Sunbury American. [volume] (Sunbury, Pa.) 1848-1879, 1856-02-23
Successful Cultivation of the Prune in
PENNSYLVANIA.

Mr.. Victor Serbia, of Pittsburg, Pennsy.
vania, states that in the heart of Germany.
from which he came, plums, aud especially
the Zwetsche prune, are grown in great abun-
dance for home consumption, and for expor-
tation to Belgium, Holland, and the northern
parts Of Germany. Some farmers raised
there from eighty to one hundred bushels,
and in some cases more dried prunes. The
trees are generally planted along the banks
Of large and small streams, along the water
ing bitches of the meadows, and in the shades
of orchards, between apple and pear trees
They grow there most luxuriantly and the
fruit attrins larger size and deeper color
than in more elevated and exposed locations.
This observation induced Mr. S., four years
ago. when he rented neighboring orchard,
in which some large plum trees stood that
scarcely ever had produced any ripe fruit
before, to dig little holes around the trees,
and to fiji the same occasionally (say every
three or four days during the warm season.
with rain-water, dish. water or soap-suds. He
found the trees growing more luxuriantly
than before, and every year good crop Of
most excellent plums remunerated him for
the little trouble. Last year the crop was
larger than any he had seen in his life, or
account Of the wet, rainy season, the plums
hanging like clusters Of grapes on the trees.
One tree of the grafted-prune kind had about
ten bushels. They sold readily for eight
cents quart in the market. In 1854, when
scarcely anybody raised any plums in this
vicinity, on account of the great heat, he
had, nevertheless, small crop, which sold
in market Mt twenty-five cents quart Du-
ring oil this time he had not much trouble
with the curculio.
In his native country plum trees and cher
ry trees are never pruned; only the dead
branches are occasionally removed Even
in transpanting the knife is not used, except
in trimming the roots. An old pemologist
in this neighborhood, of whom he had pur.
chased some choice peach trees, advised the
writer, in transp!anting the same, not to cut
of the branches as Injurious to the trees. This
advice was strictly followed, and the trees
grew most admirably, some bearing fine fruit
the same year.
The writer planted some prunes which he
procured from Mr.. Schmidt, of Winesburg
Holmes county, Ohio, who has done great
deal in propagating this luscious fruit through
the greater part of Ohio and western Penn
sylvania. The grated budded prune degen
crates. and is not SO highly valued as that
raised by the seed or the shoot. These OBJ
kervations are corroborated by those of tho
economists of Beaver county, Pennsylvania
who imported the genuine scioas OF the prun,
and grated them on plums. Mr. Pfefer, o
Indiana, Pennsylvania, who raised prune tree
in large numbers, and sold them Mt exorbi
tant prices, some as high as S5 and $40, ant
who had some of the fruit at the Pennsylva
MIA State Agricultural Fair. held at Pitts
burgh, which sold readily at so cents quart
Mr. Schmidts prunes are of like kind an,
quality, the writer having eaten at his house
few years since. some of the most delicat
and highly favored fruit he had ever tasted
- U,.ioa