110 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
iiamon russet, resembling in this respect, the Doy¬ 
enne gris, reddened to the sun and greenish in the 
shade; stem three-fourths of an inch long, thick, 
curved, slightly sunk; calyx reflexed, in a moderate¬ 
ly deep basin; flesh very buttery, melting, rich, 
perfumed, of excellent flavor, equalled by very few 
sorts. It ripens early in autumn, before the usual 
pear season, which increases its value. The growth 
is vigorous. Dr. Kirtland states that l( in hardi¬ 
ness and productiveness it far excels the parent 
Seckel; and in point of flavor it is esteemed as su¬ 
perior by many people.” 
!( Mulching Cherry Trees. 
Cultivators have often lost newly transplanted 
cherry trees by the drouth of summer, after they 
have come out finely in leaf, and given promise of 
vigorous growth. We believe that no tree is more 
benefitted than this by mulching, or shading the 
soil with a thick coat of leaves or litter. During 
the past very dry summer, some very decided proofs 
of its eminent advantages were furnished, where 
dwindling trees were speedily restored to health and 
thriftiness, where neglect had not proved fatal. A 
Cincinnati correspondent of the Horticulturist, who 
remarks that u nature always mulches,” states that 
by low heads, shaded position, and thorough mulch¬ 
ing, he has succeeded in raising flourishing trees in 
that unfavorable climate, where formerly he had lost 
every one the first or second season. 
Notes on Plums—The Curculio. 
I. Elfrey, or Elfrey’s Prune, of Downing. 
I think this plum is not sufficiently known. It is 
a thrifty, hardy seedling, which bears most abun¬ 
dantly. It is well, though very briefly described 
by Downing. Its fruit, when perfectly ripe, is 
nearly first rate. Considering also, its slight expo¬ 
sure to the curculio, and its adaptation to sandy 
soils, it certainly should rank with the best varieties. 
I know of two families who cultivate the finest va¬ 
rieties of plums, who yet prefer the Elfrey to every 
other, as a constant dessert plum. 
There are two facts in regard to it, not noticed in 
any of the books. The one is, the depth of its su¬ 
ture, on one side, extending often quite to the stone, 
even in the largest and most luscious specimens. 
The stone, too, as has been observed, frequently 
splits into two "when the plum is opened. The other 
facts relate to the shape of its buds. These are 
blunt at the base, and the whole bud appears as set 
on mechanically. 
This plum is very little liable to rot in hot and wet 
weather. 
II. A Plum without Name. 
I found on the grounds which I occupy, a plum 
which I consider very valuable, especially as a mar¬ 
ket plum, and which I cannot identify with any 
name in the books. As it produces the same from 
the suckers, it is of course a seedling. 
The tree has a most perfectly wild appearance. 
It is a slow grower, dwarfish, hardy, has a broad, 
spreading, very close head, with small, wiry, and 
rather drooping branches. It is slightly thorny; 
and was mistaken by an intelligent grafter, for a 
wild thorn, and as such was actually grafted with a 
pear scion. 
Fruit, smallish, round, with a slight suture on one 
side; colored like the JBleecker, (Lombard of Dow¬ 
ning,) covered profusely with a very white bloom. 
The whole fruit, when divested of its bloom, is ex¬ 
March, 
ceedingly like the Lombard, only rounder, and with 
a little more acid next the stone, and a little later. 
Other valuable points of this Plum:— 1. Hardi¬ 
ness. 2. N early an annual bearer. 3. It matures 
its fruit when profusely bearing, better than any 
plum of my acquaintance. 4. The tree is scarcely 
at all liable to the black knot. 5. It is equally safe 
from the curculio. 6. It flourishes in a sandy soil. 
7. The limbs never break with over bearing, even 
when the fruit lies in actual heaps upon the tree. 
8. The fruit never rots. Eatable specimens were 
found, on the ground, under my trees, as late as the 
22nd of October. 
III. The Curculio. 
In the absence of novelty on this subject, corro¬ 
boration may be valuable. 
With an assistant, I spread two large sheets of 
white cloth under the tree, jar the tree suddenly, 
and kill the insect by a pinch of the thumb and fin¬ 
ger. Three or four visits to the tree, after the cur¬ 
culio begins, have been found sufficient. To jar the 
tree, I use a stick made like a short flat ball club,, 
covered with three or four thicknessess of carpet. 
With this in one hand, applied to a limb, and struck 
with a stone hammer in the other, the insect can be 
brought down with great certainty, I began with 
a long club covered with carpet, but found it bruised 
the bark quite frequently. 
To perfect this plan, I would cover a square frame 
of poles with white cloth, leaving a slit in one side 
to the centre of the frame, so as to admit the tree. 
The labor of taking care of a large plum orchard 
during the short season that the curculio works, is 
nothing to be compared with the value of the fruit 
saved. It should be known that plums, already 
stung, may be saved by cutting out the egg with the 
point of a sharp pen-knife. The curculio with his 
proboscis, turns up a little lip of the fruit, and lays 
his egg in its centre, where it may be seen like a 
minute drop of water. When the egg hatches, 
which it does, in a very short time, the worm drops 
down into the cavity made by the turning up of the 
lip, and finds his way to the centre of the fruit with, 
incredible swiftness. 
IY. Plums Killed by fresh Stable Manure. 
Having read, somewhere, that fresh stable ma¬ 
nure put around fruit trees in flower, would repel 
the curculio, I put some around my plum trees. As 
I had to take the manure when it was offered for 
sale, I was obliged to apply it a little earlier than I 
desired. Soon after a heavy rain fell, washing, of 
course, the soluble portion of the manure dowm up¬ 
on the roots of the trees. Quite a number of valua¬ 
ble bearing trees died outright, and numbers more 
were seriously injured. This was dear bought ex¬ 
perience. 
I doubt the feasibility of this plan of repelling 
the curculio. If the weather be dry or windy, it 
can do very little good, unless the quantity be large, 
and then you endanger your tree. Fruit trees 
growing near to stables and hog pens, would more 
probably be benefitted. C. E. G. Utica. 
Cultivating Young Orchards, &c. 
I observe that it is recommended in plowing among 
fruit trees, to use “ short whiffletrees.” A friend, 
I notice, uses leather traces, with a flap of the same 
sewed on the outside of each near the end, sufficiently 
large to cover the ends of the whiffletree, which pre¬ 
vents the possibility of galling the trees. 
I understand that the hickory tree may be grafted 
and transplanted successfully. I have tried graft- 
