leaves, five-eighths inch across, creamy-white as the buds
unfold changing to whitish, with a disagreeable odor; borne
in clusters from lateral buds, in threes, fours or fives;
pedicels five-eighths inch long, very slender, glabrous,
greenish; calyx-tube green, broadly obconic, glabrous,
calyx-lobes narrow, somewhat acute, pubescent on the inner
surface, serrate, with reddish glands and hairy margin, erect;
petals small, oval, slightly toothed, narrowly clawed; anthers
yellowish; filaments one-quarter inch long; pistil glabrous,
shorter than the stamens.
Fruit early, season of medium length; variable in size ranging
from seven-eighths inch to one and one-eighth inches in
diameter, roundish-oval, slightly compressed, halves equal;
cavity very shallow and narrow, abrupt; suture indistinct;
apex roundish or depressed; color clear currant-red, with
thin bloom; dots few, medium to large, whitish, somewhat
conspicuous, clustered about the apex; stem very slender,
three-quarters inch long, glabrous, adhering poorly to the
fruit; skin tough, cracking under unfavorable conditions,
separating readily; flesh deep yellow, juicy, fibrous, tender
and melting, sweet next the skin but sour at the center, of
pleasant flavor; fair to good in quality; stone clinging
closely, five-eighths inch by three-eighths inch in size,
narrow, long-oval, turgid, smooth, flattened and necked at the
base, abruptly sharp-tipped at the apex; ventral suture acute,
inconspicuous; dorsal suture blunt, faintly grooved.
PURPLE GAGE
_Prunus domestica_
=1.= _Pom. Mag._ =3=:129, Pl. 1830. =2.= _Lond. Hort. Soc.
Cat._ 152, 153. 1831. =3.= Downing _Fr. Trees Am._ 308 fig.
127. 1845. =4.= Poiteau _Pom. Franc._ =1.= 1846. =5.= Thomas
_Am. Fruit Cult._ 339. 1849. =6.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 54.
1852. =7.= _Ann. Pom. Belge_ =3=:71, Pl. 1855. =8.= Thompson
_Gard. Ass’t_ 519, Pl. 1. 1859. =9.= Hogg _Fruit Man._ 377.
1866. =10.= _Pom. France_ =7=: No. 9. 1871. =11.= Mas _Le
Verger_ =6=:3 fig. 2. 1866-73. =12.= _Cat. Cong. Pom. France_
367. 1887. =13.= Mathieu _Nom. Pom._ 452. 1889. =14.= _Guide
Prat._ 155, 364. 1895.
_Blaue Reine-Claude_ 10, 11, 13 incor., 14. _Die Violette
Königin Claudia_ 13. _Die Violette Königin Claudie_ 1. _Die
Violette Köning Claudie_ 3. _Die Violette oder blaue Renoclode_
10, 14. _Die Violette oder Blaue Reneclode_ 11, 13. _Purple
Gage_ 2, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14. Prune Reine Claude Violette
4, 10. _Reine-Claude Alex. Dumas_ 14. Reine-Claude Violette
2, 7, 8, 11, 12, 14. _Reine-Claude Violette_ 1, 3, 5, 9, 13.
_Violet Queen Claude_ 3, 5. _Violet Gage_ 8, 9, 10, 12, 13,
14. Violette Reine-Claude 13. Violet Gage 2. _Violette Queen
Claude_ 13. _Violet oder Blaue Reneclode_ 13.
Purple Gage is worthy of attention as one of the best flavored of all
purple plums. In all but color of fruit it is a true Gage, to say which
is a sufficient characterization as to quality. In size it averages
larger than most of the Gages or Reine Claude plums, and in color is a
rich dark purple as attractive as any of the purple plums. Another good
quality of the fruit is that of hanging to the tree until it shrivels
at which time it is richest in flavor. Unfortunately the trees, while
averaging very well in other respects, are not productive and the variety
cannot be recommended for money-making though it well deserves a place in
home orchards.
Purple Gage is a European variety of unknown origin, though in the
_Catalogue descriptif des fruits adoptes par le Congres pomologique_ for
1887, it is said to have been raised by M. Galopin of Liege, Belgium.
As it was not mentioned by Duhamel in his _Traite des Arbres Fruitiers_
in 1768, it is thought to have been unknown at that date. English and
American authors generally apply the name Purple Gage to this variety but
in continental countries the name Reine Claude Violette is most common.
It was imported into America early in the last century and in 1852 was
added to the recommended list of fruits in the American Pomological
Society catalog.
Tree large, vigorous, round-topped, hardy, not very productive;
branches numerous, light ash-gray, with few, small, raised
lenticels; branchlets thick, above medium in length, with
rather short internodes, greenish-red changing to brownish-red,
marked with much scarf-skin, glabrous throughout the season,
with few, small, slightly-raised lenticels; leaf-buds of
medium size and length, conical, appressed; leaf-scars greatly
enlarged.
Leaves folded upward, oval, one and three-quarters inches
wide, three and one-half inches long, thick, stiff; upper
surface dark green, distinctly rugose, lightly pubescent, with
a shallow groove on the midrib; lower surface silvery-green,
covered with thick pubescence; apex abruptly pointed or acute,
base rather abrupt, margin serrate or crenate, eglandular or
with small dark glands; petiole three-quarters inch long,
thick, greenish, pubescent, glandless or with one or two rather
large, globose, yellowish-green glands variable in position.
Blooming season late, of medium length; flowers appearing with
the leaves, nearly one and one-quarter inches across, white;
borne from lateral buds, usually singly; pedicels five-eighths
inch long, thick, pubescent, greenish; calyx-tube green,
campanulate, glabrous; calyx-lobes narrow, obtuse, lightly
pubescent on both surfaces, glandular-serrate, reflexed;
petals obovate or oval, crenate, short-clawed; anthers yellow;
filaments nearly one-half inch long; pistil glabrous except at
the base, shorter than the stamens.
Fruit intermediate in time and length of ripening season; one
and one-half inches by one and three-eighths inches in size,
roundish or ovate, slightly compressed, halves equal; cavity
shallow, narrow, abrupt; suture very shallow, often a line;
apex variable in shape; color dark purple or purplish-black,
overspread with thick bloom; dots numerous, russet, conspicuous
when the bloom is removed, clustered about the apex; stem
five-eighths inch long, thinly pubescent, adhering well to
the fruit; skin thin, separating readily; flesh dull yellow,
juicy, somewhat fibrous, firm but tender, sweet, of pleasant
flavor; very good; stone semi-clinging, seven-eighths inch
by five-eighths inch in size, irregular-oval, flat, often
contracted at the base into a long narrow neck, blunt at
the apex, with markedly rough and pitted surfaces; ventral
suture swollen, rather wide, distinctly furrowed, often with a
prominent wing; dorsal suture with a wide and deep groove.
QUACKENBOSS
[Illustration: QUACKENBOSS]
_Prunus domestica_
=1.= Downing _Fr. Trees Am._ 393. 1857. =2.= _Cultivator_
=6=:269 fig. 1858. =3.= Thomas _Am. Fruit Cult._ 345. 1867.
=4.= Downing _Fr. Trees Am._ 941. 1869. =5.= _Am. Pom. Soc.
Cat._ 24. 1871. =6.= Mas. _Pom. Gen._ =2=:151, fig. 76. 1873.
=7.= Barry _Fr. Garden_ 415. 1883. =8.= _Mich. Sta. Bul._
=103=:34, fig. 6. 1894. =9.= _Ont. Fr. Exp. Sta. Rpt._ 52.
1895. =10.= _Cornell Sta. Bul._ =131=:191, fig. 40 II. 1897.
=11.= Waugh _Plum Cult._ 119. 1901. =12.= _Va. Sta. Bul._
=134=:44. 1902.
Quackenbos 9, 12.
Though not a leading variety, Quackenboss is a prominent one in the
list of commercial sorts for New York. Its fruits possess to a high
degree the characters which make a good market plum; they are of large
size, averaging nearly an inch and a half in diameter; round-oval, a
better shape for the markets than the prune shapes; very prepossessing
in color—a handsome, dark purple with heavy bloom; the flesh is tender
and juicy with a sweet, pleasant flavor making it one of the good
purple plums, though not one of the best in quality. The tree is large,
vigorous, hardy, with a round and spreading top. This gives it great
bearing capacity but though productive in the Station orchard, the
variety does not have the reputation of being fruitful and fails chiefly
as a commercial sort for this reason. It is a late-maturing variety and
comes on the market at a time when plums are wanted for home canning, the
demand for this purpose, for which it is most suitable, helping greatly
its sale. The variety has two peculiarities; the petals are comparatively
distinct from each other giving the flower, or a tree in flower, an odd
appearance; and the leaves are remarkably variable in size.
It is not quite certain when or where this variety first came to
notice. C. Reagles, a competent authority, of Schenectady, New York, in
describing the Quackenboss for _The Cultivator_ in 1858, says “There
is a seedling tree of this identical sort in the garden of Mr. S. C.
Groot of this city, which is about thirty years old.” If true, this
puts its origin in Schenectady at about 1828. But beyond question a Mr.
Quackenboss of Greenbush, New York, introduced the variety, though some
years later, and it has taken his name. In 1871, the American Pomological
Society placed the Quackenboss on its recommended fruit list.
Tree very large and vigorous, round-topped, hardy, productive;
branches numerous, ash-gray, the trunk rough but the limbs
smooth, with smallish raised lenticels; branchlets thick, with
long internodes, greenish-red changing to brownish-drab over
red, dull, pubescent, with numerous, small lenticels; leaf-buds
of medium size and length, pointed, free.
Leaves flattened, obovate or oval, variable in size averaging
one and seven-eighths inches wide by three and five-eighths
inches long; upper surface very dark green, nearly glabrous,
with a grooved midrib; lower surface pale green, pubescent;
apex obtuse, base tapering, margin finely serrate, with small
black glands; petiole five-eighths inch long, pubescent,
faintly tinged red, glandless or with from one to four small,
globose, greenish-yellow glands usually on the stalk.
Blooming season intermediate in time and length; flowers
appearing after the leaves, one and one-eighth inches across,
white, with a yellow tinge at the tips of the opening buds;
scattered on lateral spurs, singly or in pairs; pedicels
three-quarters inch long, above medium in thickness, finely
pubescent, greenish; calyx-tube green, campanulate, glabrous;
calyx-lobes obtuse, lightly pubescent, glandular-serrate,
reflexed; petals obovate, crenate, with broad claws of medium
length; anthers yellow with a reddish tinge; filaments
seven-sixteenths inch long; pistil glabrous except on the
ovary, shorter than the stamens.
Fruit late, season short; one and five-eighths inches by one
and three-eighths inches in size, roundish-oval, compressed
slightly, halves equal; cavity narrow, abrupt; suture shallow,
often lacking; apex roundish or depressed; color bluish-black,
with thick bloom; dots numerous, small, yellowish-brown,
inconspicuous; stem three-quarters inch long, pubescent,
adhering well to the fruit; skin tender, somewhat astringent;
flesh deep yellow, juicy, tender, sweet, of pleasant, mild
flavor; good; stone semi-free, one inch by five-eighths inch
in size, flattened, irregular-oval, tapering to a long, narrow
neck at the base, bluntly acute at the apex, with rough and
pitted surfaces; ventral suture prominent, heavily furrowed,
distinctly ridged; dorsal suture acute, often with a narrow,
indistinct, shallow groove.
RED APRICOT
_Prunus domestica_
=1.= Knoop _Fructologie_ =2=:52, 54. 1771. =2.= Kraft _Pom.
Aust._ =2=:27, Tab. 172 fig. 1. 1796. =3.= Prince _Pom. Man._
=2=:72. 1832. =4.= Poiteau _Pom. Franc._ =1.= 1846. =5.=
Goodrich _N. Fr. Cult._ 83. 1849. =6.= Mas _Pom. Gen._ =2=:127,
fig. 64. 1873. =7.= Hogg _Fruit Man._ 720. 1884. =8.= Mathieu
_Nom. Pom._ 447. 1889. =9.= Lucas _Vollst. Hand. Obst._ 474.
1894.
Abricot Rouge 1. _Abricote Rouge_ 3. Apricot Plum 5. Abricotée
Rouge 6. _Abricot Rouge_ 6, 7, 8. _Abricotée Rouge_ 7, 8. Die
Aprikosenpflaume 2. _Fürstenzeller Pflaume_ 8. _Fürstenzeller
Reine-Claude_ 6. _Prune d’Abricot Rouge_ 1, 8. _Prune
d’Abricos_ 2. Prune d’Abricot rouge 1. Prune Abricotée Rouge 4.
Red Apricot Plum 3. _Rothe Aprikosenpflaume_ 6. _Red Apricot_
6, 8. Rote Aprikosenpflaume 8. Rote Aprikosenzwetsche 9.
This plum, well known in Europe, is probably not now grown in America
and it may not deserve recognition here except for its historical
interest. Red Apricot is probably an inferior off-shoot of the Apricot
plum although no definite record of its lineage is obtainable. It does
not seem to have been known until nearly one hundred and fifty years
after the Apricot was brought to notice. Kraft figured and described a
long prune-like red plum under this name but because of its shape his
plum was undoubtedly spurious. The variety was rejected by the American
Pomological Society in 1856. It is described as follows:
Tree vigorous, shoots glabrous; fruit mid-season, large,
roundish; color red over yellow; suture shallow; cavity small;
stem an inch long, stout; flesh yellow, dryish, inferior in
flavor; poor; freestone.
RED DATE
_Prunus domestica_
=1.= Parkinson _Par. Ter._ 576. 1629. =2.= Rea _Flora_ 208.
1676. =3.= Ray _Hist. Plant._ =2=:1529. 1688. =4.= Kraft _Pom.
Aust._ =2=:43, Tab. 196 fig. 2. 1796. =5.= _Lond. Hort. Soc.
Cat._ 147. 1831. =6.= Mathieu _Nom. Pom._ 447. 1889.
_A Fleur Double_ 5. _Dattel Pflaume_ 6. _Dattel Zwetsche_
6. Die grosse rothe Feigenpflaume 4. Figue Grose Rouge 5.
_Figue Grosse Rouge_ 6. _Früh Zwetsche_ 6. _Grosse Rote
Feigen Pflaume_ 6. _Lange Violette Dattel Zwetsche_ 6. _Lange
Violette Dattel Pflaume_ 6. _Prune figue grosse rouge_ 4.
_Prune d’Autriche_ 6. _Prune Figue_ 6. _Prune Datte_ 6.
_Purpur Pflaume_ 6. Red Date-plum 3. Rote. Dattelzwetsche 6.
