CHERRIES AND PLUMS IN POTS. 
117 
The directions given for the culture of Cherries may also be employed 
successfully with Plums ; but different species of fruits should, if possible, 
be grown in separate houses or compartments to avoid their requirements 
clashing at any time. As with Cherries, many Plums will hang on the 
tree under glass for a very long time, especially the late sorts : they shrivel 
slightly and become bags of honey. The bloom on the fruit is very 
strongly developed under glass, and is quite firmly fixed, not being easily 
rubbed off. An ample selection may be made from the following sorts : 
' Stint,' the earliest, a pretty yellow Plum mottled with red, which must be 
picked directly it is ripe ; ' Early Prolific ' (or 'Early Rivers ' ), a round deep 
bluish-purple Plum ; ' Czar,' large, oval, reddish-purple ; ' Mallard,' deep 
purple ; ' Oullin's Golden Gage,' very large, oval, rich yellow ; ' Denniston's 
Superb, Early Transparent ' and 'M'Laughlin's,'all fine Gages of agreenish- 
yellow colour blotched with purple and red ; ' Jefferson,' golden yellow spotted 
with red; 'Kirke's,' roundish, dark purple, covered with a heavy blue 
bloom; 'Belgian Purple,' a round dark purple Plum; 'Golden Transparent,' 
described by its name; 'Late Transparent,' purple, the leaves of which 
have a curious habit of curling inwards to the midrib, and thus exposing 
their under surface w^hen the fruit ripens (this must not be mistaken for 
want of water) ; ' Coe's Golden Drop,' oval Avith a short neck, a yellow Plum 
with dark red spots ; and ' Decaisne,' large oval skin, bright yellow, with 
a dense green grey bloom, both of which hang especially well ; ' Reine 
Claude de Comte Atthems,' a large red Gage which does not hang long ; 
'Monarch,' a very large purple Plum; 'Reine Claude de Bavay,' a late 
Greengage ; ' Grand Duke,' an oval purple Plum which carries an extremely 
heavy silver-blue bloom ; ' Primate,' very large, bright purplish- red ; and 
' Rivers' Late Orange,' of a glowing yellow orange colour. The flavours 
are very diverse and pleasing : they seem to be enhanced and at the same 
time refined by the additional sun and warmth under glass. Trees 
studded with their different coloured fruit make an orchard house quite 
as beautiful as is a conservatory of flowers. The Japanese Plums, so 
largely grown now in America, but which cannot be called a success with 
us in the open, I thought at one time would prove an acquisition in the 
orchard house, but they are not. Perhaps we have yet to discover the 
secret of their culture. 
With both Cherries and Plums the glass should be shaded by 
syringing with whitewash when the fruit is ripe. The direct rays of 
the sun are too scorching if the summer be hot. 
