[Illustration: FOREST GARDEN]
_Prunus hortulana mineri_
=1.= _Minn. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 81. 1882. =2.= _Am. Pom. Soc.
Cat._ 42. 1883. =3.= _Minn. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 412. 1889. =4.=
_Ia. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 55. 1890. =5.= _Cornell Sta. Bul._
=38=:37, 86. 1892. =6.= _Mich. Sta. Bul._ =118=:53. 1895. =7.=
_Wis. Sta. Bul._ =63=:24, 37. 1897. =8.= _Wis. Hort. Soc. Rpt._
136. 1899. =9.= Waugh _Plum Cult._ 148. 1901. =10.= _Can. Exp.
Farm Bul._ =43=:30. 1903. =11.= _Ohio Sta. Bul._ =162=:254,
255. 1905. =12.= _S. Dak. Sta. Bul._ =93=:17, 49 & 54 Pl. 1905.
Forest Garden is placed by most horticulturists in _Prunus americana_,
but the trees growing on the Geneva Station grounds belong to the Miner
group of _Prunus hortulana_ and the herbarium specimens of foliage and
flowers sent from other stations make it probable if not certain that
the trees here are true to name. This variety is little grown in the
East, but it is widely distributed in the central West where both in
tree and fruit-characters it seems adapted to the needs of the climate
and soil. It is one of the latest of its group, maturing at a good time
for shipping, for which it is further adapted by its tough skin and firm
flesh. While Forest Garden is not preeminently a dessert plum, it has a
spicy flavor that makes it pleasant eating and it is admirably adapted
for culinary purposes, especially for preserving.
This variety is from a wild plum found in the woods bordering on the
Cedar River, near Cedar Rapids, Iowa, by Thomas Hare, and introduced by
H. C. Raymond, of the Forest Garden Nurseries, Council Bluffs, Iowa,
about 1862. The American Pomological Society placed the variety on its
fruit catalog list in 1883, dropped it in 1891, and replaced it in 1897.
Tree medium to large, often very vigorous, spreading, with
sprawling habit, inclined to be flat-topped, perfectly
hardy, variable in productiveness, bearing young, somewhat
susceptible to shot-hole fungus; trunk small in proportion to
the size of the tree, shaggy; branches rather rough, zigzag
and inclined to split, thorny, dark ash-brown, with numerous,
small lenticels; branchlets thick, long, willowy, with short
internodes, greenish changing to dark chestnut-red, glossy,
with thin pubescence when young, which disappears in autumn,
with conspicuous, numerous raised lenticels; leaf-buds small,
short, obtuse, plump, appressed.
Leaves falling early, folded upward, elongated-oval, or
obovate, peach-like, one and three-quarters inches wide,
four and one-quarter inches long, thin and leathery; upper
surface smooth, with a shallow, grooved midrib; lower
surface silvery-green, pubescent; apex taper-pointed, base
somewhat abrupt, margin doubly crenate, glandular; petiole
three-quarters inch long, sparingly pubescent, faintly tinged
with red, usually with two conspicuous, globose, brownish
glands below the base of the leaf.
Blooming season late and long; flowers appearing with the
leaves; seven-eighths inch across, white, with a strong,
disagreeable odor; borne in dense but scattering clusters
on lateral buds and spurs, in threes or in fours; pedicels
nine-sixteenths inch in length, slender, glabrous, greenish;
calyx-tube green, narrowly campanulate or obconic, glabrous;
calyx-lobes narrow, obtuse, slightly pubescent, margined with
few hairs and with dark-colored glands, slightly reflexed;
petals oval, erose, tapering to long claws of medium width;
anthers yellowish; filaments seven-sixteenths inch in length;
pistil glabrous, shorter than the stamens.
Fruit variable in season which is usually late and short;
about one and one-eighth inches in diameter, rather large,
roundish-ovate or nearly oval, slightly compressed, halves
equal; cavity shallow, wide, flaring; suture a line; apex
roundish or somewhat pointed; color light or dark red, with
thin bloom; dots numerous, russet, conspicuous; stem slender,
five-eighths inch long, glabrous, detaching from the fruit at
maturity; skin thick, tough, slightly astringent, adhering;
flesh dark golden-yellow, juicy, coarse, fibrous, melting,
sweetish next the skin but rather sour toward the center,
with a strong and peculiar flavor, aromatic; fair to good;
stone clinging, three-quarters inch by five-eighths inch in
size, oval, turgid, blunt and slightly flattened at the base,
ending in an abrupt but sharp point at the apex, nearly smooth;
ventral suture narrow, faintly ridged; dorsal suture acute.
FOREST ROSE
[Illustration: FOREST ROSE]
_Prunus hortulana mineri_
=1.= _Mich. Pom. Soc. Rpt._ 290. 1889. =2.= _Ia. Hort. Soc.
Rpt._ 55. 1890. =3.= _Cornell Sta. Bul._ =38=:55, 86. 1892.
=4.= _Mich. Sta. Bul._ =123=:19. 1895. =5.= _Ia. Sta. Bul._
=31=:346. 1895. =6.= _Colo. Sta. Bul._ =50=:36. 1898. =7.=
_Ohio Sta. Bul._ =113=:154. 1899. =8.= Waugh _Plum Cult._ 173.
1901. =9.= Budd-Hansen _Am. Hort. Man._ 296. 1903.
Forest Rose, like Forest Garden, belongs to _Prunus hortulana mineri_,
the two being similar in many respects. Forest Rose, however, is not as
attractive in color as the other variety, the difference not being well
brought out in the color-plates, is smaller and does not keep nor ship
quite as well. The variety under discussion is better in quality than
Forest Garden and better adapted than the last named variety for the
home orchard at least. While somewhat variable in productiveness, in most
localities it bears annually and abundantly. The trees are rather more
thorny than most of its species.
This variety is said by H. A. Terry of Crescent, Iowa, to be a seedling
of Miner, grown by Scott & Company, a Missouri nursery firm, and
introduced by William Stark, Louisiana, Missouri, in 1878. Terry offers
no evidence to show that this plum is a seedling of Miner and there is a
question as to whether more is really known of its parentage other than
that it came from Missouri.
Tree medium to large, intermediate in vigor, upright-spreading,
open-topped, hardy, variable in productiveness somewhat
susceptible to attacks of shot-hole fungus; trunk very rough
and shaggy; branches rough, thorny, dark ash-gray, with
numerous lenticels; branchlets numerous, slender, variable in
length, with internodes of medium length, green changing to
dull reddish-brown, glossy, glabrous, with numerous, small,
raised lenticels; leaf-buds small, short, obtuse, appressed.
Leaves falling early, folded upward, elongated-oval or obovate,
one and one-half inches wide, four inches long, thin; upper
surface dull red in the fall, rugose, glabrous, with the
midrib and larger veins deeply grooved; lower surface light
green, somewhat pubescent along the midrib; apex acuminate,
base acute, margin crenate or serrate, with small, dark
glands; petiole slender, five-eighths inch in length, sparsely
pubescent along one side, tinged with red, glandless or with
from one to three small, globose or oval, greenish-brown glands
on the stalk.
Flowers seven-eighths inch across, white, with a disagreeable
odor; borne in dense clusters on lateral buds and spurs, in
pairs or in threes; pedicels five-eighths inch long, below
medium in thickness, glabrous, greenish: calyx-tube green,
narrowly campanulate, glabrous; calyx-lobes short and narrow,
acute, serrate, somewhat reflexed, glabrous on the outer
surface, but more or less pubescent on the inner surface and
along the margin, which is strewn with red glands; petals oval,
dentate, tapering below into narrow, lightly pubescent claws of
medium length; anthers light yellow; filaments one-half inch in
length; pistil glabrous, shorter than the stamens.
Fruit late, season short; one and one-eighth inches by one inch
in size, roundish-oval; cavity shallow, narrow, flaring; suture
a line; apex roundish; color dull crimson overspread with thin
bloom; dots very numerous, small, gray, conspicuous; stem
slender, three-quarters inch long, smooth, not adhering to the
fruit; skin thick, tough, astringent, inclined to crack under
unfavorable conditions, adhering; flesh dull apricot-yellow,
juicy, fibrous, tender and melting, sweet next to the skin but
tart toward the center, aromatic; fair to good; stone clinging,
five-eighths inch by one-half inch in size, oval, acute at the
apex, with pitted surfaces; ventral suture somewhat blunt.
FOTHERINGHAM
_Prunus domestica_
1. Rea _Flora_ 208. 1676. 2. Langley _Pomona_ 91. 1729. 3. Miller _Gard.
Dict_. =3=:1754. 4. Forsyth _Treat. Fr. Trees_ 19. 1803. 5. Downing _Fr.
Trees Am._ 299. 1845. Floy-Lindley _Guide Orch. Gard._ 286, 383. 1846.
7. Thompson _Gard. Ass’t_ 517. 1859. 8. Hogg _Fruit Man._ 701. 1884. 9.
Waugh _Plum Cult._ 102. 1901.
Foderingham 1. Fotheringay 8. Foderingham Plum 2. _Grove House Purple_ 5,
7, 8. _Red Fotheringham_ 8. _Sheen_ 2, 5, 6, 7, 8.
Fotheringham is probably one of the oldest varieties of plums now
cultivated. Although but little if at all grown in this country, it has
maintained its place among standard English varieties for at least two
and a half centuries. The exact time of its origin is not certain, but
it was undoubtedly during the first half of the Seventeenth Century as
Hogg records a reference made to it by Rea in 1665. It was first grown
extensively at Sheen, in Surrey, England, about 1700 by Sir William
Temple, who gave it the name Sheen. The variety is described as follows:
Tree hardy, vigorous, productive. Fruit matures just before
Reine Claude; of medium size, obovate; suture distinct; stem
one inch long; color reddish-purple with thin bloom; flesh
greenish-yellow, sweet, sprightly; good; freestone.
FREEMAN
_Prunus domestica_
As this variety grows in the Station orchard it is a remarkably fine
plum. The fruits are attractive, of high quality and the tree-characters
are for most part very good. It is certainly a desirable plum for any
home plantation, and if it proves as productive elsewhere as about
Geneva, it may well be worth growing in commercial orchards.
Freeman is a chance seedling found in the yard of a Mr. Freeman of
Cortland, New York, about 1890 and shortly afterwards introduced by
E. Smith & Sons of Geneva, New York, but is as yet hardly known by
plum-growers.
Tree intermediate in size and vigor, upright-spreading,
productive; branchlets slender, pubescent; leaves oval, one
and one-half inches wide, two and three-quarters inches long;
margin serrate or almost crenate, eglandular or with small dark
glands; petiole reddish, glandless or with from one to four
globose glands; blooming season intermediate, short; flowers
appearing after the leaves, creamy-white, usually in scattering
clusters at the ends of lateral spurs; borne singly or in twos.
Fruit mid-season, ripening period short; about one and one-half
inches in diameter, roundish or roundish-oval; cavity very
shallow, small, often lipped; color golden-yellow, blushed
and mottled with red on the exposed cheek, covered with thin
bloom; flesh light golden-yellow, firm but tender, sweet,
pleasant flavor; very good to best; stone dark colored,
free, seven-eighths inch by five-eighths inch in size,
irregular-oval, somewhat flattened, abruptly contracted at the
base, with surfaces roughened; ventral suture prominent.
FREESTONE
[Illustration: FREESTONE]
_Prunus insititia_
1. _Am. Gard._ =14=:148. 1893. 2. Waugh _Plum Cult._ 129. 1901.
Freestone Damson 2.
Freestone is a Damson separated from other Damsons chiefly in being
sweeter and more free of stone. It is so inferior to varieties of its
species in several particulars as to have little value for commercial
planting. The fruits are smaller and the pits larger in proportion to
the amount of flesh than with several better known Damsons and the trees
do not bear as large crops as plums of this species should; these faults
of fruit and tree condemn the plum. To offset the defects in the tree,
freedom from black-knot and immunity to leaf-blight may be mentioned as
compensating somewhat. Still Freestone is hardly to be mentioned as worth
planting in either home or commercial orchard. The origin of this Damson
is unknown. Stark Brothers, Louisiana, Missouri, who introduced the
variety about 1889, describe it as “a selected sort which is very hardy,
free from insects, and productive.”
Tree of medium size and vigor, upright-spreading, vasiform,
hardy, not always productive; branches dark ash-gray, thorny;
leaves folded upward, oval, one and one-quarter inches wide,
two and one-quarter inches long; upper surface dark green,
rugose; lower surface silvery-green, pubescent; margin finely
serrate, eglandular or with small, brownish glands; petiole
five-eighths inch long, glandless or with one or two small
glands; blooming season late and of medium length; flowers
appearing after the leaves, seven-eighths inch across, the buds
creamy, changing to white when expanded; borne in clusters on
lateral buds and spurs, usually in pairs; anthers reddish;
filaments five-sixteenths inch long; pistil shorter than the
stamens.
Fruit late, season long; seven-eighths inch in diameter,
roundish-oval; cavity very shallow and narrow; flesh
yellowish-green, juicy, tender, sweet, mild; fair in quality;
stone free, tinged red, five-eighths inch by one-half inch in
size, oval, turgid, with roughened surfaces, acute at the base,
blunt at the apex; ventral suture broad, blunt; dorsal suture
with a broad, shallow groove.
FRENCH
[Illustration: FRENCH]
_Prunus insititia_
=1.= _Mich. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 289. 1889. =2.= _Ibid._ 64. 1891.
=3.= _Cornell Sta. Bul._ =131=:184 fig. 40 I. 1897. =4.= _Mich.
Sta. Bul._ =169=:245. 1899. =5.= _Waugh Plum Cult._ 129. 1901.
