TKe Gro^ng of E^uropean Plvims 



FOR the last few years, the growing 

 of plums at a profit to the grower 

 has been a rather difficult prob- 

 lem. It has been an even chance that, 

 if everything were taken into consider- 

 ation and all expenses reckoned up, 

 the grower would have been out of 

 pocket. Of course, there has been an 

 exceptional year now and then but, on 

 the whole, the plum business of the last 

 few years has been a financial failure. 



Those who were fortunate enough to 

 have a crop in the season of 1906 made 

 good money. Plums were in demand 

 and brought good prices. Some orchards 

 paid at the rate of $500 an acre. 



The outlook for the future seems to be 

 brighter. I am inclined to believe that 

 the growing of plums will be a paying 

 business. There are several reasons 

 that have led to these conclusions. The 

 West is rapidly filling up and that market 

 must be supplied. Other markets also 

 are opening. We are getting better 

 transportation facilities. The canning 

 industry is developing year by year, and 

 this furnishes a market for large quan- 

 tities of plums. 



Another reason that can be given is 

 that the area for plum growing seems to 

 be getting more limited. The time 

 was when plums could be grown success- 

 fully in almost any part of the country, 

 but a few cold winters played havoc with 

 thousands of trees in a great many dis- 

 tricts and growers have neglected to 

 replant for fear that the same thing 

 might occur again. The great damage 

 and destruction caused by the San Jose 

 scale has played quite a part in reducing 

 the acreage that has in former years 

 been devoted to plum growing. Thus 

 the area has been largely reduced. 



These and other reasons that might 

 be given lead us to the conclusion that 

 the growing of plums, for some time to 

 come, will be far more profitable than it 

 has been in recent years. In passing, 

 let me say that, for profit, there is no 

 comparison to be made between Euro- 

 pean and Japanese plums. Most grow- 

 ers would be far better off had they never 

 seen a Japanese plum tree. 



SELECTING SOIL AND TREES 



Plums can be grown on almost any 

 kind of soil that is properly drained, 

 but the heavier soils are preferable. I 

 would advise any one contemplating the 

 planting of a plum orchard to plant it 

 on their heavy soil, and save their 

 lighter soils for something else. 



Good, thrifty, two-year-old trees should 

 be selected, and, in no case, plant a tree 

 over two years old. Rather than take 

 them over two years old, take good, 

 strong, one-year-old trees. 



Plum growers have been seriously 



Cecil C. Pottit, Trviitland, Ontario 



handicapped by getting trees from the 

 nursery that have not been true to name, 

 oftcHtimes growing them for five or six 

 years and then finding out that they 

 have got a lot of trees that are fit only 

 for firewood. It makes pretty expen- 

 sive firewood. If nurserymen would be 

 careful only to bud their young stock 

 with buds taken from bearing trees, 

 then they would know that their stock 

 would prove true to name. The planters 

 would be sure of getting what they order- 

 ed and paid for. Nearly all nurserymen 

 take the buds from their nursery rows, 

 from trees that never have fruited, and, 

 consequently, in sending out young 

 trees very often the varieties get mixed. 



PLANTING 



The ground should be thoroughly work- 

 ed. The trees should be planted not less 

 than 16 feet apart each way; in fact, 

 some varieties would be better if they 

 were planted 18 feet. Planters in the 

 past have made the serious mistake of 

 planting their trees too closely together. 

 When we work around and spray among 

 them we see our mistake. 



Do not plant too many varieties. I 

 would name the following kinds to select 

 from : Bradshaw, Washington, Imperial, 

 Gage, Yellow Egg, Lombard, Moore's 

 Arctic, Monarch, Canada Orleans, Quack- 

 enboss. Pond's Seedling, Reine Claude, 

 Grand Duke, and Shropshire Damson. 



After the young orchard is planted, 

 thorough cultivation should be given. 

 It stimulates good hardy growth. In 

 late summer sow a cover crop for pro- 

 tection to hold the snow and to improve 

 the texture of the soil. This should 

 be plowed down in the following spring. 

 Some growers grow some kind of a hoe 

 crop between their young trees. That is 

 a matter of opinion and, of course, 

 depends somewhat on the fertility of the 

 soil. I, personally, prefer the former plan. 



SPRAYING AND PRUNING] 



Spraying should be done from the first. 

 Nothing helps trees to retain their foli- 

 age like Bordeaux, and it also keeps the 

 trees clean and free from disease. When 

 the trees get older and begin tobearfruit, 

 spraying should be done more thoroughly 

 and systematically. How often it should 

 be done in a season depends on local 

 conditions, and the amount of rot to be 

 combatted. 



Judicious pruning should not be neg- 

 lected in a plum orchard, but we fear it 

 very often is. Good, thorough pruning 

 has a great deal to do with the quality 

 of fruit grown. 



Something might be said about the 

 picking, packing and marketing of the 

 fruit; but, we feel that this article is 

 already too long. I will leave that 

 feature of our subject for another paper, 



especially that part of it that relates to 

 the putting of fruit that is too green on 

 the market. 



TKe Gooseberry 



Stanley Spellette, Nantyr, Ont 



For some years previous to last year 

 gooseberries, when mature, commenced 

 dropping off the bush till not a berry 

 was left. It was proved here and at 

 Guelph that this falling is caused by 

 the presence of a little maggot in the 

 berry. The eggs which produce the 

 grubs are deposited in the berry when 

 young by a small moth. Last year, 

 the first for years, about 50 per cent, 

 came to maturity and ripened. So I 

 am in hopes that the scourge is pass- 

 ing. One season I thought that I 

 could prevent the moth laying her 

 eggs by keeping the bush sprayed 

 with liver of sulphur, but it did no good. 



The gooseberry will thrive and yield 

 large crops upon almost any soil that 

 is enriched with plenty of manure. A 

 heavy clay loam well manured would 

 be perfection, especially for the Am- 

 erican varieties. Before a plot is set 

 to plants it should be fallowed and 

 made rich. Set native varieties six 

 feet apart each way. 



Mulching gives grand results in a 

 dry year; but for a wet season I prefer 

 cultivation. Care must be taken for 

 a few weeks, just as the fruit is form- 

 ing, not to go too deep under and 

 about the bush, especially if the weather 

 is dry. I lost three crops in this way 

 before I detected the cause. 



Native varieties do not need much 

 pruning for three years. Keep the 

 top open, and if a branch is to be cut, 

 cut it close to the stem. Allow six or 

 eight stems to grow. As soon as a 

 branch grows dark-colored and hide- 

 bound, and the fruit commences to 

 run small, cut it away and allow a 

 sucker to take its place. Fall is the 

 best time to prune, but the young 

 suckers, except those needed for re- 

 newal, should be cut away as soon as 

 they are a few inches high. 



After testing 60 foreign varieties, I 

 am convinced that none of them is 

 an improvement upon our own Red 

 Jacket, Pearl or Downing. Foreign 

 varieties have nothing to recommend 

 them but size. Their thick skin is 

 disagreeable if they are allowed to 

 ripen or nearly ripen before being 

 cooked. Red Jacket and Pearl are 

 large enough for all practical purposes; 

 in fact, they are as large as many of 

 the English varieties tested. 



The presence of large numbers of 

 robins on a lawn is an indication of the 

 presence of white grubs in the sod. 



