SB 377 .C7 Copy I LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. c<^, • > ' ' ' Shelf ^. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. %^il0e^^iig?^if>-^ife^ii:#iifcaiii#«.*tii»-'«i%iit^fe/«ii&-;y^ « J\ Pracfica.! Tre'(\Ii5e ON- PLUm * GROWING, -BY -I-I4PHAS COPE.- i^ii^$$^iit$$^i^^i-^it$$^it$^a^$^t^it$^^ii$$^iK^it^^i^^it^i^ J\ Prfc^clicixl Tre(xli5e ON :^^Tfe ^piGim v^powirpg,? ©• BY EtlPHJIS • COPE.- iV 4^ yi -;- Kogerg, OMo. -jj / MAh 23 ioub 7- COPYRIGHT, 188S, BY THE AUTHOR. NEW LISBON, OHIO: THE lUTCKEYP: STATE PRINT. 1 888; ' t^ Index. Situation. - - - - - - i Soil, - - - - - - - 3 Varieties, ___.-- c^ Planting Time, ii Care for the First Three Years, - - 13 Subsequent Care, - - - - 16 The Curculio. - - - . - 20 How to Plant and Care for a Few Trees, 25 How to Care for an Orchard in Fruiting Time, 27 Plum Rot, - - r - - 31 Black Knot, 36 The Borer. 39 Varieties Further Considered, . - 41 Pref'dCP. ^jV^Y EXCUSE for prescntin<^ this li J ^ volume at this time is the want on little the part of many who have plum trees and have not the time nor inclination to enter into an extensive study of the obstacles in the way of plum orrowing, of a book simple to the planter and low in price. Avoiding profes- sional work, yet indicating our manner of labor and care so fully that we believe it will enable those who have plum trees, or who contemplate planting, to be successful if they will follow the rules laid down herein. ELIPHAS COPE, • Plum Grower, Ro(,eks, Ohio. VhUn * TI^EES. THE SITUATION. /^wS AGAINST the i^ractice wliich \vc were J^ formerly taught, that fruit trees should ])e planted in sheltered places, the experimen- tal evidence is most C()nclusi\ely to the con- trary. Our fruit trees should be planted in exposed places, and our care for them should be such that they may be well set and per- manent in their places, and by this means, besides other advantages which can be nam- ed, we escape the insects which have sought the shelter, and the still, hot atmosphere thereabouts. We do not mean by exposed places, that trees should not be protected from the ravages of stock, or anything that would in any way injure the tree, but that we give preference to setting trees on the higher ground where the air most freely cir- 2 dilates, or where the woods or many trees will not hinder the free moving of the air. Level ofround mav be said to be the most convenient and best situation for fruit trees. A southern slope is better than a northern hillside if the tree has proper care. Other- wise, if the tree is left to care for itself, then the north hillside is the better. As a rule, we prefer to plant on an eastern slope, or hillside, than to the west. And this rule will hold good except in case of a cov^e or a shel- ter from woods, or anything which tends to hinder the favorable circulation of the air. By experience we conclude that trees so sheltered make trees in an undue time, and out of proportions ; are not so hardy, will not live so long, and are very much more troub- led with insect life. SOIL. ^^HE soil has very much to do in a reo^ular >-^and annual crop of fruit That which un- derlies the soil already worked, may be of such nature that although the tree is cared for, yet in a dry season, or in the dry part of the season, the moisture will not raise in it. For instance, a soil of 7 to 10 inches cover- ing a slate or hard pan of any kind, mav with good care yield a crop of fruit every other year and live a long time, while a clay soil of some feet in depth will with the same care make an annual yield. A soil in which the moisture will raise is a soil which the roots will penetrate. And if it be a natural strata like the clay into which the roots can go deep, we may in this expect to get a satisfaction in planting provided the roots are not rob- bed by some other plant, or the branches de- prived of the wind and the sun. We have grown splendid crops of plums on high level ground, and upon all hillsides, and upon clay ground, upon slate, upon fire- clay, upon soapstone, upon lime, upon sand and upon wash. But we have not received 4 annual crops from anv onK those ^^rown on deep, heavy chiy. The trees here are per- manent medium size of reii^ular growth, and a fair specimen of fruit. VARIETIES. T^HE plum the same as other kinds of fruit vi' shows many varieties, with marked differ- ences in like kinds. Of the Damson, we have the small size and large size, and the earlv and late varieties. We regard the early Damson plum as unprofitable. They are not as good" in quality, neither will they com- mand as high a price as the ones ripening after the time of frost. The small blue Dam- son plum which ripens late in the fall, will, because of their richness, always be in de- mand. We believe the late blue Damson plums will give satisfaction with proper care, and that they should not be greedily picked off. as is the case too much, until they are fully matured. The Shopshire Damson is of fine size, ri- pens late, and is a most excellent fruit, and the only hardy Damson plum for field cul- ture. It unites readily on peach stock on which it appears so far to do w^ell. There is no plum that has