94 DWARF FRUIT TREES 



old branches. The main object, therefore, with these 

 latter varieties is to maintain a succession of clean, 

 sound, well matured shoots. This is done by a mod- 

 erate thinning of the main shoots early in the year, 

 resulting in the forcing of those which are left. These 

 strong growing shoots are checked late in the summer 

 in order that they may ripen up thoroughly, but the 

 pinching which is done to this end is delayed long 

 enough so that the pinched shoots will not start into 

 growth again. Moreover, this pinching is done well 

 out to the ends of the shoots. 



Certain varieties of plums succeed fairly well as 

 vertical cordons. The varieties least adapted to this 

 purpose are the Hortulana offspring and their hybrids 

 and a few of the rank-growing Japanese, like Hale and 

 October Purple. In the dwarf tree garden at the 

 Massachusetts Agricultural College the writer has a 

 row of plum trees containing a large assortment of 

 varieties and species. These trees were picked out 

 at random from various sources and very few of them 

 were propagated on dwarfing stocks. On this ac- 

 count the trees were set two feet apart, which is more 

 than is usually recommended for upright cordons. 

 They have now been growing three years, and they 

 furnish much interesting testimony regarding the 

 feasibility of growing plums in this form. Contrary 

 to expectation such varieties as Red June, Abundance, 

 and Burbank have done well under this treatment. 

 These varieties all fruited the next year- after planting. 

 Some varieties of the Domestica group are bearing 

 the third year after planting, which is unusually early. 



