erect, compact, vigorous, a great bearer."--Early September.
_Rivers' Monarch_, "Fruit large, bluish-purple, the best late C.
(Cooking) plum, habit rather diffuse and vigorous."--R. September 13.
These ten varieties have borne the test of time, and won approval from
the R.H.S. in 1892 and 1901. The descriptions are those of the R.H.S. Mr
Lewis Castle omits Cox's Emperor and adds;--
_Early Orleans_, "medium size, reddish purple, good bearer and good C.
variety, habit diffuse and moderately vigorous."--R. August 2.
_Greengage._--If this is planted, choose July greengage, "rather large
for a greengage, habit erect, compact, vigorous, better bearer than old
G., fine-flavoured Dessert plum."--R. August 7.
_Diamond_, "very large, blue-black, very heavy cropper, habit bushy,
compact, vigorous, good C. plum."--R. August 23.
_Pond's Seedling_, "Fruit very large, deep red, habit bushy, compact,
vigorous, rather late, free bearing C. plum."--R. September 7.
_Prince Englebert_, "Rather large, dark purple, habit erect, compact,
vigorous, reliable C. plum."--R. August 13.
_Coe's Golden Drop_, "Fruit large, pale yellow, habit bushy, compact,
vigorous, a delicious late D. plum, an indifferent bearer on bush trees,
most reliable on walls."--R. September 13.
These remarks are based on the Report of trials at Chiswick in 1901.
If one plum only is wanted, choose Victoria, if three, Early Prolific,
Victoria and Monarch; to these Dennistoun's Superb and Jefferson might
be added for dessert if five are desired.
All these varieties may be planted as Standards, but are better as
half-standards or bushes. If as cordons they must be two feet or more
apart, and lifted about once in three years. There is no dwarfing plum
stock like the paradise for apples or the quince for pears.
If the dessert varieties are on walls, special attention must be given
to pruning and to root-pruning. The growth of coarse thick stems and
branches is often fatal to the prospect of good crops.
PRUNING AND TRAINING
Plums as a rule do not need nor will they bear as much close pruning as
pears and apples. But they need special attention in early life.
STANDARDS.--These must be planted, when other crops are to be grown
beneath. Quincunx fashion is the best. The rows, as a rule, should be 24
feet apart, and the trees in each row about 20 feet. Plums do not shade
as much as apples and pears, yet it is always wise to avoid overcrowding.
Some sorts are not as spreading or as vigorous as others. Weak growers
like the Early Prolific might be placed between Jefferson and Monarch.
Good trees in six or seven years should bring good returns, but the
intermediate space may meanwhile be utilised for strawberries,
gooseberries, and so on. Standards should be 6 feet high or more. After
planting, cut back the shoots to about one-third of their length, the
weakest still more, to promote vigorous growth, and cut just above an
outer eye. Keep the centre open. In later years stop gross or robber
shoots in June, clipping some leaves of the latter, if necessary. Never
allow boughs to cross, and keep all the tree fairly open. When the tree
begins to bear, little pruning is necessary. But stopping luxuriant
shoots about midsummer is good for the other branches, and for the
production of fruit buds before winter. Complete pruning early in
August. In winter cut out dead wood, and shorten boughs wherever fresh
wood is required. The wood of the Victoria plum is very brittle, and
requires special treatment. Shorten the strong growing luxuriant
branches of this variety in July; otherwise later on they will break
when loaded with fruit. Messrs Bunyard's choice of six for market
standards is: Rivers' Early Prolific, Czar, Early Orleans, Victoria,
Pond's Seedling, Rivers' Monarch.
HALF STANDARDS (3-½ feet to 4 feet high) are better, and more
manageable. Planted 12 feet apart, gooseberries, etc., may be placed
around them; otherwise they may be nearer, even up to 6 or 8 feet. These
should be pruned in August unless strong shoots require pinching back.
Stop new side shoots at the sixth leaf to produce fruit-buds. Avoid
excess. Wounds made in August have a better chance of healing while the
sap is still active. Pyramids are not as useful as bushes; the former
require a central stem and special training.
IN BUSHES, keep the tree open, stop strong shoots at midsummer,
prune new (side) shoots back to six leaves about mid-August, and take
out wood that is not wanted, admitting the sun and air. In winter cut
back any boughs where fresh shoots are wanted to a wood bud at an outer
eye.