yet proven so generallv successful as the Lombard plum. Perhaps it is because they set such an enor- mous quantity of fruit. And further, be- cause when the curculio begins on a tree thev want to take it ; that this variety is found fruiting. Because when a Lombard tree un- der certain circumstances has set only about what it could handily ripen, they are no more spared than other kinds. If the. Lombard plum tree is properly cared for in fruiting time, about three weeks after the plums are set, they will cast perhaps the half of their fruit to the ground, which saves thinning of fruit. This variety is much more subject to the Black Knot than most varieties. Nearly as much so as are the Damsons. The Lom- bard plum tree will not unite with the peach stock, neither will most ot the Damson var- ieties. The Geuii plum, which really is a Dutch Damson cannot be united oii to peach stock. This Geuii plum also is quite a subject for the Knot, and it is a great grower. It makes the largest leaf, and literally tills with fruit. But it is less hardy than the Lombard in its branches. The McLaughlin plum should go with the Lombard. It is one of the best varieties for field culture, It is a size larger than the 7 Lombard, about the same shape, a little dul- ler in its color, and while the Lombard is somewhat red, this plum is more given to ]:)urple, and in fact when there are but few on a tree it becomes almost the color of a Damson plum. In many instances just be- fore ripening it shows a russet yellow, chang- ing to a dull purple when the tree is loaded. It is the most even and solid growing tree that r have found, producing a top like an apple tree. It grows complete on peach stock, and will give the best satisfaction on upland thin soil. There will be strong ob- jections to its being planted on other situa- tions. Our crop of McLaughlin plums the past vear which was estimated at So bushels before picking, reached 135 bushels neat, and the last picking just closed with the first picking of Lombards. Planters should be careful in setting trees of this variety. It has been sold under different names. We have sold many trees under this name. It is a purple bloomed plum and ripens between the loth and 20th of August. We trv to raise and keep on hands most of the best varieties of plum trees for sale, as the Lombard, Pond Seedling, Imp. Gage, Magnumbonum, Gen. Hand, Genii, Dam- sons and Prune Plums and a host of other varieties, but find that the McLaughlin, and some other varieties which are not of so much importance as the McLaughlin, mav be misnamed, and are sold honestly by re- sponsible nurserymen so. Now, we have no further proof that we have the McLaughlin true, more than that our trees we believe an- swer the description of the original tree. The native plums should not be planted but sparingly, only when they have been tried and given satisfaction. North of 40 degrees latitude we question if thev will give satisfac- tion or remuneration for la])or. The large red plums are not apt to give the quantity of fruit that the small or me- dium varieties will show, and although finer for canning are coarser in grain and do not possess the quality for present use. Their great beauty will get for them a high • price, and we have received a fair degree of satis- faction from the Pond Seedling plum. This variety is perfectly hardy and produces the largest plum grown. The large yellow plums have not failed also to command a high price. The General 9 Hand is a very fine plum. But among this class if care is given we believe the Yellow Magnumbonum is not only one of the most productive, but also one of the hardiest of plum trees, although no better than Pond Seedling for present use of the fruit. It is with the green plums that we get the best fruit for eating from the tree. Fine grained and sugary they make the best of butter also. The Imp. Gage, although when fully ripe it is not altogether a green plum, is fairly hardy, the tree is large and productive, perhaps one of the best of this class. The white plums are the best for culinarv purposes, all things considered, and perhaps should command the highest price. The variety which we fruit under the name of Washington has not proven hardy. They are a beautiful large whitish plum, with juice as nice as honey, and are re- markable for their mildness. The trees mostly have died, and we are now trying an- other variety under the same name, the char- acter of which we cannot now speak. Con- sidering that there are hundreds of varieties of plums, and different varieties, somewhat lO differing, classed under the same name, we hope to obtain in a class what we desire. A very rich preserve may be made from the prune plum, or from the Damson. But perhaps a nicer, and to an unprejudiced taste a better preserve may be made from many other varieties with the same treatment. For butter we strain out the skins and seeds, and find the medium sized plums satisfactory. In canning, the fruit should be sweetened to taste when put up, the fruit boiled in the syrup, as many have ignorantly con- demned the cooked plum bv presuming that sugar cast in the dish will suit to the taste this