FRUIT FOR THE SMALL GARDEN 137 



SECKEL. Fruit small but very sweet and melting. One of the best. 

 KIEFFER. Large; golden yellow when ripe; juicy, with Quince flavor. 



October and November. 

 SHELDON. Large, russet and red; aromatic flavor; rich and delicious. 



October and November. 

 BEURRE d'ANJOu. Large and handsome; flesh melting, extra fine. 



November. 



Pears should be gathered as soon as the seeds are black, and 

 stored in a dry, airy room until fit for use. 



No garden is complete without a few Plums, so useful for table 



and culinary purposes. The Japanese Plums are wonderful bearers, and 



produce* annually large quantities of fruit. Their abundance makes 



it necessary to thin out the fruit to prevent rotting in clusters on 



the branches. Plums are not particular as to soil, as 



PLUMS their roots spread so much nearer the surface than 



Apples or Pears, and any fairly good loamy soil that 



is well drained will produce fine fruit, but cultivating around the 



trees is very beneficial. Plant early in the Fall; be liberal with the 



spade, make large holes, spread the roots out evenly, and plant firmly. 



Plums should not be pruned except for conserving the "shape of 

 the trees, particularly the Japanese varieties, which usually grow 

 very strong the first season, and pruning back is a temptation, but 

 if pruned they only produce another strong growth. If left alone 

 they will form fruit buds all along these strong growths and so check 

 excessive vigor. Plums are the earliest fruits to flower, and a shel- 

 tered position should be given them, or plant them on a northern 

 exposure where the buds will be retarded until danger of freezing is 

 past. Spraying, to be effective, should be done very early, and again 

 as soon as the blossoms fall, because the fruit is eaten without removing 

 the skin. Plums intended for the table should be allowed to ripen 

 fully on the tree, but for preserving and culinary purposes they may 

 be gathered earlier. Should Plums insist on making a strong, rank 

 growth, the best remedy is root pruning. Lift the trees in the Fall 

 and shorten back all strong roots, keeping the roots exposed as short 

 a time as is possible to complete the work. 



Some Plums can be raised successfully from seed, the Greengage 

 being one of these; but they are usually budded or grafted on the 

 wild Plum stock. 



The curculio is the worst pest we have to deal with, and the 

 only way to fight this insect is to gather up all the fruit which falls 

 prematurely and burn it, as in these fallen fruit the larvae remain 

 until full grown, when they eat their way out and enter the ground, 



