October 4, 1890. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
71 
Nectarines, which, as everyone knows, will only thrive 
on certain kinds of stocks. But, so far as the Plum 
is concerned, they all appear to believe it will grow on 
any stock, and so treat it. There is hero, certainly, 
much scope for improvement. 
The Best Methods of Cultivation. 
As an opening to the discussion on this subject, Mr. 
Fairgrieve, Dunkeld, remarked that bush trees seemed to 
be the most natural form for the Plum, and he believed it 
to be the best wherever it could be adopted. All Plums 
planted in the open should be set out on ground with a 
southern exposure, in order that they may get as much 
sunshine as possible. If the ground slopes rather 
abruptly to the south or south-east, he considered it an 
advantage. It was of much importance that the 
situation should be well sheltered from north and east 
winds, either by the natural formation of the ground, 
or by thick sheltering plantations. The trees ought 
to stand far enough apart, so as not to overshadow one 
another, planting them alternately at proper distances 
from each other. The soil best adapted for Plums was 
a light loam ; but they are accommodating in that 
way, and not at all fastidious as to a soil of a particular 
quality. It must, however, be well drained, and this 
point must have special attention, as they were very 
impatient of wet sour soil, and their failure in it was 
certain. The proper pruning of the trees was also of 
great importance, and for years he had only cut out 
the exhausted branches with a saw or secateur, and 
regulated the bearing younger wood, instead of closely 
trimming the trees of most of their annual growth—a 
custom still prevailing in some, quarters. If the trees 
are vigorous and inclined to run to wood, lift and re¬ 
plant them once or twice, if needful, to insure their 
fruitfulness. Should the soil become exhausted, or was 
naturally thin and poor, a good mulching of farmyard 
manure was a great benefit to the trees. At Dunkeld, 
the best dessert Plums were grown on walls with a 
south aspect ; but most of them also did well on walls 
with east and west aspects. The fan was the best form of 
training wall trees ; and as the foliage was more liable 
on walls to become dirty or infested with insects, 
frequent washing with the garden engine was found 
desirable. In dry hot weather, heavy watering at the 
roots and mulching the surface of the border were very 
beneficial. Over-cropping was a great error, and should 
never be allowed on wall trees, spoiling both the sample 
and the flavour, as well as being injurious to the 
fruitfulness of the tree. The birds, especially the 
blackbirds, were a great pest, and their numbers should 
be kept within due bounds where Plums were in 
request, as it was impossible to have both in abundance 
without great cost in protecting the Plums. 
The Uses of Plums. 
The Chairman, Mr. Dunn, in introducing this subject, 
said—Although it might be a deeply interesting one to 
the public who used the fruit, it was probably less 
attractive to the members of the conference, who were 
chiefly concerned in the growing of Plums than any of 
the other subjects on the programme ; and, as there 
was another very important item to discuss in the short 
time they had to spare, he would not weary them with 
lengthy details about the numerous uses of Plums. 
They were all perfectly familiar with their use for 
dessert and in the culinary art. When perfectly ripe 
and sound they formed a wholesome and palatable 
dessert. Unripe and also decaying Plums were 
dangerous food, and ought not to be eaten in such 
condition, as the result might be serious. For making 
tarts, puddings, compotes, or stewed Plums, and the 
like savoury dishes, they were invaluable to the house¬ 
wife and cook ; and, preserved in various forms, they 
were available for those and other purposes at all 
seasons of the year. One of the best Plums for 
preserving, and one of the most profitable to the 
planter where it succeeds, was the Damson, which 
makes a rich jam, a delicious jelly, and “ Damson 
Cheese,” an article not often seen in Scotland, but a 
favourite sweetmeat in the west of England, where 
Damsons were abundant, and formed the staple fruit 
in many cottage gardens. In France and other parts 
of the continent of Europe, large quantities of Plums 
were dried and prepared for market by several rather 
intricate processes. They formed an important article 
of export from several districts of France and Germany, 
and were sold in this country as French Prunes, French 
Plums, Brignoles, Provence Plums, German Prunes, 
&e., and were used by us dry as a sweetmeat or dessert, 
and cooked or stewed in various ways. These Prunes 
were a very wholesome article of diet, and were greatly 
relished by most people. It has been suggested that, 
in seasons of extra abundance, a portion of the crop 
should be dried and preserved as Prunes in the 
manner so successfully practised by the French and 
Germans, and thus save money to the country by 
supplying our own wants. To accomplish this, there 
were no serious obstacles in the way, except the high 
price we had to pay for manual labour, upon which the 
proper preparation of Prunes chiefly depended. Until 
some cheap and speedy method was invented for 
preserving them without the aid of much manual 
labour, it was very doubtful if it would pay any one in 
this country to make dried Prunes of our surplus 
Plums. A more practical way of profitably using a 
super-abundant crop was to make a beverage or wine 
from the Plums. Plum or Damson wine was a very 
wholesome liquor, and not at all bad tasted, as some 
imagined, when properly made and sweetened to taste. 