_French Damson_ 4. French Damson 1, 2, 3.
Far better than the Freestone just discussed is the French Damson, which
in some respects surpasses all other plums in its group. Thus it is the
largest of the Damsons, so large, indeed, as to lead many to believe
that it may be a hybrid with some Domestica plum, the size of the trees,
blossoms and foliage also leading to such a supposition. This excellent
Damson is largely grown for the market in western New York, good quality
as well as size and appearance aiding in selling the product. The fruits
have but one defect, the pit is large for the amount of flesh. Curiously
enough in some seasons the stone clings and in others is perfectly free.
It is in tree-characters that the French plum best shows its superiority
over other Damsons. The trees are large, the largest of the Damsons in
New York, hardy, bear abundantly and annually and carry their foliage so
well that fruit and wood usually ripen perfectly even when the trees are
not sprayed. The season is a little after that of the more commonly grown
Shropshire, which in most years is an advantage. French, while becoming
popular, is still too little known in New York, where its behavior
warrants quite general planting.
S. D. Willard, a nurseryman of Geneva, New York, probably introduced
French in this country; at least it was brought to notice mainly through
his recommendation. The origin is unknown, but it is probably an
introduction from France and may be an old variety renamed. The figure
of Prune Petit Damas Violet given by Poiteau is so very similar as to
suggest that French may be identical with that sort.
Tree large, vigorous, spreading, dense-topped, hardy,
productive; branches numerous, ash-gray, roughish, thorny,
with lenticels variable in size; branchlets inclined to
develop spurs at the base, rather slender, short, with short
internodes, greenish-red changing to dark brownish-drab, dull,
somewhat zigzag, thickly pubescent, with inconspicuous, small
lenticels; leaf-buds intermediate in size and length, pointed,
free.
Leaves folded upward, long-oval, one and one-quarter inches
wide, three inches long; upper surface dark green, covered
with fine hairs, with a grooved midrib; lower surface
pubescent; apex abruptly pointed, base abrupt, margin serrate
or nearly crenate, with a few, small, dark glands; petiole
eleven-sixteenths inch long, rather slender, pubescent, faintly
tinged with red, usually having two very small, globose,
greenish-brown glands on the stalk or base of the leaf.
Blooming season intermediate in time and length; flowers
appearing after the leaves, one and five-sixteenths inches
across, white; borne on lateral spurs, usually in pairs;
pedicels five-eighths inch long, slender, covered with short
pubescence, greenish; calyx-tube green, campanulate, glabrous;
calyx-lobes narrow, obtuse, glabrous on the outer surface,
thinly pubescent along the margin and at the base of the inner
surface, glandular-serrate, reflexed; petals oval, dentate
or fringed, tapering below to short, broad claws; anthers
distinctly reddish; filaments seven-sixteenths inch in length;
pistil glabrous, equal to the stamens in length.
Fruit late; one and one-half inches by one and one-eighth
inches in diameter, ovate, halves equal; cavity very shallow,
narrow, flaring; suture a line; apex roundish; color dull
black, overspread with thick bloom; dots numerous, small,
brownish, inconspicuous; stem slender, three-quarters inch
long, sparingly pubescent, adhering well to the fruit; skin
thin, tough, separating readily; flesh greenish, juicy,
fibrous, tender, sweet, pleasant and sprightly; good; stone
variable in adhesion, seven-eighths inch by one-half inch in
size, oval, roughened, acute at the base, blunt at the apex;
ventral suture rather narrow, heavily furrowed and somewhat
winged; dorsal suture with a shallow groove of medium width.
FROGMORE
_Prunus insititia_
=1.= _Flor. & Pom._ 265, Pl. 1876. =2.= _Mich. Hort. Soc. Rpt._
289. 1889. =3.= _Can. Exp. Farm Bul._ 2nd Ser. =3=:51. 1900.
=4.= Waugh _Plum Cult._ 130. 1901.
Frogmore Damson 1, 2. Frogmore Prolific Damson 3.
Frogmore may be considered among the best of the Damsons in quality for
the culinary purposes to which this fruit is commonly put. The flesh is
tender, sweet and good, but adheres rather too tightly to the stone.
The tree of Frogmore is all that could be desired in productiveness and
quite equals most other Damsons in general and probably surpasses them
all, at least on the grounds at this Station, in length of time that the
fruit hangs on the tree. The habit of growth of this variety varies from
that of _Prunus insititia_ as commonly found, the leaves being larger,
the tops more spreading and the branches less thorny. The variety has
hardly been tried enough in New York to warrant either recommending or
condemning it. According to the _Florist and Pomologist_, published
in 1876, this variety originated a few years previous to the date of
publication in the Royal Gardens at Frogmore, England.
Tree inferior in size and vigor, round-topped, open, hardy,
very productive; branches thorny, the bark on the older
branches splitting transversely to the direction of growth,
making grooves or rings about three inches apart and two
inches or more in length; branchlets slender, almost glabrous
throughout the season, covered with light bloom; leaves bright
red on first opening, somewhat folded backward, obovate, one
and three-eighths inches wide, three and one-half inches long;
upper surface dark green, rugose; lower surface silvery-green,
pubescent, margin eglandular; petiole five-eighths inch
long, slender, greenish, glandless or with one or two small,
globose, yellowish-green glands usually at the base of the
leaf; blooming season intermediate in time and length; flowers
appearing after the leaves, one inch across, white, in
scattered clusters on lateral spurs; borne singly or in pairs;
anthers yellow with tinge of red; filaments five-sixteenths
inch long; pistil glabrous, equal to the stamens in length.
Fruit late, season of medium length; one and one-eighth inches
by one inch in size, roundish-oval, compressed, purplish-black,
overspread with thick bloom; flesh golden-yellow, juicy,
tender, sweet; good; stone clinging, three-quarters inch by
one-half inch in size, oval, smooth, somewhat acute at the base
and apex; ventral suture blunt or with a short, narrow wing;
dorsal suture with a narrow, shallow groove.
FROST GAGE
_Prunus domestica_
=1.= Prince _Pom. Man._ =2=:52. 1832. =2.= _Mag. Hort._ =4=:45.
1838. =3.= Hoffy _Orch. Comp._ =2=:1842, =4.= Downing _Fr.
Trees Am._ 300. 1845. =5.= _Horticulturist_ =3=:446. 1848. =6.=
Cole _Am. Fr. Book_ 219. 1849. =7.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Rpt._ 54.
1852. =8.= Hogg _Fruit Mun._ 362. 1866.
_American Damson_ 8. _Frost Plum_ 4, 6, 8. _October Gage_ 3.
Frost Gage is too small for market purposes and moreover the fruit
withers rather quickly after picking; the quality is above the average.
The plum is not a Gage, only green fruits being entitled to this name.
At one time this was one of the most popular commercial varieties in
the Hudson Valley, but because of its susceptibility to black-knot it
has lost favor with growers. Downing in 1838 traced the history of this
variety to a tree standing on the farm of a Mr. Duboise, Dutchess County,
New York, Mr. Duboise stating that the original had been planted by his
father. It is doubtful if this is the first tree, however, for in 1849
Charles Hamilton of Canterbury, Orange County, reported trees of Frost
Gage thirty to forty years old on his place.
Tree of medium size, upright, very productive; branchlets
thick; leaves flattened, oval or obovate, one and one-half
inches wide, two and three-quarters inches long; margin crenate
or serrate, with few, small, black glands; petiole short,
usually with one or two glands; blooming season intermediate,
short; flowers appearing after the leaves, white, with a little
yellowish tinge; borne on lateral buds and spurs, singly or in
twos.
Fruit late; about one and one-eighth inches in diameter,
roundish, dark purplish-black, covered with thick bloom; stem
slender, persistent; skin tough, sour; flesh greenish-yellow,
juicy, firm, sweet, mild; fair to good; stone clinging, small,
irregular-ovate, somewhat oblique.
FURST
_Prunus domestica_
=1.= Mas _Le Verger_ =6=:45. 1873. =2.= Lange _Allgem. Garten._
=2=:421. 1879. =3.= Oberdieck _Deut. Obst. Sort._ 413. 1881.
=4.= Lauche _Deut. Pom._ 8, Pl. 1882. =5.= _Guide Prat._ 159,
363. 1895.
_Eugen Fürsts Frühzwetsche_ 4, 5. Fürst’s Frühzwetsche 2, 3, 4.
_Fürst’s Frühzwetsche_ 1, 4, 5. Quetsche Précoce de Fürst 1, 5.
Furst would undoubtedly be well worthy of very general cultivation in
plum orchards were it not for the fact that it is very similar to the
Italian Prune. The two fruits differ only in season, the Furst being a
few days earlier, and in the tendency of the variety under discussion
to shrivel about the neck. It may be that Furst will succeed in some
localities where the Italian Prune is not a success.
Furst was propagated by the Baron of Trauttenberg, Prague, Bohemia, who
had received it from Professor Pater Hackl, Leitmeritz, Bohemia, under
the name Furst, given in honor of Eugene Furst, son of the founder of
the School of Horticulture of Frauendorf, Bavaria. Furst Damson has
been confused with this variety, but it is a different plum. Its fruits
are distinctly necked and much inferior in quality, and its shoots
are glabrous, while in this variety they are not. The United States
Department of Agriculture introduced Furst in 1901 and through them this
Station received cions for testing.
Tree of medium size, round-topped, productive; branchlets
thick, marked with slight scarf-skin; leaf-scars very
prominent; leaves folded upward, obovate, two and one-half
inches wide, four and one-half inches long; margin doubly
serrate or almost crenate, eglandular or with small dark
glands; petiole thick, pubescent, glandless or with from one
to three globose glands usually on the stalk; blooming season
late; flowers one and one-eighth inches across, white, the
opening buds tipped with yellow; borne on lateral buds and
spurs, singly or in twos.
Fruit late; one and seven-eighths inches by one and one-half
inches in size, oval, slightly necked, purplish-black, covered
with thick bloom; dots numerous, reddish, conspicuous; stem
thick; flesh greenish-yellow, juicy, very fibrous, firm,
sweet, mild, with pleasant aroma; good to very good; stone one
and one-eighths inches by five-eighths inch in size, free,
irregular-oval, with rather long, tapering, oblique apex,
the surfaces heavily pitted; ventral suture prominent, often
winged; dorsal suture wide.
GEORGESON
[Illustration: GEORGESON]
_Prunus triflora_
=1.= _Ga. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 52, 99. 1889. =2.= _Am. Gard._
=12=:308, 501, 574. 1891. =3.= _Ibid._ =13=:700. 1892. =4.=
_Cornell Sta. Bul._ =62=:23, 27. 1894. =5.= _Tex. Sta. Bul._
=32=:488, 489. 1894. =6.= _Ga. Hart. Soc. Rpt._ 94. 1895. =7.=
_Cornell Sta. Bul._ =106=:51, 58. 1896. =8.= _Ibid._ =139=:40,
44. 1897. =9.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 26. 1897. =10.= _Cornell
Sta. Bul._ =175=:145. 1899. =11.= Waugh _Plum Cult._ 136. 1901.
=12.= _Ga. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 13. 1904. =13.= _Mass. Sta. An.
Rpt._ =17=:160. 1905. =14.= _Ohio Sta. Bul._ =162=:250, 254,
255, 256, 257. 1905. =15.= _Ga. Sta. Bul._ =68=:10, 30, 32, 35.
1905.
_Hattonkin No. 1._ 3, 4, 7. _Hattankin No. 1._ 5. _Hattonkin_
7, 11. _Hattankio_ 7. Hattankio ?1. _Hattankio No. 1._ 6, 9,
12, 15. Hattonkin No. 1. 2. _Mikado_ 10, 11, 12, 15. Normand 4,
5, 7, 8, 14. Normand Yellow 2, 3. Normand Japan 3. _Normand’s
Japan_ 4, 5. _Normand Yellow_ 4, 5, 7. _Normand_ ?15. _White
Kelsey_ 10, 11, 15. _Yeddo_ 10, 11, 15.
Georgeson is not worth the trouble it has caused pomologists in
straightening out its nomenclature; and Professor Georgeson deserves to
have his name attached to a far better plum. The rich yellow color of the
fruit makes this a particularly handsome plum, but here praises end. The
flesh is so astringent and clings so tenaciously to the stone as to unfit
the variety for either dessert or culinary use. Moreover, the fruits are
exceedingly variable in color, size and shape, in the last character
ranging from flattish to round, with sometimes round and sometimes
pointed apex. The tree has too much of the sprawling habit of Burbank
to make it a good orchard plant. This plum, and those that have been
confused with it, can be spared without great loss to American pomology.
Georgeson was imported by H. H. Berger & Company, San Francisco,
California, and brought to notice chiefly by J. L. Normand, Marksville,
Louisiana, who named it for Professor C. C. Georgeson, then of Manhattan,
Kansas, a student of Japanese fruits. In the Georgia Horticultural
Society Report for 1889, L. A. Berckmans mentions two types of Hattankio,
one of which may be this variety. Normand, in 1891, said that he received
two varieties of Hattonkin from different sources and in order to
separate them he numbered the earlier, No. 1, the later No. 2. Bailey
and Kerr, however, in 1894, published Hattonkin No. 1 as a synonym of
Georgeson and Hattonkin No. 2, the later, as a synonym of the Kerr. The
Georgia Horticultural Society accepted this latter nomenclature in their
report published in 1895. The Mikado, White Kelsey and Yeddo as tested by
this Station have proved to be identical with Georgeson, but as tested
by Kerr,[212] the Mikado alone is the same. Normand, which is said to
have been imported and introduced in 1891 by J. L. Normand, is also
indistinguishable from this variety. In 1897, Georgeson was placed on the
American Pomological Society fruit catalog list.