_Rote Feigen Pflaume_ 6. _Turkische Zwetsche_ 6. _Ungarische
Zwetsche_ 6. _Wilmot’s Russian_ 5. _Zucker Zwetsche_ 6.
Red Date is an interesting variety because of its very peculiar shape
which is that of an elongated curved date. Its flavor is agreeable
and all of the characters of fruit and tree are as good as in the
average variety; yet it can probably be counted as nothing more than
an interesting curiosity. Parkinson described the Red Date as long ago
as 1629 and it seems to have maintained a place in horticulture since
then. The variety was imported from France in 1901 by the United States
Department of Agriculture from which source trees were obtained by this
Station.
Tree of medium size, upright-spreading, dense-topped,
productive; branches thorny; branchlets developing many
laterals on the new wood at right angles to the direction
of growth, thickly pubescent; leaf-buds free; leaves folded
backward, obovate, one and one-half inches by three and
one-quarter inches long; margin crenate, with small dark
glands; petiole pubescent, rather long, glandless or with from
one to three small glands; blooming season intermediate in time
and length; flowers appearing after the leaves, seven-eighths
inch across; borne in scattering clusters on lateral buds and
spurs, singly or in pairs.
Fruit mid-season; one and five-eighths inches by one inch in
size, long irregular-oval, enlarged on the suture side, dark
purplish-red, with thick bloom; flesh golden-yellow, rather
dry, firm, sweet, mild; of fair quality; stone free, one and
one-eighth inches by one-half inch in size, very long and
narrow, somewhat oblique, acute and oblique at both base and
apex; ventral suture blunt; dorsal suture with a long, narrow,
deep groove.
RED DIAPER
_Prunus domestica_
=1.= Quintinye _Com. Gard._ 67, 68, 69. 1699. =2.= Miller
_Gard. Kal._ 184. 1734. =3.= Knoop _Fructologie_ =2=:57. 1761.
=4.= Duhamel _Trait. Arb. Fr._ =2=:102, Pl. XX fig. 12. 1768.
=5.= Kraft _Pom. Aust._ =2=:36, Tab. 185 fig. 2. 1796. =6.=
Willichs _Dom. Enc._ 300. 1803. =7.= _Pom. Mag._ =1=:6, Pl.
1828. =8.= Prince _Pom. Man._ =2=:69, 90. 1832. =9.= Downing
_Fr. Trees Am._ 298. 1845. =10.= Floy-Lindley _Guide Orch.
Gard._ 285, 287, 288, 383. 1846. =11.= Poiteau _Pom. Franc._
=1=:1846. =12.= _Horticulturist_ =3=:29. 1848. =13.= Thomas
_Am. Fruit Cult._ 335, fig. 261. 1849. =14.= _Horticulturist_
=4=:195. 1849. =15.= _Ann. Pom. Belge_ 75 Pl. 1853. =16.=
Bridgeman _Gard. Ass’t_ 128, 129, 130. 1857. =17.= _Pom.
France_ =7=: No. 10. 1871. =18.= Mas _Pom. Gen._ =2=:135, fig.
68. 1873. =19.= _Le Bon Jard._ 339. 1882. =20.= Hogg _Fruit
Man._ 697. 1884. =21.= _Cat. Cong. Pom. France_ 345. 1887.
=22.= Mathieu _Nom. Pom._ 447. 1889. =23.= _Guide Prat._ 158,
365. 1895.
_Amalia Pflaume_ 22, 23. _Bunte Herzformige Pflaume_ 17, 22.
_Cyprische Pflaume_ 22, 23. _Diaprée de Roche Corbon_ 22. _Dame
Aubert Rouge_ 22, 23. _Diademe Imperial_ 22. _De Chypre_ 23.
_Diademe Imperiale_ 23. Diaper 1, 10. Die Blutfarbige Pflaume
5. Diaprée Rouge 3, 4, 9, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21. _Diaprée Rouge_
5, 8, 10, 13, 16, 18, 22. _Diapre Rouge_ 8, 22, 23. Die Rothe
Eierpflaume 14. _Diaper Rouge_ 16. _Diaper_ 17, 20, 22. _Die
Blutfarbege Pflaume_ 17. _Diaprea rubra_ 17. _Diademe_ 19. _De
Briancon_ 21. _Gluhende Kohle_ 22. _Hoheits Pflaume_ 22, 23.
_Imperial Diadem_ 8, 9, 13, 20, 22. Imperial Diadem 10, 16.
_Imperial Diademe_ 17, 21. _Imperatrice_ 19. _La Roche-Corbon_
22. _La Courbon_ 17. Mimms 10, 16. _Mimms_ 9, 13, 17, 20.
_Mimms Plum_ 10, 16, 22. Mimms Plum 7, 8. _Mimms Pflaume_ 22.
_Matchless_ 22. Prune Diaprée Rouge 11. Prune Imperatrice 15.
_Prune Diademe_ 15. _Prune de Briancon_ 17. _Prune de Chypre_
22. _Prinzessin Pflaume_ 22, 23. _Roche-Carbon_ 22. Rote
Diaprée 22. _Rouge Corbon_ 22. Rote Eier Pflaume 22. _Rote
Cyprische Pflaume_ 22. _Rote Marunke_ 22. _Rote Osterei_ 22.
_Rote Masche_ 22. _Rote Ross Pflaume_ 22. Rothe Eierpflaume 23.
_Rothe Marunke_ 23. Roche Corbon 1. Roche Courbon 2. _Roche
Corbon_ 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, 16, 17, 18, 20, 21, 22. Roch-courbon 6.
_Red Diaper_ 6, 10, 16, 17, 20, 21, 22. _Roche Courbon_ 8. _Red
Egg Plum_ 14. _Reine de Chypre_ 14. _Red Imperial_ 16. _Rothe
Diaprée_ 17. _Rothe Violen Pflaume_ 17. _Red Diaper Plum_
17. _Rothe Eierpflaume_ 17. _Rothe Süsse Pflaume_ 17. _Rothe
Diapre_ 18. _Virginische Pflaume_ 17.
Red Diaper is of historical value only, as it is now rarely found. It
does not seem to have been known as long as Violet Diaper and may be an
off-shoot of the older variety. It probably originated in France, one of
its synonyms, Roche Corbon, having been derived from a small village near
Tours. The Mimms plum said to have been raised from a stone of the Blue
Perdrigon about 1800 by Henry Browne, North Mimms Place, Hertfordshire,
England, and the Imperial Diadem said to be a seedling of about the same
date raised at Duckenfield, near Manchester, England, are identical with
Red Diaper in spite of their supposed separate origin. The Chypre, or
Prune de Chypre, thought by some to be a synonym of this variety, is
undoubtedly distinct, as it is a clingstone and is earlier. The following
description is compiled.
Tree of slow growth in the nursery, hardy, vigorous and
productive in the orchard. Fruit mid-season; large, obovate;
cavity slight; stem one-half inch in length; skin brownish-red;
bloom thin; dots very numerous, brownish, conspicuous; flesh
greenish-yellow, firm, fine-grained, sweet; good; stone small,
free.
RED JUNE
_Prunus triflora_
=1.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Rpt._ 106. 1891. =2.= _Cornell Sta. Bul._
=62=:28. 1894. =3.= _Ga. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 95. 1895. =4.=
_Cornell Sta. Bul._ =106=:60. 1896. =5.= _Ala. Col. Sta. Bul._
=85=:444. 1897. =6.= _Cornell Sta. Bul._ =139=:45. 1897. =7.=
_Rural N. Y._ =56=:615. 1897. =8.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 26.
1897. =9.= _Mich. Sta. Bul._ =169=:242, 243, 249, 250. 1899.
=10.= _Cornell Sta. Bul._ =175=:136. 1899. =11.= _U. S. D. A.
Rpt._ 386. 1901. =12.= Waugh _Plum Cult._ 140. 1901. =13.=
Budd-Hansen _Am. Hort. Man._ 324. 1903. =14.= _Can. Exp. Farm
Bul._ =43=:37. 1903. =15.= _Mass. Sta. Ann. Rpt._ =17=:160.
1905. =16.= _Md. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 85. 1905. =17.= _Ga. Sta.
Bul._ =68=:5, 32. 1905.
_Botan_ 14. _Hytankayo_ 11. _Long Fruit_ 3. _Nagate no
Botankyo_ 10, 11, 17. Red Nagate 1, 2, 3, 6, 9. _Red Nagate_ 4,
5, 11, 12, 13, 17. _Red June_ 2, 3. _Shiro Smomo_ 2, 4, 7, 11,
12, 14. Shiro Smomo 9.
Red June is variously estimated by fruit-growers and pomologists. A
concensus of the opinions of those who have had actual experience with
the variety shows that it closely follows Abundance and Burbank in
popularity among the Trifloras. The variety is distinguished from all
other plums by its fruit-characters; the plums are distinctly cordate
in shape with a deep cavity and a very pointed apex; the color is a
mottled garnet-red overlaid with thin but very distinct and delicate
bloom; the flesh is a light yellow, firm enough to endure transportation
well, peculiarly aromatized, sweetish and not wholly agreeable in flavor
and ranking rather low in quality; the stone adheres tightly to the
flesh. The trees are large, vigorous, spreading, hardy, healthy and
productive—very good for the species to which the variety belongs. Other
good qualities of the variety are that it blooms late for a Triflora, and
that the fruits are comparatively immune to curculio and brown-rot and
hang to the trees exceptionally well for an early plum. This is one of
the Trifloras that varies in season of ripening, a peculiarity of several
of the varieties of this species, but usually the fruits ripen a week or
more before Abundance. Red June is reported to be somewhat self-sterile
and in need of cross-pollination. This variety ought to have value as an
early market plum in New York.
Red June was imported from Japan by H. H. Berger and Company, San
Francisco, California, under the name Shiro Smomo, about 1887. Stark
Brothers, Louisiana, Missouri, obtained the variety in 1892 and
introduced it as the Red June in 1893. In 1897 it was added to the fruit
catalog list of the American Pomological Society. The nomenclature of
this variety is much confused. The true Japanese Red Nagate (Red Nagate
is one of the synonyms of Red June) has red flesh while this one has not;
this variety, to which the name Shiro Smomo is most often applied, is not
a Smomo plum nor is it white, (Shiro is the Japanese for white) affording
another instance of the confusion in the American application of the
Japanese names of the Triflora plums.
Tree large, vigorous, upright-spreading, hardy, productive,
healthy; branches rough, thorny, dark brown, with numerous
lenticels of medium size; branchlets slender, long, with short
internodes, dark brown, marked with considerable scarf-skin,
glabrous, with numerous large, raised lenticels; leaf-buds
small, medium in length, conical, free.
Leaves folded upward, oblanceolate, one inch wide, two and
three-quarters inches long, thin; upper surface glabrous, with
a lightly grooved midrib; lower surface light green, thinly
pubescent along the midrib and larger veins which are tinged
red; apex taper-pointed, base acuminate, margin finely serrate,
with small glands; petiole one-half inch long, slender, tinged
red, slightly hairy along one side, with from one to three
small, brown glands usually at the base of the leaf.
Blooming season intermediate in time and length; flowers
appearing before the leaves, white; borne in clusters on
lateral buds and spurs, in twos or in threes; pedicels of
medium length and thickness, glabrous except for occasional
hairs, greenish; calyx-tube green, campanulate, glabrous;
calyx-lobes narrow, obtuse, sparingly glandular, with marginal
hairs, glabrous on the outer side, thinly pubescent on the
inner side, erect; petals oval, entire, tapering at the base
to short claws; anthers light yellow; filaments short; pistil
glabrous, longer than the stamens.
Fruit early, one and one-half inches by one and three-eighths
inches in size, roundish-ovate to roundish-cordate, sides
unequal; cavity large, deep, narrow, regular, abrupt; suture
deep, distinct; apex very pointed; color garnet-red, mottled;
bloom thin; dots numerous, small, russet; stem one-half inch
long, adhering to the fruit; skin above medium in thickness,
tender, slightly astringent, separating easily; flesh light
yellow, fibrous, somewhat meaty, sweet except near the center;
good; stone clinging, five-eighths inch by one-half inch in
size, irregular-oval, slightly flattened, pointed at both
ends, with pitted surfaces; ventral suture prominently winged,
narrow; dorsal suture not grooved.
RED MAGNUM BONUM
_Prunus domestica_
=1.= Parkinson _Par. Ter._ 576, 577. 1629. =2.= Rea _Flora_
208. 1676. =3.= Langley _Pomona_ 92, Pl. XX fig. V. 1729. =4.=
Duhamel _Trait. Arb. Fr._ =2=:98, Pl. XV. 1768. =5.= Kraft
_Pom. Aust._ =2=:31, Tab. 178 fig. 1. 1796. =6.= Willichs _Dom.
Enc._ =4=:300. 1803. =7.= Prince _Pom. Man._ =2=:59. 1832. =8.=
Hoffy _Orch. Com._ fig. 1841. =9.= Floy-Lindley _Guide Orch.
Gard._ 292. 1846. =10.= _Horticulturist_ =4=:194. 1849. =11.=
_Ann. Pom. Belge_ 99, Pl. 1853. =12.= Elliott _Fr. Book_ 428,
429. 1854. =13.= Noisette _Man. Comp. Jard._ =2=:499. 1860.
=14.= Downing _Fr. Trees Am._ 943. 1869. =15.= Mas _Pom. Gen._
=2=:139, fig. 70. 1873. =16.= Hogg _Fruit Man._ 721. 1884.
=17.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Rpt._ 61. 1887. =18.= Mathieu _Nom. Pom._
445, 448. 1889. =19.= _Ia. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 87. 1890. =20.=
_Guide Prat._ 158, 358. 1895.
_Askew’s Purple Egg_ 12, 14, 16, 18. _Blaue Kaiserpflaume_ 15,
18, 20 incor. _Blaue Eier Pflaume_ 18 incor. _Bockshoden_ 18,
20. _Bocksdutten_ 18, 20. _Bonum Magnum_ 18 incor., 20. _Blue
Imperatrice_ 7 incor., 8. _Copper Plum_ 8. Die Kaiserliche
veilchenfarbige Pflaume 5. Die Rothe Kaiserpflaume 10. Dame
Aubert 13. _Dame Aubert Violette_ 14, 16, 18, 20. _Die Rothe
Eierpflaume_ 14. _Dame Aubert Rouge_ 17. Dame Aubert Rouge 19.
_D’Oeuf Violette_ 20. _Early Forcing_ 12. _Florence_ 12, 14,
16, 18, 20. _Frühe Treib Zwetsche_ 18. _Frühe Treibzwetsche_
20. _Great Imperial Plum_ 18, 20. _Grosse Früh Zwetsche_ 18
incor. _Grosse Ungarische Zwetsche_ 18 incor. Imperiall 1.