It was made in a similar manner to Cherry, Goose¬ 
berry, Currant, and other home-made wines, at which 
the west of England housewives were so adept; and a 
drink of good Damson wine on a hot summer day was 
a treat, both cooling and refreshing. A considerable 
quantity of Plums, particularly Damsons, were used 
annually in producing a fine rich dye, and for that 
purpose it was quite probable the demand would 
increase. 
The Commercial Aspect of Plum Growing 
in Britain. 
The discussion on this important question was opened 
by Mr. John Davidson, Pilrig Park Nurseries, who 
said that in the case of the grower for market, the 
improved methods and appliances of the private 
grower had to be dispensed with to a large extent, and 
the prospects of success depended very much on the 
natural advantages of the situation. From what he 
had seen of Plum orchards in various parts of the 
country, he would be inclined to say that—given a 
suitable soil and altitude—a sheltered situation was the 
first condition necessary. Where shelter was wanting, 
the trees might grow well and blossom abundantly, and 
yet not bear a full crop one year in ten,—so susceptible 
was the blossom to the frosts and cold winds of spring. 
In many places, where there is no natural shelter, it 
could easily be provided by planting belts of quick¬ 
growing trees, such as Spruce or Poplar, around the 
orchard, and running lines of the same trees across it, 
at right angles to the course of prevailing winds. 
These in a few years formed an effectual shelter, but, 
as a matter of fact, it was seldom we saw a systematic 
effort made to form a shelter in exposed places ; and 
orchards were usually found on sites naturally sheltered 
by the configuration or aspect of ground, or by woods 
which were established long previous to the planting 
of the orchard. The most successful Plum orchards in 
Scotland at the present day were those in Clydesdale. 
From Lanark to Hamilton, a distance of about eight 
miles, both banks of the Clyde are almost entirely 
occupied by orchards and fruit gardens. These con¬ 
sisted of extensive Strawberry fields, and a number of 
old Apple, Pear, and Plum orchards, but the bulk of 
the recently-formed orchards were devoted to Plums, 
with Currants, Gooseberries and Strawberries growing 
between the trees. The sides of the Clyde valley in 
that district rose rather abruptly from the level haughs 
which flanked the river, from an height of from 250 ft. 
to 300 ft. The orchards were chiefly on these steep 
slopes, where the trees felt little of the effects of the 
cold winds which sweep across the table-land above. 
The soil in the Clydesdale orchards was, for the most 
part, a strong, adhesive, clayey loam, generally of a 
fair depth ; but, in some places, it was so shallow that 
the roots of the trees were actually resting on the 
rocks when planted. In such situations the trees did 
not attain a great size, but were marvels of fertility. 
In regard to aspect, the orchards on the south-side of 
the valley, with a north or north-w'est exposure, were 
found to be quite as productive and, of course, as pro¬ 
fitable as those on the opposite side, with a southern 
aspect. The advantages of a northern aspect were— 
the blossom was less liable to be damaged by the 
morning sun after a frosty night ; the fruit ripened 
more equally, although a little later ; and the trees did 
not suffer from drought in a dry season so much as 
those growing on a south exposure. There were many 
other tracts in Scotland where the natural conditions 
would lead one to believe that Plum culture might be 
carried on as successfully as it was in Clydesdale. The 
valleys of the Esk rivers in Midlothian, of the Tyne in 
Haddingtonshire, and of many other Scottish rivers, 
embrace tracts of land as fertile and well sheltered as 
those of the Clyde, and scarcely, if at all, inferior. 
