PEACHES, PLUMS AND CHERRIES 329 



to 40 per cent, is lime. Where the water of wells or springs coming from the 

 soil, is soft or but slightly hard, the orchard needs lime to be supplied. This 

 substance dissolves rather freely in the drainage water and is, therefore, sub- 

 ject to constant waste. Wood ashes and lime should be broadcasted at the 

 rate of 500 pounds per acre annually, and this dressing will be of the greatest 

 benefit to the crimson clover now so commonly used in the orchards." Our 

 own opinion is that no peach or other orchard would need so frequent an ap- 

 plication of lime, and that the above amount in connection with grass in the 

 apple orchards and the annual clover in the peach orchard during the latter 

 part of the season, would be ample for all needs \i applied once in three years. 

 These remarks in regard to the fertilization of the peach are equally applica- 

 ble to the fertilzation of orchard trees of any kind, and the lime is even more 

 important in the apple and pear orchard than in the peach orchard. 



THE PLUM. 



While the statement that plums require a heavier soil than peaches is 

 true, especially of the European (or Domestica) sorts, the Japanese and 

 American varieties will thrive on a great variety of soils, and we have seen 

 them bearing heavy crops on a deep sand. Many nurserymen bud their plums 

 entirely on peach seedlings, but this has one difficulty. While the peach 

 stock makes a vigorous tree it is just as liable to the peach tree borer at the 

 crown of the root as the peach ; hence many have begun to use the Marianna 

 plum as a stock and find that it is better than the peach, as it thrives on a 

 greater variety of soils and resists the borer better, while it has root develop- 

 ment enough to promote a vigorous growth. The budding is done in August, 

 at the same time the general budding of the peach is done, and the buds re- 

 main dormant till the following spring. Some nurserymen insert buds of the 

 plum and peach in June and get a small growth the same season, but the 

 practice is not to be recommended as a general rule, though careful growers 

 can make just as good trees from the little June-budded stocks as any, and for 

 our own planting we rather prefer them ; but the average planter had better 

 take the yearling trees. In planting, we prune the roots to four to eight 

 inches long. The finer rootlets will have all dried and become useless and 

 new roots are produced on the ends of the clean cut roots sooner than from 

 the dried up fibres. The peach and all other fruit trees we treat in the same 

 way. Of late years there has been a great deal of controversy over a method of 

 planting advocated by a grower in Texas. He prunes off all the roots of the 

 tree and leaves only a stub 3 or 4 inches long. He then makes a hole with 

 a crowbar in the sod, sticks the tree in and rams the earth to it. He claims 