Imperial 3, 6. _Impériale Violette_ 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 14, 16,
18, 20. Impériale Violette 4, 15, 20. Imperial Violet 7.
_Impériale_ 7, 14, 16, 18, 20. _Imperiall_ 9. _Imperial_ 9, 14,
18. _Impériale Rouge_ 10, 14, 16, 18. _Imperial Rouge_ 12, 18.
_Imperial Violet_ 14, 18. _Impériale Hâtive_ 18, 20. Impériale
rouge 20. _Large Orlean_ 7. _Mogul Rouge_ 16, 18. _Oeuf Rouge_
16, 18. _Prune d’Oeuf Violette_ 18. _Prinzessinpflaume_ 15.
_Prune-figue_ 13. Prune Impériale Violette 11. _Prune d’oeuf_
7, 14, 18. _Purple Egg_ 7, 12, 14, 16, 18. _Prune-oeuf_ 7.
_Purple Magnum Bonum_ 12, 14, 18. _Red Magnum Bonum_ 8, 12, 20.
_Red Magnum_ 6. _Red Imperiale_ 7, 8, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20. _Red
Bonum Magnum_ 3, 7, 18, 20. _Red Egg Plum_ 10. Red Egg 12. Red
Imperial 12. _Red Egg_ 14, 16, 18. Red Aubert 17. _Rote Eier
Pflaume_ 18. Rote Kaiserpflaume 18. _Rote Kaiser Zwetsche_ 18.
116 _Riga_ 19. _Rothe Kaiserpflaume_ 20. _Rothe Kaiserzwetsche_
20. _Shepler_ ?14, ?18. _Sainte-Catherine_ (Belgien) 18, 20.
The Imperial Plum 2. _Violette oder Blaue Kaiserpflaume_ 15.
Once popular, Red Magnum Bonum is now but of historical interest.
Three centuries ago this variety was cultivated in England by John
Tradescant under the name Imperiall. It was mentioned by all of the
early horticultural writers and it seems clear that the variety was
well established in Europe at least as early as the beginning of the
Seventeenth Century. As all plums at that time were propagated from
seed, a large number of sub-varieties of this sort were produced and as
these became established the nomenclature of the variety became much
involved. In 1729 Langley called it the Red Magnum Bonum, a name it has
since retained. It is not known when the variety was introduced into this
country but its first appearance in American literature was in 1803.
After its introduction nurserymen sold any large red plum as Red Magnum
Bonum and it became difficult to find the true variety. Professor J. L.
Budd apparently reintroduced this plum in 1881-1882 under the name Dame
Aubert Rouge. Although very extensively grown in America at one time
it has never been a favorite because of its poor quality. The American
Pomological Society rejected it in 1858 from a list of candidates for its
catalog. The following description is compiled.
Tree hardy, vigorous, productive; young shoots glabrous. Fruit
mid-season; large, oval, deep red in the sun, pale red in the
shade, covered with thin bloom; stem one inch long; flesh
greenish, firm, slightly coarse, dry, brisk subacid; of fair
quality; stone oval, free.
REINE CLAUDE
_Prunus domestica_
=1.= Quintinye _Com. Gard._ 67, 68, 69. 1699. =2.= Langley
_Pomona_ 93, Pl. XXIII fig. 7. 1729. =3.= Duhamel _Trait. Arb.
Fr._ =2=:89, Pl. XI. 1768. =4.= Knoop _Fructologie_ =2=:62.
1771. =5.= Kraft _Pom. Aust._ 28, Tab. 173 fig. 2, 41, Tab.
193 fig. 2. 1796. =6.= Forsyth _Treat. Fr. Trees_ 20. 1803.
=7.= Miller _Gard. Dict._ =3.= 1807. =8.= Coxe _Cult. Fr.
Trees_ 237, fig. 14. 1817. =9.= Phillips _Com. Orch._ 306.
1831. =10.= _Lond. Hort. Soc. Cat._ 147, 148. 1831. =11.=
Prince _Pom. Man._ =2=:48. 1832. =12.= Gallesio _Pom. Ital._,
Pl. 1839. =13.= Downing _Fr. Trees Am._ 276 fig. 106. 1845.
=14.= Floy-Lindley _Guide Orch. Gard._ 283, 382, 419. 1846.
=15.= Poiteau _Pom. Franc._ =1=:1846. =16.= _Horticulturist_
=2=:178, 179, fig. 30, 291. 1847. =17.= Thomas _Am. Fruit
Cult._ 326 fig. 253, 329. 1849. =18.= Hovey _Fr. Am._ =2=:69,
Pl. 1851. =19.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 54. 1852. =20.= Elliott
_Fr. Book_ 410. 1854. =21.= Thompson _Gard. Ass’t_ 517. 1859.
=22.= Downing _Fr. Trees Am._ 917. 1869. =23.= Mas _Le Verger_
=6=:55, fig. 28. 1866-73. =24.= _Pom. France_ =7=: No. 5. 1871.
=25.= Oberdieck _Deut. Obst. Sort._ 434. 1881. =26.= Lauche
_Deut. Pom._ 20, Pl. IV 20. 1882. =27.= Hogg _Fruit Man._ 703.
1884. =28.= Mathieu _Nom. Pom._ 433. 1889. =29.= _Guide Prat._
154, 363. 1895. =30.= Bailey _Sur. Unlike_ 176, 243. 1896.
=31.= _Cornell Sta. Bul._ =131=:186. 1897. =32.= _Botanical
Gazette_ =26=:423. 1898. =33.= _Gard. Chron._ 3rd Ser.
=24=:465. 1898. =34.= Waugh _Plum Cult._ 22, 106, 107 fig. 1901.
_Abricot Verd_ 5, 9. _Abricot Vert_ 3, 7, 10, 11, 13, 14, 21,
22, 23, 24, 27, 28, 29. Abricotée Sageret ?22, 28. _Aloise’s
Green Gage_ 22, 24, 27, ?28, 29. _Blanche Grosse Espece_ 10.
_Bonne Verte_ 5. _Bradford Gage_ 13, 20, 21, 22, 28, 29.
_Bradford Green Gage_ 27, 28. _Bradford Queen Gage_ 24, ?29.
_Brugnon Green Gage_ 10, 18, 21, 22, 24, 27, 28, 29. _Brugnon
Gage_ 20, 22, 28, 29. _Bruyn Gage_ 13, 17, 18 incor., 20, 22,
28, 29. _Burgnon Gage_ 13, 24. _Cant’s Late Green Gage_ 22, 28.
Claudia 12. _Damas Gris_ 24, 28, 29. _Damas Verd_ 9. _Damas
Vert_ 7, 10, 13, 18, 21, 22, 24, 27, 28, 29. _Dauphine_ 5, 7,
10, 11, 13, 14, 18, 21, 22, 23, 24, 27, 28, 29. Die grosse
Königin Claudiapflaume, die grüne Abrikose 5. Die Königin
Klaudia 5. Dauphine 3. _Dauphiny_ 6. _Drap d’Or_ of some 10,
18, 28, 29. _Echte Grosse Reine-Claude_ 28, 29. _Gage Verte_
28, 29. _Great Green Damask_ 22, 27, 28. _Great Green Damaski_
24, 29. _Great Queen Claudia_ 11. Green Gage 2, 6, 8, 10, 11,
13, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 27, 30, 31, 33, 34. _Green
Spanish_ 14, 18. _Gros Damas Vert_ 11, 22, 28, 29. Grosse
Königin Claudiapflaume 5. _Green Gage_ 7, 9, 23, 24, 28, 29,
32, 34. _Goring’s Golden Gage_ 22, 24, 27, 28, 29. _Grosse
Reine_ 10, 13, 18, 20, 21, 22, 24, 27, 28, 29. _Grosse Grüne
Reine-Claude_ 25, 28. Grosse Reine-Claude 7, 25, 26, 28.
_Grosse Reine-Claude_ 3, 5, 10, 11, 13, 14, 18, 20, 21, 22, 23,
24, 25, 29. Gros Reine-Claude 14. _Grüne Aprikose_ 5, 28, 29.
_Grüne Abrikose_ 5. _Grüne Reineclaude_ 25. _Gute Grüne_ 28,
29. _Huling’s Reine-Claudia_ 22, 28. _Huling’s Reine Claude_
11. _Ida Gage_ 22. Ida Green Gage 16. _Ida Green Gage_ 20,
22, 24, 27, 28, 29. _Isleworth Green Gage_ 13, 18, 20, 21,
22, 24, 27, 28, 29. Isleworth Green Gage 10. _King of Plums_
20. _Königin Claudia_ 28, 29. Königin Klaudia 5. _Large Queen
Claude_ 11. _La Grosse Reine-Claude_ 11. Large Queen Claudia
6. _Large green claudia_ 11. _Livingston Manor_ 22, 28. Louis
Brun ?22, ?28. _Mammola_ 12. _Mirabelle Vert Double_ 22, 24,
27, 28, 29. _Murray’s Reine Claudia_ 22, 28. _Murray’s Reine
Claude_ 11, 14, 22, 27. Prune de Reine Claude 15. Prunus
Domestica Cereola 32. _Prunus Domestica var. cereola_ 33.
_Prunus Domestica var. Claudiana_ 32. _Queen Claude_ 2. _Queen
Claudia_ 11, 22, 24, 27, 28, 29. _Reine-Claude Ancienne_
23, 24, 28, 27. _Reine-Claude Blanche Grosse Espece_ 10.
_Reineclaude d’oree_ 29. _Reine-Claude Blanche La Grosse_ 11,
22. _Reine-Claude_ 8, 10, 11, 13, 17, 18, 20, 21, 22, 27, 28,
33. Reine Claud 1. Reine-Claudia 2. _Reine-Claude Blanche_ 10.
_Reine-Claude Dorée_ 22, 23, 24, 25, 28, 29. _Reine-Claude
Dore_ 18, 22. _Reine-Claude Grosse_ 27, 28. _Reine-Claude
Verde Perdrigon_ 5. _Reine-Claude Verte_ 23, 29. _Rensselaer
Gage_ 20, 22. _Rensselvar Gage_ 24, 29. _Rensselaar Gage_
27, 28. _Reine-Claude Verte Tiquetée_ 28, 29. _Reine-Claudia
Blanche La Grosso_ 22, 28. _Royal Green Gage_ 28, 29. _Schuyler
Gage_ 20, incor. 22, 24, 27. _Schuyler’s Gage_ ?13, 20, 28,
29. _Sucrin Vert_ 10, 11, 13, 18, 21, 22, 24, 27, 28, 29.
_Sultaneck Erik_ ?28, 29. _Susina Regina_ 12. _Triomphe Garcon_
24, 28, 29. _Triomphe Valet_ 24, 28, 29. _Trompe Garcon_ 22,
27, 28, 29. _Tromp-Valet_ 7. _Trompe Valet_ 22, 27, 28, 29.
_Verdacia_ 27, 28. _Verdacchia rotonda_ 12. _Verdoch_ 27, 32,
34. _Verdochia_ 32. _Verdochio_ 22, 24, 27, 28, 29. _Verducia_
22. _Verte Bonne_ 3, 7, 9, 10, 11, 14, 18, 21, 22, 23, 24, 28,
29. _Vert Bonne_ 13, 22, 27. _Verte d’Espagne_ 23, 28, 29.
_Verte Tiquetée_ 22, 24, 27, 28, 29. _Vilmot’s Green Gage_ 29.
_Vilmot’s Late Green Gage_ 29. _Wilmot’s Green Gage_ 10, 11,
18, 20, 21, 22, 24, 27, 28. Wilmot’s Late Green Gage 11, 18,
20, 21, 22. _Wilmot’s Late Green Gage_ 10, 13, 18, 20, 21, 22,
28, 29. _Wilmot’s New Green Gage_ 10, 11, 13, 18, 20, 22, 28,
29. _Waterloo_ 20.
In the pomological literature since Quintinye in 1699, Reine Claude has
been the standard in quality for plums. For the qualities that gratify or
assist in gratifying the sense of taste,—richness of flavor, consistency
and texture of flesh, abundance of juice and pleasant aroma,—the Reine
Claude is unsurpassed. It is, however, now probably equalled in quality
by several of the great number of similar varieties which have originated
in America and for which American plum-growing is justly distinguished.
Under ordinary cultivation the Reine Claude is not a remarkably handsome
plum but when grown on thrifty trees, the crop thinned, foliage and fruit
kept free from pests and the fruits sufficiently exposed to the sun to
color well, it is a beautiful fruit, its size, form and color all adding
to its beauty. The tree is only of moderate size in the orchard and in
the nursery is so small and wayward that nurserymen hesitate to grow it.
The trees, though small, are productive and bear regularly, the chief
defect being the susceptibility to sunscald whereby the bark on the trunk
is killed and the beginning of the end is marked. The short life of the
trees of this variety is largely due to this injury to the bark and has
led to top-working on Lombard and other stocks, an operation successful
only when done early in the life of the stock. Another serious fault is
that the fruit cracks badly if showers occur at ripening time. Reine
Claude is still one of the most profitable plums grown in New York and
whether for the commercial or home plantation deserves a place in the
plum orchard.
For a complete history of this variety the reader is referred to the
discussion of the Reine Claude group of plums. The Bavay, a distinct
variety, is called the true Reine Claude by many nurserymen and
horticultural writers. Green Gage is a synonym of the Reine Claude and
is preferred by some writers for this plum but since “Reine Claude” is
as well known and much older it has been retained in _The Plums of New
York_. The American Pomological Society placed this variety on its fruit
catalog list in 1852.
Tree of medium size and vigor, round-topped, hardy, productive;
trunk and branches of medium thickness and smoothness; branches
ash-brown, with few lenticels; branchlets short, with short
internodes, reddish-brown, lightly pubescent; leaf-buds large,
long, conical or pointed, free; leaf-scars prominent.
Leaves four and one-half inches long, two inches wide, oval,
thick, leathery; upper surface dark green, smooth, covered with
fine, scattering hairs; lower surface pale green, pubescent;
apex acute, margin often doubly crenate, glandular; petiole
three-quarters inch long, tinged red, glandless or with one or
two small, globose, greenish glands variable in position.
Fruit mid-season; one and three-quarters inches by one and
five-eighths inches in size, roundish-oval, halves equal;
cavity narrow, regular, abrupt; suture shallow, broad; apex
pubescent, roundish or slightly depressed; color yellowish
green, indistinctly streaked with green, becoming golden-yellow
at full maturity, sometimes mottled on the sunny side with
red, overspread with thin bloom; dots very numerous, small,
grayish, conspicuous, clustered about the apex; stem thick,
three-quarters inch long, pubescent; skin tough, adhering
to the pulp; flesh greenish-yellow or golden-yellow, juicy,
firm, sweet, mild; very good; stone semi-clinging, one inch
by three-quarters inch in size, oval, turgid, tapering at the
base, blunt at the apex, with thickly pitted surfaces; ventral
suture wide, distinctly furrowed, often with a short wing;
dorsal suture with a very wide and deep groove.