As regards the varieties of Plums suited for market 
culture in Scotland, the choice was very limited, unless 
walls were available, which was so seldom the case, and 
to such a small extent, that they needed not be con¬ 
sidered. The properties required in the market Plum 
might be stated as (1) productiveness, (2) large-sized 
fruit, (3) bright colour, (4) handsome appearance, and 
(5) fair quality. He might say there was only one 
well-known variety which possessed these properties 
in a satisfactory degree, viz.—the Victoria ; and he 
might safely say one hundred trees of Victoria were 
planted for market purposes, for every single tree of 
any other variety. It was a material drawback to be 
thus wholly dependent on one sort. So far as Scottish 
growers were concerned, the Plum season lasted only 
two or three weeks ; and the crop of Victoria, ripening 
almost simultaneously, the market was apt to be 
glutted, and prices fell off, as a matter of course. 
What they now required for market purposes was a 
variety equal to Victoria, and ripening two or three 
weeks earlier, with another of similar character to come 
in after Victoria. Had Mr. Webster, in raising his 
seedling Plums, set that ideal before him, instead of 
adding to the already almost superabundant list of fine 
dessert varieties, he would, if successful, have earned 
the gratitude of the fruit-growing community. In the 
meantime, until these ideal varieties appeared, growers 
must make the most of those they have got, so as to 
lengthen the Plum season, by planting a due proportion 
of early ripening sorts to come in before Victoria, and 
of later sorts to follow it. Early Prolific was the best 
of the earliest Plums for market growers, and would be 
largely planted when it was better known. For second 
early varieties the Czar, and Early Orleans were 
valuable Plums. Gisborne’s was a very prolific variety, 
ripening just before Victoria, and, on the whole, was 
the best of the yellow varieties for market purposes. 
To follow Victoria, the best were, probably Pond’s 
Seedling and White Magnum Bonum. Although not 
equal to Victoria in bearing qualities, the fruit of thes; 
two varieties was so large and handsome, that it always 
commanded good prices. Belle de Septembre was also 
a prolific variety, ripening after those mentioned, and 
worthy of more extended cultivation. 
It ought to be mentioned that the Victoria, though 
otherwise almost perfect as a market fruit, had one 
serious defect, viz., a tendency to die off suddenly in 
an unaccountable manner. This happened at all ages. 
Some died when only a year or two planted ; others 
lived for eight, ten, or even twenty years, and, when 
apparently in full vigour, they died off suddenly from 
some unseen cause. Various explanations had been 
hazarded as to the cause ; some suggesting that 
unsuitable stocks were the origin of it; others that the 
damage was caused, in some cases at least, by 
lightning ; while others maintained that the action of 
late spring frosts on the tree, when full of the 
ascending sap, was the real origin of the mischief. 
There had been a considerable difference of opinion 
among specialists as to the true cause of this fell disease, 
if it can be called a disease ; and if a remedy could be 
discovered, it would prove an invaluable benefit to 
rium growers. The question of the best stocks for the 
different varieties of Plums required considerable 
investigation. Some half-a-dozen kinds were em¬ 
ployed—the Brompton, Brussels, Mussel, Myrobalan, 
St. Julian, and others—but none of them was equally 
suitable for working all varieties of Plums upon. On 
one kind of stock some varieties grew luxuriantly, 
some moderately, and some would not grow at all. In 
a general way, nurserymen know the stocks best suited 
for the different Plums, but the exact effect of a stock 
on a certain Plum was not so accurately known as in 
the case of the stocks used for Apples and Pears. 
Something should be done to improve our knowledge 
of these matters. Take for instance the Victoria 
Plum,—on one stock it might attain the size and 
vigour of an orchard tree ; on another it might readily 
be kept within the compass of a bush or pyramid ; 
while, on a third, it might assume such a dwarf, 
compact habit, as would form a fit subject for pot 
culture or the miniature fruit garden. On these and 
other cognate matters there was yet much to be learned, 
and the Plum Conference, by stimulating inquiry, and 
awakening a greater interest in them, would have 
served a most useful purpose. 
Instructive discussions followed the opening ad¬ 
dresses in each section, of which we have given above 
the substance as reported, but for the precise details, 
the demand on our space compels us to refer our readers 
to the Congress Keport, which can be obtained from the 
secretary of the society for the modest sum of one 
shilling and sixpence. 