Tree medium in size and vigor, upright-spreading or
broad-vasiform, not always hardy, productive; branches
roughish, slightly thorny, often with bark cracked
longitudinally, zigzag, dark ash-gray; branchlets glabrous,
with characteristic raised lenticels; leaf-scars enlarged;
leaves folded upward, broadly oblanceolate or obovate, one and
three-eighths inches wide, three and three-quarters inches
long, thin; margin crenate or serrate, with small, amber
glands; petiole five-eighths inch long, reddish, with from
one to ten brownish-red glands usually on the stalk; blooming
season early to medium, of average length; flowers appearing
before the leaves; borne in clusters on lateral spurs, in pairs
or in threes; petals pinkish at the base; anthers reddish;
pistil longer than the stamens.
Fruit early, ripening period short; one and five-eighths inches
in diameter, roundish-cordate; cavity deep, wide, usually
with concentric, russet lines; color greenish-yellow changing
to deep yellow as the fruit reaches full maturity, with thin
bloom; flesh golden-yellow, fibrous, firm, sweetish except near
the center; fair to good; stone clinging, five-eighths inch
by one-half inch in size, oval, turgid, with pitted surfaces;
ventral suture broad, slightly ribbed; dorsal suture acute.
GERMAN PRUNE
[Illustration: GERMAN PRUNE]
_Prunus domestica_
=1.= Knoop _Fructologie_ =2=:53, 61. 1771. 2. Coxe _Cult. Fr.
Trees_ 235, fig. 7. 1817. =3.= _Lond. Hort. Soc. Cat._ 152.
1831. =4.= Prince _Pom. Man._ =2=:77, 78. 1832. =5.= Downing
_Fr. Trees Am._ 310. 1845. =6.= Floy-Lindley _Guide Orch.
Gard._ 286, 383. 1846. =7.= Poiteau _Pom. Franc._ =1=:1846.
=8.= Thomas _Am. Fruit Cult._ 335. 1849. =9.= _Am. Pom. Soc.
Cat._ 214. 1856. =10.= Hooper _W. Fr. Book_ 245. 1857. =11.=
Thompson _Gard. Ass’t_ 519. 1859. =12.= Hogg _Fruit Man._ 378.
1866. =13.= _Pom. France_ =7=: No. 17. 1871. =14.= Mas _Pom.
Gen._ =2=:171. 1873. =15.= Lange _Allgem. Garten._ =2=:418.
1879. =16.= Lauche _Deut. Pom._ =1=:1882. =17.= Mathieu _Nom.
Pom._ 434. 1889. =18.= Wickson _Cal. Fruits_ 355. 1891. =19.=
_Guide Prat._ 155, 362. 1895. =20.= _Cornell Sta. Bul._
=131=:185, fig. 43. 1897. =21.= _Oregon Sta. Bul._ =45=:29 fig.
1897. =22.= Waugh _Plum Cult._ 102. 1901. =23.= _Ohio Sta.
Bul._ =162=: 254, 255. 1905.
_Altesse ordinaire_ 13, 17, 19. _Backpflaume_ 17, 19.
_Bauernpflaume_ 17, 19. _Common Quetsche_ 3, 5, 11, 17, 18,
19. _Couetsche_ 4, 19. _Couetche_ 17. _Couetch_ 13, 19.
_Couetsche Ordinaire_ 17, 19. _Covetche_ 5. _Covetsche_
17. _Damas Gros_ 3, 5, 11, 17, 19. _Damask_ 3, 5, 11, 17,
19. _Damas Long_ 1. _Damas Violet_ of some 3, 11, 17, 19.
_Damas Violet Gros_ of some 3, 5, 11, 17, 19. _Deutsche Blaue
Herbstzwetsche_ 17, 19. _Die Hauszwetsche_ 19. _D’Allemagne_
19. Die Hauszwetsche 16. _Dutch Prune_ 10. _Early Russian_ 11,
12, 13, 17, 19. _Enkelde Backspruim_ 17. _Enkelde Blackpruim_
19. _Fellemberg_ 13, 17 incor., 19. _Gemeine Zwetsche_ 13, 14,
17, 19. _Gemeine Hauszwetsche_ 14. German Plum 4, 14. _German
Prune_ 3, 5, 11, 12, 13, 14, 17, 19. _German Quetsche_ 12,
13, 17, 19. _Grosse German Prune_ 3. _Grosse Hauspflaume_ 17,
19. Hauszwetsche 15. _Hauszwetsche_ 13, 14, 16. _Hauspflaume_
14, 17. _Imperatrice Violette Grosse_ of some 3, 5, 11, 17,
19. _Imperatrice Violette_ of some 3, 5, 11, 13, 17, 19.
_Koetsche_ 13, 17, 19. _Large German Prune_ 4, 17. _Leipzig_ 3,
12, 13, 17, 19. _Leipzic_ 5. _Leipziger Zwetsche_ 16, 17, 19.
Monsieur tardif? 19. _Monsieur Tardif_ 17. _Prune d’Allemagne
la commune_ 4. _Prune d’Allemagne_ 3, 5, 11, 12, 13, 16, 17.
_Prune d’Altesse_ 1. Prune Imperatrice Violette 7. Prune Plum?
2. _Prune Allemand_ 4. _Prunier Allemand_ 4. _Prune Plum_ 4.
Prune Quetsch 7. _Prunus Oeconomica_ 17. _Prune Zwetschen_ 14.
_Quastche_ 7. _Quetsch_ 7, 13, 19. _Quetsche_ 4, 6, 8, 14,
17, 19. Quetsche? 1, 3, 5, 6, 11, 12. _Quetsch Allemande_ 1.
_Quetsch Hongroise_ 1. _Quetschen_ 4. _Quetsche Commune_ 4, 13,
14, 16, 17. Quetsch Longue? 1. _Quetsche d’Allemagne Grosse_
3, 5, 11, 17, 19. Quetsche Commune 19. _Quetsche d’Allemagne_
3, 17, 19. Quetsche D’Allemagne 13. _Quetsche des Allemands_ 7.
_Quetsche Grosse_ 3, 5, 17, 19. _Quetsche de Lorraine_ 13, 14,
17, 19. _Quetsche de Metz_ 13, 16, 17, 19. Quetsche Domestique
14. _Quetsche de Malogne_ 13, 17, 19. Quetzen 6, 17. _Sweet
Prune_ 5, 11, 12, 13, 17, 19. _Teutsche blaue Zwetsche_ 16, 17,
19. _Wahre Zwetsche_ 16. _Wetschen_ 13, 17, 19. _True Large
German Prune_ 4, 5, 17, 19. _Turkish Quetsche_ 5, 11, 12, 13,
17, 19. _Zwespe_ 17, 19. _Zwetsche_ 3, 5, 7, 11, 12, 13, 14,
17, 19. _Zwetschen_ 4. _Zwetschke_ 3, 11, 17, 19.
Although one of the oldest plums under cultivation, probably the oldest
of the prune type, the German Prune is still as largely grown, the world
over, as any; and is seemingly more widely disseminated than any other
plum. It is a little difficult, in America at least, to see why this
fruit holds its popularity so long, for it is surpassed by other plums
in many horticultural characters, and when all of its characters, most
of which are very good, are combined there are still plums which it does
not excel. In most of the attributes which gratify the senses, color,
size, shape, taste and smell, it falls below expectations for a plum so
universally planted. Undoubtedly the wide distribution of this plum is
due somewhat to its many variations. The fruit comes almost true to seed
and is often propagated by planting pits, a practice which has given many
slightly different strains of this variety, each with somewhat different
adaptations.
In the Old World the number of strains of this plum, especially in
Germany, is legion, so many that it is probably impossible to segregate
them at this late date. In America, while there are a number of these
more or less distinct strains it is yet possible to distinguish the chief
ones. In New York, the most commonly grown German Prune is the Rochester
strain and since it agrees most closely with the fruit described in
the best works on pomology, it is the strain described and illustrated
in this work. The trees from which this description was made came from
Ellwanger and Barry, Rochester, New York, who have long maintained a
stock tree of this strain. Another German Prune, fruit of which we have
not been able to obtain, is the Dansville strain grown in the nurseries
of Dansville, New York. Still another of these plums is the Weedsport
German Prune[213] so like the Rochester type as to be hardly worth
distinguishing. The Latz German Prune is a very distinct strain; it is
larger, thicker and broader than the type here described and is more of a
clingstone. In some respects this is the best of the German Prunes. All
accounts agree that this plum was introduced into America from Prussia
by a Mr. Latz about 1850.
All of these German Prunes are characterized by large, hardy, vigorous,
healthy, productive trees, characters so marked that one can say at once
that it is the tree that gives the German Prune its great value. The
fruit is excellent for all culinary purposes, especially for canning, and
cures into a small but very good, tart, meaty, freestone, elastic prune.
The chief objection to the plum for these purposes is that the fruits run
small. The plums are too tart to have much value as dessert fruits. This
variety is likely to remain a standard for some time in New York but will
eventually be superseded by a larger fruit.
The origin of this plum is uncertain. German writers very generally
hold that it came from Asia whence it was carried during the Crusades
to Europe. Lauche, a German authority, says, “In the Sixteenth Century,
the first dried prunes were introduced into Italy, Switzerland and
Germany from Hungary. The tree on the contrary is said not to have been
introduced by us until the end of the Seventeenth Century.” A Prune Plum
was noted in America by Coxe in 1817, but it is impossible to say whether
he meant the German Prune. Prince, however, in 1832, described the
variety under its present name. In 1856, the American Pomological Society
placed the German Prune on the list of the varieties promising well and
six years later added it to its fruit catalog. The German Prune is used
only in the fresh state in New York, but on the Pacific Coast, in some
one of its several types, it is one of the half-dozen leading sorts for
curing.
Tree medium to large, vigorous, round and dense-topped,
hardy, usually very productive; branches ash-gray, somewhat
rough, with lenticels variable in size; branchlets slender,
short, with internodes of medium length, green changing to
brownish-red, dull, glabrous, with numerous, small, obscure
lenticels; leaf-buds intermediate in size and length, conical,
free.
Leaves falling early, oval or obovate, one and one-half inches
wide, three inches long, thinnish, velvety; upper surface
pubescent, slightly rugose, with a shallow groove on the
midrib; lower surface yellowish-green, heavily pubescent; apex
abruptly pointed or acute, base acute, margin finely serrate,
with small glands; petiole one-half inch long, pubescent,
tinged with red, glandless or with one or two small, globose
glands usually at the base of the leaf.
Blooming season intermediate in time and length; flowers
appearing after the leaves, nearly one inch across,
inconspicuous on account of their greenish-yellow color, which
characterizes the variety; borne on lateral spurs, singly or
in pairs; pedicels five-eighths inch long; below medium in
thickness, pubescent, greenish; calyx-tube green, campanulate,
lightly pubescent at the base; calyx-lobes long, narrow,
acute, thinly pubescent on both surfaces, glandular-serrate,
erect; petals narrow, long-oval or obovate, erose, tapering
to broad claws of medium length; anthers yellowish; filaments
seven-sixteenths inch long; pistil very pubescent at the base,
equal to the stamens in length.
Fruit late, ripening period very long; one and five-eighths
inches by one inch in size, oval, slightly swollen on
the ventral side, halves unequal; cavity very shallow,
narrow, flaring; suture a faint line; apex pointed; color
purplish-black, overspread with thick bloom; dots numerous,
small, brown, inconspicuous, clustered about the base; stem
below medium in thickness, five-eighths inch long, adhering
well to the fruit; skin tough, separating readily; flesh
yellowish-green, medium juicy, firm, sweetish, mild, pleasant
flavor; good to very good; stone free, seven-eighths inch
by one-half inch in size, the cavity larger than the pit,
flattened, obliquely long-oval, pointed at the apex and
base, with rough and pitted surfaces; ventral suture narrow,
conspicuously winged; dorsal suture narrowly and shallowly
grooved.
GIANT
[Illustration: GIANT]
_Prunus domestica_
=1.= _Gard. & For._ =7=:420. 1894. =2.= Burbank _Cat._ 5, fig.
1895. =3.= _Cal. State Board Hort._ 47. 1897-98. =4.= _Cornell
Sta. Bul._ =131=:185. 1897. =5.= _Mich. Sta. Bul._ =169=:245.
1899. =6.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 39. 1899. =7.= _Am. Gard._
=21=:36. 1900. =8.= _Mich. Sta. Bul._ =187=:77, 78. 1901.
Giant Prune 4, 7, 8. _Giant Prune_ 5, 6.
Giant is distinguished for its large size and attractive color. The
accompanying color-plate shows the color and shape very well, but the
fruit is a little too small. Unfortunately Giant is somewhat inferior
in quality, a disappointment to all, as with Agen for a parent high
quality was to be expected. In quality, as in all fruit-characters, the
variety resembles the male parent, Pond. The flesh is coarse, fibrous,
lacking in juice, clings more or less to the stone and rots quickly under
unfavorable conditions. The trees, too, lack somewhat in both vigor and
productiveness. Introduced as a prune, it was supposed that this variety
would prove a great boon to prune-makers, but it does not cure well and
is now hardly used for drying. Giant is proving to be one of the very
best shipping plums, as would be expected because of its firm, dry flesh.
It is unfortunate that so attractive a plum cannot be unqualifiedly
recommended, but it is doubtful if it is worth planting on a commercial
scale in New York.
Giant was grown by Luther Burbank, Santa Rosa, California, from a seed of
Agen fertilized by Pond, the Hungarian Prune of the Pacific Coast. The
stock of this variety was offered for sale to nurserymen in 1893 and
1894, but not to fruit-growers until 1895, and then by the originator.
