FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY 
213 
sons. Two or at most three pears to 
each hand of bloom is enough for the 
tree to bear if quality of fruit is desired. 
Of the older varieties Kieffer, Le 
Comte and Smith are the best; of the 
newer, Garber, Cincinsis, Magnolia and 
Suwannee are to be preferred. 
PLUMS 
_ -4 
To the man who is looking for large 
returns from a small outlay of money, 
plums offer a splendid opportunity. 
They thrive practically on all soils, re¬ 
quire but little care, and have but few 
insect enemies or diseases. The trees 
and fruit are seldom if ever injured by 
cold. 
The trees do well on thin sandy soil, 
especially the Kelsey, which will not 
stand much ammonia. On soils rich in 
ammonia Kelsey fruit will be off in 
color and often decay before maturity. 
With a sparcity of ammonia the fruit is 
of splendid color and superior flavor. 
The trees should be planted from 15 
to 20 feet apart each way and be well 
cut back, like peaches, at the setting. A 
larger growth can be secured by head¬ 
ing back about half of each year’s 
growth for the first two years. The 
limbs should also be opened up to a 
certain extent, and there should not be 
more than three or four branching off 
from the main trunk. After the second 
year little pruning is necessary. 
Thrips, Curculio and San Jose are the 
most serious pests for South Florida, 
but these can be combatted and con¬ 
trolled in the same manner as.for peach¬ 
es. The idea that wild plums must be 
planted in proximity to cultivated vari¬ 
eties in order to insure a good setting 
of fruit does not seem to be correct. 
The cultivated varieties bloom several 
weeks after the wild ones, and when 
thrips are checked by spraying or rains, 
they set a good crop regardless of 
whether there are wild trees around or 
not. It is purely a matter of thrips, 
not of pollenation. 
The Kelsey is unquestionably the 
most popular market variety, as the 
fruit is large, handsome in appearance 
and of excellent quality. The Excelsior 
is usually considered a better bearer, 
and has the advantage of blooming ear¬ 
lier when there is less thrip. Terrell, 
McRae and other varieties do well. 
We feel our time is limited, and cer¬ 
tainly space. The list of deciduous fruit 
trees grown in and adaptable to Florida 
is a long one, and we have only here 
touched upon the three principal ones, 
o^ rather those which are the most ta¬ 
ken up and cultivated. There should 
still be much to be said on the fig, the 
mulberry, dwarf pear trees and the 
quince, upon the English or rather the 
Persian walnut, and the list might even 
include the blackberry and the dew¬ 
berry. In our opinion these should be 
made subjects for separate papers at 
our next meeting when more statistics 
and reliable information can be gotten 
together than what we are in. posses¬ 
sion of at this time. Of these we think 
the culture of the fig is the most impor¬ 
tant, and there are many who are now 
trying this out, but as yet it is too early 
to obtain very conclusive data. 
