i888. 



POPULAR GARDENING. 



71 



In closing this, however, we caution every- 

 one from going South mth the expectation 

 that success awaits them without using their 

 brains and hands. 



Fruiting the Native Plums. 



D. B. WIER, LACON, lU.. 



Mr. Henry Lutts in your September issue 

 writes of the Wild Goose Plum: " It is per- 

 fectly hardy here, blossoms freely, but fails 

 to fruit heavy through not fertilizing weO. 

 I have it from good authority that by plant- 

 ing other varieties of the same xprcics (near 

 it) this defect may be rcmerlied." 



The italics and parentheses are mine. Mr. 

 Lutts has been wrongly informed according 

 to my '2.5 years' experience with this Plum. 



The Wild Goose belongs to the southern 

 type or so called species of Native Plums 

 known as the Chicka.saw (Frunus Chicasa) 

 and is not fertilized or pollenized by other 

 varieties of that species here, or at least by 

 none of the many varieties I have tried it 

 with, namely. Newman, (a typical variety of 

 the race) Golden Beauty, Peach Leaf, etc. 



But its flowers in '2-i years have never 

 failed of being fully fertilized by the pollen 

 of the Miner in bloom quite near it. The 

 well-known Miner shows a complete cross 

 or hybrid between the Chickasaw and the 

 Northern Wild Plum ( 7'. Americana,) and 

 so far as tried here it is fertile with and fer- 

 tilizes all the Native Plums that are infer- 

 tile with their own pollen. The Miner is 

 generally barren with its own pollen, but 

 enormously productive when growing quite 

 near the Wild Goose and (so far as tried) all 

 other races, species and families. 



Therefore, when I am asked how to fruit 

 the Native Plums abundantly my direct 

 answer is: Plant them in rows running 

 with the direction of the prevalent winds of 

 Spring, with the trees not over six feet 

 apart in the row and every third tree a 

 Miner. The rows may be 1.5 to 20 feet apart- 

 This places trees of all the varieties we wish 

 to plant within six feet of a Miner. Proper 

 fertilization is the one and oniy secret or 

 necessity in fruiting the Native Plums. 



I have here trees of Miner and Wild 

 Goose growing so that theii- branches inter- 

 mingle that this past summer matured 

 their twenty-third crop in succession with- 

 out a failure, and also other trees that have 

 done the same thing where both were top- 

 grafted on the same tree. Therefore all 

 barren, isolated Native Plum trees can be 

 rendered fruitful by budding or grafting 

 the right varieties into their uppermost 

 branches. 



Which would be the right varieties? 

 Time and a vast amount of experimenta- 

 tion alone can determine. I have fruited 

 thousands of varieties of them here, and 

 the best rule I can give, and it is good 

 enough for the present, is to plant with the 

 Miner as above, also bud and graft with it. 



The Native Plums, such as we have now, 

 are a fruit of the greatest value, especially 

 for the Northwest, and are destined to be the 

 parentage of the finest and most valuable 

 of all our fruits. Therefore we should all 

 endeavor to learn their absolute require- 

 ments for fruiting. 



Last winter, at the request of Prof. C. V. 

 Riley, Chief of the Entomological Division 

 of the United States Department of Agri- 

 culture, I prepared a paper giving my 

 studies up to that time on " The Native 

 Plums and the Plum Curculio." 



This paper shows that the Plum Curculio 

 has practically nothing whatever to do with 

 the very general barrenness of these Plums, 

 and gives proofs and reasons in detail. The 

 present season's observations have con- 

 clusively proven my position in every par- 

 ticular. The article is published in Bul- 

 letin No. 14, and is now ready for free dis- 

 tribution, and can be had by addressing 



the Department. Or what is very much 

 better, I will mail the Bulletin from here 

 on receipt of 2.5 cents, with my answer to 

 Prof. Riley's criticisms on my paper, with 

 proofs and new valuable facts. 

 The facts now seem conclusively to show: 



1. That the Curculio does not to any in- 

 jurious extent breed in the Native Plums. 



2. That eggs laid in these Plums do not 

 prevent their reaching maturity. 



3. That she lays her eggs in them in 

 preference to most other (perhaps all) fruits. 



4. Where these Plums are fruiting in 

 great numbers in masses near together, 

 they bear great regular crops and protect 

 other fruits from the Plum Curculio, and 

 practically exterminate that insect. 



Red Raspberry Culture for a Near 

 City Market. 



Favorable soil and climate aside, the 

 principal requisites for success in profitable 

 Red Raspberry culture are a good market at 

 no great distance, and a good supply of 

 pickers in the neighborhood. It is a fruit 

 that does not stand shipping well, being apt 

 to become mushy , which renders it imsalable. 



Enough pickers should be near at hand to 

 get the berries very promptly picked at ,1ust 

 the right time. Especially is this true in a 

 rainy season, for then often it is necessary 

 to push the picking to the utmost; if picked 

 when wet they spoil very quickly, and if 

 left on the bushes a day too long in wet 

 weather they get overripe and soft, making 

 it next to impossible to get them put up in 

 good shape. If pickers are rather scarce 

 they are apt to get tired of picking and de- 

 mand higher prices as the berries begin to 

 run small, which is always the case in a dry 

 season. We find it a good plan to pay only 

 a part, say two-thirds of their earnings each 

 day, with the understanding that faithful 

 picking to the end of the season is necessary 

 tor securing the balance. We make sickness 

 and sometimes other good causes for quitting 

 earlier an exception to this rule frequently. 