The American Pomological Society placed it on their fruit catalog list in
1899 as a promising variety for this region and southern California.
Tree medium in size and vigor, round and dense-topped, hardy,
usually productive; branches short, stocky, dark ash-gray, with
large lenticels; branchlets short, with internodes of medium
length, greenish-red changing to dark brownish-red, dull,
thinly pubescent, heavily marked with scarf-skin and with few,
small, inconspicuous lenticels; leaf-buds small to medium,
short, conical, appressed.
Leaves folded backward, obovate or oval, two and one-quarter
inches wide, three and three-quarters inches long; upper
surface pubescent only along the midrib; lower surface pale
green, lightly pubescent on the midrib and larger veins; apex
abruptly pointed or acute, margin serrate or crenate, usually
with small, dark glands; petiole three-quarters inch long,
tinged red along one side, sparingly pubescent, glandless or
with from one to four greenish-brown glands usually on the
stalk.
Blooming season intermediate in time and length; flowers
appearing after the leaves, one and three-sixteenths inches
across, creamy in the buds, changing to white on opening,
borne in scattering clusters on short, lateral buds and spurs,
singly or in pairs; pedicels three-eighths inch long, thick,
glabrous, greenish; calyx-tube green, campanulate, glabrous or
lightly pubescent; calyx-lobes broad, obtuse, pubescent on both
surfaces, glandular-serrate, reflexed; petals oval, somewhat
erose, with short, broad claws; anthers yellowish; filaments
five-sixteenths inch long; pistil glabrous, longer than the
stamens.
Fruit mid-season, period of ripening short; two inches by
one and one-half inches in size, obovate, slightly necked,
compressed, halves unequal; cavity shallow, narrow, abrupt;
suture shallow; apex roundish or depressed; color light to dark
purplish-red, overspread with bloom of medium thickness; dots
numerous, smallish, russet, inconspicuous; stem seven-eighths
inch long, thinly pubescent, adhering well to the fruit; skin
of medium thickness and toughness, adhering but slightly to the
pulp; flesh light golden-yellow, variable in juiciness, coarse,
somewhat fibrous, firm, rather sweet, mild fair in quality;
stone semi-clinging or clinging, one and one-eighth inches by
five-eighths inch in size, long-oval, flattened, with rough
and pitted surfaces; ventral suture strongly furrowed; dorsal
suture with a shallow groove.
GLASS
_Prunus domestica_
=1.= Downing _Fr. Trees Am._ 3rd App. 181. 1881. =2.= _Am. Pom.
Soc. Cat._ 39. 1899. =3.= _Mich. Sta. Bul._ =169=:245. 1899.
=4.= Waugh _Plum Cult._ 104. 1901. =5.= _Can. Exp. Farm Bul._
=43=:34. 1903. =6.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Rpt._ 57. 1907.
Glass Seedling 2. _Glass Seedling_ 4, 5, 6.
Although found in some collections in the United States, Glass has never
attained commercial importance in this country, probably because its
place is taken by the Quackenboss, which it very closely resembles. The
fruit is large and attractive in color and shape, but it is not high in
quality and it must be rated among Domestica plums as only a mediocre
fruit. The tree is said generally to give better satisfaction than the
fruit. This variety originated with Alexander Glass, Guelph, Ontario,
and has been cultivated extensively by Canadian growers to whom its
productivity and hardiness recommend it.
Tree large, vigorous, upright-spreading, open, productive,
hardy; branches rough, stocky; branchlets rather slender,
pubescent; leaves folded backward, obovate or oval, one and
three-quarters inches wide, three and one-half inches long;
margin finely serrate; petiole reddish, pubescent, with from
one to three smallish, globose glands usually at the base of
the leaf.
Fruit mid-season; one and one-half inches by one and
three-eighths inches in size, oblong-oval, purplish-black,
overspread with thick bloom; stem adhering firmly to the fruit;
skin thin, tender, rather sour; flesh light yellow, juicy,
firm, sweet, mild; of fair quality; stone clinging, one inch by
five-eighths inch in size, irregular-oval, with oblique apex,
the surfaces rough and pitted; ventral suture prominent, winged.
GOLDEN
[Illustration: GOLDEN]
_Prunus munsoniana × Prunus triflora_
=1.= _U. S. D. A. Rpt._ 263. 1892. =2.= Burbank _Cat._ 17.
1893. =3.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Rpt._ 74. 1895. =4.= _Am. Gard._
=18=:715. 1897. =5.= _Cal. State Board Hort._ 53. 1897-98. =6.=
_Vt. Sta. Bul._ =67=:12. 1898. =7.= _Ohio Sta. Bul._ =113=:161.
1899. =8.= _Am. Gard._ =21=:36. 1900. =9.= _Vt. Sta. An. Rpt._
=14=:274. 1901. =10.= _Mich. Sta. Sp. Bul._ =30=:18 1905. =11.=
_Mass. Sta. An. Rpt._ =17=:161. 1905. =12.= _Ga. Sta. Bul._
=68=:8, 36. 1905. =13.= _U. S. D. A. Yearbook_ 500. 1905.
Gold 3, 4, 7, 8, 10, 11. _Gold_ 6, 9, 13. _Late Klondike_ 5.
It would be hard to name another plum as showy as Golden. Large for its
group, beautifully turned, it presents a most striking appearance long
before it is ripe, with its bright yellow skin and crimson cheek, the
whole plum turning to a brilliant currant-red with a delicate bloom at
maturity. But the plum is little more than showy. The flavor is not
good, the flesh is fibrous, excessively juicy and adheres to the stone,
the skin is tough and astringent. In spite of the juiciness the plum
ships well, owing to the tough skin, but the fruits are much attacked by
brown-rot and the skin cracks badly under unfavorable conditions. The
trees are rather small, uncertain in bearing, often enormously productive
but do not hold the crop well, and the plums ripen unevenly. Strange to
say, considering the parentage, the variety is hardy, according to Waugh
standing the winters at Burlington, Vermont, almost perfectly. In tree
and fruit the variety is more like its American parent than the Asiatic
one. Golden can never be a money-maker in New York, but it is worth
having in a home orchard for its handsome appearance.
The original tree of this variety was grown in 1887 or 1888 by Luther
Burbank, Santa Rosa, California, from a seed of Robinson fertilized by
pollen of Abundance. In 1892, the variety was erroneously described
in the United States Department of Agriculture Report as a seedling
of Kelsey fertilized by Burbank. The same year it was named Golden
by Burbank and in 1893 it was offered for sale in his catalog, _New
Creations in Fruits and Flowers_. Soon after, the original tree and
the right of introduction were purchased by Stark Brothers Nurseries
and Orchards Company, Louisiana, Missouri, and in 1894 the variety was
catalogued and disseminated under the name Gold. This name was registered
as a trade-mark in the United States Patent Office in 1905, but as the
prior application and publication of Golden entitles it to precedence
according to the nomenclature of the American Pomological Society, the
name Gold has generally been dropped by pomologists. The confusion as to
the origin and nomenclature of this variety has been increased by its
parentage being published[214] as a cross of Robinson and Kelsey and by
the California shippers labeling it Late Klondike.
Tree variable in size and vigor, usually small, somewhat
vasiform, medium dense, hardy in all but the coldest
localities, an uncertain bearer unless grown under favorable
conditions, when it becomes very productive, susceptible
to attacks of shot-hole fungus; trunk shaggy, sometimes
gnarly; branches strong, unusually rough, grayish-brown,
with longitudinal cracks in the bark, with very numerous,
small, raised lenticels; branchlets willowy, numerous, long,
with short internodes, green changing to dull reddish-brown,
marked with gray scarf-skin, glossy, glabrous, with numerous,
conspicuous, large, raised lenticels; leaf-buds small, short,
conical, free.
Leaves usually flattened, broadly lanceolate, peach-like, one
inch wide by three and one-half inches long, thin, somewhat
rigid; upper surface light green, smooth, glabrous, with deeply
grooved midrib; lower surface pale green, thinly pubescent;
apex taper-pointed, base acute, margin serrate or crenate,
with numerous, small, dark red glands; petiole slender,
three-eighths inch in length, tinged red, sparingly pubescent
along one side, glandless or with from one to seven small,
globose, yellowish-green glands usually on the stalk.
Blooming season long; flowers appearing after the leaves,
three-quarters inch across, white; borne in clusters on short
lateral spurs and buds, in pairs or in threes; pedicels
seven-sixteenths inch long, slender, glabrous, green;
calyx-tube greenish, campanulate, glabrous; calyx-lobes
narrow, acute, sparingly glandular-serrate and pubescent, with
scattering marginal hairs, erect; petals oval, entire, clawed;
anthers yellowish; filaments one-quarter inch long; pistil
glabrous, longer than the stamens.
Fruit mid-season, ripening period very long; medium to
sometimes large, roundish-oblate, halves equal; cavity deep,
flaring, regular; suture a line; apex roundish or pointed;
color golden-yellow blushed or overspread with bright red, with
thin bloom; dots numerous, very small, whitish, inconspicuous,
thickly sprinkled around the apex; stem five-eighths inch long,
glabrous, adhering fairly well to the fruit; skin rather tough,
astringent, inclined to crack under unfavorable conditions,
separating readily; flesh golden-yellow, unusually juicy and
fibrous, tender and melting, sprightly, sweet next the skin
but tart near the center; fair in quality; stone adhering,
three-quarters inch by one-half inch in size, oval, turgid,
flattened at the base, abruptly sharp-pointed at the apex, with
pitted surfaces; ventral suture slightly winged; dorsal suture
broadly grooved.
GOLDEN BEAUTY
[Illustration: GOLDEN BEAUTY]
_Prunus hortulana_
=1.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Rpt._ 162. 1881. =2.= _Rural N. Y._
=43=:53. 1884. =3.= _Popular Gard._ =4=:38. 1888. =4.= _Am.
Gard._ =10=:175. 1889. =5.= _Cornell Sta. Bul._ =38=:48, 49,
86. 1892. =6.= Kerr _Cat._ 3. 1894. =7.= _Mich. Sta. Bul._
=118=:53. 1895. =8.= _W. N. Y. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ =41=:55. 1896.
=9.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 26. 1897. =10.= _Wis. Sta. Bul._
=63=:39, 42, 48. 1897. =11.= _Vt. Sta. An. Rpt._ =11=:284.
1898. =12.= _Colo. Sta. Bul._ =50=:42. 1898. =13.= _Ohio Sta.
Bul._ =113=:155. 1899. =14.= _Ibid._ =162=:247, 254, 255. 1905.
Honey Drop 8, 10, 14. _Honey Drop_ 5, 11. Missouri Apricot 5,
6, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13.
From the fruit-grower’s standpoint, Golden Beauty is of little interest.
The plums are so small and the quality so poor that the variety is not
worth planting either for the home or for money-making. It is true
that the firm, juicy fruits are very good for table use, in jellies
in particular, and that they may be shipped long distances, but these
characters cannot offset the handicap of small size and poor quality. The
variety is of interest to botanists because it seems to be a wanderer out
of the range of the species to which it belongs. As the history which
follows seems to show, Golden Beauty was found in a part of Texas where
_Prunus hortulana_ does not grow (see the discussion of this species) and
quite as remarkable if it really comes from so warm a part of Texas is
the fact that it should be perfectly hardy here and even farther north.
There is a mystery yet to be cleared up about this plum. The variety is
very ornamental in flower, foliage and fruit.
According to current account, Golden Beauty was found wild by a German
on the Colorado River in western Texas during the Civil War. After the
war, the German planted his new plum in a yard in Victoria County, Texas,
where it attracted the attention of Gilbert Onderdonk, Mission Valley,
southern Texas. Onderdonk, noting its merits, propagated and introduced
it in 1874. In 1886, Stark Brothers, of Missouri, introduced the Missouri
Apricot, the Honey Drop of some, which they claimed was found wild in
Missouri. Several pomologists have noted the close similarity of this
variety to Golden Beauty and as tested at this Station they are identical
in all respects and are therefore placed under the older name. In 1897
the American Pomological Society placed this plum on its fruit catalog
list.
Tree above medium in size, vigorous, somewhat irregular in
habit, usually spreading, low, dense and flat-topped, hardy,
variable in productiveness, somewhat subject to attacks of
shot-hole fungus; trunk rough, shaggy; branches roughish,
thorny, zigzag, dark ash-gray, with numerous lenticels of
medium size; branchlets long, slender, twiggy, with short
internodes, green changing to greenish-brown, shining,
glabrous, with numerous, conspicuous, large, raised lenticels;
leaf-buds small, very short, obtuse, plump, appressed.
Leaves folded upward, narrowly oval, one and seven-eighths
inches wide, four inches long, thin; upper surface smooth,
glabrous, with a grooved midrib; lower surface light green,
sparingly pubescent along the midrib and larger veins; apex
acuminate, base abrupt, margin irregularly and doubly crenate,
with small, dark brown glands; petiole seven-eighths inch long,
slender, green, thinly pubescent along one side, glandless or
with from one to eight very small, globose, blackish glands
scattered mostly below the base of the leaf.
Blooming season late and of medium length; flowers appearing
after the leaves, seven-eighths inch across, white; borne
in clusters on lateral buds and spurs, with from four to
six flowers in each umbel; pedicels nine-sixteenths inch
in length, slender, glabrous, greenish; calyx-tube green,
obconic, glabrous; calyx-lobes acute, erect, thinly pubescent
within, glandular-serrate, the glands reddish; petals
ovate or roundish-oval, erose, tapering below into long,
narrow, pubescent claws; anthers light yellow; filaments
five-sixteenths inch in length; pistil glabrous, shorter than
the stamens.
