314 STONE FRUITS 



the Japanese plums are also widely grown. In sections 

 of the country where the conditions are too severe for either 

 the Japanese or European species, the American or wild 

 plum proves very valuable. The Wild Goose plum is also 

 an important species, especially adapted to southern Iowa, 

 Missouri, southern Illinois, and adjacent sections. The 

 Chicasaw plums are native of the Southern States and grow 

 wild from Delaware south and west to Kansas and Texas. 



Soil and Cultural Conditions. -- The plum demands a 

 heavier soil than the peach ; usually a moderately heavy 

 clay loam is most desirable. On lighter soils, the trees are 

 very subject to injury from prolonged dry spells during 

 the summer. Under such conditions the fruit is small 

 and the trees short-lived. Trees from one to three years 

 of age are selected for planting, many planters preferring 

 a one-year-old tree, as at that age they are cheaper, easier 

 to plant, and produce better formed trees. They may be 

 set from sixteen to twenty-five feet apart, depending much 

 upon the soil and variety. As many of the varieties are 

 generally self-sterile, especially in certain locations, it is 

 important to interplant them with strong, pollenizing 

 varieties that blossom at the same time. Even self- 

 fertilizing varieties seem to produce better crops when 

 cross-pollinated. 



With certain varieties of plums, thinning is very im- 

 portant. It is one method of controlling the fruit rot and 

 of producing profitable crops. Damsons and other small 

 plums are not thinned, but the larger varieties often must 

 be thinned to produce large, highly colored fruit. The 

 orchard should be cultivated and cover-cropped as with 

 the apple and peach. Although the plum will thrive better 

 in sod land than the peach, better crops will be produced 



