NOTES ON PLUM CULTURE. 
13 
and leader, the cuts should be made with reference to se- 
lected buds so placed that the future extension may be in 
the right direction. During the summer, rub offshoots that 
start where they are not wanted, and pinch the tips of ram- 
pant branches. The second spring, before growth starts, 
the shoots produced the previous year should be shortened 
to encourage the production of secondary, interior branches, 
and the third year this is repeated. From now on no prun- 
ing is needed except to remove branches starting from 
wrong places, and to control the too vigorous branches. 
This is best done by summer pinching, and in general it 
may be said that the less the knife is used on plum trees, 
the better it is for the trees. Most varieties require very 
little pruning after the head is once formed. 
SOILS. 
Plums will adapt themselves to almost any soil that 
would be chosen for apples or pears. Domestica varieties 
are perhaps best on heavy clay, and choice may be more 
restricted with them than with most other sorts. The native 
varieties are suited to a wide range of soils, but no tree will 
do well on wet mucky soils, and as the plum is a rank feeder 
and a heavy bearer, the soil must be of good fertility. 
Colorado soils are in general well adapted for the plum, 
but even on the best, good cultivation and the systematic 
application of fertilizers is to be recommended. 
IRRIGATION, 
PTequency in the application of water is so entirely de- 
pendent upon the character of the soil that no rule can be 
made to govern it. How best to irrigate must be learned 
by experience for each orchard. In a general way it may be 
said that young trees require more water the first season 
than is necessary in succeeding years. Trees that are bear- 
ing, however, should receive almost, if not quite as much, as 
young trees; it is necessary for the best development of the 
fruit. 
The soil of our station orchard is quite compact; water 
does not spread quickly, and each irrigation is prolonged 
for a greater time than would be necessary on more porous 
soils. When water is available we aim to apply it once in 
