PLUMS AND DAMSONSROOT PRUNING AND MANURING. .87 



before the leaves full, for the admission of light to those remaining, is about all the 

 pruning required. If it be thought a little subsequent pruning is desirable, the sooner 

 it is done after the leaves fall the better (page 165, Vol. I.). 



Root Pruning. This method, if practised for checking exuberance, must be carried 

 out with great care and judgment. Severe root pruning may cause the loss of a con- 

 siderable part of the branches. When the shortening of strong roots is necessary, let it 

 be done early in the autumn. Be careful to cut the ends smoothly, and not to bruise 

 or damage other parts of the roots, or a profuse crop of suckers may follow. 



EOUXINK OPERATIONS. 



Manuring. Manures applied from the fall of the leaf in autumn to the swelling of 

 the buds in the spring should be of a durable nature. 



1. Chemical manures host suited for the plum are ground bones or coprolites, and 

 kainit; say three parts bone meal and two parts kaiuit, by weight, mixed and applied 

 in the autumn as soon as the leaves have fallen and the pruning is completed. After the 

 prunings have been burned and the ashes sprinkled on the ground, the mixture may be 

 applied at the rate of 5 hundredweights per acre, 3^ pounds per rod, 2 ounces per square 

 yard, pointing in very lightly. The mixture accelerates root formation, and sustains the 

 crops, for it lasts more than one year. 



2. Stable or farmyard manure, reduced to a workable condition, but not to a close 

 soapy mass, may be applied in the autumn, or before the end of February, at the rate of 

 20 tons per acre, 2 hundredweights per rod, 9 pounds per square yard. It should be 

 distributed evenly and left on the. surface where the roots are matted, otherwise pointing 

 in lightly early in the spring. These manures supply nutrient elements, and encourage 

 surface roots. 



3. Liquid manure from cesspools that receive the drainings of stables and cow- 

 houses enriches the soil when applied in the winter, at which season the liquid may be 

 used stronger than in summer. It should be well stirred. If thick and strong it may 

 require twice its bulk of water, that is, one part thick liquid and two paits water. If 

 applied to an orchard during the winter it makes a difference in the growth and crop of 

 the trees the following summer. About 3 gallons may be applied to each square yard. 



Although it is often convenient to apply manures in the winter season, it is more 

 economical to afford the needful nourishment when the trees can make the best use 

 of the elements for building up their structures, and in the swelling of their crops. 



B B 2 



