NOTES ON PLUM CULTURE. 
7 
better varieties are very productive. Some show a strong 
tendency to excessive production, a habit which if allowed 
to go unchecked, not only gives inferior fruit, but tends to 
shorten the life of the tree. With such varieties systematic 
thinning must be practiced in order to insure regular crops, 
and fruit of the largest size and best flavor. Then, having 
produced good fruit, if the grower will exercise the same 
care in handling that is given other fruits, and will place 
them on the market in the same attractive packages, the 
demand which already exists will be greatly stimulated. 
PROPAGATION OF THE PLUM. 
Most varieties of plums have come to us as seedlings 
selected and retained because of their good qualities; they 
show development or variation from wild types in varying 
degree, but with all, the departure is such that we can not 
reproduce them through the seed, and in order to maintain 
them we are forced to adopt other means. 
All varieties are perpetuated by either buddin^^ or graft- 
ing, usually on plum stocks. The kinds available as stocks 
are various and exhibit as great differences as appear be- 
tween the varieties to be propagated. No one stock can be 
regarded as perfectly satisfactory for general use with all 
varieties, and it follows that care and thought must be ex- 
ercised in making choice of what shall be used. 
The character of the soil, whether light or sandy, or 
verging on the other extreme of heavy cla3^ and the general 
features of the climate will largely govern this choice, but 
consideration must also be given to the characteristicsof the 
varieties to be propagated. 
The desirable varieties have parentage in widely dif- 
ferent species, each of which has characteristics peculiarly 
its own. The derivative varieties follow more or less closely 
after the parent species, inheriting habits, likes and dislikes, 
which must be regarded if we achieve success in their man- 
agement. Even among derivatives of the same species we 
may find varieties sufficiently different to call for the use of 
different stocks and different methods of treatment. This 
would be looked for among the varieties that have been un- 
der cultivation for the longest periods, and is due to the fact 
that the variation and development from the original type 
has not been along parallel lines. Differences in climate, in 
food supply, and in general environment have led to diver- 