ROBINSON
[Illustration: ROBINSON]
_Prunus munsoniana_
=1.= _Ind. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 134. 1883. =2.= _Am. Pom. Soc.
Rpt._ 151. 1891. =3.= _Cornell Sta. Bul._ =38=:64, 86. 1892.
=4.= _Me. Sta. An. Rpt._ =12=:67. 1896. =5.= _Am. Pom. Soc.
Rpt._ 89. 1897. =6.= _Wis. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 137. 1899. =7.=
_Wis. Sta. Bul._ =87=:15. 1901. =8.= Waugh _Plum Cult._ 199.
1901. =9.= _Kan. Sta. Bul._ =101=:131. 1901. =10.= _Ga. Sta.
Bul._ =67=:280. 1904. =11.= _Ohio Sta. Bul._ =162=:256, 257.
1905.
Robinson has long been one of the best known of its species though it
is probably inferior in fruit-characters at least to several other
Munsoniana sorts. The plums are attractive in coloring but small in size
and comparatively low in quality. The trees are capricious in growth and
not as hardy as some others of the species but where they can be grown
are always productive. The variety is rated by some authors among those
that need cross-pollination to insure large crops. Robinson may be worth
growing in the South and in the States of the Plains but it cannot be
recommended for any purpose in New York.
This variety is a seedling grown by a Mr. Pickett of Putnam County,
Indiana, from a seed brought with him from North Carolina about 1835. In
1879, Dr. J. H. Robinson read a paper before the Indiana Horticultural
Society on Chicasaw plums, and gave a very flattering description of this
plum, which he had been growing since 1872. Later it was named by the
Putnam County Horticultural Society in honor of Dr. Robinson. This name
was used as a synonym of Miner by Downing in 1869 but at the present time
that usage has almost disappeared in plum literature.
Tree variable in size, often large, vigorous, spreading, not
uniform in habit, somewhat open and flat-topped, hardy, medium
to productive; trunk shaggy; branches very rough, zigzag,
thorny, dark ash-gray, with numerous, large, narrow and
strongly elongated, raised lenticels; branchlets slender to
medium, with internodes medium to below in length, greenish-red
changing to dull, dark chestnut-red, glabrous, with numerous
very conspicuous, large, raised lenticels; leaf-buds small,
short, obtuse, free.
Leaves folded upward, lanceolate, peach-like, one and
five-sixteenths inches wide, three and one-half inches long,
thin; upper surface dark green, glabrous, with deeply grooved
midrib; lower surface glabrous except along the midrib and
larger veins; apex taper-pointed, base obtuse, margin very
finely serrate, with small, dark red glands; petiole slender,
five-eighths inch long, reddish, lightly pubescent along one
side, glandless or with from one to seven small, globose,
reddish-brown glands on the stalk and on the base of the leaf.
Blooming season medium to late, long; flowers appearing
with the leaves, eleven-sixteenths inch across, whitish,
somewhat self-fertile; borne in clusters on lateral buds and
spurs, in twos, threes or fours; pedicels seven-sixteenths
inch long, slender, glabrous, greenish; calyx-tube green,
narrow-campanulate, glabrous; calyx-lobes narrow, slightly
obtuse, glandular, pubescent and with marginal hairs, erect;
petals ovate or oval, small, narrow, slightly crenate, tapering
below to long, narrow claws; anthers yellowish; filaments
one-quarter inch long; pistil glabrous, slightly shorter than
or equal to the stamens in length.
Fruit early, season very long; less than an inch in diameter,
roundish or roundish-oval, halves equal; cavity of medium
depth and width, abrupt; suture a line; apex roundish;
color clear currant-red, overspread with thick bloom; dots
scattering, large, russet, conspicuous, clustered around the
apex; stem slender, five-eighths inch long, glabrous, adhering
to the fruit; skin tough, bitter, separating readily; flesh
golden-yellow, very juicy, somewhat fibrous, tender and
melting, sweet next the skin, with some astringency near the
center, of mild but pleasant flavor; fair in quality; stone
clinging, five-eighths inch by three-eighths inch in size,
oval, turgid, very slightly flattened and necked at the base,
abrupt-pointed at the apex, roughish; ventral suture blunt,
slightly ridged; dorsal suture with a rather broad groove of
medium depth.
ROLLINGSTONE
_Prunus americana_
=1.= _Rural N. Y._ =44=:645. 1885. =2.= _Minn. Hort. Soc. Rpt._
279. 1885. =3.= _N. J. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 186. 1885. =4.= _Wis.
Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 32. 1885. =5.= _Minn. Sta. Bul._ =10=:73 fig.
1890. =6.= _Cornell Sta. Bul._ =38=:41, 86. 1892. =7.= _Am.
Pom. Soc. Cat._ 24. 1897. =8.= _Wis. Sta. Bul._ =63=:56, 58
fig. 28. 1897. =9.= _Colo. Sta. Bul._ =50=:45. 1898. =10.=
_Ohio. Sta. Bul._ =113=:153. 1899. =11.= Waugh _Plum Cult._
162. 1901. =12.= _Ga. Sta. Bul._ =67=:280. 1904. =13.= _Ohio
Sta. Bul._ =162=:256, 257. 1905.
_Minnesota_ 2. Rolling Stone 3, 4.
Rollingstone is an old Americana sort which has been kept in cultivation
chiefly because it is of very good quality for one of its species.
The fruit is rather dull in color and small but not unattractive in
appearance; the plums are little troubled by either the brown-rot or the
plum curculio and ship very well because of the tough skin. The tree is
dwarfish with a crooked trunk, shaggy bark, unkempt top and very twiggy—a
typical Americana and most difficult to grow into a good orchard plant.
The variety is characterized by long, conspicuous stamens, stigmas
frequently defective and by very large leaves. The variety has little or
no value in New York.
Rollingstone was found near an old Indian camping ground on the
Rollingstone Creek, Winona County, Minnesota, by Mr. O. M. Lord,[220]
Minnesota City, about 1852. Mr. Lord planted trees of this plum in his
garden and found that they improved greatly under cultivation, so much
so that they soon became very popular in the local market. About 1882
he introduced the Rollingstone to fruit-growers in general. Mr. H.
M. Thompson of St. Francis, according to the Minnesota Horticultural
Society Report for 1885, sent this plum out under the name Minnesota but
fortunately it has not been distributed under its synonym widely enough
to cause much confusion. In 1897 the American Pomological Society added
Rollingstone to its fruit catalog list.
Tree dwarfish, variable in vigor, spreading, flat-topped,
hardy, productive, healthy; trunk shaggy; branches dark
ash-gray, thorny, rough, zigzag, with numerous, rather large
lenticels; branchlets slender, twiggy, medium to short, with
internodes of average length, greenish turning to dark brown,
glossy, glabrous, with conspicuous, small, raised lenticels;
leaf-buds medium in size and length, appressed.
Leaves falling early, folded upward, obovate or long-ovate,
one and one-half inches wide, three and one-half inches long,
thin; upper surface smooth, glabrous, with a narrow groove on
the midrib; lower surface silvery green, lightly pubescent, the
veins prominent; apex taper-pointed, base rather acute, margin
coarsely and doubly serrate, eglandular; petiole slender,
five-eighths inch long, tinged red, sparingly pubescent,
glandless or with one or two small, globose, reddish glands on
the stalk.
Blooming season late and short; flowers appearing after the
leaves; three-quarters inch across, the buds creamy-white
changing to white as the flowers expand; borne in clusters
on lateral buds and spurs, in threes or in fours; pedicels
seven-sixteenths inch long, below medium in thickness,
glabrous, green; calyx-tube reddish-green, obconic, glabrous;
calyx-lobes narrow, acute, eglandular, glabrous on the outer
surface but lightly pubescent within, heavily pubescent on the
margin and with irregular deep serrations, erect; petals oval
or slightly ovate, dentate, tapering below into narrow claws
reddish at the base; stamens conspicuous; anthers yellow;
filaments three-eighths inch long; pistil glabrous, equal to
the stamens in length; stigma often abortive.
Fruit mid-season or earlier, ripening period short; about
one inch in diameter, roundish, halves equal; cavity
shallow, flaring, marked before maturity with light-colored,
radiating streaks; suture a line; apex roundish; color dark
purplish-red, with thin bloom; dots numerous, small, light
russet, inconspicuous; stem slender, nine-sixteenths inch long,
adhering poorly to the fruit; skin thick, tough, semi-adherent;
flesh orange-yellow, juicy, slightly fibrous, tender and
melting, sweet, strongly aromatic; good; stone semi-free,
five-eighths inch by one-half inch in size, roundish-oval,
flattened, smoothish, blunt at the base and apex; ventral
suture acute, faintly ridged; dorsal suture acute, with a
narrow, shallow, indistinct groove.
ROYAL TOURS
_Prunus domestica_
=1.= Duhamel _Trait. Arb. Fr._ =2=:81, Pl. XX fig. 8. 1768.
=2.= Kraft _Pom. Aust._ =2=:35, Tab. 184 fig. 2. 1796. =3.=
Downing _Fr. Trees Am._ 313. 1845. =4.= Elliott _Fr. Book_ 423.
1854. =5.= Mas _Le Verger_ =6=:53, fig. 27. 1866-73. =6.= Lange
_Allgem. Garten._ =2=:420. 1879. =7.= _Le Bon Jard._ =2=:341.
1882. =8.= _Cat. Cong. Pom. France_ 368. 1887. =9.= Mathieu
_Nom. Pom._ 438. 1889. =10.= _Guide Prat._ 160, 365. 1895.
=11.= Waugh _Plum Cult._ 120, 121. 1901.
_Damas de Tours_ 7. Die königliche Pflaume von Tours 2. _Diel’s
Königspflaume_ 9 incor. _Diels Königpflaume_ 10. _Frühe Herrn
Pflaume_ 9 incor., 10. Kings plum of Tours 6. _Königspflaume
von Tours_ 5, 10. Königspflaume von Tours 9. _Königliche
Pflaume von Tours_ 9, 10. _Königs Pflaume_ 9 incor., 10.
_Königliche Grosse Pflaume_ 9, 10. _Königin von Tours_ 9,
10. _Moroccopflaume_ 10. _Morocco_ 9 incor. _Prune Royale de
Tours_ 5, 9. _Rothe Königspflaume_ 10. _Roi_ 10. _Royale_ 8,
10. Royale de Tours 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 10. _Royale de Tours_ 2, 4,
9, 10, 11. _Royal Tours_ 3, 4, 9. Royal of Tours 4. _Royal red
Plum_ 8, 10. _Worth_ 11.
This excellent variety should be grown generally in America for home use,
at least, if it proves nearly as desirable as it is rated in Europe.
Royal Tours is an old French sort supposed to have originated in the
neighborhood of Tours, France. Although highly esteemed in Europe, it
has not gained favor in this country and is rarely found here. Waugh
states that in 1899 he secured specimens of it from North Carolina where
it was grown locally under the name Worth. The following description is
compiled.
Tree strong, vigorous; branches thick, short, smooth; fruit
early mid-season; of medium size, irregularly roundish, swollen
on one side, dark reddish-purple covered with thick bloom;
cavity deep; suture prominent; stem short, thick; skin thick,
firm; dots conspicuous; flesh greenish-yellow, firm, sweet;
very good; stone large, oblong, rough, clinging.
RUTLAND PLUMCOT
_Prunus triflora_ × _Prunus armeniaca_
=1.= Burbank _Cat._ 13 fig. 1901. =2.= De Vries _Pl. Br._ 218.
1907. =3.= _Fancher Creek Nur. Cat._ 10 fig. 1909.
Plumcot 1, 2.
One of the interesting novelties of recent plum-breeding is the Plumcot
grown by Luther Burbank[221] from a cross between the plum and the
apricot. Not having seen the fruit of this remarkable cross we are
unable to judge of its value to the plum-grower. Out of a large number
of extremely variable seedlings of this cross Burbank selected this, the
Rutland Plumcot, named in honor of an Australian admirer of the fruit.
The variety was introduced by the Fancher Creek Nursery in 1906 and 1907.
The following description is partly compiled.
Tree vigorous, spreading, open, not a heavy bearer; branches
thorny; branchlets rather slender, with short internodes, dull
red; leaves folded upward, oval, one and five-eighths inches
wide, two and seven-eighths inches long, rather stiff; margin
finely and doubly crenate, glandular; petiole greenish-red,
with from one to four globose glands.
The fruit in California attains a large size; suture and cavity
deep; skin fuzzy like an apricot, purple; flesh deep red,
subacid; quality fair; stone large, broad-oval.
SAINT CATHERINE
_Prunus domestica_
=1.= Quintinye _Com. Gard._ 67, 68, 69. 1699. =2.= Langley
_Pomona_ 94, Pl. 24 fig. 6. 1729. =3.= Miller _Gard. Dict._
=3.= 1754. =4.= Duhamel _Trait. Arb. Fr._ =2=:97, Pl. XX fig.
5, 109, Pl. XIX. 1768. =5.= Knoop _Fructologie_ =2=:55. 1771.
=6.= _Lond. Hort. Soc. Cat._ 153. 1831. =7.= Prince _Pom. Man._
=2=:76, 103. 1832. =8.= Kenrick _Am. Orch._ 267. 1832. =9.=
Gallesio _Pom. Ital._ =2=: Pl. 1839. =10.= Downing _Fr. Trees
Am._ 283 fig. 112. 1845. =11.= Floy-Lindley _Guide Orch. Gard._
298, 383. 1846. =12.= Poiteau _Pom. Franc._ =1=:1846. =13.=
_U. S. Pat. Off. Rpt._ XXX. 1854. =14.= _Ann. Pom. Belge_ 65,
Pl. 1855. =15.= Thompson _Gard. Ass’t_ 520. 1859. =16.= _Am.
Pom. Soc. Cat._ 86. 1862. =17.= _Pom. France_ =7=: No. 23. 1871.
=18.= Mas _Le Verger_ =6=:89, fig, 45. 1866-73. =19.= Hogg
_Fruit Man._ 724. 1884. =20.= Mathieu _Nom. Pom._ 431. 1889.
=21.= Wickson _Cal. Fruits_ 356 fig. 1891. =22.= _Guide Prat._
161, 365. 1895. =23.= _Oregon Sta. Bul._ =45=:33 fig. 1897.
_Bricet_ 7. _Bricette_ 4, 7, 12. _Bricette_ 7, 19. _Brisette_
20, 22. Catherine (Prune de Ste.) 5. _Catharinenpflaume_ 18,
20, 21. _De Sainte-Catherine_ 22. Gelbe Catharinenpflaume 20.
