The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1888-03-09
Plum Culture.

Plum Culture.
There is no fruit more delicious than
the plum nor is there more constant
and abundant bearer. The fruit is
readily gathered and marketed and no
fruit brings better prices or commands
reader sale then plums This section
Of country is we'll adapted to the growth
Of the plum The experience of the
following writer may stimulate some Of
our readesr to plant small orchard Of
this delicious fruit the present spring.
In planting plum trees variety should
be planted; different sorts should be
planted in the same rows in order that
the blossoms may be better fertilized.
No fruit trees derive more benefit from
the visits Of honey bees which carry
the pollen from flower to flower and
tree to tree.
"We have had Is years experience
in plum orchard of about fifty trees,
of as many varieties. A part of this
time personal attention could not be
given to the orchard, and this increased
the breadth Of the experimentation
ing the differeuce between care and ne
glct. For the first eight or ten years
the ground was kept we'll cultivated,
but most Of this time, on account Of
absence, the curculio ran riot, and not
a bushel of fruit was obtained from the
whole orchard. These insects we're
then taken in hand and by means of
framed muslin, iron plugs, ami heavy
hammer, together with an unremittiug
attack every morning for thre, weeks,
over a thousand of the curculios we're
destroyed, and the same year, in
August and September. the trees bent
under the loads of purple and golden
plums. These heavy and delicious
crops were continued under simil,r
treatment tor several years. but the
growth of the trees was injured and
checked by the continued heavy crop.
ping and one year after an unusually
heavy crop. We had an intensely cold
winter The trees, exhausted by the
heavy load which they had borne. were
seriously injured, dead branches show
ed. the following summer, the effects
Of the cold, and part of the trees were
killed outright. Had the fruit been
properly thiuned when small, or had
few Of the cureUlios been permitted to
do this work, less harm would have
been done
After this occurrence, the trees lost
their beautiful symmetry Of form, aud
the removal of the dead limbs gave
them more or less distorted, one sided
appearance, but under good cultivation.
with some manurlng. the plums were as
beautiful and delicious as ever.
Manure. spread copiously over the
whole surface of the ground, has been
found particularly beneficial to plum
trees. and trees thus treated are less
liable to the leaf.blight, which frequent
" Injuries the crop in quality, prevent
ing the full maturity Of the favor, and
checking growth. Every year there is
more or less black knot. but prompt
excisiou the day it is first seen, prevents
it from doing harm. It's less troble or
labor to keep the black knot at bay than
to cultivate the ground and destroy the
weeds; yet we often meet with owners
who seem to thiok it a serious hardship
to give even little prompt attention
for checking this disease.
To sum up-the four principal draw
backs in pluu culture on soils where
the trees naturally fiurish) are:
Checking the growth by neglected cul-
ture. 2. Allowing the curculio to have
the free run of the orchard. 3. Neglect.
ing the black knot and 4. Lea blight
from want Of manuring and sOod cul
ture.2
The cause may be hidden whl'e the