Fruit very late, season of medium length; one inch in diameter,
roundish to roundish-oval, somewhat compressed, halves equal;
cavity shallow, narrow, slightly flaring; suture very shallow
or a line; apex roundish or pointed; color orange-yellow,
mottled, overspread with thin bloom; dots characteristic,
numerous, large and small, yellowish, decidedly conspicuous
producing a somewhat mottled appearance, clustered about the
apex; stem very slender, five-eighths inch in length, glabrous,
adhering poorly to the fruit; skin thick, tough, adhering to
the pulp; flesh golden-yellow, juicy, coarse, fibrous, tender,
mildly sweet, with a faint apricot flavor, somewhat acid when
cooked; fair in quality; stone adhering, five-eighths inch by
one-half inch in size, turgid, oval, abruptly pointed at the
base and apex, smooth and with a coating of yellowish-brown,
cottony substance; ventral suture broad, lightly furrowed;
dorsal suture acute or with a shallow furrow.
GOLDEN CHERRY
_Prunus cerasifera_
=1.= Hoffy _Orch. Com._ =2=:1842. =2.= Downing _Fr. Trees Am._
295. 1845. =3.= _N. Y. Sta. Rpt._ =15=:293. 1896. =4.= Bailey
_Ev. Nat. Fruits_ 212. 1898. =5.= _Can. Exp. Farms Rpt._ 401.
1898.
Golden Cherry Plum 2. Market Plum 1. Youngken Golden 3.
_Youngken’s Golden Cherry_ 4. Yunkin Golden 5.
This plum is one of the few cultivated representatives of _Prunus
cerasifera_. It offers some attractions because of real merit and because
it adds variety to the list of plums for fruit-growers. Some of its
qualities are strongly marked and the variety might prove of value in
plant-breeding. Golden Cherry originated with Samuel Reeves, Salem, New
Jersey, as a seedling of Myrobalan, in the early part of the last century.
Tree large, vigorous, spreading, dense-topped, unproductive;
branches slender, sparingly thorny; branchlets twiggy; leaves
oval, one inch wide, one and seven-eighths inches long; margin
finely serrate, with few small glands; petiole reddish,
eglandular; blooming season early, of medium length; flowers
appearing before the leaves, well distributed on lateral buds
and spurs.
Fruit very early; one and one-quarter inches in diameter,
greenish-yellow changing to pale yellow with a tinge of red,
overspread with thin bloom; flesh pale yellow, very juicy,
melting, sweet next to the skin but rather tart at the pit,
aromatic; good; stone clinging, five-eighths inch by one-half
inch in size, oval, with a nearly smooth surface.
GOLDEN DROP
[Illustration: GOLDEN DROP]
_Prunus domestica_
=1.= _Pom. Mag._ =2=:57, Pl. 1829. =2.= _Lond. Hort. Soc. Cat._
144. 1831. =3.= Kenrick _Am. Orch._ 256. 1832. =4.= Downing
_Fr. Trees Am._ 273. 1845. =5.= Floy-Lindley _Guide Orch.
Gard._ 295, 383. 1846. =6.= Thomas _Am. Fruit Cult._ 332, fig.
258. 1849. =7.= _Mag. Hort._ =15=:486, 487 fig. 42. 1849. =8.=
Hovey _Fr. Am._ =1=:81. 1851. =9.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 54.
1852. =10.= Elliott _Fr. Book_ 410. 1854. =11.= _Ann. Pom.
Belge_ 43, Pl. 1855. =12.= Thompson _Gard. Ass’t_ 515. 1859.
=13.= Mas _Le Verger_ =6=:29, fig. 15. 1866-73. =14.= Hogg
_Fruit Man._ 691, 729. 1884. =15.= Mathieu _Nom. Pom._ 425.
1889. =16.= _Guide Prat._ 155, 357. 1895. =17.= _Oregon Sta.
Bul._ =45=:26 fig. 1897. =18.= _Colo. Sta. Bul._ =50=:34. 1898.
=19.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Rpt._ 211. 1899. =20.= _Ohio Sta. Bul._
=113=:158, Pl. XV. 1899. =21.= _Mich. Sta. Bul._ =169=:242,
244. 1899. =22.= Waugh _Plum Cult._ 104 fig. 1901. =23.= _Va.
Sta. Bul._ =134=:42. 1902. =24.= _Ohio Sta. Bul._ =162=:242,
254, 255. 1905.
_Bury Seedling_ 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16.
Coe 16, 21. _Coe’s_ 1, 2, 7, 8, 14, 15, 16. _Coe Golden Drop_
16, 23. Coe Golden Drop 21. Coe’s Golden Drop Plum 1, 5, 11.
_Coe’s Golden Drop_ 5, 8, 13, 15, 16, 17, 22, 24. Coe’s Golden
Drop 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 14, 18, 20. _Coe’s Golden
Drop Plum_ 13. _Coe’s Plum_ 12, 13, 16. _Coe_ (_Pride_) 15.
_Coe’s Imperial_ 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16.
_Coe’s Rothgefleckte Pflaume_ 13, 16. Coe’s Rotgefleckte
Pflaume 15. Coe’s Plum 5. _Cooper’s Large_ 15, 16 incor. _Coe’s
Seedling_ 3. _De Coe_ 16. _Fair’s Golden_ 15, 16. _Fair’s
Golden Drop_ 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11, 14, 15, 16. _Golden Drop_
1, 2, 7, 8, 12, 14, 15, 16. _Golden Drop Plum_ 16. _Golden
Gage_ 2, 4, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16. _Goutte d’Or_ 13.
Goutte d’Or 13, 16. _Goutte d’Or de Coe_ 15, 16. _King of
Plums_ 8. _New Golden Drop_ 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 15
16. _Nouvelle Goutte d’Or_ 15, 16. _Parmentier?_ 15, 16. _Prune
Goutte d’Or De Coé_ 11. _Semis de Bury_ 15, 16. Silver Prune
17, 19. _Silver Prune_ 22. The Coe’s Plum 1. Waterloo of some
7, 8,? 14, 15.
Unfortunately this fine old plum, the largest, handsomest and best of the
yellow plums, is fit only for the amateur in New York and in the hands
even of the most careful of amateurs it does not reach the perfection
in either appearance or quality that is expected of it in Europe or on
the Pacific Coast of America. In spite of special efforts to obtain
specimens for illustration which would do this variety justice, the
color-plate of Golden Drop is far from satisfactory as regards either
size or color of the fruit. In this region trees of Golden Drop lack
constitution and while hardy in tree, the fruit-buds are often caught by
the cold. From lack of vigor and from injury by freezing, the variety is
not productive. The trees, too, are slow in growth and the fruit needs a
long season to reach perfect maturity, often failing to ripen in parts
of New York where other plums mature well. Again, the trees are subject
to nearly all the ills to which plums are heir and have a somewhat
precarious existence because of insects and diseases though the fruit
is not as subject to brown-rot as is that of the Yellow Egg with which
this variety is usually compared. Golden Drop is seemingly fit for all
purposes to which plums are put—for dessert, cooking, canning, preserving
and prune-making. For the last named purpose it is unsurpassed for a
light colored prune of large size, readily selling at a fancy price in
delicatessen stores. The fruit when carefully picked and handled keeps
for a month or more, shrivelling somewhat but retaining its flavor and
pleasing flesh-characters. A task for the plant-breeder is to breed a
plum, of which one of the parents should be Golden Drop, which will give
to this region a plum as good as the Golden Drop in regions where it is
at its best. With all of its defects in the North and East, it is yet
worth growing for the home and often for the late market.
Jervaise Coe, a market gardener, at Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, England,
raised Golden Drop from a seed about 1809. Lindley (References, 5) says,
“He [the originator] informed me it was from the stone of Green Gage, the
blossom of which, he supposed, had been fertilized by the White Magnum
Bonum, the two trees of which grew nearly in contact with each other in
his garden.” From a study of the fruit-characters this supposition is
very probable. C. M. Hovey in discussing the synonyms of this variety
writes, “The French have disseminated it considerably under the name of
Waterloo; trees received under that name have fruited in our collection
this year, and proved to be the Golden Drop.” Robert Hogg, in his
_Fruit Manual_, published in 1884, described Waterloo as a separate
variety, found at Waterloo, Belgium, and introduced by Dr. Van Mons; the
descriptions of the two are practically identical. The Silver Prune, well
known on the Pacific Coast, at one time supposed to be a new variety,
turned out upon investigation to be Golden Drop, though the growers there
continue to call it by the new name they have given it. The variety under
discussion came to America in 1823, when Knight, of England, sent a tree
of it to John Lowell of Massachusetts. In 1852, the American Pomological
Society valued it sufficiently to place it on the list of the fruits
worthy of general cultivation.
Tree medium to large, vigorous, spreading or roundish,
open-topped, hardy, productive; branches ash-gray, roughish,
with few, large lenticels; branchlets short, stout, with
internodes variable in length, greenish-red changing to dull
brownish-red becoming drab on the older wood, glabrous early in
the season but becoming pubescent at maturity, with numerous,
small lenticels; leaf-buds large, long, pointed, free.
Leaves folded upward, oval or obovate, one and three-eighths
inches wide, two and three-quarters inches long, thickish;
upper surface dark green, slightly rugose, pubescent, with
the midrib but faintly grooved; lower surface silvery-green,
pubescent; apex abruptly pointed or acute, base acute, margin
serrate, eglandular or with small, dark glands; petiole
one-half inch long, pubescent, tinged red, with from two to
three globose, greenish-yellow glands usually at the base of
the leaf.
Season of bloom medium, short; flowers appearing after the
leaves, one inch across, white, borne in clusters on lateral
spurs, singly or in pairs; pedicels five-eighths inch long,
lightly pubescent, greenish; calyx-tube green, narrowly
campanulate, pubescent; calyx-lobes obtuse, sparingly pubescent
on both surfaces, glandular-serrate, reflexed; petals oval,
dentate, tapering to short, broad claws; anthers yellowish;
filaments five-sixteenths inch long; pistil glabrous, equal to
the stamens in length.
Fruit very late, season of average length; two inches by one
and one-half inches in size, oval, tapering at the base to a
short neck, slightly compressed, halves equal; cavity very
shallow and narrow, abrupt; suture shallow and wide; apex
depressed; color golden-yellow, occasionally with a faint
bronze blush, showing greenish streaks and splashes before full
maturity, overspread with thin bloom; dots numerous, small,
russet, conspicuous; stem three-quarters inch long, thinly
pubescent, adhering well to the fruit; skin tough, rather
adherent; flesh light golden-yellow, juicy, intermediate in
firmness and tenderness, rather sweet, mild, pleasant flavor;
good to very good; stone free, one and three-eighths inches by
three-quarters inch in size, oval or ovate, slightly flattened,
irregularly ridged and roughened, acute at the base and apex;
ventral suture wide, often conspicuously winged; dorsal suture
widely and deeply grooved.
GOLIATH
_Prunus domestica_
=1.= Prince _Treat. Hort._ 26. 1828. =2.= _Lond. Hort. Soc.
Cat._ 147, 153. 1831. =3.= Kenrick _Am. Orch._ 260. 1832. =4.=
_Mag. Hort._ =9=:164. 1843. =5.= Downing _Fr. Trees Am._ 300.
1845. =6.= Floy-Lindley _Guide Orch. Gard._ 287, 383. 1846.
=7.= Thomas _Am. Fruit Cult._ 343. 1849. =8.= McIntosh _Bk.
Gard._ =2=:531. 1855. =9.= Hooper _W. Fr. Book_ 245. 1857.
=10.= _Cultivator_ =8=:25 fig. 1860. =11.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._
86. 1862. =12.= Hogg _Fruit Man._ 363. 1866. =13.= Mas _Pom.
Gen._ =2=:15, fig. 8. 1873. =14.= Mathieu _Nom. Pom._ 432.
1889. =15.= Waugh _Plum Cult._ 105 fig. 1901.
_Caledonian_ 1, 2, of some 5 & 8, 11, 12, 13, 14. Emperor
9. Goliath 1, 3. _Goliath_ 9, 13. _Nectarine_ 1, of some 2
& 8, 11 & 14 incor. _Pfirschenpflaume_ 14. Prune-Pêche? 14.
_Saint Cloud_ 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 12, 13, 14. Steer’s Emperor 2.
_Steers’ Emperor_ 4, 5, 8, 12, 13, 14. _Wahre Caledonian_ 13,
14. _Wilmot’s Late Orleans_ 2, 5, 8, 12, 13, 14.
This old English plum has never been popular in America and is now
scarcely known on this continent. It is a large, handsome, purple plum,
as the illustration well shows, but seldom fit for dessert. “Seldom fit”
because it is quite variable in quality in some seasons and under some
conditions. It is an excellent culinary plum and its firm, thick, meaty
flesh fits it well for shipping. On the grounds of this Station the
trees behave very well in all respects and usually bear very full crops
of plums that would tempt purchasers in any market. It has all of the
characters usually ascribed to a money-maker variety of any fruit and why
not more grown in commercial orchards cannot be said.
Nothing is known of the origin of this plum except that it is English.
William Prince, in 1828, wrote: “This plum is of very large size, and has
attracted much notice in England; but it is only recently introduced to
this country, where it has not yet produced fruit that I am aware of.”
The Nectarine plum was confused with the Goliath in the early part of the
Nineteenth Century, but Robert Thompson,[215] the English horticulturist,
separated them so satisfactorily that they have ever since remained
distinct in plum literature. He found that this variety had pubescent
shoots and fruit-stalks, while the same parts of the Nectarine were
glabrous, and that the season of Goliath is considerably later. The
American Pomological Society placed Goliath on its fruit list in 1862,
but dropped it in 1871.
