THE PLUM. 



215 



rooting tree, is naturally inclined to throw up suckers, and this 

 habit is taken advantage of by market growers in various parts of 

 the country, for instance, in the Vale of Evesham the " Pershore " 

 Plum is almost always raised from suckers, as is the " Johnny 

 Koe " in Nottinghamshire, and the Damson in Cheshire. Trees 

 grown in this way are greatly inferior to worked trees, they are 

 difficult to form into shapely specimens, and the tendency to 

 throw up suckers is increased by this method of propagation ; 

 they are also longer in coming into bearing. Mr. Rivers says 

 that " Rivers' Early Prolific," when raised from suckers, does 

 not bloom for several years, whereas worked trees bloom the 

 second year. In the market gardens of Nottinghamshire one 

 often finds huge trees of Mussel and Brussels Plums, which have 

 been taken as suckers from trees worked upon these stocks, and 

 which are really only cumber-grounds, as the fruit is of little 

 value. 



The best method of propagation is by budding or grafting ; 

 the former is preferable as the union of the stock and bud is 

 closer and more natural than that of a graft, and in the case of 

 plums, not so liable to cause gumming. With respect to the 

 stocks used for working, one finds that in many nurseries, both 

 in this country and on the Continent, two or at most three stocks 

 do duty for all the varieties of plums grown, whereas in other 

 nurseries six kinds of stocks are used, viz., the Common Plum, 

 the Brussels, the Mussel, the Brompton, the Damas Noir or 

 St. Julien, and the Myrobalan ; the origin of some of these stocks 

 is unknown, but that they are of different races would seem 

 apparent from the fact that some cultivated varieties prefer one, 

 some another, whilst a few are acceptable to nearly all, and it 

 seems to me that the secret of success is to work the stock with a 

 variety which is of common parentage, or which at least has the 

 same blood in it. Let me explain my meaning by an illustration. 

 Nearly all plums will grow upon the Common Plum stock, although 

 some of them thrive much better upon other stocks. "Prince 

 Engelbert" and " Black Diamond," both large dark plums, succeed 

 well upon the Mussel stock, whereas upon the Brompton they 

 grow for a while and then pare company at the graft; the union 

 never seems complete. " Dove Bank," on the other hand, flour- 

 ishes upon both Brompton and Brussels, but will not grow upon 

 the Mussel. " Belgian Purple" will not grow upon either Brussels 