most wholesome and desirable fruit. The tartness of the plum requires^ that it l)e met to the seed with the sweet. And con- sidered with other fruit it is not costly as some have supposed, since a bushel of plums will can about that many quarts. That a half bushel of plums canned up fifteen quarts, has more than once been said, w^hich is more than a whole bushel of peaches will can. And one quart of plum<; will nearly equal two of peaches when served. If this rule of count- ing Jbe true one bushel of plums should equal nearly four bushels of peaches in price. II PLANTING TIME. /|)wS A Rl'LE I would advise planting in the ^ spring of the year. Not because it will give the best results with care, but that the buyer may be safer in his planting. The best time to reset a plum tree or any fruit tree is in the late fall or 'early winter after the frost has fully prepared the tree for winter. Trees re- moved this time of year without injury to the fiber roots by too much exposure will not lose anything. Rut as most nursery stock require freezing to drop their leaves, and ri- pen up the branch for w inter, and tree men are anxious to get their stock out of the reach of the freeze, this stock has got to be stripped of its leaves, called by nurserymen stripping. Trees that have been stripped by hiuid are objectionable, as are also trees whose fiber roots have been subjected to any degree of freezing. In accepting plum trees for planting, if the branches are light and fine, cut off a limb. ; the heart of it be brown or dark color this tree is objectionable. A plum tree to pay for planting should have a full round limb 12 ofi'een throuo^hout, full bud with heavy shoul- der. Many plum trees have been put on the market which have been a subject of drouth. The hole for setting the tree is not apt to be too large or too deep, or is there apt to be too much strong soil, leached ashes, or bones put in the ground on planting the tree pro- vided you do not intend to give any further care. But if the tree is to have proper care, see that the roots are all got under and pure soil well firmed about them. Keep manure from the roots, and for a top dressing ashes or coal dust is valual^le and will keep down weeds. And the general rule is to trim all side limbs, leaving the main branch, and so set that at the soonest possible time it may cover its body with branches aud most par- ticularly to the southwest. 13 CARE OF TREES FOR THE FIRST THREE YEARS. fF A TREE is hardv at the end of the third year after phmting. it may after that be ex- pected to give satisfaction. It turns out in many case^ that about the third year from planting even the hardiest trees find something wrong with them ; that the fourth year after plant- ing the tree instead of growing is simply dead, or nearly so. I am sure if these trees had been handled the fall before, they would have been found light and rattling. The amount the soil has been worked even in set- ting the tree is quite sure to hold a moisture for two years. If during the third year from the first working or moving of the soil, this soil is not touched it will become sufficiently solid to transmit heat from particle to parti- cle. And during the hot summer, as the last of July and August sun bear upon this work- ed and settled soil, the effect of the heat will be carried as deep as the root, and the soil will be robbed of all the moisture which it should have to sustain the tree. So that the amount of moisture that is required to keep up the leaf and the branch, in a hot atmos- H phere reduces the tree to a state of worth- lessness which is easily distinguished from a tree of the same kind whose roots are stand- ing in a soil not lacking in moisture. AVe here state that this is the direct cause of yel- lows in peach trees. We have never seen the yellows on peach trees with proper care. Let him who will object to our experrence dig down by a tree in h(H August weather where weeds and gi^ass are standing around and see if he will not acknowledge our prac- tice ; yes, and wonder how those leaves can be keept gi'een with a soil dry deep down as this must be. Such trees when they have re- ceived the stroke will generally come out the following summer, but cannot grow much, and at best show but a yellow leaf. The plum mostly dies outright, although it is not uncommon even for them to show a coating of yellow leaves before they die. Some soils the moisture rises in, but any soil can be kept moist by keeping the surface mellow, which may be done either by work- ing or by mulching. Then a tree should be kept straight. Should it get to leaning with the wind, the time to straighten it is in the spring ; stack plenty of dirt around it until it 15 holds this position. Keep down all sprouts and cut off such branches as are straggling, or that go beyond the limits of convenience or care for the tree. SUBSEQUENT CARE. T IS NOT out of the order that a tree the fourth year after plantings puts on a full load of plums. It is a question whether or not it is best for a tree to bear so youno^. We are sure it is not g^ood without the tree is under proper care, since itwill most surely hinder the tree from