STATE POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 4& 



Mr. Augur. Our experience in Connecticut might not apply well 

 here. Your own growers would be a good deal safer advisers than 

 I. And in regard to the Niagara I will say that I only speak of 

 that from reputation, and not from my own experience. The other 

 varieties we have grown, tut I hear from various quarters excel- 

 lent reports of the Niagara plum and have seen trees that impressed 

 me very favorably' with the beautiful fruit the3" bore. 



Mr. Blossom. 1 have been very much interested in the discus- 

 sion, and 1 will say to the citizens of New Gloucester that you have 

 had the pleasure of listening to a valuable discussion on this most ex- 

 cellent truit, which has been brought out since I have been con- 

 nected with the society. 



Mr. Nelson, in his wild goose chase after wild goose plums wants 

 to get the tree to bear. He has been recommended to put some Icind 

 oY a bearing tree. beside it. 1 should say top graft that tree to some 

 good variety and then he will get some plums out of it. 



According to this discussion the best way of escaping the curculio 

 is to enclose the trees in a hen yard, and that not only keeps off the 

 curculio but it keeps the ground enriched. All the fault that S3"stem 

 has is that it results in over production. I think we can put up with 

 that if we can only get good plums. 



In regard to black knot, some twelve 3^ears ago I started a dozen 

 cherry trees and about the same number of plums. The cherry 

 trees I started from three or four old trees all eaten up with black 

 knot. I took the sprouts and set them out and cut the old trees 

 down and burned them up, I don't think last year I found two 

 limbs on my twelve cherry trees that had black knots on them. It 

 was this old fashioned red cherry. I haven't bought any fancy vari- 

 eties. I like those old fashioned ones. The plum trees, with one 

 exception, the Wa!>hingion, have also escaped the black knot. On 

 the Lombard, the Im[}ei!al Gage, the Pond's Seedling, I never have 

 found a limb of black knot. I set ray trees eighteen feet apart. If 

 I was going to set another plum orchard and put a fence around it 

 to keep hens in I don't think I should plant them over twelve feet 

 apart. When they get to interfering with each other I would thin = 

 them out. 



Mr. Augur. I would like to emphasize that point. I think it is 

 an excellent one and 1 fully concur. He might graft alternate 

 branches with some oih^T variety and in that way get a good inter- ^ 



