FRUIT CULTURE. 



Knight's Monarch, Nouvelle Fulvie, a delicious late Pear ; 

 Bergamotte d'Esperen, another prolific bearer ; Beurre 

 Ranee, Olivier de Series, Ne plus Meuris, Passe Crassane. 

 Easter Beurre and Doyenne d'Alencon are i he latest of all. 

 The last mentioned cannot always be depended upon to 

 produce a satisfactory crop, for though it is one of the last 

 Pears to ripen, the tree is invariably in flower very early — 

 one of the first, in fact, and so the blossoms are liable to 

 suffer from frost. 



Catillac, Verulam, Vicar of Winkfield, and Uvedale's St. 

 Germain are the best stewing Pears, the first-named, perhaps, 

 the best t if all. 



THE PLUM. 



This is one of the most esteemed of hardy fruits, and there 

 are many forms of it — Buliace, Damsons, and so forth. 



Propagation. — The usual w ay is by budding and graft- 

 ing, and sometimes by suckers and seeds. It is for raising 

 stocks that the latter method is usually employed. Plum 

 stocks are required in large numbers, for they are used for 

 grafting Peaches, Nectarines, and Apricots, besides Plums. 



if, however, the variety is weakly, it should be budded or 

 grafted higher up the stock. 



It is important to carefully distinguish between a wood 

 bud and a flower bud, and to insert only the former when 

 performing the operation of budding in July. Stocks upon 

 which it is intended to graft should be cut down early in 

 January, and also cut the scions then and lay them in the 

 soil on a north border, until required for grafting in March. 



The Plum is not fastidious as to soil, providing that this 

 is of ordinary fertility and the subsoil is not wet and cold. 

 The fruit produced on trees which make a strong growth in 

 too rich a soil is not of such a line flavour as that upon 

 trees of moderate growth in lighter soil. The roots of the 

 Plum do not go very deep, consequently a great depth of 

 soil is not necessary. In soil that is trenched the roots w ; ll 

 naturally extend farther than in soil not dug; and in the 

 former case the trees would not be 'liable to suffer so much 

 from drought in a dry season ; it is important, therefore, to 

 well prepare the soil before planting. To have the finer 

 dessert Plums in perfection, the trees should have wall 

 protection, and in cold, bleak situations a southern aspect is 



THE FAMOUS VICTORIA PLUM. 



Suckers should not be used for producing stocks, as the 

 tendency of the Plum to form numerous suckers would then 

 probably be still further increased 



Damsons are often raised from stones, and the Green 

 Gage Plum comes fairly true in the same manner. The 

 stones may be placed in a prepared bed of soil outside 

 when taken from the fruit, or may be kept in dry sand and 

 sown in November. The seedlings ought to be ready 

 for transplanting in the winter following their first year's 

 growth into rows 3ft. apart, there to remain until large 

 enough to be budded or grafted. The green tops of the 

 leading shoots should be cut off, and, after another year's 

 growth has been made, the stem pruned down to the two or 

 three lowest buds ; the best shoot from these is selected the 

 next spring, and the other two pinched off. When trans- 

 planted the previous autumn, the tap root requires 

 shortening. The best stocks for the Plum are the While 

 Pear Plum, St. Julien, and Mussel. As mentioned when 

 writing of the Pear, if the variety to be budded or grafted is 

 a strong - growing one, the scion may be worked on the 

 stock low down, and itself form the stem for a standard tree ; 



required. The majority of our Plum trees are planted 

 against walls facing east, and a few varieties upon north 

 walls — this in the South of England. 



The Plum tree succeeds well as a standard and bush in 

 the open, although the blossoms are very liable to be 

 nipped by spring frosts. On several occasions disappoint- 

 ments of this kind have been experienced. Those on walls are 

 easily protected when in flower, and a crop is almost always 

 to be depended upon. Another method to be recommended 

 is to train Plum trees against espaliers, made by stretching 

 stout wires between poles 6ft. high. Standard Plum trees 

 are generally planted about 20ft. apart, and espaliers and 

 wall trees I 5ft. 



Mulchings of manure are most beneficial In the Plum, 

 especially in dry seasons. The roots, being for the most 

 part near to the surface, quickly suffer, and such a state of 

 affairs tends to produce the gum disease so prevalent 

 amongst Plums and Peaches. The stem of standard trees 

 should be not less than 6ft. high ; this and the first branches 

 of the tree may be formed in the same manner as advised 

 for the Pear. 



