342 [ THE PLUM 



Prunus japonica Thumb. = P. sinensis, to which 

 belong all the numerous Japanese or Chinese plums now 

 under cultivation, all of which can be budded or grafted 

 on the same stock as our cultivated plums. They are 

 all remarkably vigorous, resisting and fertile, and seem 

 to impart their vigour to the weaker stock on which they 

 are grafted. 



The plums grown on own roots or grafted on plums 

 thrive well in all soils and in all situations which are not 

 too dry. A situation exposed to the north and somewhat 

 shaded is the best for them, and they prefer a moderately 

 moist soil, without stagnant moisture. The tendency to 

 throw up suckers is less on deep rich soils, as then the 

 root system sinks deep and the tree assumes a vigorous 

 habit, grows to its full size and is constantly fertile On 

 shallow soils which are poor and too stony, suckers are 

 thrown up in great numbers, and they quickly exhaust 

 the tree to the detriment of its vigour and fertility; the 

 tree then offers little resistance to root rot and gumming 

 and is short-lived. 



The plum grafted on almond stock grows quickly, 

 attains a large size and yields heavy crops. The quality 

 of the fruit is sometimes found fault with, particularly if 

 the tree is growing on clayey soils. The graft seems to 

 bind well with the almond stock, but there is always some 

 check in the free exchange of sap between the graft 

 and the stock. However the almond makes excellent 

 stock for all sorts of plums, including the Japanese plums 

 and is especially recommendable for plantations on red 

 soils and dry or sunny situations. 



PROPAGATION. The stones of wild plums and also 

 the stones of cultivated European plums may be collected 

 when the fruit is ripe and stratified in pots or boxes with 

 a mixture of garden soil and vegetable monld or more 

 simply with common sand, and may be sown in Decem- 

 ber or January, in soil which has been well tilled and 



