58 



Remarls on the Black Wart of the Plum Tree. Vol. XL 



From Downing's Horticulturist. 



Remarks on the Black Wart of the 

 Plum Tree. 



In a recent number of the Boston Culti- 

 vator, there appeared a reply to the question 

 of a correspondent, ^^for a remedy for warts 

 on Plum trees" in which the editor recom- 

 mends the use of salt, and cites the practice 

 of Dr. S. A. Shurtliff, of Brookline, who, he 

 says, "excels in raising plums; his trees 

 being free from black warts," etc. I may 

 fairly claim to have had some experience 

 with salt, as I have probably used as much 

 or more of this article in the cultivation of 

 the plum as any individual, having applied 

 in February, 1845, five hogsheads on an 

 acre, and the year previous about one-third 

 of this quantity; and for the last two sea- 

 sons, my trees have produced greatly, par- 

 ticularly the Green Gage Plum. 



My main object, however, in writing you 

 at this time, is to give you an account of my 

 trees as they appeared this spring. Soon 

 after the flowering season, I observed a 

 great number of the warts or excrescences, 

 of a light brown colour, upon the branches — 

 in many cases, to an extent of at least ten 

 inches in length — breaking out generally 

 upon the joints. They are not confined to 

 those shoots of small growth, but I find them 

 upon strong and weak shoots indiscriminate- 

 ly. I have carefully cut at least fifty of 

 these excrescences, and have not been able 

 to detect a single loorm or insect. That an 

 insect may be sometimes found in these 

 knots, would not be surprising, as they are 

 of a softer nature when they first appear 

 than the bark, and insects may then find it 

 a good situation for their eggs. But I do 

 not believe they are produced by one, and 

 least of all the curculio. My fruit has been 

 most satisfactorily preserved for two years 

 past, from the curculio, by the use of salt. 



The varieties of plums which have been 

 the most affected by knots this season with 

 me, are the Frost Gage, Prince's Imperial, 

 and the Red Gage ; the Green Gage but 

 little affected; Roe's Autumn Gage only 

 somewhat touched by the disease. Those 

 not at all affected are Dana's Yellow and the 

 Wilkinson Prune, a large oblong blue free- 

 stone, a native of Beverly, Mass. 



I ventured to suggest, in the " Book of 

 Fruits," that these knobs may be produced 

 somewhat as the excrescences are, which 

 we find upon the Azalea or Swamp Pink, 

 by an extravasation of sap. My opinion — 

 and we all have a right to that — now is, that 

 it is caused by a diseased state of the sap ; 

 and as Governor Lincoln said of the potatoe 



rot, " it is death to the plant at last, if not 

 cut off." I trust that the Horticulturist will 



contain the opinions of your cultivators and j 



yourself on this subject. I have cut from ! 



about fifteen trees as much as could ba | 



wheeled in a common garden barrow, of , 



limbs, &c., containing these unsightly ex- ] 



crescences. , 

 Yours truly, 



John M. Ives. , 



Salem, Mass., July SOth, 1846. ; 



Remarks. — Two of our correspondents, ' 

 who are very acute observers and zealous ; 

 cultivators, are pursuing a series of experi- \ 

 ments with a view to clearing up the un- 1 

 certain state of existing information respect- ! 

 ing this disease, which is fatal to the Plum i 

 tree in some parts of the country. We ■ 

 hope by the close of this year, to be able to : 

 lay before our readers some interesting re- ''- 

 suits on this subject. 



If we recollect rightly, Dr. ShurtlifTs ' 

 practice was the application of brine to the < 

 wounded branch, after the wart had been \ 

 cut out. 1 



The Plum is naturally a marine tree, and i 

 it is surprising how much salt it will assimi- i 

 late and thrive upon. We have, ourselves, ; 

 given a single large tree a half bushel of \ 

 salt in a season, applied to the surface of the i 

 ground in the spring, over an area as wide ' 

 as the extent of the branches. The tree ] 

 was in a sickly and enfeebled state, and it ; 

 had the effect of restoring it to a healthy ' 

 and luxuriant condition. But we considered i 

 this an extreme case, and should not recom- \ 

 mend the abundant use of salt every year. ' 



Mr. Ives' garden, as we know, is raiher ■ 

 celebrated, in a neighbourhood not remark- 

 able for plums, for its abundant production i 

 of this fruit ; and he attributes it to the de- : 

 structive effects of the salt on the curculio. | 

 This coincides with our own experience. — ' 

 Ed. of Horticulturist. 



Chicken Salad. — Boil a chicken that i 

 weighs not more than a pound and a half. ' 

 When very tender, take it up, cut it in | 

 small strips, and make the following sauce \ 

 and turn over it : boil four eggs three min- j 

 utes — take them out of the shells, mash and I 

 mix them with a couple of tablerspoonfulls ' 

 of olive oil, or melted butter, two-thirds of, 

 a tumblerfull of vinegar, a tea-spoonfull of' 

 mixed mustard, a tea-spoonfull of salt, a j 

 little pepper, and essence of celery, if you | 

 have it — if not it can be dispensed with. In \ 

 making chicken salad, the dressing should : 

 not be put on until a few minutes before the i 

 salad is to be eaten ; as by laying in it the | 

 chicken and celery will become hard. ; 



