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FRUIT GARDEN COMPANION. 



CHAPTER III. 



CULTURE OF STONE FRUIT. 



Art. 1. — On the Culture of the Plum. 



Its native country and varieties.— The plum is a 

 native of Great Britain, many parts of Europe, and 

 North America. Its species are numerous and 

 varieties undetermined. It is used in many ways 

 in domestic cookery, as pies, puddings, tarts, &c, 

 when ripe, and many varieties (the green gage par- 

 ticularly), are often used when green in tarts ; 

 the plum also is one of the best desserts of the sea- 

 son. It is preserved by drying the fruit, when ripe, 

 in an oven or the sun, and preserved with sugar in 

 the usual way. 



The culture of the plum has been, hitherto, very 

 uncertain and precarious in most places ; and, in 

 many instances, been abandoned, under the idea that 

 it u cannot be cultivated," owing to local causes en- 

 tirely discordant, either with the theory or practice, 

 of those who know anything relating to the culture 

 of the plum tree. Some assert it will not flourish 

 on the sea-shore, and others, to the contrary, that it 

 will not flourish in inland places. Heat, cold, dry 

 seasons, and the like, have been considered as inju- 

 rious to the well being of the plum. For my own 

 part, I do not think that either of these causes is the 

 true reason of its failure ; and I have had very many 

 just reasons to believe that the plum will flourish in 

 almost any district of the United States, provided 

 a proper location be chosen for it. In Albany, and 



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