A gravelly soil inclining to sand is the 

 best for this crop, although it can be grown 

 successfully in most any soU, except a stiff 

 clay, if it be thoroughly underdralned and 

 worked. It is not necessary that the soil be 

 very rich at the start, for manure can be 

 applied to rather better advantage after the 

 first season's growth. 



The plants should be set 1)^ to 3 feet apart 

 in rows 5i< to 6 feet apart. Great care must 

 be taken when setting the plants not to 

 allow the roots to dry at all, as they are very 

 easily injured. It is not advisable to plant 

 on a drying, windy day, unless the roots are 

 puddled or planted out of water. Root ex- 

 posure in a wind for but ten minutes may 

 work injury to cause the difference between 

 success and failure. A good way of planting 

 is to put the spade in the gi'ound 8 or 10 

 inches and move it back and forth so as to 

 leave a hole 2 inches wide and as long as the 

 width of the spade. A boy can follow with 

 the plants, placing one in each hole, drawing 

 the soil in with his foot and treading it 

 firmly on each side of the plant with his heels. 



At the end of the first season the plants 

 should be heavily mulched with manure, 

 which will serve the double purpose of 

 fertilizing the plants and smothering any 

 weeds that escape the hoe. If well planted 

 and cared for a light crop can be picked the 

 following year. No pinching back should 

 he done in the summer, as that causes the 

 canes to send out laterals which do not 

 ripen, but all canes should be cut back in 

 winter or early spring from H to 18 inches, 

 according to the strength of the canes and 

 the amoimt of manure given them: the 

 stronger the canes and the more manure 

 used the less cutting back is necessary. 



After manuring in the fall the soil should 

 be thrown up to the row on each side with 



the plow and in the spring this soil can be 

 used to cover any weeds not smothered by 

 the manure. By working and hoeing the 

 ground away from the row during the com- 

 ing summer it will get pretty well leveled 

 down and will be ready for the annual fall 

 mulch of manure and plowing. If any Blue 

 Grass or other biennial weeds should have 

 gotten a start an extra heavy mulch of ma^ 

 nure on them will destroy them at much 

 less expense than is possible with the hoe. 



If well cared for and kept clean a Red 

 Raspberry plantation can be left for a num- 

 ber of years. The only disadvantage of an 

 old plantation is that Blue Grass is apt to 

 take possession of it, and the annual plowing 

 to the rows inclines to make the soil too 

 high along the row. 



For marketing, this berry should invaria- 

 bly be put in pint baskets, in which shape 

 they will usually bring considerably more 

 than enough to pay for all extra cost of the 

 baskets. The crates should hold from 12 to 

 .3li pints, to suit different customers, and 

 must be made so the baskets will fit snugly 

 to avoid chucking. The berries should be 

 picked every day to command the highest 

 prices, and should be placed in the retailer's 

 hands immediately after picking if practical. 

 A temporary packing shed should be erected 

 near the middle of the patch for convenience 

 in packing, keeping accounts of pickers, etc. 



Currant Culture for Market. 



E. MOBDE.V, NIAGARA FALLS SOrTH, ONTARIO. 



The largest crop of Currants may be 

 looked for (m a deep, mellow clay loam. 



They do fairly well upon a great variety 

 of soils, but a dry sand will not produce 

 very large crops. There is very little dan- 

 ger of making the ground too rich, or of 

 ploughing it too deeply. They may be 

 planted 4x4 or 4x5, and cultivated both 

 ways. After the ground is carefully 

 marked, I use a narrow one-horse plow, 

 the landside of which coincides with the 

 mark. By passing the plow two or three 

 times along the furrow we secure sufficient 

 depth. At each cross mark a two year cur- 

 rant bush is dropped and a man passes 

 along and plants them with great rapidity 

 by using his feet. The furrow is readily 

 filled in later on with the cultivator. 



A plantation of Currants or Raspberries 

 should not be continued for more than 8 or 

 10 years. This is one of the secrets of suc- 

 cess. How often we hear the amateur com- 

 plaining of the miserable crops of Currants 

 and Gooseberries from those old rows. He 

 expends much labor and much manure and 

 gets a small supply of small fruit. Plant 

 anew, and dig up that mass of roots dead 

 and dying. Black Currants are not gener- 

 ally a success upou our soil. 



Of the Red Currants I have grown the 

 Raby Castle, an English variety, for a dozen 

 years with much satisfaction. It is a rapid 

 grower and inclines to take the tree form. 

 Its foliage resembles that of the Black Cur- 

 rant, and it is held through the heat of 

 summer until late in autumn. It therefore 

 ripens its fruit perfectly and holds till late 

 in the season, when we have a ready sale. 

 This variety should succeed in the South. 



It is by far the most productive Currant 

 that I know of. The fruit is not as sour as 

 most others, and is not much larger than 

 the Red Dutch. 



The tree form is very convenient in culti- 

 vation and in picking. Such trees of course 

 begin to fail in T or 8 years. Then we dig 

 them out and rely on later plantings. 



I grow about a ton of Currants annually, 

 and find them more reliable than any other 

 fruit, and about as profitable. We must of 

 course poison the worms. To do this we 

 need Hellebore. The modem mixture sold 

 is remarkable for its mildness. 