TREES ON WALLS.--Plums are usually put on east walls, but the
best repay a south as well as a west aspect. They require and repay
care and skill in training. If the wall is low, the horizontal form is
best. The branches should be taken several inches below the line along
which they are to be trained, and not at right angles; the sap will flow
better, and the tendency of branches to die off will be lessened. The
first branch should be 1 foot from the ground, the rest 9 inches apart.
Coarse stems and branches must be avoided by moderate root-pruning. The
wood must be kept near the wall, that wood and fruit may be better
ripened. The fan system is better for a high wall. Train shoots on the
tree from the nursery in regular order at equal intervals, cutting back
only to ripe wood. Pick off growths on the side next the wall, and
others badly placed. Lay in new wood every year, and in August or Early
September cut out unsightly branches or spurs if there is other wood to
replace them. Prune upper part of tree first, and encourage foliage and
fruit spurs over every part. Stop strong growing branches at midsummer,
and pinch back side shoots to six leaves about mid-August. Fruit buds
will follow. Wire on the wall should be 1-½ inch out, with an interval
of 1 foot between each wire.
MANURES
The absence of moisture and the consequent exhaustion have a serious
effect on plums, and should never be allowed. Mulch newly-planted trees
in light or poor soil; give liquid manure or irrigate in dry weather.
Should the crops be heavy, and the soil at all deficient in lime, the
deficiency should be made up by scattering lime some distance around the
stems and working it gently in. "An annual dressing of decayed vegetable
matter, old manure and lime-rubbish, laid about a yard round the stems,
produces very satisfactory results" ("Plums for profit"). Supply this
in November. The artificials recommended by R.H.S. for pears are also
good for plums. Dr Griffiths recommends cow dung and a mixed manure,
composed of 5 parts of kainit, 1 part of magnesium sulphate, 2 parts of
superphosphate; 7 lbs. of the mixture to be applied to each tree in
autumn, two more pounds in the spring.
Established trees in full health need no aid in an ordinary season if
they carry no crop. Damsons should be fed as well as plums.
THINNING
must be carried out severely if the crop is thick. In a good plum
season, only very fine and first-rate fruits fetch a good price, and
these can only be obtained by thinning the fruit and feeding the trees.
An annual crop (if frost does not interfere) may then be expected. Half
the crop in some years should be taken off long before the fruit is
ripe. The jam-makers utilise green and half-ripe plums.
GAGES
These are dessert plums, some of the highest excellence, but they
usually require a wall or the best soil and situation. The demand for
them is very great. Preserved with proper care, they last until plums
come again, and often fetch a higher price than the red or dark plums.
The following are the five best:--
1. July Greengage (see before) early in August.
2. Dennistoun's Superb (see before) mid-August.
3. Early Transparent (see before) end of August.
4. Reine Claude Comte d'Althann, briefly Comte d'Althann, a
comparatively new plum from Bohemia. First-class certificate R.H.S.
"Medium to large, greyish green, deeply flushed and dotted with red,
covered with a beautiful white bloom, very heavy crop, habit bushy,
compact, vigorous, remarkably good dessert plum, succeeding equally well
as a wall tree, bush, or standard, remarkably prolific." R.H.S., R.
August 22.
5. Jefferson (see before).
6. If more are wanted M'Laughlin's Gage is "rather large, pale yellow,
flushed with red, a good cropper, habit erect, compact, vigorous, one of
the finest dessert plums." R. August 17.
7. Guthrie's Late Green, "very good cropper, habit bushy, compact,
vigorous, a most delicious dessert plum." R. August 30.
Nos. 2, 5 and 6 are splendid specimens of American plums, No. 7 is
Scotch, named after the late Mr Guthrie of Dundee.
The following are well known but not so good in some respects: Bryanston
Gage, Oullin's Golden Gage, Golden Transparent. Coe's Golden Drop has
been described. Angelina Burdett is sometimes classed with the gages. It
is "dark red, shaded with purple, a good cropper, habit bushy and
compact, a delicious dessert variety that hangs well in the trees for
some time after it is ripe." R. August 22.