attaining to full propor- tions. A full crop of plums on a younjr tree sets the size, or in other words, causes the tree to enter in life as a full grown tree and thereafter will attain like proportions in growth. We have no objections under ])roper care to the smaller trees. While we grow them closer together, say only about 12 or 14 feet apart, we can also gather most all the fruit from the ground, and also catch the curculio with much greater ease. It is a question if all soils can be held in shape to grow these small trees. The nearer, how- ever, that the soil returns to the state of Na- ture in which it was when the woods stood over it, the hardier and more satisfactory the orchard will be. There is doubt but that the burden of 17 the tree is to perfect the kernel which the pulp of the fruit surrounds ; and I question in a full crop if it can, without great danger to the tree, except the soil is covered, or has a retreat from the continued effects of the hot sun. Boards, buildings, bricks, or any- thing that will catch the rays. I doubt if there is anything however that will give the returns which a generous and continued use of the hoe will do under e\ cry part of the tree which the drag or cultivator may not get at. ^V c[uart can of salt cast under each tree before the hoe begins, every year or two, gives advantages in more than one way. Those insects know where to get better for themselves than we may tell them, and they know where to not get ; and they do not need us to tell them of a soil that will not pro- duce them congenially. We understand that an inch of soil thoroughly pulverized all over every part of the ground under a tree, with the balance of the orchard cultivated, will retain that life and moisture which the inex- perienced has not conceived. However, we do not care to have the ground hard, pro- viding it is clean of all weeds or grass dur- ing May and the first of June, or when the curculio is most effective in his work. Cut off all water sprouts, (except there is need of a limb) which sometimes make their appearance in profusion, and let all manures that may be used be cast in the fall and hoed or cultivated in. Perhaps the best results will be found from a liberal use of potash and bone. Bone must be used. The many seeds which the tree must perfect demands it. It is not uncommon to kill trees by putting- barnyard manure in ciuantity arovind them in the spring. We have done the like. Or to begin to work them in hot summer with the plow when they have not had proper care for a time. To in- duce bearing, and to hinder the excessive gi"owth, and produce hardiness in a tree, there is nothing better than to plow as close to the tree at one side as the tree will seem to permit, and that deep, cutting all the roots possible. But in no case do this only in early winter. The following summer a few furrows thus plowed to the tree will fill full of fibrous roots which will be a great stay. Moreover, the tree will by root pruning not make long strides of growth which is always an uncalled for burden under the August sun. Trees which have failed under the power of the hot sun, and which have thereby 19 received a perpetual injury, should not be propaj^ated from, since trees giovvn from buds taken from these sickly trees are the Sfet or inheritors of this- constitutional weak- ness and must necessarily be more liable to the effects and are less capable to withstand the same power which subdued the parent tree. 20 OF THE CURCULIO. J^HE enemy of the plum tree in propagat- ^— ' ing itself by way of the seed, is the cur- culio. The curculio, by nature, seeks to de- velop itself in one of its forms in the plum. The plum is a direct home and perfection to its purpose. From a little nit deposited under the skin of the plum it hatches into a worm in favorable weather in about seven or eight days, and makes its home in the plum until it fully develops in this worm or larvae state, driving as a rule straight ahead as well as it can in the green pulp of the fruit. The plum, by its work, becomes its victim and must go from the tree by common laws, and is lost, while the further purposes of the cur- culio are only enhanced. If we want to raise plums we want to know the ways of this little bug or beetle so that we mav successfully stand between him and the plum. For there is no question that if the season is favorable and the soil congen- ial, that he will bounce every plum on the tree in his reproductive proclivities ; and it is 21 really surprising- how bright and agile he seems as vou watch him moving up to his business. To those who have not seen him let them spread a table cloth under a fruiting plum tree in the latter part of May, give the tree a sudden, solid jar, then look upon the cloth and you will most likely catch sight of a little beetle, near the size and color of a buckwheat grain, with a probocis like an elephant's trunk which he uses to make a new moon on the plum. This is him, per- haps playing 'possum already ; leave him alone and he will run off like a diminutive elephant. This curculio, like the striped cucumber biig, is sensitive of heat and cold. In the cool morning it can not