58 



at the John Innes Horticultural Institute, 

 recommended for the pollination of the 

 old greengage that Rivers' Early Prolific, 

 Monarch and Czar were good pollenizers. 

 Mr. George P. Berry, Fruit Expert to the 

 Board of Agriculture, found that in Cam- 

 bridgeshire, blocks of greengage trees 

 fruited better when in proximity to Rivers' 

 Early Prolific and Farleigh Damson. 



As with the other fruit trees, it is recom- 

 mended to plant two or more kinds of 

 plum in an orchard, in alternate rows, or 

 every second or third row, alternate rows 

 , probably being the best, apparently Vic- 

 toria is the only plum that sets equally 

 or almost equally with its own pollen. 

 The flowers of Denniston's Superb are 

 extremely rich in nectar, and is probably 

 prolific due to its attractiveness to bees. 

 The Pershore Egg Plum is strongly self- 

 fertile, and appears to be a good pol- 

 lenizer for other plums, it is recommended 

 as a good stock to work plums on as being 

 itself resistant to " Silver Leaf." 



The Pershore Purple, or Martin's 

 Favourite or Purple Egg, was raised by 

 Mr. Walter Martin at Pershore about 

 1877. The Purple Egg Plum has all the ad- 

 vantages of the Yellow Egg Plum, but is 

 also marketable when ripe, whereas the 

 Yellow Egg's chief excellence is green for 

 jam, canning, and cooking when green. 



The Flowering of Plums. 



In two years' record of the blossoming 

 of plums, made at Wye, the average dura- 

 tion of flowering of the different varieties 

 was 17 or 18 days, and the total duration 

 of flowering of all varieties was about 25 

 days, so it is the early flowering and late 

 blossoming varieties that are rpiost likely 

 to suffer from lack of cross-pollination, 

 especially if the weather is unfavourable. 

 An average from five records of the flower- 

 ing of plums made in Kent, Hereford, 

 Worcester, and Surrey was : — 



Paely Bloomers. — (1) The Japanese 

 plums; (2) Grand Duke; (3) Damascene 

 (4) Black Diamond; (5) Prince of Wales 

 (6) Monarch; (7) Rivers' Early Prolific 

 (8) Czar ; (9) Greengage ; (10) Victoria 

 (11) Drooper; (12) Pershore Egg; (13) 

 Pershore Purple. 



L.-iTE Bloomers. — (14) Bradley's King of 

 Damsons; (15) Sultan; (16) Oullins 



Golden Gage; (17) Prune Damson; (18) 

 White BuUace; (19) Pond's Seedling; (20) 

 Late Orleans; (21) Belle de Louvain. 



Another point of great importance is to 

 have bees in or within, say, a quarter of 

 a mile to carry pollen from flower to 

 flower, as from experiments with plums 

 it is found that very few fruits will set 

 if insects are excluded, and nearly half 

 the varieties seem to be self-sterile, i.e., 

 will not set fruit with pollen of the same 

 variety. 



Grease bands should be put on by the 

 end of October, to catch the Winter Moth. 

 The bands should be kept well greased till 

 after the laying period of the female 

 March Moth. 



The quantity of grease required for 30 

 acres of rather close-planted plums in 

 1920-21 cost £60— i.e., £2 per acre. 



Grease banding fruit trees was suggested 

 by a clergyman in the neighbourhood of 

 Evesham some 50 years ago ; it is found to 

 require about a ton of grease to 100 acrea 

 of fruit plantation, or 3 ozs. per tree. 



During February and March the trees 

 are sometimes sprayed with lime wash. 

 This has been found very beneficial in 

 checking attacks of aphis, the queen 

 mothers being killed. Lime spraying js 

 especially beneficial to Czar, Monarch and 

 damson trees, which are .especially sub- 

 ject to aphis. 



Arsenate of lead is used as a spray for 

 caterpillars, whilst nicotine or soft soap 

 and quassia or paraffin emulsion are used 

 to destroy aphis, but the spraying to have 

 most effect should be done as soon as the 

 first aphides are seen, and before the 

 leaves are curled. 



If trees are subject to fungoid disease, 

 such as " Mummified Fruit," or " Shot- 

 hole Fungus," the trees may be sprayed 

 with copper sulphate in late winter, or with 

 Bordeau.x mixture or lime and sulphur 

 before the blossoms open, and when the 

 fruit has set. Trees with " Silver Leaf " 

 should be destroyed, as no certain remedy 

 appears to have been discovered, and if 

 an affected tree is allowed to remain in a 

 plantation, the disease spreads with 

 rapidity, especially aanong Victorias. 



Old Damascene and Blue Diamond 

 plums, if healthy, may be rejuvenated by 

 heading the leading branches, as is the 