MARKET PLUMS
If a planter prefers to grow gages, he must protect his trees from
bullfinches and other birds. The former often carry off the buds in
winter, and ruin all hopes of a crop. Such a plantation near a wood
would usually be a failure. If the trees are washed in early winter with
No. II. mixture, the buds will have some protection. Lime should be
thrown over the branches on a damp day. The gun in many cases must be at
work from dawn to dusk. The gardener must learn to distinguish between
friend and foe. Mr Lea's list in "Small Farms in the Midlands" is as
follows: Early Prolific, Victoria, Black Diamond ("the wood is
remarkably tough"), Pond's Seedling ("tolerably tough"), Pershore Egg
Plum, _i.e._ Gisborne ("hardiest of all plums, surest cropper, comes
early into bearing, the wood tough, and though the price is low, pays
well"). He also mentions Prince Englebert and Jemmy Moore ("alias Cox's
Emperor, alias Denbigh"), but wisely adds, these come in about the same
time as Victoria, when there is a glut. Early or late varieties usually
sell best. A new variety, Bittern, raised (as so many varieties have
been) at Sawbridgeworth, by the late Francis Rivers, seems well worth
trying: "Fruit rather large, deep purple, very heavy crop, habit bushy,
compact, vigorous, excellent early free-bearing variety. R. August 2."
Curlew is another "early free-cropping purple plum, habit erect,
vigorous," also raised by Francis Rivers. Monarch is a late, good, and
very saleable plum. It is said that 75 per cent. or more of the plums
planted in recent years have been Victorias. Planters should avoid the
Victoria glut. Pond's Seedling, red and very large, coming in after
Victoria, often sells well. Put up in a small basket it is inviting, and
sells for an eating though properly a cooking plum. Early Prolific is
also largely planted, but does not suit all soils. The white Magnum
Bonum or egg plum (very large), good for cooking and preserving, sells
well in London, but needs a strong soil. It is an early September fruit.
Wyedale is popular in Yorkshire, valuable for its lateness, and for
keeping sound on the trees when ripe; its habit is diffuse, size rather
small, a good cropper. Mr Pearson names Goliath, a large reddish purple
plum, "a good cropper, habit diffuse and vigorous, a very useful cooking
plum. R. September 7."
At the Plum Congress held at Edinburgh in September 1889 an election of
sorts was made with the following result:--
_Dessert Plums_
Votes.
Jefferson 72
Coe's Golden Drop 69
Green Gage 57
Kirke's 57
Early Transparent 25
Oullin's Golden Gage 16
Reine Claude de Bavay 14
_Culinary_
Votes.
Victoria 74
Pond's Seedling 54
White Magnum Bonum 52
Early Prolific 40
Goliath 31
Early Orleans 27
The friend who sent me this list remarks: "Newer plums supersede some of
these. Czar does not crack with the wet as Orleans does. I prefer
Diamond to Goliath." Kirke's is better on a wall than in the open. The
same may be said of Oullin's; neither are grand croppers. Reine Claude
de Bavay is a late gage, richly flavoured, but not a good cropper.
GATHERING, PACKING, MARKETING
A step ladder or a Heathman's combined ladder is best for gathering as
plum wood is often brittle. Look over the trees several times and gather
gradually. Fruit for home use should not be gathered until it is ripe,
but for market it should not be quite ripe. Early morning when the
fruit is cool is the best time. Dessert fruits generally should be
handled as little as possible, otherwise the bloom on them and the
appearance are spoilt. Plums are often sent away in round baskets, or
oblong flat baskets. The former in the London markets are termed sieves
or half-sieves. A sieve holds seven imperial gallons; the diameter is 15
inches, the depth 8 inches. Flat baskets with lids protect the fruit
from injury. Stout and strong paper, above, below and around, assist in
saving it. Oblong baskets with handles and without a lid are used in the
Midlands and the N. They are called "pots," and local inquiry as to
weight should be made. Strong brown paper is useful on the top. The cost
per ream is from 10s. to 20s. But non-returnable boxes are better. The
baskets are often missing or lost. The sizes of unplaned boxes with lids
to be nailed on are usually as follows:--[10]
Gross. Doz.
lbs. Length. Width. Depth. s. d. s. d.
14 10-¾ in. 10-½ in. 6-¼ in. 26 6 2 6
28 22 " 10-¾ " 6-¼ " 46 0 4 2
42 27 " 15 " 8 " 84 0 7 6
--GLOVER.
