PLUM. 



more acid than the greengage, of 

 very vigorous growth, and o( extraor- 

 dinary excellence. 



" VVashiiifflon. — Fruit oblong, very 

 large, orange yellow, with a fine blush 

 ne.xt the sun ; Hcsh yellow, firm, 

 sweet, and excellent. Though the 

 flavour of thus is inferior to that of 

 some other varieties, it is highly es- 

 teemed as a first-rate plum. Ripens 

 about a week later than the Orleans. 



" Impcratrice. — A good plum, ri- 

 pening in October. One of the best 

 late plums. 



" Coe's Golden Drop. — Fruit of large 

 size, skin golden yellow, spotted with 

 rich red next the sun, flesh yellow, 

 sweet, and delicious. Like the pre- 

 ceding, slightly necked next the stem, 

 a clingstone, and a great bearer. The 

 best late plum. The writer has 

 measured them more than 2\ inches 

 long. 



" The Egg Plum, or Yellow Mag- 

 num Bonum, is a very large plum, of 

 a sweet, agreeable flavour ; but, as 

 the texture is rather coarse, is chiefly 

 used for cooking and preserving. The 

 same remark applies to the Red Mag- 

 num Bo?mm, which is harsh and acid. 

 These two are admired as table-fruit 

 where finer varieties are unknown. 



" The plum is propagated by bud- 

 ding or grafting. The former can 

 only be successfully practised on the 

 most thrifty stocks. 



" The principal enemy to the plum 

 is the Cureulio {Rhynchcenus pruni). 

 This is a small insect with an elon- 

 gated thorax and head, which resem- 

 bles a proboscis in appearance. The 

 whole insect is not more than a quar- 

 ter of an inch long, of a dark brown 

 colour, the sheaths covering the 

 wings, slightly variegated with light- 

 er colours. It makes a small incis- 

 ion in the young fruit, and lays its 

 egg in the opening. Its presence 

 may now be perceived by examina- 

 tion, ^ these crescent-shaped incis- 

 ions are very easily seen. The egg 

 soon hatches into a small white worm, 

 which penetrates deeper and feeds 

 upon the fruit, causing it to fall pre- 

 maturely to the ground, or if it ripens, 

 it is unsound. The worm, when the 

 606 



fruit falls, makes its way into the 

 earth, where it remains through win- 

 ter, as is supposed, in the pupa state, 

 to be transformed the succeeding 

 spring into a perfect insect, and thus 

 perpetuate its race. The easiest and 

 most effectual way to destroy them 

 is to confine a sufficient number of 

 swine with the trees, to eat all the 

 injured fruit which falls. When this 

 has been pursued perseveringly, it has 

 proved completely successful. To 

 render this operation easy and effect- 

 ual, all trees which are liable to at- 

 tacks of the cureulio should be plant- 

 ed separately, so that they may be 

 enclosed apart for the confinement 

 of the swine. 



" Another remedy is to spread 

 white sheets under the tree and jar 

 it briskly. The insects immediately 

 drop upon the sheet, and remain mo- 

 tionless a few seconds, during which 

 time they may be destroyed. The 

 operation should be repeated two or 

 three times a day so long as any re- 

 main. This remedy rarely fails if thor- 

 oughly and unremittingly pursued. 



" Trees near path doors, paved 

 yards, and other frequented places, 

 are frequently observed to be full of 

 fruit, while others are all destroyed. 

 Hence favourite trees of the plum, 

 nectarine, or apricot may be often 

 planted to advantage near such fre- 

 quented places, and the fruit will es- 

 cape. The black excrescences on 

 the branches of the plum may be pre- 

 vented by a constant and vigorous 

 excision of the affected parts, and 

 burning them as fast as they ap- 

 pear. 



"The plum is by some cultivators 

 regarded as only fitted for heavy or 

 clay soils, and some striking instan- 

 ces are given in proof; but the wri- 

 ter has seen trees in abundant bear- 

 ing year after year, and yielding fruit 

 of the finest quality, on light or sandy 

 soils. A porous earth may possibly 

 furnish a better retreat for the cur- 

 eulio ; but to what extent this may be 

 true requires farther examination." 



The plum is often brought into 

 bearing by root pruning, horizontal 

 training, and similar expedients. The 



