162 



THE GARDENER'S ASSISTANT. 



any time. In addition to this, liquid or artificial 

 manure may be administered pretty frequently, 

 as a good crop of fruit creates a heavy demand 

 on the roots. When the fruits begin to ripen, 

 gradually dispense with overhead syringing, and 

 frequently sprinkle the paths and border sur- 

 faces with water and with old stimulants. 

 On dull or wet days a little fire -heat will 

 prevent moisture from disfiguring the fruits. 

 The best sorts for forcing are : — Early Prolific, 

 Czar, Early Transparent Gage, July Green 

 Gage, Count Althem's Gage, Reine Claude 

 Violette, Bryanston Gage, Denniston's Superb, 

 Oullin's Golden Gage, Late Transparent Gage, 

 Belgian Purple, Sultan, Monarch, Washington, 

 Angelina Burdett, Coe's Golden Drop, Jefferson, 

 Kirkes, Reine Claude de Bavay. [a. w.] 



Japanese Plums. 



In the United States particular attention has 

 been paid for some time to the Japanese Plums, 

 in the belief that they will prove adapted to 

 that country, and add a race of varieties with 

 qualities different from those of what are there 

 known as the European (clomestica) race. The 

 following is a precis of an account of some of 

 them, which was published in the form of a 

 Bulletin in 1899, under the signature of Mr. 

 L. H. Bailey. These new Plums are receiving 

 attention from British growers, and it is pro- 

 bable that some of them will before long find 

 general favour, either for their distinct flavour 

 or the time when they are ripe. It will be 

 noticed that several are recommended for their 

 keeping qualities. 



For five years and more the Japanese Plums 

 have been the subject of careful study at Cor- 

 nell, and an effort has been made to secure all 

 the varieties. During the past season the crop 

 of these Plums has been large and excellent, 

 and the following notes are made directly from 

 the fruits. We are convinced that the Japanese 

 Plums are a very important addition to our 

 orchard fruits. They will not drive other 

 Plums from the field, but they have attributes 

 which make them an excellent supplement to 

 the European and native sorts. The particular 

 merits of the Japanese Plums are their great 

 productiveness, adaptation to a wide range of 

 territory, beauty, earliness of many of the 

 varieties, comparative freedom from diseases 

 and insects, and long-keeping qualities of fruit. 

 Most of the varieties tend to overbear, and 

 good fruits can be secured only by very severe 

 thinning. This is especially true of Burbank, 



Abundance, and Red June. There is great 

 range in quality, the poorest of them being 

 inferior and the best of them nearly equal to 

 the best of the European kinds, whilst all of 

 the leading sorts are better in quality than the 

 Lombard, if they are properly thinned and 

 ripened. 



A great merit of the Japanese Plum is the 

 fact that it is adapted to an exceedingly wide 

 range of territory, in this respect excelling both 

 the domestica and native types. There are 

 varieties which thrive from Canada to the 

 southern States, and apparently from ocean to 

 ocean. There has been some complaint in the 

 Middle states and the South of loss of blossoms 

 from late spring frosts, but we have never ex- 

 perienced this difficulty . The buds start early ; 

 but in New York State, at least, the winter 

 climate holds so late that there is practically no 

 danger from the early swelling of the buds. 



The Japanese Plums are less seriously at- 

 tacked by insects and fungi than the common 

 European or domestica type is. They are not 

 entirely free from the shot-hole fungus, black- 

 knot, curculio, and other difficulties; but in our 

 experience these troubles have been so infre- 

 quent or of such minor importance as not to 

 attract serious attention. The fruit-rot is often 

 serious on the Japanese Plums, but in our ex- 

 perience it is equally or even more serious on 

 the Lombard. If the Japanese Plums are 

 properly thinned, there seems to be no unusual 

 susceptibility to the fruit-rot fungus. 



Most of the plants of the Japanese Plums 

 sold by nurserymen are on Peach stocks; and 

 on these they seem to thrive. However, we 

 find that they do remarkably well when top- 

 worked on Lombard stocks. Theoretically, we 

 are to expect the best results when they are 

 worked on their own roots; and these Plums 

 are now so extensively planted that the time 

 cannot be far distant when seed can be obtained 

 cheaply enough to warrant the raising of Japa- 

 nese Plum stocks. It remains to be demon- 

 strated, however, whether the Japanese Plum 

 roots are actually better than the Peach or the 

 domestica Plum roots. 



In former reports, we have spoken of the 

 great variation of Japanese Plums in respect 

 to the period of ripening. We find that the 

 same trees often do not ripen their fruit in the 

 same sequence in different years. In some 

 years there may be a difference of two weeks 

 in ripening between the Abundance and Bur- 

 bank, whereas in other years the very same 

 trees may ripen their fruit almost simulta- 



