PLUM 



Tin Miner like \ irietie^ iie li ir.lh to be rtistin 

 Kui^licil tit>iii the \miucinis in in\ « i) Thej lia\e 

 pi 1 til ill) tliL ^ ime ^eogiaphical range, anil may be 

 gm 11 till sum til itment m the orchiiul 



lilt \\ t\ Ian 1 ^riiup includes several varieties of 

 gri It ^ ilui I spitivlly for the '^mitli (Ittliisi Wa\ 

 land, (jolden Btautj Morem ii I Kiiivwha 



mav be mentioned The) ai nanded 



generally for localities north l nd Ne 



braska, their northern Imut 1 I 1 ss by 



their non hardiness th i 1 tl I ii„' This 



hibit of lite ripeniii i lit bloom 



iiig, makes thfin di i I iii„ 1 iiticu 



lirh in sinithfin ni ii I 1 i\ |i liti< and 



of rithi-r s]iii uliiifC hiliit, ml will lnai heading back 

 bttttr th m tilt Aniencanas The pruning knife, if used 

 111 si_ IS in mil «itli good judgment, will assist m mak 

 iiig tompiiitneh open headed and amiable trees of 

 these varieties 



The Wild Goose group includes varieties like Wild 

 (iiiose, Milton, Wooton, and Whitaker, specially adapted 

 to the latitude of Maryland. Kentucky and Kansas. The 

 same varietii-s siir.ird .mlv less well southward; but 

 are not geniT:in> \-ilii;il.lc t.. the north of this line. For 

 the section ii:iMi.-(i. tin- \;iri.'ties of this class have un- 

 questionably lirin th.- iii..,t profltable Plums grownup 

 to the present lini.'. Tli-y ;ire propagated chieHy on 

 peach, MariaiHi.i Miid Myi..li,il;in. These stocks are all 

 fairly satisfiK-t.iiy, tlvu-h m.t equally good for all va- 

 rieties ; but wli. 11 1" .1. li stoi'ks are used the union 

 should be mad.- liy whii. -^Tatting on the peach root. 

 Otherwise the peai'h stock comes above the ground and 

 is a iirey to the peach borer. The trees are mostly 

 rapid, willowy, rather zigzag growers; and are amena- 

 ble til the prnniiii,' knifi- in about the same degree as 

 the Waylaiiil II1>- iiiii- iilready mentionSd. Whit- 

 aker ni:iki-s an : : 1 f lie without much trouble. 



So dues Sopliii w I ~ more inclined to be thick 



and thiirnv in i:i' i -p "'' m iv be thinned carefully to 

 make an 'acoes.sil.!.- h...(,.l. Milton is much like Wild 

 (Joose. Wooton makes a tiuo vase-form top, which, with 

 a little timely pruning, is almost ideal. Wilder, James 

 Vick, and some others, are prone to make thick, bushy, 

 thorny tops, and are hard to manage. These varieties 

 are all considerably subject to shot-hole fungus, which 

 often strips them o"f their foliage in midsummer. They 

 are mostly thin-skinned and liable to crack at ripening 

 time, especially if the weiitluT is wet. They should be 

 picked rather green f^r liliiiip m. ilif point to be ob- 

 served being that tli. . i in,' a their full size, 

 rather than that they I r ! 



The Chicasaw vari.ih - n .i n . Hi-ctive pollinizcrs 

 for all the Wild Goose .umI .Lipau, .,,- varirtios blnoniing 

 at the same time; but very few of them liav,- snili,!,,,! 

 value in themselves to make them pnoiialiln Mnh.nd 

 trees. A few varieties, like Munson iiihI .Mn'aiini y. 

 arc still planted for their own fruit; but in gcinial 

 they have been displaced by other types of Plums. The 

 trees are mostly bushy, thorny and thick-topped, some- 

 times so thick and thorny that the blackbirds can 

 hardly get in to steal the fruit. It is dillii'ult to prune 

 them enough to mak. r. ill . ail fen. r, nais. The 

 Chicasaw Plums ari' -; ■ i ; .; . i ' southern 



states, though Potta\i i : :: allv hardy 



variety, succeeds as far taaan a- -.uiiiiaai iuwa and 

 central Vermont. Thir> piopu^ai,- i.-a,lils lui any kind 

 of stocks. 



Other types of native Plums, such as the Sand Plum, 

 the Beach Plum, the Pacific Plum, etc., arc not suffi- 

 ciently numerous in cultivation for their treatment to 

 have been determined. 