_Gelbe Catharinenpflaume_ 18, 22. _Gelbe Katharinenpflaume_ 17,
22. _Gute Kathe_ 20. _Mirabelle Tardive_ 7. _Petite Bricette_
7. _Pruneau de Tours_ 18. _Prune de Sainte Catherine_ 7, 17,
20. Prune Sainte Catherine 13. _Prune Sainte-Catherine_ 18.
_Prune Sainte-Catherine Jaune_ 18. Prunier Sainte-Catherine
14. _Pruneaux de Tours_ 13. St. Catharine 1, 2, 7, 8, 16,
19, 23. _Saint Catherine_ 7. _Sainte Catherine_ 11, 20.
Sainte-Catharine 3, 4, 12, 17, 18, 22. _Sainte-Catherine
de Tours_ 17, 20, 22. _Sainte-Catherine jaune_ 20, 21.
_Sainte-Catherine ordinaire_ 17, 20, 22. St. Katharine 1.
_Späte Mirabelle_ 20 incor., 22. Susina Di Santa Caterina 9.
_Torlo d’Ovo_ 9. _Torlo d’Uovo_ 9. _Yellow St. Catharine_ 7.
This plum is grown only on the Pacific Coast in America and even there
is to be found but locally and is now passing from cultivation. It is,
however, one of the well-known sorts in Europe, especially in France
where it is used for prune-making. It appears to be of the Reine Claude
group in which group America has so many plums of surpassing merit that
this one has no place on this side of the Atlantic. It is included in
_The Plums of New York_ largely because of its historic interest and
because there seems to be no complete description of it made from trees
and fruits grown on this continent.
The origin of this old plum is unknown. It was first mentioned by
Quintinye in 1699. Wherever it originated, it is now grown most
extensively in France and is known to commerce as the Prune of Tours.
The people in Northern Italy cultivate it under the name Torlo d’Ovo
(References, 9). The Belgians have used Saint Catherine incorrectly
for the Imperiale Violette (References, 14). In America, according to
Kenrick, it was not uncommon around Boston in 1832 but it evidently
did not receive much recognition, for the United States Patent Office
reimported it from France in 1854 and distributed it in the northeastern
part of this country. The American Pomological Society added it to its
fruit catalog list in 1862 and dropped it in 1899.
Tree large, vigorous, round-topped, usually hardy, productive;
branches sparingly thorny, light ash-brown, smooth except
for the few raised lenticels; branchlets thick, long, with
long internodes, greenish-red changing to dark reddish-brown,
marked with scarf-skin, nearly glabrous throughout the season,
with few, conspicuous, large, raised lenticels; leaf-buds of
medium size and length, conical or pointed, broad at the base,
appressed.
Leaves folded upward, oval, one and one-half inches wide, three
inches long; upper surface lightly pubescent, with a grooved
midrib; lower surface silvery-green, pubescent; apex and
base acute, margin crenate, with small, dark glands; petiole
three-quarters inch long, thick, with a red tinge, pubescent,
glandless or with from one to three conspicuous, globose,
bright yellow glands variable in size, usually on the stalk.
Season of bloom intermediate, long; flowers appearing after the
leaves, one inch across, white, the buds tinged yellow as they
open; borne on lateral spurs, in twos or in threes; pedicels
nearly one inch long, slender, with thin pubescence, greenish;
calyx-tube green, campanulate, glabrous; calyx-lobes small,
narrow, acute, pubescent on the inner surface, erect; petals
oval, entire, not clawed; anthers yellow with a tinge of red;
filaments three-eighths inch long; pistil glabrous, equal to
the stamens in length, often abortive.
Fruit late, intermediate in length of ripening season; small,
obovate or oval, slightly necked, truncate at the base,
compressed, halves equal; cavity shallow, narrow, flaring;
suture varies from shallow to deep, often prominent; apex
depressed; color dull green, changing to golden-yellow,
overspread with thin bloom; dots numerous, small, gray,
inconspicuous, clustered about the apex; stem slender, very
long, often one and one-eighth inches in length, glabrous,
adhering well to the fruit; skin thick, tough, clinging
slightly; flesh light golden-yellow, juicy, fibrous, sweet,
mild, pleasant, not high in flavor; good; stone clinging,
three-quarters inch by one-half inch in size, oval, flattened,
slightly acute at the base and apex, with roughened surfaces;
ventral suture finely grooved, blunt; dorsal suture with a
wide, shallow groove.
SAINT JULIEN
_Prunus insititia_
=1.= Miller _Gard. Dict._ =3.= 1754. =2.= _Lond. Hort. Soc.
Cat._ 153. 1831. =3.= Prince _Pom. Man._ =2=:73. 1832. =4.=
Noisette _Man. Comp. Jard._ =2=:500. 1860. =5.= Downing _Fr.
Trees Am._ 946. 1869. =6.= Hogg _Fruit Man._ 725. 1884. =7.=
Mathieu _Nom. Pom._ 449. 1889. =8.= _Rev. Hort._ 438. 1892.
=9.= _Trait. Prat. Sech. Fruits_ 170. 1893. =10.= _Bot. Gaz._
=26=:425. 1898.
Common Saint Julian 3. _Common Saint Julien_ 5, 7. _French St.
Julien_ 3, 5, 7. _Gros Saint-Julien_ 3. Gros Saint-Julien 4.
_Kleine Blaue Julians Pflaume_ 7. Large Saint Julien ?3. Petit
Saint Julien 4. _Petit Saint Julien_ 3, 5, 7. _Prunus Insititia
var._ 7. Prunus Domestica Juliana 10. Prunier Saint-Julien 8.
St. Julien 6. _St. Julian_ 3. _Saint Julien_ 3. Saint Julien
Petit ?2. _Saint-Julien Petit_ 3, 5, 7. The St. Julian Plum 1.
_Weichharige Schlehen Damascene_ 7.
The Saint Julien plums, as we now use the name, constitute a division
of _Prunus insititia_ used as propagating stocks. Whether the name was
ever applied to a specific variety can not be said. Miller, in 1754,
described a “St. Julian” and gave its chief use as a stock for plums,
peaches and Bruxelles Apricot. Later writers recommend them chiefly, if
not only, as stocks though in France it is said the fruits are dried and
sold by the pharmacists and herbalists under the name _Prunus medicines_
(medicinal prunes). Carrière, in _Revue Horticole_ 1892, speaks very
highly of these plums as stocks and describes them as follows:
“Tree vigorous, with branches spreading-straggling, relatively
short, branched at the extremity. Leaves numerous, slightly
roughened by the prominence of the numerous nerves on the lower
surface, short, oblong, usually rounded at the apex, attenuated
at the base, where are found a few very small glands; petiole
about two centimeters long, yellowish, lengthening out
into a prominent midrib; buds short, oval, pointed, deep
reddish-brown; dark green above, pale green below, bordered
regularly with very close, short, slightly inclined teeth.
Fruits very abundant, pedunculate, spherical or oblong,
peduncle a little bent, rather strong, nearly three centimeters
long, inserted in a very small cavity, regularly rounded. Skin
strongly attached to the flesh, even, glossy, purplish-black,
more or less glaucous; flesh free from the seed, pulpy, very
juicy, soft, greenish, sweet, leaving a taste a little strong,
but not disagreeable; seed short oval, elliptical, flattened,
ten millimeters in width, nearly fifteen to sixteen millimeters
in length, with grayish-red surface roughened by small, regular
projections. Matures from July to September.”
SAINT MARTIN
_Prunus domestica_
=1.= _Lond. Hort. Soc. Cat._ 144, 153. 1831. =2.= Prince _Pom.
Man._ =2=:74. 1832. =3.= Downing _Fr. Trees Am._ 295 fig. 119.
1845. =4.= Poiteau _Pom. Franc._ 1. 1846. =5.= _Mag. Hort._
=14=:151 fig. 15. 1848. =6.= Thomas _Am. Fruit Cult._ 336
fig. 260, 337. 1849. =7.= Elliott _Fr. Book._ 423. 1854. =8.=
Thompson _Gard. Ass’t_ 515. 1859. =9.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 40.
1867. =10.= _Guide Prat._ 162, 365. 1895.
_Catherine violette_ 8, 10. _Coe’s Fine Late Red_ 8. Coe’s Fine
Late Red 1, 5, 7, 10. _Coe’s Late Red_ 3, 6, 9. _Coe’s Late
Red_ 5, 6, 7, 10. _Coë’s sehr späte rothe Pflaume_ 10. _De la
Saint-Martin_ 10. _Oktoberpflaume_ 10. _Prune de la St. Martin_
3. _Prunier de Saint Martin_ 2, 5, 7. Red St. Martin 2, 7.
_Red Saint Martin_ 5, 6, 7. _Rouge tardive de Coë_ 10. Saint
Martin Rouge 5. _Saint-Martin Rouge_ 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 10. _Saint
Martin_ 2, 3, 5. _St. Martin_ 2, 6, 7, 8. _St. Martin Rouge_ 8.
_Violette d’Octobre_ 10. _Violette Octoverpflaume_ 8. _Violette
Oktoberpflaume_ 10.
Saint Martin is an old French variety now hardly worth growing, brought
into England by a Mr. Coe who called it Coe’s Fine Late Red, a name
continued by the London Horticultural Society in its catalog. In the
United States, too, it became quite generally known as Coe’s Late Red in
spite of the efforts of Prince, Downing and Elliott to have it pass under
its true name. The variety was mentioned in the American Pomological
Society’s catalogs from 1867 to 1897. It is described as follows:
Fruit very late; of medium size, roundish, bright purplish-red
with thin blue bloom; suture distinct; cavity shallow; stem
of moderate length and thickness; flesh yellow, with a vinous
flavor; fair to good; freestone.
SATSUMA
[Illustration: SATSUMA]
_Prunus triflora_
=1.= _Gard. Mon._ 366, 367. 1887. =2.= _U. S. D. A. Rpt._ 652,
Pl. I fig., 636. 1887. =3.= _Gard. & For._ =1=:471. 1888. =4.=
Bailey _Ann. Hort._ 103. 1889. =5.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Rpt._ 105,
106, 125. 1891. =6.= _Ga. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 54. 1892. =7.=
_Cornell Sta. Bul._ =62=:29. 1894. =8.= _Rev. Hort._ 458. 1894.
=9.= _Ga. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 96. 1895. =10.= _Guide Prat._ 165,
366. 1895. =11.= _Cornell Sta. Bul._ =106=:46, 53. 1896. =12.=
_Ala. Col. Sta. Bul._ =85=:446. 1897. 13. _Cornell Sta. Bul._
=139=:38, 42. 1897. =14.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 26. 1897. =15.=
_Mich. Sta. Bul._ =169=:243, 250. 1899. =16.= _Cornell Sta.
Bul._ =175=:151. 1899. =17.= _Ohio Sta. Bul._ =113=:158. 1899.
=18.= Waugh _Plum Cult._ 141. 1901. =19.= _Mich. Sta. Bul._
=187=:77, 80. 1901. =20.= _Ga. Sta. Bul._ =68=:14, 33, 34.
1905. =21.= De Vries _Pl. Br._ 170. 1907.
Beni Smono No. 4 ?6. _Blood Plum_ 7, 9, 16, 18, 20. Blood Plum?
1. _Blood Plum No. 4_ ?9, 13. Blood Plum No. 4 ?11. _Honsmomo_
11. Honsmomo ?9, 11. _Japan Blood Plum_ 3. _Sanguine_ 10.
Satsuma Blood 4. _Yonemomo_ 5, 7, 9, 16, 20. _Yonesmomo_ 5, 20.
There is a group of several varieties of Triflora plums unique in having
the flesh deep red in color and very firm and juicy. Of these red-fleshed
plums, Satsuma was the first to be introduced into fruit-growing in
America and is one of the parents of most of the others. While the fruit
is not as large nor as handsome in color as in some of its offspring, it
is still one of the best varieties for quality of fruit and its trees
are possibly as good as those of any of the other sorts of red-fleshed
Trifloras. Satsuma, besides being one of the best of its class in quality
for either dessert or culinary purposes, keeps and ships very well and if
the plums are of sufficient size and have been allowed to color properly,
the variety makes a good showing on the markets. Too often, however, it
is so unattractive as it reaches the market that it does not sell well.
In the South the plums are said to be much attacked by brown-rot but they
are not more susceptible here than other plums. The trees are rather
above the average for the species in size, habit, health, hardiness and
productiveness though they bear sparingly when young. They bloom early in
the season and are distinguished from other Triflora sorts by having many
spurs and short branches along the main branches. Satsuma might possibly
be found worth growing commercially in a very small way in some parts of
the State.
Satsuma was raised from the same lot of plum pits from which the Burbank
came, the seeds having been sent to Luther Burbank by a Japanese agent
in 1883. In 1887 Burbank’s tree was the only bearing one in America but
since then it has been tested in all of the large plum regions, having
been introduced by Burbank in 1889. In 1897 it was added to the fruit
catalog list of the American Pomological Society. Even though this
plum is very distinct, with its solid red flesh, it is much confused
with other sorts. A Japanese in a letter[222] to L. A. Berckmans says
“Beni-Smomo comprises a group of red-fleshed plums. In Satsuma, my
native home, Hon-smomo and Yone-smomo are the most noted and familiar
fruits of this group, the first is the smallest in size and deepest in
color, while the second is the largest and most highly esteemed. In some
districts, plums in this group are called Uchi-Beni, which means red
inside.” Hon-smomo or Blood Plum No. 4 was separated from the Satsuma
or Yonemomo by the Georgia Horticultural Society but Bailey found them
indistinguishable.
Tree medium to large, vigorous, upright-spreading, usually
quite hardy, moderately productive, bearing heavier crops as
the tree becomes older; branches grayish-brown; branchlets
medium to above in thickness and length, with short internodes,
dark chestnut-red, glabrous, with slightly raised lenticels
of medium number and size; leaf-buds small, short, conical,
appressed.
Leaves somewhat lanceolate, four inches by one and one-half
inches in size, of medium thickness; upper surface dark green,
with a shallow, grooved midrib; lower surface light green,
glabrous; margin finely and doubly crenate, glandular; petiole
three-quarters inch long, tinged red, with from one to three
reniform, greenish-yellow glands variable in size, usually at
the base of the blade.
Blossoms white; borne in pairs or in threes; pedicels
nine-sixteenths inch long, slender, glabrous, greenish;
calyx-tube green, obconic, glabrous; calyx-lobes medium in
width, acute, somewhat serrate, with dark colored glands,
glabrous, erect; petals tapering below to claws of medium
length, reddish at the base.
