r8o THE FRUIT GROWERS GUIDE. 



gumming or damage to the young growths from frost. Firming loose rich soils 

 answers better than stirring them. Clayey marl mixed with light soil renders it 

 unctuous and with top-dressings of manure, good plums follow. It is not desirabk 

 to add manure to the ground at first and in stirring or trenching, the good soil should 

 be kept on the top. In breaking up grass land for plum trees it is not advisable to 

 bury the turf at the bottom of the trench ; it should not be covered deeper than is 

 necessary to destroy the herbage and insure clean cultivation. 



Aspect. The finest plums require the best aspect. South walls facilitate the ripen- 

 ing and enhance the quality of the fruits, and, therefore, such should be utilised 

 for early supplies of the choicer varieties. On west aspects the fruit is more liable to 

 crack than on east walls ; consequently varieties not liable to be influenced pre- 

 judicially by prolonged wet should be chosen, such as the Czar, Sultan, Prince 

 Engelbert, Pond's Seedling, White Magnum Bonum, Yictoria, Monarch, Autumn 

 Compote, and Blue Impe'ratrice. East walls suit all the gages, and the richly flavoured 

 Jefferson, Kirke's, and Coe's Golden Drop. North walls answer for free-bearing plums, 

 for supplying fruit for culinary purposes. Similar remarks apply to trees trained to 

 fences. 



AEBAKOEMENT or TBEES. 



Orchards. The plum does not make a large and lofty tree. For orchards in grass, 

 where calves, poultry, and sheep are kept with mutual benefit, the free-growing varieties, 

 such as the Czar, Green Gage, Gisborne's, Victoria, Jefferson, Monarch, and damsons, 

 should be planted 21 feet apart. In good soils the distance may be increased ; in firm 

 and shallow mediums it may be lessened. Orchard standards should have clear stems 

 of 6 feet. For fruit plantations where the soil is firm the trees may be arranged in 

 lines 15 feet apart for the moderate growers, and 18 for the more robust. In low 

 standard form (4-feet stems), with gooseberries and currants in the intervening spaces, 

 the trees may be planted 12 feet apart in rows 15 feet asunder. Low standards are 

 convenient and easily managed. 



Bushes and Pyramids. These are excellent for fruit plantations; 10 feet every \\-.\\ 

 is not too great a distance to allow in good soil ; in a firm medium 9 feet from tree to 

 tree answers well. If only free bearers are grown, and root-pruning is practised on 

 unruly trees, they may be 6 feet apart in rows 9 feet asunder. Pyramidal trees are 

 prodigies of fruitfulucss under the lifting treatment ; they may be planted in borders 