fly. In the heat of the day it is excellent on the wing. There is therefore no use bothering about him when it is hot, sav 80 deg. Fahrenheit, since he is easily scared and will fly right out ; and there is no way to keep him out then without you stay by the tree more than you will like ; else make the plum and branches offensive ; else keep the soil such that it will not further his purposes. All things considered, there is none of these we have found to be sue- 22 cessful alone. Of the curcuHo, its life and habits, there is sufficient written, and it is the etomologist's work. We want however to show how to keep him off of the plums. We do make a curculio catcher of our own invention, and by having our trees in proper shape we can speedily ^ind most surely catch them while they are in the dormant state. This is before the heat of the sun makes them active. About one hundred trees per hour can handily be cleared of all insects injurious. This work begun with the morn- ing twilight is the most pleasant and surest to make perfect work. We put say two quarts of new lime in a half bucket of water in a wooden pail. This bucket is left in the centre of the row. From there we go to the end and back the next row to it. The in- sects are lodged in the center of the catcher, and dropped into the lime water. Passing to the other end and back the next row, and as before the insects are dropped into the water and stirred. This water will be found useful at the foot of the tree when the work is done. By a convenient arrangement which we call a door the tree passes about to the center 23 of the catcher, which is Init a slight hindrance to the carrier, who can open and close it at will. The catcher, which rests on the ground at the foot of the tree, is carried by two handles under the carrier's arms, and is light and convenient to handle. The jar is a pole of sufficient length to jar the tree, large or small, as it may be. Near the end of this pole is a wooden pin through the centre. With the use of twine we make a hall of wadding on this. end, of at least eight inches in diameter, all sewed solid to its place, and bv this the tree or limbs as are required are jarred without bruising the bark on the wood. It mav be understood that we have heard of manv curculio remedies ; l)ut our experi- ence with him is such that we know that to get a favorable crop of fruit which is salable, and leave the tree in proper condition, we have to catch the bugs as a rule. We know there are cold wet springs which favor the fruit, and that the first coming of the curcu- lio has been very unfavorable to them, and that in such seasons the first and principle work of the curculio is but very slight ; and we are well aware that there are certain spots 24 and situations of land where he does not mo- lest the fruit but very little, and that circum- stances may cause situations to be offensive to him ; but we have yet to believe that an orchard will in an ordinary season bear a general crop of plums of any kind or variety whatsoever, without catching the curculio and killing them, and the time to catch them is when they are inactive as at early morning, when it will not require more than a couple of fair strokes with the jar to dislodge them, as experience will show. ^:) HOW TO PLANT AND CARE FOR A FEW TREES. IN PLANTING a few trees let them be as ^ near the form of a square as possible, so that the ground may be kept in a measure more clean. If convenient cast a fence around them, see that the hogs are in this enclosure the three weeks following the mid- dle of May, also the last three weeks of July. Let some oats, wheat bran, or shelled corn, be sown each morning under the trees for the hogs to hunt up. These will require but very little trouble beyond the proper care of the hogs. But circumstances alter cases, and it may be more convenient to use a coop in which is an old hen with a lot of chickens. If several trees, there should be more than one brood of chickens. In such cases as this it is required that the surface of the ground be cut clean with a hoe and if need be swept, and a Kttle bran scattered about un- der the trees. We do not doubt the efficacy of this plan with some care, since it would be offensive the same as the hog lot, and the curculio which are not caught cannot find 26 their home. If either of these plans can- not be had, then get a table cloth, sheet, or what is better, three or four yards of good brown muslin, divide it and sew the edges to- gether half way ; then tack slats around these edges to handle it by. And just befcn-e the calyx that covers the plum has passed off let the tree pass up to the center of this muslin catcher where it was sewed to, and with a jar as before described dislodge the curculio and burn them. Three times will rid them for a few days, when the same operation may be repeated in the morning, at evening, and the- next morning, &c. Again, it will be ob- served that all cool or rough weather, and also that the most of June and the first 'of July the curculio will not be found. The last of July will require much care again. I 27 HOW TO CARE FOR AN ORCHARD IN FRUITING TIME. ^^ITE g^rouiul