GAGES 69 



(''Plums for profit"). Supply this in November. 

 The artificials recommended by R.H.S. for pears are 

 also good for plums. Dr Griffiths recommends cow 

 dung and a mixed manure, composed of 5 parts of 

 kainit, I part of magnesium sulphate, 2 parts of super- 

 phosphate ; 7 Ibs. of the mixture to be applied to each 

 tree in autumn, two more pounds in the spring. 



Established trees in full health need no aid in an 

 ordinary season if they carry no crop. Damsons should 

 be fed as well as plums. 



THINNING 



must be carried out severely if the crop is thick. In 

 a good plum season, only very fine and first-rate fruits 

 fetch a good price, and these can only be obtained 

 by thinning the fruit and feeding the trees. An annual 

 crop (if frost does not interfere) may then be expected. 

 Half the crop in some years should be taken off long 

 before the fruit is ripe. The jam-makers utilise green 

 and half-ripe plums. 



GAGES 



These are dessert plums, some of the highest excel- 

 lence, but they usually require a wall or the best soil 

 and situation. The demand for them is very great. 

 Preserved with proper care, they last until plums come 

 again, and often fetch a higher price than the red or 

 dark plums. 



The following are the five best : 



1. July Greengage (see before) early in August. 



2. Dennistoun's Superb (see before) mid-August. 



3. Early Transparent (see before) end of August. 



4. Reine Claude Comte d'Althann, briefly Comte 

 d'Althann, a comparatively new plum from} Bohemia. 

 First-class certificate R.H.S. " Medium to large, greyish 



