The Palatka daily news. (Palatka, Fla.) 1884-1888, 1886-09-07
THE IMPROVED PLUMS.
THE WILD GOOSE, THE MARI
ANA AND OTHERS.
Some Hints ON the Cultivation OF
Piums and Peaches. a. Picked Up
by The News" Correspondent in
Georoia.


GRIFFIN, Ga, sept. 3, 1856
Special Correspondence Palatka NEWS.
Matters of more or less importance
have called me away from Griffin for q
few days, hence the delay of this letter.
/ shall givs in the briefest manner what
Il know about Plums.'
The Wild Goose plum is as yet the gen
eral favorite, il being variety of great
superiority, and has been in cultivation
here for several years More latterly
however, several other varieties have
been tried, and the first bearings have
given such perfect satisfaction that the
Wild tioose must look To its lgurels. of
the new varieties the Mariana, the Lom-
bard and the Imperial Gage are most
prominent.
The first of the mentioned varieties is
of recent importation from Texas, and
is being planted quite extensively, and
the growers are looking forward To the
early realization of a most profitable
fruit. The Mariana Is a large, hand
some fruit of superior quality and flavor,
Is of deep cream color and ripens about
is of fine foliage which it holds till
frost, and Is rapid grower and an an
nual bearer.
But. as yet, the Wild Goose variety is
the standard. 1t is large, slightly OBJ
long, very Juicy and sweet, and when
perfectly ripe is almost transparent. The
fruit IL beautiful, being of bright vermii-
ion red. Ii IL "A most excellent shipping
fruit, ripens III the middle of June. and
II. l., IL
of prices. 1t Is no common thing for
this fruit to bring from So To 50 per
bushel in market, and the earlier ship
ments frequently find ready sale even as
high as SIS.
The other varieties are not much III
cultivation yet, but few trees planted
to test the fruit have given very general
satisfaction, and the varieties named
may come into more general cultivation.
They ripen later and will, for that rea-
son, not come in conflict with the earlier
varieties.
The Japan plum Is now finding "A great
many admirers, and il is of merit holly
its own. 1t is entirely different from
other plums, and as it has proven its
good qualities will doubtless meet with
much favor. 1t comes into bearing at
two or three years, Is prolific, and Is of
extra good flavor and very large. 1t is
SAID that IL Is an entirely different
fruit from the Japan plum now Gown in
Florida. | believe this new plum would
flourish glOriously in Florida.
Some other plums are securing more
or less attention, but the above varieties
are highest in popular favor, and reCog-
niZed as the standard varieties.
ABOUT PLUM CULTIVATION.
The coil for plums should be medium
rich, and the trees planted about fifteen
feet apart, or about 175 10 the acre. The
trees need about the same attention as
given To the peach. The land should Toe
kept free from weeds and like Vegeta-
ton, thus giving the trees the advantage
of all the nutrition of the soil. Com
vegetables may lie planted among them
the first two years. Trees that ate care
fully and systematically cultivated may
very easily be i-sot free from the disease
common among slover'v cultivated
plums called ''black knot and the Gu
culio insect, the two greatest enemies of
the plum. An authority on the subject
says that he = satisfied, from actual ex-
perience, nat nothing more than oEGi-
nary industry perseverance and i'll ,elli-
gence are required To overcome the evils
mentioned. y four or five years old
Wild Goose tree will bear from one To
one and half bushels of fruit.
PEACH CULTURE.
/ have il from the authority of the
best informed orchard men here that any