Fruit mid-season or later; one and seven-eighths inches
by two inches in size, variable in shape, ranging from
roundish-cordate to somewhat oblate, flattened at the base,
compressed, halves unequal; cavity deep, narrow, abrupt,
compressed; suture variable in depth, prominent; apex pointed
or roundish; color dark dull red, with thin bloom; dots
numerous, of medium size, russet, somewhat conspicuous,
clustered about the apex; stem slender, three-eighths inch
long, glabrous; skin of medium thickness and toughness, bitter,
semi-adherent; flesh dark purplish-red, juicy, tender at the
skin, becoming tough at the center, sweet, with an almond-like
flavor; of good quality; stone semi-clinging or clinging,
seven-eighths inch by five-eighths inch in size, oval, strongly
pointed, rough, tinged red; ventral suture narrow, winged;
dorsal suture grooved.
SAUNDERS
_Prunus domestica_
=1.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Rpt._ 143. 1885. =2.= _Can. Hort._ =14=:92,
223. 1891. =3.= _Ibid._ =19=:253. 1896. =4.= _Ont. Exp. Sta.
Rpt._ 45, 46. 1899. =5.= _Can. Hort._ =27=:244. 1904.
_Saunders Seedling_ 5.
The American Pomological Society recommends this variety for trial with
the statement that the quality is of the best and that it is almost free
from black-knot. But on the grounds of this Station, fruiting for several
years, the plums have been inferior in size and somewhat so in quality
and all told much less attractive than a number of other sorts of the
same season. Saunders originated with John Arris of Belleville, Ontario,
Canada. It was first exhibited before the Fruit-Growers’ Association
of Ontario at St. Catherines in 1883. In 1884, upon its being again
exhibited before the same association, it was named Saunders in honor of
the society’s noted president. The variety was mentioned in the catalog
of the American Pomological Society in 1897.
Tree of medium size, round-topped, very productive; branchlets
brash, slender, very pubescent; leaves flattened, obovate or
oval, one and three-quarters inches wide, four inches long,
somewhat velvety, rugose; margin finely serrate, eglandular or
with small dark glands; petiole pubescent, glandless or with
from one to three small glands; blooming season intermediate in
time and length; flowers appearing after the leaves, one and
one-quarter inches across, white; borne on lateral buds and
spurs, usually singly; pedicels very pubescent.
Fruit early, season short; one and one-half inches by one
and one-eighth inches in size, oblong-oval, greenish-yellow
changing to golden-yellow, covered with thin bloom; skin thin,
tender, slightly sour, cracking when fully mature; flesh
yellowish, tender and melting, sweet, mild; of good quality;
stone free, one inch by five-eighths inch in size, long-oval,
flattened, with rough surfaces; ventral suture winged; dorsal
suture with a narrow, shallow groove.
SERGEANT
_Prunus domestica_
=1.= _Cal. State Bd. Hort._ 49, 51. 1887. =2.= _Ibid._ 234,
235. 1890. =3.= _Ibid._ 105. 1891. =4.= Wickson _Cal. Fruits_
357. 1891. =5.= _U. S. D. A. Div. Pom. Bul._ =7=:316, Pl. IV
fig. 2. 1898. =6.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 39. 1899. =7.= Waugh
_Plum Cult._ 121. 1901.
Prune d’Ente 2. _Prunier Datte_ 1. _Robe de Sergent_ 2, 5, 6.
_Robe de Sergeant_ 7. Robe de Sergent 1, 3, 4.
In France, from whence Sergeant was imported to California, Sergeant,
Agen and Prunier Datte are held to be identical. But in America only
the first and last are identical, the Agen being quite distinct. It
would seem that the French should know their own plums and that their
nomenclature should be accepted but the Sergeant is now so widely
distributed in America as distinct that we give a brief description
of the plum. There may be more than one type of the Agen in France or
American nurserymen may have received wrongly named varieties.
Tree upright, with branches and branchlets thickish, more
robust than Agen; foliage large, lancet-shaped, glossy, much
broader and more shiny than Agen; fruit mid-season; of medium
size, roundish-oval, enlarged on one side; skin deep purple to
blackish with a thick bloom; flesh greenish-yellow, juicier
than Agen, sweet, high flavored; quality good; stone partially
clinging; valuable for preserving and drying.
SHARP
_Prunus domestica_
=1.= _Lond. Hort. Soc. Cat._ 153. 1831. =2.= Downing _Fr. Trees
Am._ 315. 1845. =3.= _Ann. Pom. Belge_ 63, Pl. 1859. =4.=
_Cultivator_ =8=:25 fig. 1860. =5.= Downing _Fr. Trees Am._
948. 1869. =6.= _Guide Prat._ 160, 358. 1895. =7.= _Jour. Roy.
Hort. Soc._ =21=: Pt. 2, 222. 1897. =8.= _Waugh Plum Cult._
122, 123 fig. 1901.
_Alderton_ 5. _Dolphin_ 5. _Dauphin_ 5. _Denyer’s Victoria_
?2, 5, 7. _Empereur de Sharp_ 3, 6. _Imperial de Sharp_ 5.
Imperiale de Sharp 6. Prune Imperiale de Sharp 3. _Queen
Victoria_ ?2. _Royal Dauphine_ 5. Sharp 8 incor. Sharp’s
Emperor 1, 2 incor., 4, 5 incor. _Sharp’s Emperor_ 3, 6, 8
incor. Sharpe’s Emperor 7. _Sharps Kaiserpflaume_ 6. _Victoria_
5, 8 incor.
Sharp was briefly described in the London Horticultural Society catalog
in 1831. Later, in 1845, A. J. Downing described the variety but thought
it identical with the Victoria, as did other writers, as will be seen
by referring to the Victoria. H. A. Pearson in the _Journal of the
Royal Horticultural Society_, comparing these two sorts says, “Sharp’s
Emperor is a second rate plum, resembling Victoria, in appearance, but
very inferior in point of cropping and quality, a decided clingstone,
often gumming at the stone, and ripening a fortnight later than its
supposed synonym, not worthy of cultivation.” August Royer in the _Annals
de Pomologie Belge et Etrangere_ also separated the two varieties but
describes them both as freestones. While there is a lack of uniformity
in the descriptions yet the total evidence weighs in favor of two types
which are very similar. The Victoria is probably the better plum of the
two.
SHELDRAKE
_Prunus domestica_
Although extremely vigorous and productive this variety is so inferior
in quality as to be of doubtful value. Sheldrake originated as a chance
seedling on the shore of Cayuga Lake near the town of Sheldrake, New
York. It was discovered and propagated by J. T. Hunt of Kendaia, New
York, and has been under test at the Geneva Station since 1895.
Tree large, vigorous, round-topped, productive; branchlets
thick, with long internodes, pubescent; leaves drooping,
somewhat flattened, oval, nearly two and one-half inches wide,
four and one-quarter inches long; margin serrate with few,
small, dark glands; petiole pubescent, tinged red, thick,
glandless or with from one to four rather large glands usually
at the base of the leaf; blooming season intermediate in time,
short; flowers appearing after the leaves, nearly one and
one-quarter inches across; borne singly or in pairs.
Fruit rather early; one and one-half inches by one and
three-eighths inches in size, roundish-oblong; cavity very
deep, abrupt; color purplish-black, overspread with thick
bloom; dots conspicuous; stem thickly pubescent; skin thin,
tender, slightly acid; flesh yellow, tender, sweet next the
skin, but sour near the center, inferior in flavor; poor
in quality; stone dark-colored, semi-clinging, one inch by
three-quarters inch in size, broadly ovate or irregularly oval,
flattened, with roughened and granular surfaces; ventral suture
prominent, blunt.
SHIPPER
[Illustration: SHIPPER]
_Prunus domestica_
=1.= _Gard. Mon._ =24=:339. 1882. =2.= _W. N. Y. Hort. Soc.
Rpt._ =31=:60. 1886. =3.= _Cornell Sta. Bul._ =131=:191, fig.
42. 1897. =4.= _Mich. Sta. Bul._ =169=:243, 247. 1899. =5.=
_Can. Exp. Farm Bul._ 2nd Ser. =3=:56. 1900. =6.= _Mich. Sta.
Bul._ =187=:77, 79. 1901. =7.= Waugh _Plum Cult._ 119. 1901.
Pride 7. _Shipper Pride_ 4. _Shippers’ Pride_ 7. Shipper’s
Pride 1, 2, 3, 5, 8.
This plum has never become an important commercial variety in New York
yet it is offered for sale by a surprisingly large number of nurserymen.
The variety has too many faults to succeed in competition with the many
good plums of its color and season. The flesh is dry and the plums often
shrivel on the tree, characters which fit it for shipping, but which when
taken with poor quality and small size make it of little value after it
reaches the market. Moreover it fruits sparingly under many conditions,
though productive here, and the plums ripen somewhat unevenly and are
susceptible to brown-rot. Some pomologists give a rather better estimate
of the variety than that expressed here, but from all data at hand the
value of the plum is not underestimated in the above statements. There
are a great many better plums for New York than Shipper.
This variety was introduced by Mr. H. S. Wiley of Cayuga, New York. The
plum was found by Mr. Wiley in a private garden at Port Byron, New York,
about 1877. The man upon whose place it grew thought that it came from a
stone of one of the several varieties in his garden but Mr. Wiley is not
sure of this origin and suggests that it may have sprouted from a root.
Tree large, vigorous, round-topped, hardy, productive;
branches thick, ash-gray, smooth except for the raised
lenticels; branchlets of medium thickness and length, with
long internodes, green changing to brownish-drab and with a
red tinge, dull, covered with thick pubescence throughout the
season, with inconspicuous lenticels of medium number and size;
leaf-buds small, short, conical, appressed.
Leaves many, flattened or folded upward, obovate or oval, one
and three-quarters inches wide, three and one-half inches
long, thick, leathery; upper surface dark green, hairy, with a
grooved midrib; lower surface silvery-green, thick, pubescent;
apex abruptly pointed or acute, base acute, margin serrate or
crenate, eglandular or with small dark glands; petiole one-half
inch long, thick, pubescent, with a red tinge, glandless or
with one or two globose, yellowish-green glands usually at the
base of the leaf.
Season of bloom intermediate in time and length; flowers
appearing with the leaves, nearly one and one-quarter inches
across, white; borne on lateral buds and spurs, singly or in
pairs; pedicels three-quarters inch long, pubescent, greenish;
calyx-tube green, campanulate, pubescent; calyx-lobes obtuse,
lightly pubescent on both surfaces, glandular-serrate and with
marginal hairs, reflexed; petals broadly oval or obovate,
slightly crenate or occasionally notched, with short, broad
claws; anthers yellow; filaments five-sixteenths inch long;
pistil glabrous, shorter than the stamens.
Fruit late, intermediate in length of ripening season; one
and one-half inches by one and three-eighths inches in
size, ovate, swollen on the suture side, compressed, halves
equal; cavity shallow, abrupt; suture shallow; apex bluntly
pointed; color purplish-black, overspread with thick bloom;
dots small, russet, somewhat conspicuous; stem seven-eighths
inch long, pubescent, adhering well to the fruit; skin thin,
tender, separating readily; flesh greenish-yellow, rather
tart, firm, sweet, mild in flavor; inferior in quality;
stone semi-clinging, often with red tinge near the edge,
seven-eighths inch by three-quarters inch in size, irregular
roundish-ovate, turgid, rough, blunt at the base and apex;
ventral suture wide, ridged, distinctly winged; dorsal suture
wide, deep.
SHIRO
[Illustration: SHIRO]
_Prunus simonii × Prunus triflora × Prunus cerasifera × Prunus munsoniana_
=1.= _Cal. State Bd. Hort._ 53 fig. 1897. =2.= Burbank _Cat._
1899. 3. Waugh _Plum Cult._ 225. 1901. =4.= _Rural N. Y._
=62=:582. 1903.
_Late Klondike_ 1.
Shiro has been in the hands of fruit-growers too short a time to permit
a just estimate of it to be made. As the variety grows on the grounds of
this Station, the fruits are large and handsome in form and color, as is
well shown in the illustration. The flavor lacks character and is almost
insipid but the flesh is tender, melting and juicy and so translucent
that the pit can be seen through the flesh. Despite the flavor, the
plum is pleasant to eat and may be ranked as good in quality. Those who
have had experience say that the variety ships very well if not fully
mature but quickly goes down after ripening; the plums are also quite
susceptible to brown-rot. The trees of this variety at Geneva are quite
as vigorous, hardy, and productive as any of the sorts which Mr. Burbank
gives as progenitors of Shiro and will generally, it is believed, surpass
any of them in these respects. It may here be remarked that of the four
species from which Shiro is supposed to have come, it most resembles
_Prunus triflora_ in both tree and fruit though the leaves have some
resemblance to those of _Prunus cerasifera_. Shiro is still, so far as
New York is concerned, in the list of plums deserving trial but with the
chances against its becoming of great value either for home or commercial
plantations.
This is another of Burbank’s plums and is said to be a descendant of
Robinson, (_Prunus munsoniana_,) Myrobalan, (_Prunus cerasifera_), and
Wickson, (a cross of _Prunus triflora_ and _Prunus simonii_) from seed of
Wickson. Burbank in his catalog for 1889 says that the tree resembles a
Myrobalan in foliage, growth and general appearance. But as the variety
grows at this Station it has all the appearances of a Triflora. Shiro was
described in the California State Board of Horticulture Report for 1898
and the following year it was introduced by the originator.
Tree large, vigorous, upright-spreading, tender to cold,
productive; branches smooth, somewhat thorny, dull ash-gray,
with few, small lenticels; branchlets slender, above medium
in length, with short internodes, greenish-red changing to
brownish-drab, glabrous, with inconspicuous, scattering, small
lenticels; leaf-buds small, very short, obtuse, strongly
appressed.
Leaves folded upward, obovate, one and five-sixteenths inches
wide, two and three-quarters inches long, leathery; upper
surface faintly rugose, glabrous, with a grooved midrib; lower
surface lightly pubescent along the midrib and larger veins;
apex acutely pointed, base rather acute, margin finely crenate,
with small, dark glands; petiole three-eighths inch long,
pubescent along one side, greenish-red, glandless or with one
or two small, globose, yellowish glands on the stalk.
Blooming season early and of medium length; flowers appearing
before the leaves, white; borne in clusters on lateral buds and
spurs; pedicels short, glabrous, greenish; calyx-tube green,
campanulate, glabrous; calyx-lobes obtuse, glandular-serrate,
glabrous on the outer side, sparingly pubescent within, with a
pink margin, erect; petals roundish, entire, tapering to short,
abrupt claws; anthers yellow with a reddish tinge; filaments
below medium in length; pistil glabrous, longer than the
stamens.
