1. Lovett Cat. fig. 44. 1890-1900. 2. Rural N. Y. 56:595 fig. 253, 598. 1897. 3. Mich. Sta. Bul. 169:242, 246. 1899. 4. Ohio Sta. Bul. 113:159. 1899. 5. Can. Exp. Farm Bul. 2d Ser. 3:53. 1900. 6. Waugh Plum Cult. 114. 1901. 7. Budd-Hansen Am. Hort. Man. 317, 318 fig. 1903. 8. Am. Pom. Soc. Rpt. 254. 1903. 9. Ohio Sta. Bul. 162:236, 238 fig., 256, 257. 1905. 10. Mass. Sta. An. Rpt. 17:159. 1905.
Lincoln has never been popular in New York, but in Pennsylvania and New Jersey it is well thought of for home use and the markets. The trees in this State grow slowly and when fully grown are rather inferior. This is one of the sorts recommended to be top-worked on better growing varieties but, as has been said before in these notes, top-working in New York is far more often a failure than a success with plums. The fruit of this variety is unusually attractive in size and color and for quality it may be named among the best of the red plums. Unfortunately, the variety is readily infected by the brown-rot which when epidemic cannot be controlled. Lincoln has been so well tested in New York without becoming popular with plum-growers that it is hardly worth recommending for further trial, though the fruits in particular have much merit.
This plum originated in York County, Pennsylvania, about forty-five years ago, supposedly from seed of the Reine Claude, and was named after Abraham Lincoln. If it be a Reine Claude seedling it comes from a cross with some other variety, since it shows many characters not in Reine Claude. Lincoln was introduced by J. T. Lovett and Company, Little Silver, New Jersey.
Tree of medium size, vigorous, upright-spreading, but somewhat variable in habit, dense-topped, hardy, productive; branches ash-gray, rough; branchlets somewhat slender, short, with long internodes, greenish-red changing to brownish-red, dull, sparingly pubescent throughout the season, overspread with thin bloom, with small, inconspicuous lenticels; leaf-buds large, long, pointed, free; leaf-scars prominent.
Leaves somewhat folded backward, oval or obovate, two inches wide, four inches long, rather stiff; upper surface slightly rugose, pubescent only in the shallow, grooved midrib; lower surface silvery-green, pubescent; apex abruptly pointed, base acute, margin doubly crenate, with small, dark glands; petiole nearly one inch long, pubescent, reddish, with from one to four rather large, globose or reniform, yellowish glands variable in position.
Season of bloom medium; flowers appearing after the leaves, over one inch across, white; borne on lateral spurs and buds, singly or in pairs; pedicels about seven-eighths inch long, slender, pubescent, greenish; calyx-tube green, campanulate, thinly pubescent; calyx-lobes broad, acute, somewhat pubescent on both surfaces, glandular-serrate, with marginal hairs, reflexed; petals oval, crenate, with claws of medium width; anthers yellow; filaments three-eighths inch or more in length; pistil glabrous, shorter than the stamens.
Fruit early, season short; somewhat variable but averaging about two inches by one and five-eighths inches in size, oblong-oval, slightly necked, halves usually equal; cavity very shallow, narrow, abrupt; suture shallow; apex roundish or depressed; color light or dark red over a yellow ground, overspread with thin bloom; dots numerous, small, light russet; stem one inch long, lightly pubescent, adhering poorly to the fruit; skin thick, rather sour, separating readily; flesh greenish-yellow, juicy, coarse and fibrous, firm but tender, sweet, mild, pleasant; good to very good; stone nearly free, one and one-eighth inches by five-eighths inch in size, long-oval, flattened, necked at the base, blunt at the apex, with markedly rough and deeply pitted surfaces; ventral suture narrow, distinctly furrowed, with a short wing; dorsal suture with a narrow groove of medium depth.