Tree large, vigorous, round-topped, dense, hardy, very
productive; branches stocky, with fruit-spurs numerous,
ash-gray, smooth except for the large, raised lenticels;
branchlets somewhat thick, short, with internodes of medium
length, green changing to dull brownish-drab, heavily pubescent
throughout the season, with few, inconspicuous, small
lenticels; leaf-buds of average size and length, conical, free.
Leaves somewhat flattened, obovate, two inches wide, three and
five-eighths inches long; upper surface dark green, nearly
glabrous, with a grooved midrib; lower surface heavily
pubescent; apex obtuse or acute, base acute, margin finely
serrate, eglandular or with few, small dark glands; petiole
one-half inch long, thick, heavily pubescent, with a faint red
tinge, glandless or with from one to three large, globose,
greenish-yellow glands usually at the base of the leaf.
Blooming season early to medium, short; flowers appearing
after the leaves, one inch across, white; borne on lateral
spurs, singly or in pairs; pedicels nine-sixteenths inch long,
pubescent, greenish; calyx-tube green, campanulate, lightly
pubescent; calyx-lobes, broad, obtuse, somewhat pubescent,
glandular-serrate, erect; petals unusually large, roundish,
finely crenate, not clawed; anthers yellowish; filaments
five-sixteenths inch long; pistil glabrous, longer than the
stamens, with a large style and stigma.
Fruit mid-season, ripening period short; one and five-eighths
inches by one and one-half inches in size, roundish-oblong,
somewhat oblique, truncate, compressed, halves unequal; cavity
narrow, abrupt, usually russeted; suture a line; apex flattened
or depressed; color dark purplish-red, lighter colored on the
shaded side, overspread with thick bloom; dots characteristic,
numerous, large, russet, conspicuous, clustered about the
apex; stem thick, three-quarters inch long, thickly pubescent,
adhering well to the fruit; skin thin, sour, separating
readily; flesh golden-yellow, rather dry, firm, sweet, of
mild, pleasant flavor; fair to good; stone free, seven-eighths
inch by three-quarters inch in size, roundish-oval, somewhat
flattened, blunt at the base and apex, roughened and
irregularly furrowed; ventral suture wide, winged, heavily
furrowed; dorsal suture with a wide groove variable in depth.
GONZALES
[Illustration: GOLIATH]
_Prunus triflora_ ×
=1.= Kerr _Cat._ 1899-1900. =2.= _Vt. Sta. Bul._ =67=:13. 1898.
=3.= _Ohio Sta. Bul._ =162=:252. 1905. =4.= _Penin. Hort. Soc.
Rpt._ 36. 1905. =5.= Stark Bros. _Cat._ 1906.
_Gonzales_ 5. _Red Gold_ 4. Red Gold 5.
Judging from the several published descriptions, Gonzales is a very
promising plum, for the South at least. The writers have not seen the
variety in the North, but there appear to be no reasons why it should
not succeed in some northern soils and climates. It is a chance seedling
found in Gonzales, Texas, about 1894, and was introduced by F. T. Ramsey,
Austin, Texas, in 1897. About all that can be determined regarding its
parentage is that it is the product of some Japanese variety pollinated
by a native. In 1901, Waugh used this variety to typify a new species,
_Prunus hortulana robusta_, composed of a number of hybrids between
_Prunus triflora_ and native species. The following description is
compiled:
Tree vigorous, upright-spreading, open; leaves narrow, oval,
tapering at both ends; upper surface glabrous; margin minutely
glandular, finely crenulate; petiole short and slender, with
two glands.
Fruit mid-season; resembles Burbank in size and shape; skin
toughish; color bright red, sometimes striped and splashed with
dark red; flesh yellow, tinged red, firm, sweet; good; stone of
medium size, oval, clinging.
GRAND DUKE
[Illustration: GRAND DUKE]
_Prunus domestica_
=1.= Hogg _Fruit Man._ 703. 1884. =2.= Mathieu _Nom. Pom._ 432,
434. 1889. =3.= _W. N. Y. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ =39=:100. 1894.
=4.= _Can. Hort._ =18=:117, Pl. 1895. =5.= _Cornell Sta. Bul._
=131=:186, fig. 40 IV. 1896. =6.= _W. N. Y. Hort. Soc. Rpt._
=42=:83. 1897. =7.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 25. 1897. =8.= _Mich.
Sta. Bul._ =169=:245. 1899. =9.= _Ohio Sta. Bul._ =113=:159,
Pl. XVI. 1899. =10.= _Can. Exp. Farm Bul._ 2nd Ser. =3=:52.
1900. =11.= _Waugh Plum Cult._ 106 fig. 1901. _12._ _Ohio Sta.
Bul._ =162=:243 fig., 244, 254, 255. 1905.
Grossherzog’s Pflaume 2. _Grand-Duc_ 2. _Grand Duke_ 2.
Grand Duke, now probably the favorite late shipping plum in this region,
is, as stated in the history given below, a comparatively new plum
in America. Its great popularity, gained in less than a quarter of a
century, is due to much advertising by nurserymen coupled with such
intrinsic qualities as large size, the true prune shape which seems most
pleasing in some markets, handsome plum-purple and more than all else a
firm, meaty flesh which fits the variety excellently for shipping. The
flavor, as seems most often to be the case with these large blue plums,
is not pleasant and the plum is not more than a second rate dessert fruit
though it is very good in whatever way cooked for the table. The trees
grow poorly in the nursery and even in the orchard are seldom large
and vigorous enough to be called first class, though usually hardy.
Some years ago plum-growers were advised to top-work this and other
weak-growing plums on stronger stocks, but those who have tried such
top-working usually condemn it because it is expensive and ineffective
and because it so often gives a malformed tree. The trees come in bearing
slowly but bear regularly and abundantly and hold the crop well, the
plums being unusually free from rot and hanging in good condition a long
time. Grand Duke deserves its popularity as a market plum and probably no
better variety can be selected in New York for the last of the season.
Grand Duke is another of the many valuable plums produced by Thomas
Rivers, of Sawbridgeworth, England. It was grown from an Autumn Compote
stone and was sent out in 1876. When it was first introduced into America
is not known, but in 1888 cions of it were distributed by Ellwanger and
Barry[216] of Rochester, New York. In 1897, the American Pomological
Society added this variety to its fruit catalog list and recommended it
for this State and neighboring regions with similar climatic conditions.
Tree above medium in size, moderately vigorous, upright to
slightly spreading, usually hardy, productive; branches
ash-gray, with small, numerous lenticels; branchlets slender,
short, with internodes of medium length, greenish-red changing
to brownish-red, many twigs retaining a tinge of green,
shining, glabrous, with numerous, small lenticels; leaf-buds
large, long, pointed, strongly appressed; leaf-scars large.
Leaves nearly flat, obovate, one and one-half inches wide,
three inches long, thick; upper surface shining, slightly
rugose, pubescent only along the grooved midrib; lower surface
yellowish-green, lightly pubescent; apex taper-pointed, base
acute, margin serrate, eglandular or with small, dark glands;
petiole three-quarters inch long, nearly glabrous, slightly
tinged red along one side, glandless or with from one to three
globose yellowish glands on the stalk and base of the leaf.
Blooming season intermediate, short; flowers appearing after
the leaves, one inch across, white; borne in clusters on
short lateral spurs and buds, singly or in pairs; pedicels
one-half inch long, slender, glabrous, greenish; calyx-tube
green, campanulate, glabrous; calyx-lobes lightly pubescent,
glandular-ciliate, slightly reflexed; petals obovate, entire,
short-clawed; anthers yellowish; filaments one-quarter inch
long; pistil pubescent at the base, longer than the stamens.
Fruit late, season medium; unusually large when well grown, two
and one-eighth inches by two inches in size, elongated-oval
or slightly obovate, halves unequal; cavity shallow, narrow,
abrupt; suture wide, variable in depth; apex flattened,
somewhat depressed or occasionally with a short, blunt tip;
color dark reddish-purple or purplish-black, overspread with
thick bloom; dots numerous, small, brownish, inconspicuous;
stem three-quarters inch long, adhering well to the fruit; skin
variable in toughness, somewhat astringent, separating readily;
flesh golden-yellow, juicy, firm, sweet, mild, not high in
flavor; good; stone clinging, sometimes tinged red, one and
one-eighth inches by seven-eighths inch in size, irregularly
oval, slightly flattened, roughish, acute at the base and apex;
ventral suture broad, slightly winged; dorsal suture with a
broad, shallow groove.
GUEII
[Illustration: GUEII]
_Prunus domestica_
=1.= Downing _Fr. Trees Am._ 3rd App. 181. 1881. =2.= _Can.
Hort._ =14=:293, Pl. 1891. =3.= _Mich. Sta. Bul._ =103=:34,
fig. 6. 1894. =4.= _Cornell Sta. Bul._ =131=:187. 1897. =5.=
_Ont. Fr. Exp. Sta. Rpt._ 120. 1898. =6.= _Mich. Sta. Bul._
=169=:242, 245. 1899. =7.= _Ohio Sta. Bul._ =113=:159. 1899.
=8.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 39. 1899. =9.= Waugh _Plum Cult._
107. 1901. =10.= _Va. Sta. Bul._ =134=:42, 43 fig. 14. 1902.
_Big Blue_ 1. _Blue Magnum Bonum_ 1, 9. _Bradshaw_ 1 incor.
Geuii 3. _Gueii_ 1. Guii 1, 6. _Gweii_ 1.
Gueii is one of the standard plums of its season in New York, ranking
among the first half-dozen in number of trees growing in the State, with
many growers holding that it is the best general purpose plum of all
Domesticas. The popularity of Gueii is due to its being a money-maker, as
few would care to grow it for home consumption. The quality of Gueii is
poor, especially for dessert, and it cannot even be called a particularly
good-looking plum, though the illustration scarcely does the plum
justice, especially in size. But the variety bears early and abundantly;
the trees are large, vigorous, healthy and hardy and the plums are hardly
surpassed for shipping, especially at the time at which the crop comes
upon the market, about mid-season, the best shipping plums maturing a
little later. The fruit is quite subject to brown-rot, a matter of more
moment in other regions than in New York, and yet in some seasons very
important in this State. The stone, curiously enough, sometimes clings
rather tightly and under other conditions is wholly free. It could be
wished that so popular a market plum were better in quality, but since
high quality is seldom correlated in plums with fitness to ship well, it
would be unfair to condemn Gueii for a market fruit because it cannot be
eaten with relish out of hand.
This plum, according to all accounts, originated with a Mr. Hagaman,
Lansingburgh, New York, about 1830. It was brought to notice by John
Goeway (Gueii) and was soon called by his name. For years it was not much
grown and it was not until 1899 that it was placed on the fruit catalog
list of the American Pomological Society.
Tree large, vigorous, spreading, open-topped, hardy, very
productive; branches ash-gray, roughened by longitudinal
cracks and by numerous, conspicuous, raised lenticels of
various sizes; branchlets thick, of medium length, with short
internodes, green changing to dark brownish-drab, dull, thickly
pubescent throughout the season, with numerous, inconspicuous,
small lenticels; leaf-buds short, conical, free.
Leaves obovate or oval, one and seven-eighths inches wide,
four inches long, thick; upper surface dark green, with
scattering fine hairs and with a grooved midrib; lower surface
silvery-green, thickly pubescent; apex abruptly pointed or
acute, base variable but usually acute, margin doubly crenate,
with small black glands; petiole five-eighths inch long, thick,
pubescent, tinged red.
Blooming season short; flowers appearing after the leaves, one
and one-eighth inches across, whitish; borne in clusters at the
ends of spurs, singly or in pairs; pedicels thirteen-sixteenths
inch long, pubescent, greenish; calyx-tube green, campanulate,
pubescent towards the base; calyx-lobes broad, obtuse,
pubescent on both surfaces, glandular-serrate, reflexed; petals
roundish, entire, with very short, blunt claws; anthers yellow;
filaments three-eighths inch long; pistil glabrous, equal to
the stamens in length.
Fruit intermediate in time and length of ripening season;
medium to above in size, somewhat ovate, halves equal; cavity
below medium in depth and width, abrupt, rarely sutured; apex
bluntly pointed; color dark purplish-black, overspread with
thick bloom; dots numerous, small, russet, inconspicuous,
clustered about the apex; stem medium in thickness and length,
pubescent, adhering well to the fruit; skin thin, tender,
slightly astringent, separating readily; flesh greenish-yellow
changing to light golden-yellow, dry, firm but tender, sweet,
mild, somewhat astringent towards the center; fair in quality;
stone variable in adhesion but usually clinging, large, ovate
or oval, blunt at the base and apex, strongly roughened and
pitted; ventral suture faintly winged; dorsal suture acute or
lightly grooved.
GUTHRIE LATE
_Prunus domestica_
=1.= McIntosh _Bk. Gard._ =2=:532. 1855. =2.= Downing _Fr.
Trees Am._ 919. 1869. =3.= Hogg _Fruit Man._ 705. 1884. =4.=
Mathieu _Nom. Pom._ 434. 1889. =5.= Rivers _Cat._ 1898. =6.=
_Am. Gard. Mag._ =21=:173. 1900.
Guthrie’s Minette 1. _Guthrie’s Late Green_ 6. Guthrie Green 6.
Guthrie’s Late Green 2, 3, 4. _Minette_ 2, 3, 4. _Verte Tardive
de Guthrie_ 4.