Fruit very early, season short; one and one-half inches
in diameter, roundish-conic, with halves equal; cavity
intermediate in depth and width, flaring, regular; suture an
indistinct line; apex roundish; color light yellow becoming
deeper yellow as the season advances, occasionally with a
blush of pink, with thin bloom; dots numerous, very minute,
whitish, inconspicuous; stem three-eighths inch long, adhering
to the fruit; skin thin, tough, sour, occasionally cracking,
separating readily, although a thin coating of flesh is left
clinging to the skin; flesh light yellow, semi-transparent,
the stone being faintly visible, very juicy, fibrous, somewhat
melting, sweet, mild, lacks character in flavor; good; stone
clinging, seven-eighths inch by five-eighths inch in size,
broadly oval, flattened, slightly elongated at the base, with
rough surfaces; ventral suture faintly ridged and furrowed;
dorsal suture very lightly grooved.
SHROPSHIRE
[Illustration: SHROPSHIRE]
_Prunus insititia_
=1.= _Rea Flora_ 209. 1676. =2.= _Lond. Hort. Soc. Cat._ 146.
1831. =3.= _Prince Pom. Man._ =2=:90. 1832. =4.= _Loudon Enc.
Gard_. 921. 1834. 5. Downing _Fr. Trees Am_. 297. 1845. 6.
Floy-Lindley _Guide Orch. Gard._ 282, 383. 1846. =7.= Thompson
_Gard. Ass’t_ 520. 1859. =8.= Hogg _Fruit Man._ 377. 1866.
=9.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 36. 1875. =10.= Hogg _Fruit Man._
695. 1884. =11.= _Mich. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 289. 1889. =12.= _Am.
Gard._ =14=:146 fig., 147, 148. 1893. =13.= _Cornell Sta. Bul._
=131=:192 fig. 46. 1897. 14. _Garden_ =53=:265. 1898. 15. _Mich.
Sta. Bul_. =169=:243, 247. 1899. 16. Waugh _Plum Cult._ 130 fig.
1901. =17.= _Va. Sta. Bul._ =134=:44. 1902. =18.= _Ga. Sta.
Bul._ =67=:281 fig. 1904.
_Cheshire_ =14.= _Damascene_ 8, 10, 14. _Damson Plum_ 3.
Long Damson 2. _Long Damson_ 7, 8, 10. Pruine Damson? 1.
_Prune Damson_ 2, 4, 5, 7, 14. Prune Damson 6, 8. Prune 10.
_Shropshire Damson_ ?6, 8, 10, 15, 16, 17. Shropshire Damson 2,
3, 4, 7, 9, 11, 12, 13, 18.
In America, Shropshire is probably the best known of the Damsons, being
found not only in nearly all commercial plantations but in the smallest
home collections as well. The qualities which make it so generally a
favorite are for most part those of the tree, the French surpassing it
in size and in quality of the fruit. The trees of the variety under
notice are not surpassed by any other Insititia in size, vigor, hardiness
and health nor are they, except in size, by any other European plum.
Shropshire is enormously productive, bearing its load of fruit year after
year until it is a standard among fruits for productivity and reliability
in bearing. The trees have but one defect,—unless sprayed the foliage
falls prey to fungi and drops early. The trees are comparatively easy to
manage in such orchard operations as pruning, spraying and harvesting
as they are not so thick-topped, twiggy and spiny as other Damsons. The
fruit is of very good size and while in no sense a dessert plum may be
eaten out of hand with relish when fully ripe or after a light frost—a
point worth considering where only Damsons can be grown. It is one of the
best of its kind for culinary purposes. This old variety is still to be
recommended for both home and market.
Shropshire originated in England, sometime in the Seventeenth Century.
It was noted by American writers early in the Nineteenth Century and
in 1875 was placed on the American Pomological Society’s fruit catalog
list. Shropshire is a more familiar name in fruit literature than the
references given indicate, being found in practically every English
discussion of plums since 1676 and in all American notices of this fruit
since Prince wrote in 1832. For a fruit so long under cultivation, it has
few synonyms.
Tree large, vigorous, vasiform, hardy, productive; main
branches numerous, ash-gray, smooth except for numerous scars
from small spur-like branches, with many, small lenticels;
branchlets twiggy, slender, with short internodes, green
changing to dark brownish-drab, dull, covered with heavy
pubescence throughout the season, with numerous, small
lenticels; leaf-buds below medium in size, short, conical,
appressed.
Leaves flattened, obovate, about one inch wide, two inches
long, thin; upper surface dark green, pubescent along the
grooved midrib; lower surface a paler green, with thin
pubescence; apex obtuse or acute, base acute, margin finely
serrate, eglandular; petiole one-half inch long, slender,
greenish-red, with little pubescence, glandless or with one or
two small, globose, greenish-yellow glands usually at the base
of the leaf.
Season of bloom medium; flowers seven-eighths inch across,
white; borne in clusters on lateral buds and spurs, singly or
in pairs; pedicels three-eighths inch long, slender, glabrous,
greenish; calyx-tube green, campanulate, glabrous; calyx-lobes
narrow, acute, glabrous, the margin glandular-ciliate,
reflexed; petals roundish-oval, entire, short-clawed; anthers
yellow; filaments five-sixteenths inch long; pistil glabrous,
shorter than the stamens.
Fruit late, season long; one and one-half inches by one inch in
size, oval, compressed, halves equal; cavity shallow, narrow,
flaring; suture an indistinct line; apex roundish; color
purplish-black, overspread with thick bloom; dots numerous,
small, russet, inconspicuous; stem slender, one-half inch long,
glabrous, adhering to the fruit; skin thin, tender, adhering;
flesh golden-yellow, juicy, firm but tender, agreeably tart
at full maturity, sprightly, pleasant; stone clinging,
three-quarters inch by one-half inch in size, oval, acute at
the base, blunt at the apex, with nearly smooth surfaces;
ventral suture broad, blunt; dorsal suture acute, with a
narrow, shallow, indistinct groove.
SIMON
_Prunus simonii_
=1.= _Rev. Hort._ 111. 1872. =2.= _Horticulturist_ =27=:196.
1872. =3.= _Ia. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 374, 378. 1881. =4.= _Ibid._
321. 1884. =5.= _Rural N. Y._ =45=:689 fig. 389. 1886. =6.=
_Ibid._ =46=:766. 1887. =7.= _Ga. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 53, 99.
1889. =8.= Mathieu _Nom. Pom._ 444. 1889. =9.= _Cal. State Bd.
Hort. Rpt._ 236, Pl. II figs. 1 and 2, 238. 1890. =10.= _Rev.
Hort._ 152 fig. 40. 1891. =11.= _Penin. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 68.
1891. =12.= _Cornell Sta. Bul._ =51=:55. 1893. =13.= _Mich. Sta.
Bul._ =103=:35. 1894. =14.= _Guide Prat._ 164, 362. 1895. =15.=
_Neb. State Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 175. 1895. =16.= _Kan. Sta. Bul._
=73=:192. 1897. =17.= _Vt. Sta. Bul._ =67=:29. 1898. =18.= _Am.
Pom. Soc. Cat._ 41. 1899. =19.= Waugh _Plum Cult._ 14, 38, 234.
1901.
_Apricot Plum_ 12, 19. Apricot Plum 9, 11. Plum Simon 2. _Prune
Eugene Simon_ 8. _Prunier de Simon_ 8, 14. Prunus simoni 4, 7,
17. _Prunus Simonii_ 2. Prunus Simonii 1, 3, 6, 8, 10, 11, 14,
16, 19. _Prunus simoni_ 8. _Simon_ 19. _Simon’s Chinese Apricot
Plum_ 7. Simon’s Peach 15. Simon’s Plum 5.
The Simon plum, a horticultural variety, constitutes the species _Prunus
simonii_ and has been fully discussed in the chapter of this text dealing
with the botany of the plum. It is given further notice only to introduce
the horticultural references and history and to estimate briefly its
value in fruit-growing. As to the latter it may be said that the fruit is
for most people unpalatable, and therefore of little worth as an edible
product. Some of the crosses of which this variety is one parent are
well known and esteemed in pomology and the Simon plum undoubtedly has
value for plum-breeding in the future. The tree, where it succeeds, is
a handsome ornamental. In New York the variety seems hardy wherever the
peach can be grown and thrives on the same types of soils—sands, gravels
and light loams. The tree is subject to diseases and unless well sprayed
is liable to be short-lived. The variety can be recommended in New York
only to the breeder of plums and for those who want the tree as an
ornamental or a curiosity.
This interesting and distinct plum was obtained in China by Eugene Simon,
a French consul, who sent it to the Paris Museum of Natural History
in 1867. Later it was disseminated by the nurseries of Simon Brothers
at Plantières-Les-Metz. The date of its introduction into America is
unknown, though it was offered for sale by the eastern nurseries as
early as 1881. Ellwanger and Barry of Rochester secured their stock from
France a few years previous to the date given but whether they were the
only importers cannot be said. In 1899 the American Pomological Society
added Simon to its catalog list. The variety is fully described under its
species.
SIMPSON
_Prunus domestica_
=1.= _Ohio Sta. Bul._ =113=:161. 1899. =2.= _Ibid._ =162=:256, 257.
1905.
The fruit of Simpson is too small and is so much below the average of its
type, that of the Yellow Egg, in quality that it is not worth general
introduction. It is given attention here chiefly as a matter of record.
Although unquestionably a Domestica, Simpson was found growing wild in
the woods west of Peoria, Illinois. It was introduced by H. Augustine of
Normal, Illinois, about 1888.
Tree large, very vigorous, upright-spreading, dense, very
productive; branchlets slender, with long internodes, thickly
pubescent; leaf-buds large, long; leaves flattened, oval,
intermediate in width and length; margin serrate, eglandular;
petiole pubescent, glandless or with from one to three globose
glands usually on the stalk; flowers one inch across, borne in
scattering clusters, singly or in pairs; calyx-lobes thickly
pubescent on both surfaces.
Fruit mid-season; one and one-half inches by one and
three-eighths inches in size, oval, golden-yellow, covered with
thin bloom; flesh golden-yellow, juicy, firm but tender, sweet,
mild; good; stone semi-free, seven-eighths inch by one-half
inch in size, oval, acute at the base; ventral suture usually
winged; dorsal suture widely and deeply grooved.
SMALL REINE CLAUDE
_Prunus domestica_
=1.= Duhamel _Trait. Arb. Fr._ =2=:91. 1768. =2.= Kraft _Pom.
Aust._ 39, Tab. 189 fig. 2. 1796. =3.= M’Mahon _Am. Gard.
Cat._ 587. 1806. =4.= _Lond. Hort. Soc. Cat._ 147, 148, 154.
1831. =5.= Prince _Pom. Man._ =2=:49. 1832. =6.= _Mag. Hort_.
=9=:164. 1843. =7.= Downing _Fr. Trees Am._ 288. 1845. =8.=
Floy-Lindley _Guide Orch. Gard._ 284, 383. 1846. =9.= Thomas
_Am. Fruit Cult._ 330. 1849. =10.= Downing _Fr. Trees Am._
913. 1869. =11.= Mas _Pom. Gen._ =2=:93. 1873. =12.= Oberdieck
_Deut. Obst. Sort._ 435. 1881. =13.= Hogg _Fruit Man._ 732.
1884. =14.= Mathieu _Nom. Pom._ 437. 1889.
Die kleine Königin Claudia 2. English Yellow Gage 9, 10.
_English Yellow Gage_ 11, 14. _Gonne’s Green Gage_ 6, 7,
10, 13, 14. Gonne’s Green Gage 4. _Kibitzenei_ 14. _Kleine
Dauphine_ 14. Kleine Reine-Claude 12, 14. _Kleine Weisse
Damascene_ 12, 14. _Kleine Reine-Claude_ 11. _Kleine Grüne
Reine-Claude_ 11, 12, 14. _Little Reine Claude_ 5. _Little
Queen Claude_ 7, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14. Little Queen Claude
8. Little Queen Claudia 3. Little Queen Claudia 5. Petite
Reine-Claude 1, 11. _Petite Reine-Claude_ 2, 5, 7, 8, 10.
_Petit Damas Vert_ 13, 14. _Reine-Claude Petite Espece_ 14.
_Reine-Claude Blanche Petite Espece_ 5, 6, 7, 10. _Reine-Claude
Blanche_ 6, 7, 10, 14. _Reine-Claude Petite_ 13, 14. _Reine
Claude_ (of some) 6. _Small Green Gage_ 5, 7, 10, 14. _Small
Queen Claude_ 5. _White Gage_ 6, 7, 10, 13, 14. White Gage 4.
Yellow Gage 4, 6, 7, 13. _Yellow Gage_ 11, 14.
Small Reine Claude, an old variety of unknown origin, is now probably
obsolete. Thomas and Downing described it as an English Yellow Gage but
it cannot be found that it is ever so called in Europe. Since the variety
was known in France and Austria in the latter part of the Eighteenth
Century it is quite certain that it originated on the continent. From its
name and close resemblance to the Reine Claude it is safe to state that
it is a seedling of that sort. It is described as follows:
Tree of normal vigor; branches smooth; flowers small; fruit
medium in size, nearly spherical, truncated on the stem side
and slightly on the apex; suture wide and distinct, thus
differing from the Reine Claude; stem medium in length; cavity
shallow; skin tender, yellowish-green, often splashed with red
on the sunny side; flesh greenish-yellow, fine, a little firm,
sweet, rich and pleasant; freestone; ripens earlier than the
Reine Claude.
SMITH ORLEANS
[Illustration: SMITH ORLEANS]
_Prunus domestica_
=1.= Prince _Treat. Hort._ 27. 1828. =2.= Prince _Pom. Man._
=2=:68. 1832. =3.= _Mag. Hort._ =9=:410. 1843. =4.= Downing
_Fr. Trees Am._ 304, 305 fig. 125. 1845. =5.= _Mag. Hort._
=14=:152, 153 fig. 16. 1848. =6.= Cole _Am. Fr. Book_ 214 fig.
1849. =7.= Thomas _Am. Fruit Cult._ 343. 1849. =8.= Elliott
_Fr. Book_ 424. 1854. =9.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 210. 1856.
=10.= Hooper _W. Fr. Book_ 252. 1857. =11.= Hogg _Fruit Man._
382. 1866. =12.= Mathieu _Nom. Pom._ 450. 1889. =13.= _Ont. Fr.
Exp. Sta. Rpt._ 52. 1895. =14.= _Cornell Sta. Bul._ =131=:192.
1897.
Cooper’s 5. _Cooper’s Large_ 5. _Cooper’s Large Red_ 5.
