EIGHTEENTH ANNUAL MEETING. 127 



The next fruit in order is the plum, and the cultivation 

 of that is quite similar to that of the cherry. 



I have a plum orchard that has been planted not less than 

 12 years, wherein I planted currants. The plum trees are 

 too close. I planted currants in the rows of trees and then 

 planted a row between. After a few years I took out the 

 center row. We have been feeding- them heavily with manure 

 and they have borne excellent crops. From an acre and a 

 quarter I sold in one year between $500 and $600 of plums 

 and $150 of currants. I think this will be the last year I can 

 raise the two and have thought so for several years, and then 

 when I pick the crop of plums and currants and see what a 

 vigorous growth the trees are making, I think there is no 

 harm in leaving the currants another year. As a rule, though, 

 we don't let our currants stand so long; usually by the time 

 our orchards are in bearing we have removed our small fruit 

 and that gives our tree fruits a better chance. 



As to the pear, we are growing that to some extent. The 

 interest in pears is not nearly as great as it was a few years 

 ago. The apple seems to be crowding everything else out. 

 We know the apple is the king of fruit and it fills a place that 

 other fruit cannot fill. The other fruits have their place, 

 and I believe the outlook is now good for anyone who will 

 plant pears and care for them carefully. It is perhaps a dif- 

 ficult fruit to grow, as the blig^ht is an enemy of it. In the 

 last few years we have culled out a great many varieties sub- 

 ject to blight and by a little careful management, seeding 

 down our pear orchards after they had been bearing, we have 

 reduced it and also have been using lime and sulphur. I am 

 not merely speaking of my own experience, but that of other 

 fruit growers. 



In my own case I have not lost two trees out of a thou- 

 sand, and only saw one blighted limb in my orchard this year ; 

 last year did not have any. I am not positive that lime and 

 sulphur did it, but I think it has a great deal to do with it. 



