152 



THE GARDENER'S ASSISTANT. 



make vigorous shoots when the ground begins 

 to get warm after midsummer. The roots 

 develop nearer the surface than those of the 

 Apple and Pear, and therefore they do not 

 naturally require the soil to be so deep. 

 Vicissitudes of moisture and dryness are very 

 prejudicial to stone fruits, frequently causing 

 them to gum; the cause of this should be 



avoided; therefore the ground ought to be 

 trenched rather deeply, for the amount of 

 moisture in a deeply loosened soil is far more 

 uniform than in shallow, untrenched ground. 

 The subsoil should be well drained. 



The choice varieties should be accorded the 

 protection of a wall; one having an eastern or 

 western aspect is generally reserved for Plums. 



Fig. 948.— American Hybrid Plums, (j nat. size.) 



The culinary and more hardy kinds succeed 

 either as standards or bushes in the open. 



Planting. — The ground having been prepared, 

 as already directed for the Apple and Pear, the 

 distance between the trees requires to be deter- 

 mined. If they are to be planted in the open, 

 the distance for standards, half-standards, and 

 dwarfs may be from 20 to 25 feet between the 

 rows, and about 20 feet apart in the rows; or, 

 if planted in the quincunx manner, which is the 

 best, the distance between the rows being 24 

 feet, that of the trees in the row will be about 

 20 feet. If the rows are 20 feet apart, then 

 the trees in the row will be about 1 7 feet apart. 

 If espaliers are afforded for Plums in a quarter, 

 they may range about 12 feet apart from row 

 to row if the extent of ground is limited, but 

 if not, 15 feet should be allowed; in either case 

 the distance between the trees in the row ought 

 not to be less than 15 feet. Small pyramids 



and bushes may be planted from 6 to 9 feet 

 apart. Against walls the distance may be from 

 15 to 20 feet for trained trees, and 2 feet apart 

 for single-stemmed cordons. 



The trees should be planted as recommended 

 for the Apple and Pear. Mulching, in case of 

 dry weather, is advantageous; for, if the root 

 fail to supply enough sap to the tree, gumming 

 is apt to ensue. The supply of sap cannot be 

 uniform unless the moisture of the soil about 

 the roots is steadily maintained, and this is 

 done by mulching. 



Pruning and Training. — For standard trees, 

 where under-cropping is intended, the height of 

 the stem should not be less than 6 feet. By 

 depressing early the strongest and elevating 

 the weakest shoots on young standards, the 

 equilibrium of the head is maintained; or the 

 points of the strongest shoots must be pinched 

 when about a foot long. Towards September 