Choice dessert plums sent in light boxes (one or two layers only in a
box) placed in wood-wool, and with tissue paper covering the inside of
the box, and lying between each layer, often sell well. White paper-lace
(such as is used for honey sections) sets off good fruit, and makes it
more attractive. Pink tissue paper is often used for light fruits. The
boxes should be uniform in size and quality of fruit as far as possible.
Tissue paper can be bought at 2s. 6d. to 5s. or more a ream, and should
not be grudged. The best wood-wool ranges from 18s. to 25s. per cwt. A
few visits to Covent Garden, the best shops, and the Crystal Palace
Fruit Shows, will not be time or labour lost.
Plums and damsons for market should be gathered and sent before they are
quite ripe; if soft and pulpy on arrival, they are valueless. Sort in
size and quality as even as possible: keep back all inferior stuff. Only
good produce, well sorted and properly packed, placed on the market in
good condition, is likely to sell well. Foreigners as well as neighbours
compete for custom. In large establishments a packing room with every
convenience close at hand is necessary.[11] The market-agent should
daily advise what goods are needed.
STORING AND KEEPING
Plums, as a rule, do not remain good for any length of time after being
gathered. They will however last a week or two if laid out in a cool,
dark, well constructed place. Slate slabs assist to keep baskets and
fruit cool. Some of the late dessert varieties gathered before they are
quite ripe, wrapped in paper, will last in a dry place for a long
period. Dr Hogg says that "Ickworth Impératrice," a large late dessert
variety, if allowed to remain on the tree until it shrivels, then wrapt
in silk paper and placed in a dry shelf, will last for many weeks. It is
a richly-flavoured plum. The remark is probably true of other late
varieties; _e.g._, the lovely Golden Transparent, "a delicious plum
grown against a wall, but not a success in the open" (R. September 12),
or Reine Claude de Bavay, which is late, but a poor bearer. The Ickworth
Impératrice was not tested by the R.H.S., and is not now often grown.
Guthrie's late Green, "a most delicious dessert plum and the heaviest
cropper here (_i.e._ Chiswick R.H.S.) of all the gages," is probably
one of the best sorts for keeping as described above. Angelina Burdett
(see gages) "if allowed to hang till it shrivels becomes a perfect
sweetmeat" (Hogg).
INSECT ENEMIES
1. APHIDES are often a great trouble. There are three sorts or
more, one called the plum aphis. They attack in spring and cause the
leaves to curl up, and so check growth. Steep 4 ozs. of quassia chips in
a gallon of soft water for twenty-four hours. Dissolve 2 ozs. of soft
soap in this mixture, and add to the infusion. Apply by a painter's
brush, and carefully wash the under side of the leaves (Rivers). On a
larger scale: "Boil 1 lb. of chips in a gallon of water for twenty
minutes, strain off the chips and add 38 gallons of water. Put 1 lb. of
soft soap in a gallon of water until dissolved, then add to the rest.
Apply by a syringe or sprayer. Where the foliage is young follow the
spraying by syringing half-an-hour afterwards" (Castle). Tobacco water
made as follows is also a good remedy: "Pour soft boiling water at the
rate 1 gallon to 2 ozs. of the strongest shag tobacco, allow it to stand
till cool. Its efficacy is increased by dissolving 2 ozs. of soft soap
in each gallon at the time it is poured on the tobacco" (Wright). This
mixture may be applied with some force by the garden engine. The great
point is to syringe or paint with one of these remedies as soon as the
evil is perceived.
2. RED GRUB is often very injurious. The moth measures about
½ inch across, the caterpillars are pale red, with brown neck and
black head. They pierce and drop with the fruit, seek shelter in the
bark, where they spin a cocoon and pass the winter. If the trees have
been scraped, then washed with a mixture of lime and soot, paraffin and
grease (see No. III. pears), or sprayed before the buds open with
Bordeaux mixture (see No. II.), and also afterwards, they probably will
not suffer. Lime and soot scattered over the ground under the trees will
also be useful. If the plums are attacked, collect all fallen fruits and
shake the trees every morning, burn the fruits affected or give them to
the pigs.
3. The PLUM SAWFLY also attacks the fruit, laying an egg in the
calyx of each flower. The grub is whitish, with brown head. It enters
the fruits, feeds on the stone, and causes them to drop. A spraying of
the modified mixture No. II. after the fruit has set would be useful,
but as the grub pupates in the soil, lime and soot will again be
serviceable. Collect and destroy fallen fruit daily.