Guthrie Late has never attained commercial importance in the United
States, being found only in collections; but in England, according to
Hogg, it is a very fine dessert plum, rivalling the Reine Claude in
quality and ripening a month later. On the grounds of this institution it
has failed because the fruits are small, dull in color and do not keep
well. Of the several varieties produced from seed of Reine Claude by
Charles Guthrie, Taybank, Dundee, Scotland, about the middle of the last
century, Guthrie Late is the best known.
Tree large, vigorous, round-topped, dense, productive; branches
stocky; branchlets pubescent; leaf-buds large, short, with a
peculiar brush-like apex; leaves folded upward, oval, one and
seven-eighths inches wide, three and one-half inches long,
thick, rugose; margin crenate, eglandular or with small, dark
glands; petiole thick, glandless or with from one to four
globose glands; blooming season short; flowers appearing after
the leaves, one inch across, white tinged with yellow at the
apex of the petals; borne on lateral buds and spurs, singly or
in pairs.
Fruit mid-season, ripening period long; of medium size,
roundish-truncate, dull greenish-yellow, often irregularly
splashed and striped with green, overspread with thin bloom;
skin thin, slightly astringent; flesh light golden-yellow,
rather dry, fibrous, somewhat tender, sweet, pleasant in
flavor; of good quality; stone free, seven-eighths inch by
five-eighths inch in size, ovate or oval, medium turgid, with
rough surfaces.
HALE
[Illustration: HALE]
_Prunus triflora_
=1.= Burbank _Cat._ 19. 1893. =2.= _Ibid._ 1894. =3.= _Cornell
Sta. Bul._ =106=:52. 1896. =4.= _Ga. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ XI. 1897.
=5.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 41. 1899. =6.= _Cornell Sta. Bul._
=175=:147, 148, fig. 37. 1899. =7.= _Am. Gard._ =21=:36 1900.
=8.= Waugh _Plum Cult._ 136. 1901. =9.= _Mich. Sta. Bul._
=187=:77, 79. 1901. =10.= _W. N. Y. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 89. 1902.
=11.= _Ohio. Sta. Bul._ =162=:254, 255. 1905. =12.= _Ga. Sta.
Bul._ =68=:10, 30. 1905. =13.= _Mass. Sta. An. Rpt._ =17=:160.
1905.
J 1. _J_ 3. Prolific 2. _Prolific_ 3, 8, 12.
It is doubtful if the average person who grows the Hale would recognize
it as shown in _The Plums of New York_, as it is supposed to be a yellow
plum; nevertheless the illustration is a good one so far as the fruits
go at least. When mature on the trees the fruits are yellow with a
faint blush, but in storage the color quickly changes into a pale red,
becoming, when the plum is at its best in appearance and quality, a light
currant-red. Hale, though large and handsome of fruit, is of questionable
value, failing both in fruit and tree. The flavor of this plum is good
in the judgment of most fruit connoisseurs, but others find it a little
too sweet and somewhat mawkish near the skin and close about the pit.
All agree, however, that the flesh clings too tightly to the stone for
pleasant eating and that the texture is too tender for good shipping.
But it is the tree that fails most markedly. Even on the grounds of this
Station, where the peach is practically hardy, Hale is but semi-hardy,
failing most often because with the best of care the wood does not ripen
properly. The habit of growth is not particularly good, the trees are
slow in coming in bearing, are not regularly productive and are readily
infected by brown-rot and the fruits much infested by curculio. On the
whole, it is to be regretted that Mr. Hale did not choose a better plum
to bear a name so distinguished in horticulture.
Luther Burbank offered this plum, a cross between Kelsey and Satsuma, for
sale under the name J, in 1893, and the following year as Prolific. J.
H. Hale, South Glastonbury, Connecticut, purchased the variety in 1894,
and introduced it as the Hale in 1896. In 1899, the American Pomological
Society considered it worthy a place on its fruit catalog list.
Tree above medium in size, vigorous, vasiform, open-topped,
semi-hardy, variable in productiveness; branches smooth
except for the numerous, small, raised lenticels, somewhat
thorny, dark ash-gray, the fruit spurs numerous; branchlets
willowy, of medium thickness and length, with short internodes,
greenish-red changing to light brown, shining, glabrous;
lenticels numerous, small; leaf-buds small, short, obtuse,
plump, free.
Leaves sparse, folded upward, oblanceolate or narrowly obovate,
one and three-quarters inches wide, three and one-half inches
long, thin; upper surface glabrous except for scattering
hairs, with a grooved midrib; lower surface light green,
glabrous except along the midrib and larger veins; apex acute
or abruptly pointed, base acute, margin finely serrate or
crenate, eglandular; petiole nine-sixteenths inch long,
slender, tinged red, glandless or with from one to four globose
or reniform, greenish-yellow glands on the stalk.
Blooming season early and of medium length; flowers appearing
before the leaves, white; borne in thin clusters on lateral
buds and spurs, singly or in pairs; pedicels long, glabrous,
greenish; calyx-tube green, campanulate, glabrous; calyx-lobes
obtuse, with numerous hair-like glands, nearly glabrous, erect;
petals roundish-ovate, entire, not clawed; anthers yellowish;
filaments short; pistil glabrous except at the base, much
longer than the stamens.
Fruit early, season short; one and three-quarters inches in
diameter, roundish, halves equal; cavity of medium depth and
width, abrupt, regular; suture a line; apex roundish; color
light or greenish-yellow, more or less blushed with red on
one side, becoming red at maturity, mottled, with thin bloom;
dots numerous, small, whitish, conspicuous only where the skin
is blushed; stem slender, five-eighths inch long, glabrous,
detaching easily from the fruit; skin thin, tough, adhering;
flesh yellowish, very juicy, fibrous, tender, melting next the
skin but firmer at the center, sweet except near the pit; good
in quality; stone adhering, three-quarters inch by five-eighths
inch in size, roundish-oval, flattened, blunt but with a
small, sharp tip, rough; ventral suture narrow and rather
conspicuously winged; dorsal suture grooved.
HAMMER
[Illustration: HAMMER]
_Prunus hortulana mineri_ × _Prunus americana_
=1.= _Cornell Sta. Bul._ =38=:79. 1892. =2.= _Ia. Hort. Soc.
Rpt._ 275, 448. 1893. =3.= _Ibid._ 334. 1894. =4.= _Wis. Sta.
Bul._ =63=:24, 39. 1897. =5.= _Colo. Sta. Bul._ =50=:36. 1898.
=6.= _Ia. Sta. Bul._ =46=:274. 1900. =7.= _Waugh Plum Cult._
150. 1901. =8.= _Ont. Fr. Gr. Assoc._ 144. 1901. =9.= _Ga. Sta.
Bul._ =67=:274. 1904. =10.= _S. Dak. Sta. Bul._ =93=:18. 1905.
=11.= _Ohio Sta. Bul._ =162=:254, 255. 1905.
Hammer is one of the best native plums. On the Station grounds the
trees of this variety make the best orchard plants of any of the native
varieties, being large, vigorous, shapely and hardy, falling short only
in being a little uncertain in bearing. The fruits are good in quality,
handsome in appearance and keep and ship well, but crack badly in
unfavorable weather and, according to some writers, are quite subject to
brown-rot. Hammer extends the season of the Americana plums considerably,
for though a hybrid, it may best be ranked with the Americanas, and is
well worth planting in home orchards in New York, where the native plums
are too seldom found; in particular, this variety can be recommended for
the colder parts of this State where Domestica and Insititia plums are
not hardy.
Hammer is one of H. A. Terry’s numerous productions and was grown from a
seed of the Miner evidently fertilized by an Americana. The blood of the
latter is shown by its hardiness and its broad, Americana-like foliage.
The variety first fruited in 1888 and was sent out in 1892.
Tree very large, vigorous, round-topped, widely spreading,
hardy at Geneva, an uncertain bearer; trunk and larger limbs
shaggy; branches long, rough, brash, thorny, dark ash-gray,
with many, large lenticels; branchlets thick, very long,
with long internodes, green changing to dull reddish-brown,
glabrous, with raised lenticels of medium number and size;
leaf-buds small, short, obtuse, plump, free.
Leaves folded upward, oval or slightly obovate, two and
one-eighth inches wide, four inches long, thin; upper surface
somewhat rugose; lower surface pale green, very lightly
pubescent along the midrib; apex taper-pointed, base obtuse,
often unsymmetrical, margin coarsely and doubly serrate,
eglandular; petiole three-quarters inch long, sparingly
pubescent along one side, tinged red, glandless or with from
one to four small, globose, greenish-brown glands on the stalk.
Blooming season medium to late, long; flowers appearing after
the leaves, fifteen-sixteenths inch across, white, with a
disagreeable odor; borne in clusters on lateral buds and spurs,
in twos or in threes; pedicels five-eighths inch in length,
slender, glabrous, greenish; calyx-tube green, campanulate,
glabrous; calyx-lobes narrow, obtuse, thinly pubescent within,
glandular-serrate and with marginal hairs, somewhat reflexed;
petals ovate or oval, irregularly crenate, tapering below
into claws of medium length and breadth; anthers yellowish;
filaments seven-sixteenths inch in length; pistil glabrous,
equal to or shorter than the stamens in length.
Fruit mid-season, ripening period of average length; one
and one-quarter inches in diameter, roundish-oval, slightly
compressed, halves equal; cavity very shallow, narrow, flaring;
suture an indistinct line; apex roundish; color crimson
overspread with thick bloom; dots numerous, very small, light
russet, inconspicuous; stem slender, five-eighths inch long,
glabrous, not adhering to the fruit; skin thick, tough,
inclined to crack under unfavorable conditions, separating
readily; flesh golden-yellow, juicy, fibrous, tender and
melting, sweet, strongly aromatic; good; stone semi-free,
three-quarters inch by five-eighths inch in size, flattened,
roundish-oval, somewhat compressed at the base, abruptly
pointed at the apex, rough; ventral suture rather narrow,
faintly ridged; dorsal suture with a narrow, shallow groove.
HAND
[Illustration: HAND]
_Prunus domestica_
=1.= _Horticulturist_ =2=:436. 1847. =2.= _Ibid._ =6=:21 fig.,
187, 294. 1851. =3.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Rpt._ 190, 214. 1856. =4.=
Downing _Fr. Trees Am._ 382. 1857. =5.= _Hogg Fruit Man._
362. 1866. =6.= Mas _Pom. Gen._ =2=:19, fig. 10. 1873. =7.=
_Ont. Fr. Exp. Sta. Rpt._ 120. 1896. =8.= _Cornell Sta. Bul._
=131=:185. 1897. =9.= _Waugh Plum Cult._ 108 fig. 1901. =10.=
Budd-Hansen _Am. Hort. Man._ 314, 315 fig. 1903. =11.= _Mass.
Sta. An. Rpt._ =17=:159. 1905.
Gen. Hand 1, 2. General Hand 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8. Genl. Hand 4.
_General Hand_ 9, 10. _Montgomery_ 3 incor.
Unproductiveness and uncertainty in bearing keep this magnificent yellow
dessert plum from being one of the most commonly grown of all plums in
America. Even with these handicaps, it has maintained its popularity
for a century, is grown in all collections and shown in all exhibitions
of note. It is the largest of the Reine Claude plums, well molded, a
golden-yellow and when allowed to become fully ripe is most excellent in
flavor and pleasing in all the flesh attributes of a good dessert plum.
It is not as high in quality as some other of the Reine Claude plums, as,
for example the Washington, with which it is often compared, for it is a
little coarser in flesh and not as sprightly, but it is better than is
commonly thought, because it is seldom allowed to reach its best flavor
by full maturity. The trees on the Station grounds are all that could
be asked for even in bearing; and elsewhere size, vigor and hardiness
are usually satisfactory but productiveness is a weak point. The amateur
should always plant this variety and it would seem as if it were more
often worth planting in commercial orchards.
The history of this variety is well known. The original tree grew on
the place of General Hand, on the Conestoga River, about a mile from
Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and first fruited about 1790. Thirty years
later a Mr. Miller procured grafts and succeeded in growing them. The
variety was brought to the notice of fruit-growers by E. W. Carpenter, a
nurseryman of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, who sent grafts to his brother,
S. Carpenter, of Lancaster, Ohio, and Robert Sinclair, Baltimore,
Maryland. To the latter the introduction of the Hand has been incorrectly
attributed. In 1856, Hand was listed in the fruit catalog of the American
Pomological Society.
Tree large, vigorous, spreading, dense-topped, hardy, variable
in productiveness; branches dark ash-gray, rough, with small
lenticels; branchlets of medium thickness and length, with
long internodes, green changing to brownish-red, pubescent
early in the season, becoming less so at maturity, with few,
inconspicuous, small lenticels; leaf-buds large, long, obtuse,
appressed; leaf-scars large.
Leaves folded backward, obovate or oval, two and three-eighths
inches wide, four and one-half inches long; upper surface dark
green, rugose, slightly hairy, with a shallow, grooved midrib;
lower surface pale green, pubescent; apex and base acute,
margin finely and doubly serrate; petiole three-quarters inch
long, thickish, pubescent, tinged red, with from one to four
small, globose, greenish-brown glands on the stalk or base of
the leaf.
Blooming season intermediate in time, short; flowers appearing
after the leaves, one and one-quarter inches across,
white; borne sparsely on lateral buds and spurs; pedicels
seven-eighths inch long, very pubescent, greenish; calyx-tube
green, campanulate, pubescent; calyx-lobes broad, obtuse,
pubescent on both surfaces, glandular-serrate, reflexed;
petals roundish or obovate, slightly crenate, with short, broad
claws; anthers yellowish; filaments three-eighths inch long;
pistil lightly pubescent at the base, equal to the stamens in
length.
