APPENDIX. • 137 



Seedling Plums msby often be set in forest plantations, 

 whsre they will arcnerally give a few ci-ops of fruit and at ttie 

 same time give needed shade. For this purpose small seedlings 

 should be used, which are very inexpensive. 



Plum Pocket. — Recent experiments with a similar disease 

 of peach trees known as the "leaf curl," in which the leaves in- 

 stead of the fruit becomes swollen, indicates that Bordeaux mixt- 

 ure will prevent it. For this treatment spray the trees before the 

 leaves appear with thick Bordeaux mixture, 1. e., made of 5 lbs. 

 lime. 5 lbs. sulphate of copper, and 25 gallons of water ; and after 

 the flowers fall with Bordeaux mixture made of 2 lbs. of lime, 

 2 lbs. sulphate of copper, and 50 gallons of water.- A further appli- 

 cation may be necessary if the weather is rainy, but if dry the 

 latter will be found sufficient. 



In addition to the above treatment it is desirable to pick and 

 destroy the plum pockets that appear. 



Plum Leaf Aphis, commonly called "leaf lice," is frequent- 

 ly troublesome, and occasionally appears in such large numbers as 

 to seriously check the growth of trees. Tobacco water, kerosene 

 emulsion and similar materials often hardly appear to have any 

 effect when lice are very abundant, as the leaves curl up and pro- 

 tect the lice so they are not easily reached. At such times it Mall 

 be found that tobacco smoke is a most valuable and certain rem- 

 edy. In applying it a tent made of unbleached cotton large enough 

 to cover the tree should be used. The best form for this tent is 

 bag-shaped, and large enough to easily take in the tree. The tent 

 should be fastened at the bottom to a hoop made of gas pipe. In 

 operating the hoop-tent the hoop is lifted up on its edge, close to 

 the tree, and gradually lifted up over it, the slender long side- 

 branches being pushed inside the tent. When the tree is finally 

 enclosed tobacco smoke is applied until the tent is filled with 

 smoke so thick that the hand cannot be seen before the face, when 

 it is allowed to thus remain for 15 minutes, which is long enough 

 to kill all the lice. There is no danger of injuring the tree if the 

 tobacco does not flame up. To prevent this the tobacco used 

 should be dampened. The most convenient form of tobacco to use 

 is leaf stems which come from cigar factories. These can be ob- 

 tamed very cheap. 



A tent that v/ill answer the purpose very well may be made 

 out of two large pieces of cotton cloth supported on a light wooden 

 frame. Where the trees are very large, i. e., require a tent more 

 than 14 feet in diameter, a piece of one-inch rope will be found to 

 work better than a gas-pipe hoop to hold the bottom of the tent. 



The Identification of Plums is more easily accomplished 

 by the pits (stones) than by any other portion. These have very 

 strong individuality, and wid often serve to make identification 

 sure when every other mcars fail. A collection of the pits of 

 named varieties of plums is desirable for a horticulturist and is 