should be cleaned around the ^-^ trees in the spring before the curculio puts in his appearance, and unnecessary limbs re- moved ; also all such limbs as would be in the road of the catcher. The trees, or at least a portion of them should be jarred while the blossoms are yet on them to catch such curculios as are to be found. The ground should be stirred in the spring before the moisture from the winter is out of the soil, and perhajDs the best thing to do it with is the one horse plcjw, and with care not to cut too man\- roots this tinae of the year. That which is not reached with the plow should be put in order with the hoe. This soil be- ing cut as above stated will be much easier attended to later in the season. As the little plums begin to show themselves see that the curculio are caught out of the orchard, and if there is negligence in this work it will be observed by examining the plum ; for as soon as a plum is stung the place will turn dark, and show a new moon, or properly said, a 28 crescent shaped incision near the ])lossom end of the fruit. This is done by the curculio, and the nit is deposited under the skin of the plum which is cut loose, and secures to it a safety which it could not have were it de- posited otherwise. If there is some fine variety of fruit which is wanted to be saved, it can be done even after it is stung by using the point of a knife or the thumb nail, and push off the skin of the plum within the crescent shape. This can be done speedily, and if you wish to see the contents of the nit press the thumb nail backward towards the stem upon the skin of the plum under which is the egg, and its con- tents will rush upon the surface of the plum. This work will not injure the fruit in the spring, as it will speedily grow over again ; l)ut such work will not do in the heat of the summer as it will be likely at such time to rot. After the orchard is once cleared of the curculio it will require repeated tests to see if he comes again. In such cases it will be necessary to go to the skirts of the orchard, test only the warmer and unexposed places in the orchard, or that part of the orchard nearest to other fruit trees, and in case but few are 29 found there will be no need to look fur- ther, and the main work will now be found around the edges of the orchard for a time. The middle of July, sooner or lat^r as the season mav require, (there will be four or five weeks previous to this date that curculio will be scarce), throughout the orchard the catcher should be used, as the curculio may b^ found now coming until the plums are picked. We have caught curculio after se- vere frost in the fall. It must be remember- ed that the main fight is to be waged on the curculio in the spring, and if successful then the battle is fairly won. Some trees bear more fruit than they should, not only for the good of the fruit, but for their own good. The question how to meet this is not handily solved. We have found it as hard on the tree to pick the green fruit from the limb as it was to ripen the fruit. We would prefer heading in branches with the knife which were overloaded. An- other season we will trim certain branches clean of fruit, leaving the others untouched. Above all this we prefer the perfect working around the tree, whereby it will assume strength to care for itself. Yet it so hap- 30 pens that certain trees fail to cast a portion of their unbearable load, in which case the knife should be freely used to save the tree. 31 PLUM ROT. tf^ERITAPvS there is nothing so vexatious in \ the plum business after all as the plum rot. Instead of getting a nice lot of plums, to see them all rotting instead of ripening. We observe that there are two kinds of plum rot we have to contend with. One is the rot from the calyx or covering over the little plum in May, the other is the rot before the ripening time in the latter part of July and August. This rot from the calyx is not universal, as it only goes with those varieties which have a heavy blossom. We have not seen the varieties with a light blossom and a thin calvx injured by it.. Damsons, the Lombard and the Geuii, most of the Gages, and many other varieties might be named which escape the rot from the calyx. But some of the best varieties will lose more or less in wet seasons even with the best of care, as the McLaugh- lin, Pond Seedling and all the heavy blos- somed varieties. McLaughlin, although one of the most profitable of all varieties with care, suffers the most from the calyx rot. This heavy fur-like coating over the little 32 plum seems so slow about getting off, that before the plum has lost his coat it generally gets caught in the rain. It does frequently prove to rain one or two days about that time of the year, and when this coating is loose from its natural place it is ready to decay and turns brown. The little plum at this season enlarges very fast, and a few days damp and rainy weather fastens it in the skin of the tender plum, and is equivalent as a rule to a rot. When such trees are in moist places, or sheltered places with dense foliage, this calyx is rendered tough in damp weather, and fastens itself on the plum, so