ay 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 (3-1/2 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