THE 



VOL. VIL] 



AUGUST, 1884. 



[No. 8. 



THE LOMBARD PLUM 



This old variety continues to be one 

 of our most valuable sorts, especially 

 for those who irrow plums for market. 

 It is said to have been raised from seed 

 by a Judge Piatt, of Whitesboro, 'Sew 

 York, from whom a Mr. Lombard, of 

 Springfield, Massachusetts, received it, 

 and brought it to the attention of fruit- 

 growers in that State. Out of compli- 

 ment to him for bringing it into notice, 

 the Massachusetts Horticultural So- 

 ciety named it the Lombard, by which 

 name it is now generally known, al- 

 though it was, even before that time, 

 cultivated by fruit-raisers on the Hud- 

 son River, and called there Bleecker'a 

 Scarlet 



The trees of this variety are very 

 healthy, vigorous and hardy in those 

 regions adapted to the cultivation of 

 this class of plums, and extremely pro- 

 ductive. The fruit may be said to be 

 of medium size and of a delicate violet 

 red colour, covered with a thin bloom. 

 The flesh is of a deep yellow, not rich, 

 but juicy, and of a pleasant flavour. 

 It lipens here in the beginning of Sep- 

 tember. Large quantities have been 

 raised at Owen Sound and shipped from 

 thence to the city markets. 



The cultivation of the plum for mar- 

 ket by our fruit-growers has been at- 

 tended with serious difliculties, which 

 have discouraged most persons from 

 making the attempt. The curculio or 

 plum weevil, a little insect with which 

 most of our readers are already too 

 familiar, has been so destructive to the 

 fruit, which it punctures and then de- 

 posits its eggs in these punctures so 

 that the young larvge may feed upon 

 the growing plums, that the crops have 

 been ruined by them wherevei- they are 

 numerous. Fortunately the \dcinity 

 of Owen Sound has hitherto been ex- 

 empt from this troublesome insect, so 

 that plum-growers there have not had 

 to contend with this enemv. In other 

 places they have been obliged to resort 

 to some methofl of getting rid of these 

 insects. The most effectual is that of 

 spreading a sheet under the tree, giving 

 it a sudden jar, which causes the in- 

 sects to fold their legs close to their 

 bodies and drop to the ground, and then 

 gathering them from the sheet upon 

 which they have fallen and destroying 

 them. In addition to this, the plums 

 that fall prematurely are gathered and 

 thrown into the fire, or scalded, so as 



