CHAPTER XV. 

 THE PLUM AND DAMSON. 



The plum is a delicious and valuable 

 fruit, but is rathei' irregular in bearing; 

 sometimes the crop is short owing to frost 

 or cold winds at blossoming time ; at other 

 times it is almost too abundant, and is 

 liable to glut the market, in which case 

 the prices are often very low. 



The large importation of French green- 

 gages and German " Switchen " plum 

 used to lower the price, so that our 

 earliest plums, especially Rivers' Early 

 Prolific, sold at a lower price than they 

 otherwise would. 



In the case of gluts in market, the 

 general organisation of fruit distribution 

 is at fault, and salesmen are i:)artly to 

 blame for not making sufficient enquiry to 

 ascertain where the fruit would be readily 

 saleable, when their own market is 

 glutted. Sometimes while plums were 

 being sold wholesale in one market at hd. 

 per pound, in another part of the country 

 within 100 miles, the retail price was 5d. 

 or 6d. a pound, which limited the con- 

 sumption among the working classes, and 

 was prejudicial to the grower, as the high 

 price lessened the demand for the fruit. 



The plum tree thrives in most parts of 

 the country, though some districts are 

 especially favourable. Thus around Eve- 

 sham and Pershore, in Worcestershire, it 

 thrives specially well over a clayey loam 

 containing plenty of lime. Lime is said 

 to be important to all stone fruits. For 

 market work, plum trees should only be 

 planted on suitable soil, and on a site 

 reasonably immune from frosts. Some 

 growers prefer a S.E. and even N.E. 

 aspect. 



The trees chiefly planted are half-stan- 

 dards, the distance apart being 15 to 18 

 feet, according to the strength of the soil, 

 with gooseberries, currants, or vegetables 

 between. 



At Pershore, egg plums are planted 

 about 16ift. apart, Prolifics 18ft. and 

 Monarch 21ft. 



Plums do well planted and treated as 

 bush trees, planted at a somewhat smaller 

 distance apart. Plums are not well suited 

 to the cordon system of cultivation, they 

 do not approve of spur pruning. 



The trees should be pruned into shape 

 when young, for 5 or 6 years, after which 

 the removal of large boughs is apt to 

 cause gumming. 



Among the manures in common use in 

 the Evesham and Pershore districts may 

 be mentioned soot, leather waste, bone 

 and meat meal and shoddy. 



Where plums are cultivated for market 

 in Worcestershire, a good dressing of 

 lime, say one ton per acre, every other 

 3'ear, is found to be very beneficial. 



On soils requiring phosphates, super- 

 phosphate or basic slag should be sup- 

 plied, and some form of potash where this 

 ingredient is not in sufficient quantity for 

 the soil. The varieties chiefly grown for 

 market in Kent are Rivers' Early Prolific 

 (the earliest English plum), Czar, 

 Monarch and the ever faithful Victoria. 

 In addition to these, around Evesham and 

 Pershore the Pershore Egg, the Per- 

 shore Purple, Prune Damson and Belle 

 de Louvain are grown. The Pershore Egg 

 is cultivated in enormous quantities. One 

 peculiarity of the Pershore Egg and Per- 

 shore Purple plums is that they come true 

 from sucker, and are found very suitable 

 stocks for other plums. 



Some varieties, such as Rivers' Early 

 Prolific, set their fruit better if there is 

 a row of another variety planted, alter- 

 nate rows or every second, third, or 

 fourth row, to ensure perfect cross- 

 pollination. 



In pollination trials with plums in the 

 U.S.A. it was found that variety affinity 

 exists, i.e., with certain plums one 

 kind of pollen proves a better ferti- 

 liser than does the pollen of another 

 variety; thus Mr. G. Sherrard, from trials 



