PLUMS AND CHERRIES 171 



yard. For the best results with plums the soil 

 should be fairly rich and in texture a clay loam 

 — although I know of some splendid plum 

 orchards planted on very sandy soils. The 

 cherry is at its best in a warm sandy loam and 

 some varieties refuse to live on a diet supplied 

 by clay soils. In the case of both fruits the 

 subsoil must be of a loose nature ; hard imper- 

 vious subsoils are always to be avoided for 

 they perhaps cause more failures than any 

 other factor which enters into the game. Trees 

 of plum and cherry are usually planted at from 

 one to two years of age, depending upon the 

 variety. Strong growing sorts often produce 

 good-sized vigorous trees at one year while 

 slow growing kinds take longer. As with all 

 other fruits, the younger the nursery tree the 

 greater the chances of getting it to grow, when 

 transplanted. 



The question of stocks is one which the plum- 

 and cherry-grower must consider much more 

 carefully than does the peach or apple orchard- 

 ist. There has been in the past, and still is. 

 for that matter, a great deal of confusion re- 

 garding the correct stocks on which to work 

 these two fruits. In the case of plums the cor- 

 rect stock — or rather the ideal stock — has prob- 

 ably not yet been found. It may be that some 

 of the recent importations from Asia may 

 prove to furnish the best root system for this 