Fruit mid-season, ripening period long; one and three-quarters
inches in diameter, roundish-truncate or oblate, halves equal;
cavity deep, flaring; suture shallow, distinct; apex flattened
or depressed; color yellow, obscurely striped and mottled with
green, overspread with thin bloom; dots numerous, whitish,
inconspicuous, clustered about the apex; stem unusually long,
averaging one and five-sixteenths inches in length, very
pubescent, adhering strongly to the fruit; skin thick, tough,
slightly astringent, separating readily; flesh golden-yellow,
juicy, somewhat fibrous, firm, sweet, with pleasant, mild
flavor; very good; stone semi-free or free, the cavity larger
than the pit, seven-eighths inch by three-quarters inch in
size, broadly oval, turgid, blunt at the base and apex,
slightly roughened; ventral suture broad, sometimes winged;
dorsal suture broadly and deeply grooved.
HARRIET
_Prunus domestica_
=1.= _Gard. Chron._ =18=:441. 1882. =2.= Hogg _Fruit Man._ 705.
1884.
Harriet is little known in America, but as the variety grows on our
grounds it appears to be somewhat desirable. The type is that of Reine
Claude, the fruit being slightly yellower; the quality is very good and
the tree-characters are good. It is doubtful, however, in spite of these
attributes to recommend it, whether, with the multiplicity of plums of
this type, the variety in question can make headway in the United States.
Harriet was originated by Thomas Rivers, Sawbridgeworth, England, about
1870. While considerably grown in England, it can hardly be said to be
one of the leading varieties in that country.
Tree medium in size and vigor, spreading, open, productive;
branchlets thick, very short, pubescent throughout the season;
leaf-buds large, long, tipped brush-like at the apex; leaves
folded upward, oval, one and one-half inches wide, two and
three-quarters inches long, the young leaves bright red when
opening; margin serrate or almost crenate; petiole tinged red,
glandless or with one or two glands usually at the base of the
leaf; blooming season intermediate, short; flowers appearing
after the leaves, one inch across; borne on lateral buds and
spurs, singly or in pairs.
Fruit mid-season, ripening period long; about one and
three-eighths inches in diameter, roundish-oblate, somewhat
oblique, golden-yellow, sometimes mottled with red, overspread
with thin bloom; flesh golden-yellow, firm, sweet, pleasant in
flavor; of very good quality; stone clinging, five-eighths inch
by one-half inch in size, oval, turgid, with slightly roughened
surfaces.
HAWKEYE
[Illustration: HAWKEYE]
_Prunus americana_
=1.= _Ia. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 287. 1887. =2.= _U. S. D. A. Rpt._
441. 1889. =3.= _Ia. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 55, 85. 1890. =4.=
_Cornell Sta. Bul._ =38=:38, 86. 1892. =5.= _Wis. Sta. Bul._
=63=:40, 41. 1897. =6.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 24. 1897. =7.=
_Colo. Sta. Bul._ =50=:37. 1898. =8.= _Ia. Sta. Bul._ =46=:274.
1900. =9.= Waugh _Plum Cult._ 151. 1901. =10.= _Ont. Fr. Gr.
Assoc._ 144. 1901. =11.= _Wis. Sta. Bul._ =87=:13. 1901. =12.=
_S. Dak. Sta. Bul._ =93=:19. 1905. =13.= _Ohio Sta. Bul._
=162=:254, 255. 1905.
This variety is a very satisfactory and widely planted Americana. It is
typical of its species; and its foliage, fruit and pit in the color-plate
herewith presented all represent _Prunus americana_ very well. The fruit
of Hawkeye is more satisfactory than the tree, being both attractive in
appearance and pleasant to eat either out of hand or cooked; the chief
fault of the fruit is that it seems to be easily infected with brown-rot.
The trees are crooked in body and quite too straggling and at the same
time too dense in growth to make good orchard plants. It requires very
careful pruning and training to keep the trees at all manageable. In some
of the references given above it is stated that Hawkeye on its own roots
is a better tree than otherwise propagated. This variety belongs in the
middle west but it might be grown for home use in northern New York where
it is too cold for the European plums.
Hawkeye is a seedling of Quaker grown by H. A. Terry,[217] Crescent,
Iowa. It first fruited in 1882 and the following year was introduced by
the originator. In the Iowa Horticultural Society Report for 1887, Mr.
Terry stated that the original tree had borne five crops in succession
and he believed it to be the most valuable variety in cultivation for the
West and Northwest. The American Pomological Society placed this plum on
its fruit catalog list in 1897.
Tree large, vigorous, rather upright at first, becoming
spreading, low-headed, hardy, usually productive, but variable
in some locations, susceptible to attacks of shot-hole fungus;
branches numerous, dark brown, rough, thorny, with numerous,
large lenticels; branchlets long, willowy, with internodes of
medium length, green, changing to dull reddish-brown, shining,
glabrous, with numerous large, raised lenticels; leaf-buds
small, short, pointed, appressed.
Leaves tinged red late in the season, nearly flat, oval or
slightly obovate, two inches wide, four inches long, rather
thin; upper surface dark green, smooth, glabrous, with midrib
and larger veins deeply grooved; lower surface light green,
lightly pubescent along the midrib and larger veins; apex
taper-pointed, base very abrupt, margin coarsely and doubly
serrate, the serrations often becoming spiny, eglandular;
petiole rather slender, nine-sixteenths inch in length, tinged
with pink, sparingly pubescent along one side, glandless or
with one or two globose, greenish-brown glands.
Blooming season intermediate in time and length; flowers
appearing with the leaves, showy on account of the numerous,
pure white, flat petals, with a somewhat disagreeable odor;
borne in clusters on lateral buds and spurs, in pairs; pedicels
seven-sixteenths inch in length, glabrous, green with a
distinct reddish tinge on one side; calyx-tube red, broadly
obconic, glabrous; calyx-lobes short, obtuse, pubescent on both
surfaces, eglandular, with a hairy, serrate margin, somewhat
reflexed; petals ovate, crenate, but somewhat fringed, long and
narrowly clawed; anthers yellowish; filaments five-sixteenths
inch long; pistil glabrous, shorter than the stamens.
Fruit mid-season, ripening period of medium length; about one
and one-eighth inches in diameter, roundish-oval or ovate,
not compressed, halves equal; cavity unusually shallow, very
narrow; suture an indistinct line; apex roundish; color dull
carmine, covered with thin bloom; dots numerous, gray or
reddish, nearly obscure, with almost none around the base;
stem slender, below medium in length; skin thick, tough,
astringent, adhering; flesh pale, dull yellow, very juicy,
slightly fibrous, watery and melting, sweet at first with a
tart and somewhat astringent after-taste; good; stone adhering
to the pulp, seven-eighths inch by five-eighths inch in size,
roundish-oval, flattened, smooth, blunt at the base and apex,
conspicuously winged on the ventral suture, with a deep but
narrow groove on the dorsal suture.
HUDSON
[Illustration: HUDSON]
_Prunus domestica_
=1.= _Mich. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 289. 1889. =2.= _Mich. Sta. Bul._
=103=:35 1894. =3.= _Ohio Hort. Soc. Rpt._ =30=:168. 1896-97.
=4.= _Cornell Sta. Bul._ =131=:181 fig. 40 III, 187. 1897. =5.=
_Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 25. 1897. =6.= _Can. Exp. Farm Bul._ 2nd
Ser. =3=:52. 1900. =7.= Waugh _Plum Cult._ 109. 1901.
Hudson River Purple 6. Hudson River Purple Egg 1, 3, 4. _Hudson
River Purple Egg_ 2, 5, 7. Purple Egg 2.
Hudson is limited in cultivation, belonging almost wholly to the Hudson
River Valley where it has long been somewhat of a favorite for both home
and market planting. The variety has few qualities of fruit to commend
it especially outside of the region where it is now grown and even here
its value is probably overrated. The fruits are of only medium size,
not markedly attractive in appearance and the quality is below the
average among standard plums. The trees are for most part very good in
constitution and habit of growth and in particular bear very well; they
have the faults of not bearing early and of being subject to black-knot.
The variety, and perhaps it is well, is being less planted than formerly.
Nothing is known of the origin of the Hudson except that it has been
grown in the Hudson River Valley for a good many years. About 1870 it
attracted the attention of S. D. Willard of Geneva, New York, who,
thinking it a valuable acquisition, commenced its propagation. In 1897,
it was listed by the American Pomological Society as a successful variety
for this region. J. R. Cornell, a well informed fruit-grower of Newburgh,
New York, in a letter written February 21, 1910, says, “I recall Hudson
very distinctly as it was grown when I was a small boy over fifty years
ago. I would not be surprised, if the facts could be obtained, to learn
that the variety came from Europe, in fact, I incline to that opinion.”
Tree large, vigorous, spreading, very productive, hardy;
branches ash-gray, smooth except for the small, raised
lenticels; branchlets slender, with long internodes,
greenish-red changing to brownish-red, dull, glabrous early in
the season becoming lightly pubescent at maturity, with small,
inconspicuous lenticels; leaf-buds below medium in size and
length, conical, strongly appressed.
Leaves flattened, obovate or oval, two inches wide, three
and three-quarters inches long; upper surface dark green,
smooth, sparsely hairy along the grooved midrib; lower surface
silvery-green, faintly pubescent; apex acute, base abrupt,
margin serrate, eglandular or with small dark glands; petiole
five-eighths inch long, thick, lightly pubescent, glandless or
with from one to three greenish-yellow glands.
Blooming season short; flowers appearing after the leaves,
one and one-eighth inches across, white; borne in scattering
clusters on lateral spurs, singly or in pairs; pedicels
nine-sixteenths inch long, glabrous except for a few
scattering hairs; calyx-tube green, campanulate, pubescent
at the base; calyx-lobes obtuse, lightly pubescent on both
surfaces, glandular-serrate, reflexed; petals obovate, crenate,
tapering to short, broad claws; anthers yellowish; filaments
three-eighths inch long; pistil glabrous, longer than the
stamens.
Fruit late, season of medium length; one and five-eighths
inches by one and one-eighth inches in size, long-oval, halves
unequal; cavity shallow, narrow, abrupt, regular; suture
shallow; apex slightly pointed; color dark reddish-purple
changing to purplish-black, overspread with thick bloom; dots
numerous, small, russet, inconspicuous; stem slender, one inch
long, sparingly pubescent; skin thin, tender, sour, separating
readily; flesh golden-yellow, juicy, rather tender, sweet next
the skin but sour towards the center, aromatic; good; stone one
and one-eighth inches by five-eighths inch in size, sometimes
reddish, ovate, roughened and faintly pitted, acute at the base
and apex; ventral suture wide, with numerous ridges; dorsal
suture with a wide, shallow groove.
HULINGS
_Prunus domestica_
=1.= Prince _Treat. Hort._ 23. 1828. =2.= Kenrick _Am. Orch._
261. 1832. =3.= Downing _Fr. Trees Am._ 277. 1845. =4.=
_Horticulturist_ =1=:166. 1846. =5.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 86.
1862. =6.= Hogg _Fruit Man._ 705. 1884. =7.= Mathieu _Nom.
Pom._ 435. 1885. =8.= _Guide Prat._ 158, 366. 1895.
_Gloire de New York_, 6, 7, 8. _Huling’s Superb_ 7, 8. Huling’s
Superb 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. Huling’s Treffliche 7. _Keiser_ 2.
_Keyser’s Plum_ 3, 6, 7, 8. Superbe de Huling 8.
Hulings is one of the largest of the Reine Claude group of plums and a
remarkably fine fruit in every respect. It is particularly agreeable
to the taste because of its sprightliness, which so many plums of its
type lack. As this variety grows in New York it has much to recommend
it for commercial plantations. Its lack of popularity among planters is
due somewhat to the wholesale substitution by nurserymen of spurious
varieties for it. Hulings originated early in the last century with a Mr.
Keyser of Pennsylvania who grew it from seed, but Dr. W. E. Hulings of
the same state brought it to public notice.
Tree large, vigorous, upright-spreading, dense-topped,
productive; branchlets brash, thick, pubescent; leaves
unusually large, obovate, three inches wide, six and one-half
inches long, thick, leathery, rugose; margin crenate or
serrate; petiole thick, tinged red, pubescent, with from one to
three globose glands.
Fruit maturing in mid-season; about one and seven-eighths
inches in diameter, roundish, dull greenish-yellow, overspread
with thin bloom; skin thin, somewhat sour; flesh greenish,
firm but tender, sprightly; good to very good; stone clinging,
one and one-eighth inches by three-quarters inch in size,
broad-oval, medium turgid, with short, thick, slightly oblique
apex; ventral suture often winged; dorsal suture wide, deep.
HUNGARIAN
[Illustration: HUNGARIAN]
_Prunus domestica_
=1.= Knoop _Fructologie_ =2=:61. 1771. =2.= Willichs _Dom.
Enc._ =4=:190. 1803. =3.= _Lond. Hort. Soc. Cat._ 143, 148.
1831. =4.= Downing _Fr. Trees Am._ 2nd App. 156. 1876. =5.=
Oberdieck _Deut. Obst. Sort._ 404. 1881. =6.= Mas _Le Verger_
=6=:51, fig. 26. 1866-73. =7.= Koch _Deut. Obst._ 568. 1876.
=8.= Mathieu _Nom. Pom._ 452. 1889. =9.= _Cal. State Board_
Hort. 111 fig. 11. 1891. =10.= Lucas _Vollst. Hand. Obst._ 474.
1894. =11.= Lange _Allgem. Garten._ =2=:421. 1897. =12.= _Mich.
Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 465. 1893. =13.= _Oregon Sta. Bul._ =45=:33.
1897. =14.= Waugh _Plum Cult._ 109. 1901.