_Cooper’s Red_ 6. _Duane’s Purple_ 3 incor. _La Delicieuse_
8. _Large Orleans_ 3. _Large Purple_ 3 incor. _Monsieur de
Smith_ 12. _Purple Magnum Bonum_ 3. _Red Magnum Bonum_ incor.
3, 4, 5, 6, 12. _Smith’s large Orleans_ 2. Smith’s Orleans 1,
2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14. _Smith’s Orleans_ 5, 12.
Smith’s Orleans Pflaume 12. _Smith’s Herrn Pflaume_ 12. _Violet
Perdrigon_ incor. 3, 4, 5, 6, 12. _Violetter Perdrigon_ 12
incor.
In the middle of the last century, Smith Orleans was considered about
the best plum of its color in America. But the fruit is not high in
quality, the texture of the flesh is coarse and it ripens at a time when
fruits are plentiful, for which reasons it has ceased to be regarded with
favor by either the amateur or the professional fruit-grower. The trees,
however, seem to have some remarkably desirable characters and it may
be that the variety should be retained for some locations and purposes
and to breed from, at least. If the older pomologists have written truly
few plums are adapted to a greater range of climates and soils than this
one; so, too, the trees are usually spoken of as of large size, vigorous,
healthy, of great productiveness and as holding the crop well. The trees
in the soil and climate of this Station are quite as the older writers
describe them and were the fruit only better in quality and somewhat more
attractive in appearance, the variety could be highly recommended for a
market plum and as a fruit for culinary purposes in the home orchard.
William Prince, in 1828, in his _Treatise on Horticulture_, briefly
described Smith Orleans, and seventeen years later A. J. Downing gave
a short history of the variety. It is a seedling of the Orleans raised
about 1825 by a Mr. Smith of Gowanus, Long Island, New York. By an error
the variety was sent out as the Violet, or Blue Perdrigon, a smaller and
very different fruit. Charles M. Hovey of Massachusetts, who secured
trees of the Cooper from Prince, about 1831, believed this variety to
be identical with the Smith Orleans in all characters. Downing could
not agree with him but the present writers find that the two varieties
are so much alike that it is impossible to distinguish between them. As
is suggested under Cooper, they may be identical or they may have come
true to seed from the same parent. The American Pomological Society
recommended this plum for general cultivation in 1856.
Tree large, vigorous, spreading, open-topped, very productive;
trunk rather rough; branches smooth, with few lenticels;
branchlets of medium thickness and length, with long
internodes, green changing to dark brownish-red, covered with
thin bloom, lightly pubescent early in the season becoming
almost glabrous at maturity, with few, small lenticels;
leaf-buds of medium size and length, conical, appressed.
Leaves flattened or somewhat folded backward, obovate, two
inches wide, three and five-eighths inches long, thick,
velvety; upper surface dark green, rugose, with but few
hairs along the narrow, deeply grooved midrib; lower surface
silvery-green, covered with thick pubescence; apex abruptly
pointed or acute, base acute, margin crenate, with few small,
dark brown glands; petiole one-half inch long, heavily
pubescent, tinged red along one side, glandless or with one or
two small, globose, yellow glands usually at the base of the
leaf.
Season of bloom medium, short; flowers appearing with the
leaves, one and one-quarter inches across, white, with a yellow
tinge; borne in clusters on lateral buds and spurs; pedicels
five-eighths inch long, pubescent, greenish; calyx-tube green,
campanulate, with few scattering hairs; calyx-lobes above
medium in width, obtuse, sparingly pubescent on both surfaces,
glandular-serrate and with marginal hairs, reflexed; petals
broad-obovate or oval, crenate, tapering to long claws of
medium width; anthers yellow, filaments seven-sixteenths inch
long; pistil glabrous, shorter than the stamens.
Fruit intermediate in time and length of ripening season, one
and five-eighths inches by one and one-half inches in size,
oval, compressed, halves somewhat unequal; cavity shallow,
narrow, abrupt; suture very shallow or sometimes a line; apex
roundish or depressed; color dark purplish-black, overspread
with thick bloom; dots numerous small, russet, inconspicuous;
stem three-quarters inch long, pubescent, adhering to the
fruit; skin below medium in thickness, tender, sour, separating
readily; flesh pale yellow, juicy, tender, sweet, of pleasant
flavor; good; stone clinging, one inch by five-eighths inch in
size, oval, with very rough and deeply pitted surfaces, usually
somewhat flattened, tapering abruptly at the base, blunt at the
apex; ventral suture wide, blunt; dorsal suture with a groove
variable in depth and width.
SOPHIE
_Prunus munsoniana_
=1.= _U. S. D. A. Rpt._ 263, Pl. VI. 1892. =2.= Kerr _Cat._
1894. =3.= Waugh _Plum Cult._ 189. 1901.
Sophie is fast being lost sight of among the multitudes of native plums
recently introduced. Without any very distinct merits it yet stands high
among plums of its kind. The variety is a seedling of Wild Goose at first
supposed by the originator, J. W. Kerr,[223] of Denton, Maryland, to
have been pollinated by a German Prune which stood near. This is hardly
the case, however, as no trace of Domestica blood can be detected in
the variety. It is mentioned by the American Pomological Society in its
catalog for 1899.
Tree large, very vigorous, spreading, open-topped, productive;
branches thorny, shaggy, with long and unbranched limbs;
branchlets willowy, slender; leaves folded upward, oval, one
and three-quarters inches wide, three and one-quarter inches
long, thin; margin shallowly crenate, with small, dark glands;
petiole slender, pubescent, with from one to three small
glands; blooming season late, long; flowers appearing after the
leaves, nearly three-quarters inch across, white, pinkish as
they open, with a disagreeable odor; borne in twos or threes;
anthers yellow with an orange-red tinge.
Fruit maturing later than Wild Goose; large, one and
three-eighths inches by one and one-eighth inches in size,
obovate, slightly necked, pear-shaped, bright red, covered
with thin bloom; dots conspicuous; stem slender, long; flesh
deep yellow, juicy, coarse and fibrous, subacid, flat; of fair
quality; stone clinging, three-quarters inch by three-eighths
inch in size, somewhat angular, irregular-obovate, with a
peculiar elongated, flattened, oblique base; apex abruptly
acute; surfaces rough.
SPAULDING
[Illustration: SPAULDING]
_Prunus domestica_
=1.= Lovett _Cat._ =41=, Col. Pl. 1888. 2. _Cornell Sta. Bul._
=131=:192. 1897. =3.= _Mich. Sta. Bul._ =169=:243, 248. 1899.
=4.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 39. 1899. =5.= _Kan. Sta. Bul._
=101=:121, 122, Pl. V. 1901. =6.= Waugh _Plum Cult._ 122. 1901.
=7.= _Ohio Sta. Bul._ =162=:239. 1905.
Among the plums of comparatively recent introduction Spaulding holds
a conspicuous place. It is particularly highly spoken of for its good
quality and while not recommended for commercial orchards is often
mentioned as very desirable for home use. As Spaulding grows at this
Station, it does not sustain the reputation it has elsewhere. It is of
the Reine Claude group of plums and while of high quality is not as good
a dessert plum as several other similar sorts. Moreover, the fruits are
small and too light in color to be especially attractive in appearance.
The plums, too, are quite susceptible to brown-rot. The tree-characters
of this variety are in the main very good but not at all out of the
ordinary. It is very doubtful whether this sort can compete for any
purpose with such similar plums as Hand, Jefferson, Washington, Bavay,
Reine Claude, McLaughlin and Imperial Gage. It may be worthy a trial
elsewhere in New York with the hope that it will more nearly approach the
reputation that it has in other states than it does at Geneva—at best it
cannot be more than a home variety.
Spaulding was brought to the notice of fruit-growers by J. T. Lovett,
Little Silver, New Jersey, who introduced the variety in 1888. The
plum came to Mr. Lovett from Francis Garriel with the statement that
it originated as a seedling in the yard of Mr. Garriel’s father in the
Bowery, New York City. From the resemblance of Spaulding to the Imperial
Gage it is probable that they are closely related. In 1899 the variety
was placed on the fruit catalog list of the American Pomological Society
as a successful variety in the north-eastern part of the United States
and the neighboring parts of Canada.
Tree large, vigorous, upright-spreading, dense-topped, hardy,
productive; branches ash-gray, smooth except for the raised
lenticels of various sizes; branchlets of medium thickness
and length, with long internodes, greenish-red changing to
brownish-red, dull, lightly pubescent throughout the season,
with obscure, small lenticels; leaf-buds of medium size and
length, conical, appressed; leaf-scars prominent.
Leaves folded upward, nearly two inches wide, three and
one-quarter inches long, thick; upper surface dark green,
rugose, glabrous, with a shallow groove on the midrib; lower
surface silvery-green, pubescent; apex abruptly pointed or
acute, base acute, margin serrate or crenate, with small,
dark glands; petiole nearly five-eighths inch long, thick,
pubescent, tinged red, with from one to four small, globose,
greenish glands usually on the stalk.
Blooming season intermediate in time and length, one inch or
more across, white with a yellowish tinge at the apex of the
petals in the newly opened flowers; borne on lateral spurs,
singly or in pairs; pedicels three-eighths inch long, thick,
pubescent, greenish; calyx-tube green, campanulate, lightly
pubescent; calyx-lobes obtuse, pubescent on both surfaces,
glandular-serrate, reflexed; petals oblong, crenate, not
clawed; anthers yellow; filaments one-quarter inch long; pistil
glabrous or occasionally with a few hairs near the base, longer
than the stamens; stigma large.
Fruit mid-season, ripening period long; one and five-eighths
inches by one and three-eighths inches in size, oblong-oval
or ovate, compressed, halves equal; cavity small, shallow,
abrupt; suture shallow, often a line; apex roundish; color
dull greenish-yellow, with stripes and splashes of light
green, overspread with thick bloom; dots numerous, small,
whitish, inconspicuous; stem three-quarters inch long, lightly
pubescent, adhering well to the fruit; skin thin, tender,
separating readily; flesh greenish-yellow, juicy, fibrous,
tender, sweet, mild, pleasant; very good; stone semi-free or
free, seven-eighths inch by five-eighths inch in size, ovate,
turgid, slightly pitted, blunt at the base, nearly acute at
the apex; ventral suture rather broad, slightly furrowed, with
a distinct but short wing; dorsal suture widely and deeply
grooved.
STANTON
_Prunus domestica_
=1.= _Gard. Mon._ =29=:116. 1887. =2.= _Mich. Hort. Soc. Rpt._
288. 1889. =3.= _Cornell Sta. Bul._ =131=:192. 1897.
Stanton’s Seedling 2.
This plum appears to be a very good late variety in several respects;
it is a long-keeping fruit, is of very good quality for dessert and is
a fine plum for canning and preserving. Its faults are that it is tardy
in coming into bearing and the fruits drop badly from the trees as they
begin to ripen; in localities where these faults are marked the variety
is worthless. Stanton originated as a chance seedling in Albany County,
New York, from whence it was sent to Hammond and Willard of Geneva, New
York, who introduced it about 1885.
Tree very large and vigorous, round-topped, variable in
productiveness; branches slender, marked by transverse cracks
in the bark; leaf-scars enlarged; leaves folded upward, oval
or obovate, one and one-half inches wide, three inches long;
margin finely and doubly crenate, with few, dark glands;
petiole short, glandless or with from one to three small glands
usually on the stalk; blooming season intermediate in time and
length; flowers appearing after the leaves, one and one-eighth
inches across, borne in scattering clusters on lateral buds and
spurs, singly or in pairs.
Fruit late, season long; about one and one-quarter inches in
diameter, roundish-oblate, truncate, purplish-black, overspread
with very heavy bloom; flesh bright golden-yellow, fibrous,
very sweet, rather high-flavored; good to very good; stone
semi-free, three-quarters inch by five-eighths inch in size,
irregular roundish-oval, turgid, with a blunt and oblique base,
the surfaces nearly smooth; ventral suture enlarged, often with
a short, distinct wing; dorsal suture shallow.
STODDARD
_Prunus americana_
=1.= _Ia. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 78. 1892. =2.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Rpt._
88. 1895. =3.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 38. 1899. =4.= _Ia. Sta.
Bul._ =46=:289. 1900. =5.= _U. S. D. A. Rpt._ 478, Pl. LXII.
1902.
_Baker_ 2. Stoddart 1, 2.
Stoddard is usually rated as one of the best of the Americana plums and
its behavior on the grounds of this Station sustains its reputation.
The firmness of the fruit makes it a good shipping plum of its kind
and season. This variety was discovered by B. F. Stoddard of Jesup,
Buchanan County, Iowa, about 1875, growing in a garden owned by Mrs.
Caroline Baker who stated that her husband secured the trees from the
woods, presumably along the Maquoketa River. The variety was subsequently
introduced by J. Wragg and Sons of Waukee, Iowa, at dates variously
reported from 1890 to 1895.
Tree large, vigorous, spreading, open-topped, productive; trunk
shaggy; branches slender, thorny; branchlets slender, with
conspicuous, large, raised lenticels; leaves falling early,
flattened, oval or obovate, two and one-quarter inches wide,
four inches long; margin coarsely serrate, eglandular; petiole
tinged red, glandless or with from one to three glands usually
on the stalk; blooming season late; flowers appearing with the
leaves, one inch across, white.
Fruit intermediate in time and length of ripening season; about
one and three-eighths inches in diameter, roundish-oblate;
suture a distinct red line; color light to dark red over
a yellow ground, mottled, covered with thick bloom; skin
astringent; flesh dark golden-yellow, very juicy, tender
and melting, rather sweet next the skin but tart near the
center, with a characteristic flavor; good; stone clinging,
seven-eighths inch by five-eighths inch in size, roundish to
broad-oval, strongly flattened, with smooth surfaces; ventral
suture narrow, winged.
STONELESS
_Prunus insititia_
=1.= Duhamel _Trait. Arb. Fr._ =2=:110, Pl. 20 fig. 14. 1768.
=2.= Kraft _Pom. Aust._ =2=:42, Tab. 194 fig. 2. 1796. =3.=
_Mag. Hort._ =9=:165. 1843. =4.= Poiteau _Pom. Franc._ 1. 1846.
=5.= Mas _Pom. Gen._ =2=:121, fig. 61. 1873. =6.= Hogg _Fruit
Man._ 726. 1884. =7.= Mathieu _Nom. Pom._ 450. 1889.
Die Pflaume ohne Stein 2. _Jean Morceau_ 3. _Kirke’s Stoneless_
6, 7. _Pflaume Ohne Steine_ 5. _Pitless_ 5, 7. Prune Sans-Noyau
4. Sans-Noyau 1, 5. _Sans Noyau_ 3, 6, 7. Steinlose Zwetsche 7.
_Stoneless_ 5, 7.