PLUM. The plum delights in a rather com pact, well drained, rich, loamy soil. It is one of the most hardy of trees, quite as much so as the apple, and would be generally cultivated were it not for the ravages of the curculio. There has never yet been found any successful means of preventing the ravages of this pest, except jarring the trees, from the time the fruit is the -size of a small hazel nut, until it is fully grown, -catching the insects on a sheet and killing them. Unfortunately this takes so much time at a very busy season that none but special orchardists will take the trouble. The varieties as recom mended by the American Pomological Society, include many. The following do well generally: Uoe's Golden Drop; Damson; Lombard Imperial Gage ; Jefferson ; Smith's Orleans and Washington. Besides those mentioned the following are con siderably planted in the Eastern States: Bavay's Green Gage, also known as Reine Claude de Bavay; Duaue's Purple; Lawrence's Favorite; McLaughlin ; Prince's Yellow Gage ; Washington and Yellow Egg, or White Magnum Bonum. In the Western States the Wild Goose is almost universally planted, in every collection. The history of the plum gained from a variety of .sources is as follows: The most generally distrib uted, and longest known species of plum, is the common plum (Prunus domestica), coming origi nally from the Caucasus, and the mountains of Talysch. It is cultivated extensively in Syria, where it has passed into numerous varieties. It reached Italy about the time of Cato, and Pliny .speaks of ingens turba prunorunz, by which he 'designated the numerous varieties. At the pres .ent dav the different varieties may be referred to the following kinds: 1. The little cherry-plum, .(13,:unus cerasina). 2. The genuine plum (Prunus prunaria), of a little larger size; here belong the damsons.\ 3. The spilling or egg-plum (Prunus Arm, niaca), which includes the mirabellas and reine claude, or green-gage plums. 4. The almond plum, (Prunus amyydalizza). And, finally, 5. the Prunu 5 Persica,ria. Although the plum has been distributed over the whole of Europe, and ex tended far to the north, it is little known in eastern Asia, and it is doubtful whether it occurs in northern China. The bullace plum (Prunus
insititia), which is closely allied to the common plum, is of slight importance. It is found wild on the Caucasus. It is difficult to decide whether it occurs wild, _or only run wild in Greece and Southern Europe. This tree has certainly not been derived from the sloe bush. Here also belongs the Bear plum (Prunus urszna,) a thorny tree-like shrub, which grows wild everywhere .about Mt. Lebanon, the sweet, pleasant fruit of which, the size of our damson, is eaten not only by the bears, but serves as food to the inhabi tants of the mountain regions. Among the plums, in the most extended sense, may be men tioned the cultivated cherry (Prunus cerasus), and the wild black cherry (Prunus avium). The former, growing wild in the mountain forests of Southern Caucasus, was brought to Italy from Cerasunt, in Pontus, succeeding the conquest of Mithridates, seventy-four years before Christ. Another fruit, the size and shape of our plum, the ibametara, or Spanish plum, is obtained from a tree, (AS pondias myrobalanus,) which grows wild in the forests of Jamaica, and is cultivated in the northern regions of the tropi cal parts of Brazil. The natives eat the sweetish acid flesh, prepare a sauce, and manufacture drink from it. Another species of the same genus, (Spondias duleis,) is found on the Friendly Islands. The tree is fifty feet high, with a straight trunk, the thickness of a man, and bears clusters of large, oval, golden yellow, stone fruit, like pomegranates, the fleshy puta men of which is sweet and palatable, and reminds one of the pineapple. The Spondiat tuberosa and Spondias lutea in the West Indies, also furnish edible fruit. The Icaco plum (Chrysobalanus icaco, L ) is also worthy of men tion This tree-like shrub, with its fruit similar to the damson, grows wild as well as cultivated in the forests along the shores of South Amer ica, and on the wet coasts of C'arolina. It has been introduced from Africa, where it occurs from Senegal to Congo. The fruit is made into preserves and brought to Europe.