174 THE PRACTICAL GARDEN -BOOK 



the Damsons, and the like; second, the Japanese Plums, 

 which have become popular within the last ten years, and 

 which are adapted to a wider range of country than the 

 Domesticas; third, the native Plums of several species or 

 types, which are adapted to the plains, the middle and 

 southern states, where the Domestica Plums do not thrive, 

 and some kinds to the cold North. 



Wherever the Domestica and Japanese Plums can be 

 grown, the native Plums are not destined to become popu- 

 lar; but many of the natives are much hardier than others, 

 and are therefore adapted to regions in which the Domestica 

 and Japanese are not safe. Others of them are well adapted 

 to the middle and southern states. The Domestica and 

 Japanese Plums are considerably hardier than peaches, but 

 not so hardy as the apple. The northern limit of their gen- 

 eral cultivation is the southern peninsula of Michigan, cen- 

 tral and southern Ontario, central New York and central 

 New England. 



Plums thrive on a great variety of soils, but they do 

 better, as a rule, on those which are rather heavy and have 

 a considerable content of clay. In fact, many of the varie- 

 ties will thrive on clay as hard as that upon which pears 

 will grow. On the other hand, they often thrive well upon 

 light, and even almost sandy soils. 



The trees are set when they are two and three years from 

 the bud. It is preferable to have Plum trees on stocks of 

 the same species, but it is not always possible to secure them 

 at the nurseries. In the South, Plums are worked mostly on 

 peach roots, and these make excellent trees where the 

 climate is not too severe, and especially upon the lighter 

 lands on which they are planted in the South. In the North 

 the larger part of the Plum stocks are grown on the 

 Myrobalan Plum roots. This Myrobalan is an Old World 

 species of Plum, of smaller growth than the Domestica. 

 This stock, therefore, tends to dwarf the tree, and it is 

 also likely to throw up sprouts from the roots. Plum trees 