4. RED SPIDER, a spinning mite, is a great pest in dry summers.
It must be checked by the free use of the syringe or water engine as
soon as seen. Yellow spots on the leaves are a proof of its presence.
Mix 4 gallons of soft soap solution with ½ lb. of flowers of sulphur;
apply with syringe. Strong soap-suds, or even clear water forcibly given
are better than nothing.
FUNGOID ATTACKS injure the trees. The Bordeaux mixture (No.
II.) is the best preventive and remedy if there are any signs of fungus.
Cut away all diseased twigs, boughs and branches, and burn them. Fungus
spores are scattered by the wind and spread the disease. Drench the
trunk and bark in winter with this mixture before the buds swell. Care
must be taken not to apply the mixture in full strength to tender leaves
and buds.
For the fungus mildew, half an ounce of sulphide of potassium mixed in a
gallon of water and applied by a syringe is recommended (Wright).
Finely-powdered quick-lime mixed with sulphur (double the quantity of
the former), and distributed by a special bellows (see before, page 39),
is also said to be a good remedy.
ORCHARD HOUSE
For dimensions see under pears. Plums are best in pots or tubs, as they
can be taken out when at rest. They are very liable to attacks from
aphides, but the insecticide for pears in pots is good also for plums.
The house must be fumigated, and the trees syringed on the least
appearance of aphis. Place the pots on bricks (_v._ pears). When growth
is being started the temperature should be from 45° at night to 50° by
day. Soft or tepid water should be given freely. Fumigate again just
before the flowers come out. As the buds increase, raise the temperature
5° to 10° and syringe once or twice a day with tepid water. But a dry
atmosphere is important while the trees are in flower. Admit air as well
as bees in the forenoon, and pass a camel-hair or light brush over the
flowers about the middle of the day. When the fruit is set, syringe at
least once a day; if the weather is hot, twice or even three times a
day, and give all the air possible. Thin the fruits (if the crop is
large) with scissors; mulch and feed with weak liquid manure (see
pears). The shoots must be pinched if the trees are of any age, at the
fifth or sixth leaf. Not much heat is needed generally, but when the
stoning period is passed, the ripening process may be hastened by a
higher temperature. The house may be closed at an earlier hour if
necessary. Avoid extremes. As the fruits ripen, cease gradually to
syringe, but keep the house moist by sprinkling water over the paths,
etc. Choose the choicest dessert sorts: Early Transparent, Dennistoun's
Superb, July Greengage, Jefferson, Count Althann, Coe's Golden Drop,
Guthrie's Late Green, Angelina Burdett, Bryanstone Gage, and Golden
Transparent; and if darker colours are desired: Early Prolific, Belgian
Purple and Czar. Bryanston Gage was recommended by the R.H.S. in 1892,
and is a very richly-flavoured dessert variety, but is not a good
cropper in the open, and needs a wall or house.
DAMSONS
are often very valuable, and also make good outside hedges. Bradley's
"King of the Damsons" is the best. The fruit is large, the tree
"free-cropping, bushy, vigorous, erect." R. September 20. Frogmore
Prolific (earlier) is also large and free-bearing. R. September 9. Both
these are late. Mirabelle and Rivers' Early Damson are August damsons,
small, the former vigorous.
BULLACES
Shepherd's is the best, and hangs late on the tree. A few trees in a
large garden are useful. R. September 20.
IMPORTANT POINTS
Good sorts on suitable stocks in good soil and proper aspect; lime in
the soil, added or otherwise; winter washing or spraying; thinning
fruit; early training; moderate pruning; root-pruning in very strong
soils; lifting in shallow soils; liquid and other manures; immediate
action if aphides or red spider appear.
DRYING BY EVAPORATION
This important subject cannot be treated here at length. In a hot season
with abundant crops, good results may be obtained with some prospect of
profit. But the apparatus has been expensive. Mr Udale's Report to the
Worcestershire _C.C._ on dried fruits, vegetables and herbs, with the
article in _Journal of R.H.S._, vol. xxvi., part ii., should be
consulted, and "Fruit Preserving," by R.L.C., in Watson, vol. v.
Thick-skinned plums, _e.g._, Czar, Prince Englebert, Diamond and Monarch
are best for the purpose. Plums placed on trays, dried in a very slow
oven, and allowed to cool several times, are often equal to French
prunes.
BOTTLING