344 [ THE PLUM 



take two or three years to reach the proper size for 

 grafting. It is also possible to bud the branches of the 

 wild plums in spring or summer, and in the following 

 winter whether the buds have pushed or not, the branches 

 are made into cuttings which will root all the same. In 

 this way the operation of budding is anticipated, and in 

 spring the energy of the cutting which is emitting roots 

 will go to the development of the graft, so that nice 

 budded plants will be had in the same year. This 

 method is used by French nurserymen for the propagation 

 of the plum and apricot on plum stock, and has been tried 

 here with good success. The same method has been 

 applied by some growers for the propagation of the pear 

 on quince stock. 



Continental nurserymen have a ready way to raise 

 large quantities of wild plum stock. The practice known 

 by its French name rectpage, consists in topping the wild 

 plum from 5 to 10 c.m. above ground ; in the following 

 spring many suckers and shoots are thrown up from the 

 stump and around its base, and these shoots are earthed 

 up with a mixture of garden soil and old manure or leaf 

 mould, and moistened frequently with water during the 

 active period of their vegetation. In winter it will be 

 found that all the shoots are well provided with roots, and 

 can be separated from the mother plant and planted at 

 proper distance in the nursery. The process is repeated 

 for two or three years in succession until the mother plant 

 shows signs of exhaustion and then a shoot may be 

 allowed to replace the mother plant, and in the following 

 year, if sufficiently strong, the operation may be renewed 

 on the new stem. This method is % never practised 

 purposely by our gardeners, but in cases of failure of 

 cleft grafting on quince and plum stocks the shoots which 

 spring up from the base or around the stock are earthed 

 up, and the rooted shoots or suckers are separated in 

 the following winter and used as stock in the same way 

 as ordinary suckers. 



