98 SUCCESSFUL FJiUIT CULTURE 



ing the same tendency to produce only a few shoots the 

 first and second years. It is always better to stop these 

 strong, leading shoots during the summer than to let 

 them grow till fall and then cut them off, thus wasting 

 considerable wood growth which, if it had been dis- 

 tributed to the lateral branches, would in a year or two 

 develop into fruit buds. In this work of pruning the 

 aim should be to obtain stocky, low-headed trees that 

 will carry a heavy load of fruit and not break down 

 and be so low that all the work of thinning, spraying 

 and harvesting may be easily and cheaply done. 



Age of Bearing The Japanese varieties may be 

 expected to produce some fruit two years from planting 

 and full crops in three or four years, the European will 

 bear in from four to eight years and the American in 

 about the same time, but all varying much in time, 

 according to the variety. 



Thinning the Fruit All varieties of plums have 

 the tendency to overbear, and it becomes an absolute 

 necessity to thin severely if good fruit is expected and 

 the trees are to be saved from injury by overbearing. 

 When the fruit is from one-fourth to one-half of 

 an inch in diameter all imperfect and insect stung 

 specimens should be picked off, one plum ^nly being 

 allowed to remain on each spur and these not nearer 

 than from three to five inches apart, according to the 

 variety and the grade of fruit desired. If the plums 

 are grown for canning purposes more fruit should be 

 allowed to remain (a small plum is generally preferred 

 for this purpose) than if fine table fruit is desired. The 

 fruit generally grows in clusters and care is needed in 

 this work that all of the plums on the spur are not 

 pulled off at the first effort, but by turning each plum 

 carefully backward from the cluster all but one may 

 be removed without injury to the rest. The earlier 

 this work can be done the less will be the strain on 



