SOMETHING ABOUT PLUM GROWING 



PHIUP AUSTIN, ARKONA, ONT. 



I HAVE one block of plum trees contain- 

 ing 151 trees, seeded down to Lucerne 

 clover, from which I cut three crops of 

 grass annually. Tne trees are healthy and 

 productive, but if the land was not seeded 

 so heavily it would probably break up. 



I prefer clean cultivation, because sod 

 makes a harbor for mice, although last year 

 I had the best plums on the sod. They had 

 a better color and the trees were heavier 

 laden than where the ground was culti- 

 vated. 



Wood ashes and barnyard manure are my 

 favorite fertilizers, although I have not used 

 any for two years in the orchard, as the 

 ground has been in good heart and did not 

 require it. About 40 bushels of wood ashes 

 per acre, every other year, is sufficient ferti- 

 lizer, providing the ground is in good shape. 

 Last season I fruited 19 distinct different 

 varieties, and would pick the Burbank as my 

 business plum, it having been the most pro- 

 fitable with me. Eighteen trees yielded 

 about 50 bushels of as fine fruit as one 



would wish to see. Satsuma Blood is an- 

 other favorite. Any grower who has none 

 of these should try them. Six trees yielded 

 me over 15 bushels. They excel anything 

 I have in quality and are the best and easiest 

 sellers owing to their color. They have a 

 very small pit and thick flesh. 



The Saunders SeedKng is a plum of merit 

 owing to its earliness, coming on the market 

 when there is a demand for such a plum. It 

 is our earliest European. The Lombard is 

 a good plum, but a poor seller. 



We need something that is attractive on 

 the market, especially in a season like the 

 one just passed. It is a great mistake to 

 put plums on the market before they are 

 ready. It is a pity to see plums on the 

 market when they should have remained on 

 the trees for weeks longer. Grand Duke, 

 Bradshaw and Niagara also do well with us, 

 but do not yield as well, and hence are not 

 so profitable. Reine Claude is a favorite 

 owing to its lateness, coming when people 

 are not usually looking for plums. 



SPRAYING IN JUNE 



L. W. 



THE two important sprayings have been 

 done in May by most fruit growers, 

 viz., the one just before the blossoms open 

 and the one just after they fall. For fungi 

 and codling moth a third should follow a 

 couple of weeks later when the fruit, such 

 as apples and pears, are still small. 



Xhe dust spray is coming into favor in 

 some sections because of so much easier ap- 

 plication than the Uquid. Mr. Goodman, 

 secretary of the Missouri Horticultural so- 

 ciety, has used it altogether on 400 acres of 

 apple orchard, and is satisfied with the re- 

 sults. He claims it is safer, more easily 

 applied, costs less, takes less time, and saves 

 hauling large loads of water. He uses the 

 following formula : Lime, 30 pounds ; paris 



green, i pound; dry Bordeaux, i pound; 

 concentrated lye, pulverized, i pound; sul- 

 phur, I pound. 



For San Jose scale the lime sulphur spray 

 is being prepared with the use of caustic 

 soda to avoid the boiling, which was the 

 great bugbear in the way of its general use. 

 One formula is as follows : Thirty pounds 

 of lime, 15 pounds of sulphur, 5 pounds of 

 caustic soda, using a little hot water to 

 slack the lime, with no further boiling. This 

 is a winter or spring spray, and is mentioned 

 now because so many are interested in the 

 discovery of some method which will sim- 

 plify the preparation of this lime sulphur 

 spray, and will be interested in further re- 

 ports concerning it. 



