CHAP. VII.] 
THE PLUM. 
209 
old wood. The whole of the fruit is also 
generally suffered to form* and is thinned 
out while it is green, in May or the begin¬ 
ning of June, as green apricots are generally 
thought delicious in tarts. The best apricots 
are the Moorpark for the table, and the 
Breda for preserving. This last is frequently 
grown as a standard. Large branches, or 
rather arms of apricot-trees, particularly of 
the Moorpark, are very apt to die off without 
any apparent cause. The finest apricots I 
ever saw were grown on a tree trained against 
a cottage, the owner of which was an old 
woman, who took in washing, and who was 
in the habit, nearly every day, of pouring 
down about the roots of the tree a quantity 
of soap-suds. Apricot-trees should be twenty- 
five feet apart, as the tree spreads rapidly, 
and does not bear cutting in. 
The Plum .—No plum-tree, except perhaps 
the green-gage, should be planted on a south 
wall; and, as a north wall is too cold for 
the finer kinds, they do best planted against 
a wall facing to the east or west. Any com¬ 
mon garden soil will suit plum-trees; and 
when the soil appears exhausted, it may be 
p 