that three out of four of the plums will be lost, which is equivalent to a failure for the season. In no instances have we had a failure only in such places as before de- scribed. J^v this it will be observed that it is better for the trees to have the sun and the air, and that the ground should be kept clean under the tree. But in case we find trees shut out from the sun, then move the obsta- cles as much as possible, following the rule we laid down. Much can be done in jarring the limbs and moving this covering off in dry spells. The most objectionable and universal plum 33 rot occurs just before the plums are ripe. It is a time of the year when heat will produce decay superior to the healing powers, and the effects of this decay is sensitive to the touch. In other words the rot grows on another plum reaching to its bounds the same as it grows in itself. We regard the sting of the curcu- lio at this season of the year as a two-fold danger, first because it endangers the plum to rot by opening its pores, endangering it to deadly particles by which it will begin to rot, and secondly, because of the nit in its devel- opment in the plum. This first danger is what we w ish to avoid in this chapter, and to do so we must also keep the fruit from the second danger; and in order to avoid the second we must see to it in time and not after the plums are too much rotten. Let the curculio be caught or let the plums rot. We for other reasons try to keep our trees clean, and find that in a term of years we are not troubled with a host of insects which were there when the first care was given. W^orms of all shapes and sizes, and many varieties of ants, bugs and beetles and spiders, seem to be gone. The green leaf louse or big black antemire's 34 nest, which would stop the growth of the twigs in the spring, millers and caterpillars, most all disappeared, since plum leaves have not, as might be understood, proved a suffi- ciency for them, all of which is no little thing in favor of plum growing. When this rot is seen on a plum the sooner it is removed the better, for it will be a hardy plum that won't rot with it if they can get together When this rotting first appears pick it all off, even though it is but a mere speck to be seen in the plum, and about two days after repeat the work again, watching it up for a fortnight, or until the stung fruit is removed. It will be observed that we have not advocated the de- stroying of the stung plurns. But on the other hand the catching of the curculio and the keeping of the soil in such care so that it will not be a nest for its further develop- ment. The Wild Goose plums when first introduced, were said to be curculio proof, and in fact many varieties have certain pleas for them of like character when first intro- duced. Considering the many styles and varieties of fruit which we have fruited, th^ planter may rest assured with us that to at- tempt to put upon him a curculio proof plum is a nonsense oi a nuisance ; and that a va- 35 riety may be said to be curculio proof only becaUvSe of the peculiar situation in which it is found, since we are sure that a variety of plums exempt from the attacks of the curcu- lio, as a rule must be a nuisance and not de- serving the name. 36 BLACK KNOT. ©LxA.CK KNOTS on plum trees may be said to be another obstacle af]^ainst the phmting of this fruit ; and, indeed, many trees are lost, and others, most unsightly ob- jects because of this disease. It is a trouble, however, that does not affect varieties alike, since there are but few varieties which seem addicted to it. The Damson varieties give the most trouble, and the Lombard and Gueii are not so much affected, yet they require continual watchfulness. We have occasion- ally seen a knot on a Pond vSeedling or Mc- Laughlin, but have not seen knots on any other varieties, although we allow that any variety, without it be the natives, may knot. Yet we believe the three kinds named are the only ones that will require watchfulness. When there are knots showing on a tree cut them off and see that they are burned except in cases where it is necessary that the branch should remain. In this case, with a knife or some sharp instrument first remove all the knot visible ; second, cut out all the little white, round, porous specks which can be 37 seen : third, and last, observe a dark brown red streak in the snrface of the wood, reach- \n- 46 We fill Send Complete in Every Respect a Model of Onr GURCULID CBTGHER, Delivered Free at our Express Office to any Address on Receipt of $2.00. This Model is a Diminitivk Ykt t^Tt nnnm UiVL U\j i •B- CATCl \Mth the Jar, put up in a small box and any person who can make a gate can make one by it — pur- chaser to pay express charges. J^v our Catcher 15 Trees can be Jarred and the Curculio Destroyed, all in ten minutes in common practice. ELIPHAS COPE, Rogers. Ohio. 47 ^Vrile ^ for ^ Term5^ o< TO >> VAUGHN. BONSALL & CO., -< MANUFACTURERS OF > Pure Bone Meal, Bone Meat Phosphate, Banner Hone Pliiispliate, Dissolved * Bone, •» CKUSHEI) mi POULTRY FOOD, PLUM AND PEACH TREES A SPECIALTY. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS DDDD'^D'=^17bE ■w^r^jm