46 THE SUBURBANITE'S HANDBOOK 



zero. They may be wintered outside with a mulch of straw placed 

 around the roots. If trained to a wall they may be kept close up 

 to the wall in cool climates, but in hot climates it will be better to 

 train them to espaliers or wire trellisses to prevent them getting 

 scorched or burned. Sometimes the foliage becomes too dense, when 

 it will be necessary to clip or pinch off some of the leaves, to enable 

 the sun to reach the fruit and brighten the color. In this case NEVER 

 PULL the leaves, as doing so will injure the bud adjoining it but 

 pinch with the finger nail or clip with a scissors just below the 

 expansion of the leaf. This may seem a trivial matter, but it is 

 attention to just such trifles that make or mar success with dwarf 

 trees. If potted trees blossom in the house where no bees can get 

 to fertilize them the flower must be hand fertilized; in such cases 

 the blossoms must not be emasculated, as is necessary in hybridizing, 

 which see further on. 



PLUMS. 



The plum is a very delicious and superior fruit, but is not as 

 well known as other hardy fruits, chiefly because a number of Amer- 

 ican and Japanese plums of inferior quality have been in use. The 

 plum takes up rather more room in the suburbanite's garden than 

 some other dwarf fruits, as it is generally planted 12 feet apart, as 

 half standards, with a stem four feet high and a round head. It 

 requires little pruning. They may however be trained in the same 

 way as other stone fruit, as the peach, and may be confined to more 

 moderate dimensions by root pruning ; it bears its fruit on fruit spurs, 

 There are several varieties of plums, prunes, damsons and gages, 

 etc. I would recommend for suburbanite's use the "Prunus Do- 

 mestica" class as it includes all those of finest quality. 



THE FIG. 



The fig is a very luscious fruit to eat off the tree, but is very 

 little grown outside of California and the Southern states. It is 

 admirably adapted to the small fruit garden, where it can generally 

 be provided with shelter and does not take up much space. It may 

 be grown in pots and shifted into the cellar in the fall. The novelty 

 of growing your own figs adds greatly to the pleasure of doing so. 