Hybrid Plums of various strains are now beginning 

 to come to the fore. Most of these hybrid varieties 

 resemble rather strongly one or the other of their par- 

 ent species; and the best that can be said regarding 

 their culture at this early day is that they may be safely 

 treated like the varieties which they most closely re- 

 semble. Wickson, President and perhaps Climax, with 

 some others, resemble the Simon Plum, and ought to 

 litivo much the same treatment, that is. practically the 

 same treatment as the .Tapanese varieties, (ionzales, 

 Excelsior, (Jolden .and Juicy, on the other hand, reseni- 



1375 



le general 



ble the Wild Goose type, and may havi 

 treatment as Wild Goose. 



All the native Plums, with very unimportant excep- 

 tions, require cross-pollination. For the most part, 

 however, they are fully inter-fertile, so that a given va- 

 riety will pollinate any other variety, providing the two 

 bloom at the same time. Simultaneous blooming is of 

 chief importance in adjusting varieties to one another 

 for cross-pollination. To determine which varieties 

 bloom together, careful observations should be made in 

 the orchard and recorded, or recourse must be had to 

 the published tables. Pollination is effected chiefly, 

 if not exclusively, by the bees, so that their presence 

 should be encouraged. 



Most of the native Plums make comparatively small 

 trees, so that they may be set somewhat close together 

 in orchard-planting, say 12 to 20 feet apart, usually 

 about 15 feet. Some varieties, particularly in the 

 South, need 20-.10 ft. space. Putting a Plum orchard 

 down tn - ra — K tini a.lMii~-ii'l. liiabr any circum- 

 stanci--: ii ■ ': • ' ■''■' ■'■ ' m iili the first of 



July, or ' i a I . Inr the native 



Plums an .--n'-ian- 1.,.: 1 i ' ■' ■ 1 1 1 iK'h latc suffi- 



mer growili. Ih^h inaiiuiiiii^ ..1 ilu .a,il i.s not usually 

 necessary, or even desirable; yet .something consider- 

 ably short of starvation will be found the best treat- 

 ment for native Plums. F. A. Waugh. 



The Phtm in California. — The cultivation of the 

 Plum in California differs widely from that in the 

 other Plum - producing sections of the U. S. Here 

 the dreaded eurculio is unknown, and while the equally 

 dangerous black -knot has been found infesting a 

 native wild cherry ( P. demissa ) it has never been 

 observed in cultivated orchards. The former has been 

 kept out by rigid inspection and quarantine regula- 

 tions, and the latter is undoubtedly held in check by 

 the existing climatic condil imis- imi ssiM- ilnness be- 

 ing unfavorable to its ib \ - l.-|.iii. iii. Urn. tin n. the 

 most delicate varieties ot ila i iM W.al.l liml a very 

 congenial home, and thi-ia Imr. unliki ibr pnvjiiling 

 custom of much of the eastern riuni-yrowiiii.', form the 

 basis of practically all orchard planting. In early min- 

 ing days the California native Plum (Prumis siibcor- 

 daia) was frequently cultivated, and before the introduc- 

 tion of European standard varieties attempts were made 

 to improve the fruit by the usual methods of selection. 

 Some very promising results were obtained; but since 



oblong. 



use of the native species. There 

 '• type being a low shrub, rarely 

 . liiiig from the ground; the fruit 

 l"ijg, "almost the shape and color 

 ipe," but the pulp is described as 

 "inferior." The other variety (Kelloggii) forms a larger 

 shrub, from 10 to 15 ft. high, with larger fniit, round, 

 yellowish in color and much more acceptable, both for 

 eating and preserving. The two varieties are usually 

 found associated, "growing in patches at the heads of 

 ravines, on rocky hillsides and in open woods." The 

 larger variety is not so widely distributed, and seems 

 to have reached its liigliest state of perfection in the 

 Sierras, where lin Si. i ra ,.,inii\ . ii 1~ -iill preferred iii 

 the local markn^ ;!. the imported 



varieties "do in>i : i ■ ■ 



With the Pbni, I :: ,,,,. .. i.- mentioned the 



"oso berri-." '.,■ ... ..! i .ihi rnuui laLsn Plum " (■'^'«'- 



tallli:.'.' ' luuli sometimes 15 ft. high, and 



found 'I .- and the north sides of hills 



from S,. I, i' [io northward." The bark is 



smooth, una h I. -• n.'.lnig that of the Plum or cherry; 

 the fruit is pbmidikr, pulpy, when ripe covered with a 

 deep blue bloom, handsome in appearance, and has 

 been used in the kitchen for making pies, preserves, 

 and the like, though it is rather bitter to the taste. So 

 far as known, no attempts have been made to improve 

 it bv cultivation. 



It seems hardly fair to make a distinction between 

 "Plums" and "prunes" in discussing this subject from 

 the California standpoint. With the exception of the 

 differences in the preparation for market, what may 

 be said of the Plum applies as well to the prune: for 

 a prune is simply a Plum which dries sweet without 



