No. 4.] PLUM CULTURE. 359 



as the European garden plums just mentioned, though the trees are 

 rather smaller and usually come into bearing earlier. The Damson 

 plums find a very ready market in New England cities, and where 

 they can be well grown are amongst the most profitable of all. 



The Japanese plums have played an almost revolutionary role in 

 this branch of fruit growing; they now undoubtedly form a majority 

 of all the plum trees growing in the State. Of these, the Burbank is 

 the most widely useful. It seems to succeed everywhere, and is a 

 satisfactory plum for both home use and market. Satsuma, much 

 prized for canning, succeeds admirably in some places and fails utterly 

 in others. It is not so hardy as Burbank. Red June, though of poor 

 quality, is early and prolific. These two qualities make it a success- 

 ful variety, and one of the most profitable for market. Abundance 

 has the best quality of any of the Japanese plums commonly grown, 

 and by many is regarded as the most satisfactory one for garden 

 culture. The tree is short lived, however, and subject to disease, 

 so that the variety could not be recommended for market gardening. 

 Chabot is one of the best late-ripening varieties. 



There are several hybrid plums of more or less consequence, — 

 chiefly less. The one most widely planted is Wickson. In some 

 places this has given promise of being a useful commercial variety, 

 but on the whole it cannot be recommended. Other varieties of 

 partial American parentage, such as Gold, Waugh, Gonzales, etc., 

 have been tested to some extent, but do not appear to be well adapted 

 to conditions in Massachusetts. 



Pollination. 

 One striking quality of the plum tree is its demand for cross- 

 pollination. There are very few varieties which will bear fruit of 

 themselves; nearly all require to have their blossoms fertilized by 

 pollen from other trees. This tendency is so striking in most varieties 

 that they will bear no fruit at all without cross-pollination, and prac- 

 tically all varieties bear more fruit and of better quality when properly 

 cross-pollinized. In order to secure this cross-fertilization, it is neces- 

 sary to have two or more varieties growing near each other. Where the 

 trees are planted in gardens, it is best to have these different varieties 

 in alternating rows. Where large blocks are being planted for com- 

 mercial orchards, not more than three or four rows of a single variety 

 should be placed together. It is important to observe that varieties 

 which are placed together for purposes of cross-pollination should 

 blossom at the same time. 



Diseases. 

 The black-knot has long been the bugaboo of the farmer or house- 

 holder who wishes to grow a few plums. Neglected trees are fre- 

 quently, or even usually, killed by this disease, and many persons 

 suppose it to be necessarily fatal to all kinds of plums. This is far 



