be resorted to, in order to 

 secure a crop of fruit. Unless the 

 ground is well cultivated and enriched 

 the leaves will often drop prematurely 

 from the trees, in which case the fruit 

 will not ripen perfectly. It will also be 

 necessary to keep up a sharp look-out 

 for the black-knot, and to become 

 acquainted with its appearance in its in- 

 cipient stages, so that it may be prompt- 

 lycut out as soonasdiscoveredand before 

 it has burst the bark of the tree and 

 begun to turn black. By proujpt ex- 

 cision and removing the affiicted parts 

 from the orchard and burning them so 

 as to destroy all germs that could spread 

 the trouble, this enemy to plum culture 

 can be successfully kept in check. 



