46 HORTICULTURE BY IRRIGATION. 



Chickesaws and natives (P. Americana) seem quite at home. Of the 

 nearly fifty varieties at Gardenside, all seem to be doing well, but not more 

 than a dozen of these varieties have yet reached the age of fruiting. In 

 addition to the new hardy sorts like Shipper's Pride, Moore's Arctic, 

 Mariana, Ogon, Boton, Primus Simoni, Wolf, Rollingstone, etc., we are 

 testing seedlings of our own, and many natives of Colorado. Some of the 

 latter are worthy of quite extended trial, and we recommend fruit growers 

 to be on the look-out for these natives, and whenever a promising one is 

 found to give it a trial. 



The varieties that have so far fruited heavily in Northern Colorado 

 are Forest Garden, De Soto, Forest Rose, Weaver, Quaker, and, in special 

 localities, Miner and Wild Goose. 



The illustration on preceding page shows a plum tree in bearing on 

 our grounds. 



A good place for a plum orchard is either within or near by a hen 

 yard, if the curculio is troublesome. Give the trees an abundance of 

 moisture, and keep the soil well enriched. If trees are so heavily loaded 

 as to endanger the limbs, thin out the fruit, and thereby increase the size 

 and improve the quality of that remaining. If several varieties are 

 grown, plant closely, as some are likely to need fertilizing while in bloom. 

 Large, vigorous trees frequently fail to fruit from lack of fertilization. In 

 all localities where the growing season is rather short, always plant the 

 early maturing kinds. Where the plum curculio is troublesome, it may 

 be destroyed or driven off either by spraying the trees with well-diluted 

 coal tar water at two or three different stages of fruit development (from the 

 time it is the size of B shot, until it is perhaps two-thirds grown), or by 

 the use of arsenical poisons, like Paris Green and London Purple, (1) as 

 soon as the buds begin to swell in spring, (2) two weeks after the petals 

 have fallen. Other similar preparations would, doubtless, be effective, 

 but care should be exercised to use at the right time and in the right pro- 

 portion. 



See paper by Prof. Cassiday. 



APRICOT, PEACH AND NECTARINE. 



These fruits are so similar in character and habits of growth that the 

 same general rules of culture will apply to all. The only important dis- 

 tinction between the apricot and the other two named, is that the former 

 not only has fruit and wood buds mixed on the shoots of one year's 



