. The fruits and fruit trees of America;. Fruit-culture; Fruit. 266 THE PLUM. recommend the employment of pure yellow loam or yellow clay, in the place of manure, when preparing the border or spaces for planting the plum. Very heavy clay, burned slowly by mixing it in large heaps with brush or faggots, is at once an admirable manure and alterative for such soils. Swamp muck is also one of the best substances, and especially that from salt watAi marshes. Common salt we have found one of the best fertilizers for th6 plum tree. It not only greatly promotes its health and luxuri- ance, but from th
. The fruits and fruit trees of America;. Fruit-culture; Fruit. 266 THE PLUM. recommend the employment of pure yellow loam or yellow clay, in the place of manure, when preparing the border or spaces for planting the plum. Very heavy clay, burned slowly by mixing it in large heaps with brush or faggots, is at once an admirable manure and alterative for such soils. Swamp muck is also one of the best substances, and especially that from salt watAi marshes. Common salt we have found one of the best fertilizers for th6 plum tree. It not only greatly promotes its health and luxuri- ance, but from the dislike which most insects have to this sub- stance, it drives away or destroys most of those to which the plum is liable. The most successful plum grower in our neigh- bourhood, applies, with the best results, half a peck of coarse salt to the surface of the ground under each bearing tree, annu- ally, about the first of April. Insects and diseases. There are but two drawbacks to the cultivation of the plum in the United States, but they are in some districts so great as almost to destroy the value of this tree. These are the curcuUo, and the knots. The curculio, or plum-weevil, {Rhynchcmus Nenuphar,) is the uncompromising foe of all smooth stone fruits. The culti- vator of the Plum, the Nectarine, and the Apricot, in many parts of ihc country, after a flattering profusion of snowy blos- soms and an abundant promise in the thickly set young crops of fruit, has the frequent mortification of seeing nearly all, or indeed, often the whole crop, fall from the trees when half or two-thirds grown. If he examines these falling fruits, he will perceive on the surface of each, not far from the stalk, a small semi-circular scar. This star is the crescent-shaped insignia of that little Turk, the curculio ; an insect so small, as perhaps, to have es caped his observation for years, unless particularly drawn to it, but which nevertheless appropriates to himself the whole pro- duct of a tre
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1850, booksubjectfruitculture, bookyea