LOMBARD
LOMBARD
Prunus domestica
1. Kenrick Am. Orch. 268. 1832. 2. Ibid. 224. 1841. 3. Downing Fr. Trees Am. 303 fig. 124. 1845. 4. Thomas Am. Fruit Cult. 345 fig. 265. 1849. 5. Goodrich N. Fr. Cult. 84. 1849. 6. Elliott Fr. Book 412. 1854. 7. Am. Pom. Soc. Rpt. 190, 210. 1856. 8. Downing Fr. Trees Am. 929 fig. 1869. 9. Mas Le Verger 6:151, fig. 76. 1866-73. 10. Country Gent. 48:981. 1883. 11. Mathieu Nom. Pom. 423. 1889. 12. Guide Prat. 160, 359. 1895. 13. Mich. Sta. Bul. 169:242, 246. 1899. 14. Ia. Sta. Bul. 46:279. 1900. 15. Waugh Plum Cult. 114 fig. 1901. 16. Can. Exp. Farm Bul. 43:34. 1903. 17. Ohio Sta. Bul. 162:240, 256, 257. 1905.
Beekman’s Scarlet 3, 6, 8, 11, 12. Bleecker’s Scarlet 3, 4, 6, 8, 12. Bleeker’s Scarlet 11. Bleeker’s Rotepflaume 11. Bleekers Rothe Pflaume 12. Bleeckers Rothe Pflaume 9. Lombard 11. Lombard Plum 1. Montgomery Prune 8, 11. Prune Rouge De Bleeker 9, 11. Rouge de Bleecker 12. Spanish King? 14, 15. Variegated Plum 1.
The Lombard plum is known by all. It is not as largely planted in New York as a few other varieties, but it is probably more widely grown than any other plum if the whole continent be considered. The preeminently meritorious characters which enable it to take first place in American plum-growing are: The elasticity of its constitution whereby it adapts itself to widely different soils and climates; the robustness, healthiness, productiveness and regularity in bearing of its trees; the fact that the fruits are comparatively free from the scourge of the crescent sign, plum-curculio; and, lastly, its showy fruits tempting to the eye and readily salable. The tree-characters of Lombard are all good, making so superior a tree that it, more than any other variety, is recommended as a stock upon which to graft weak-growing plums. It is a virile variety and from it have come a considerable number of offspring mostly from self-fertilized seeds which have given us several nearly related varieties and strains. There are also a few very good cross-bred plums of which Lombard was one parent. Lombard would be preeminently the plum “for the millions” were it not for a fatal fault—it is very poor in quality. Canned, cooked, preserved or spiced, it does very well, but as a dessert fruit it falls in a category with the Ben Davis apple and Kieffer pear, “good-looking but poor.” The variety ripens so early as to come in direct competition with the peach and this hurts it not a little as a market plum. To be at its best the crop should be thinned and should be allowed to ripen fully on the trees. Lombard is now much used in the canneries in New York and is also planted in home orchards where only hardy plums stand the climate. In the markets it is usually a low-priced plum.
Lombard was raised by Judge Platt, Whitesboro, New York, from seed received from Amsterdam (References, 2). Another writer (References, 10) reports that the trees were brought over from Holland by some of the earliest Dutch settlers of Utica and Whitesboro. The name was given to the plum about 1830 by the Massachusetts Horticultural Society in honor of Daniel Lombard of Springfield, who was the first to propagate the variety in that state. It was previously well known in New York as Bleecker’s Scarlet (References, 3), but was never formally described under that name which must, therefore, though the older, be discarded. In 1856, it was placed on the recommended list by the American Pomological Society. Several varieties, as Communia, Tatge, Spanish King and Odell, are very similar, if not identical to the Lombard and, consequently, have caused much confusion in the nomenclature of the variety. This similarity is probably explained by the fact that the Lombard produces seedlings very nearly true to type. Professor J. L. Budd, in a letter written in 1898 to this Station, says, “The fruit of Communia is much like that of Lombard, but this can be said of a hundred or more east European varieties.” Professor Budd had traveled much in Europe and knew plums very well. His statement, therefore, is entitled to credence and indicates, together with other circumstances, that Lombard is one of an old group of plums the varieties of which are very similar.
Tree of medium size, round-topped, very hardy, productive; branches stocky, dark ash-gray, smooth, with few, small lenticels; branchlets thick, medium to long, with long internodes, greenish-red changing to dull brownish-red, marked with gray scarf-skin, glabrous early in the season, becoming pubescent at maturity, with a few, inconspicuous, small lenticels; leaf-buds of medium size and length, conical, appressed; leaf-scars prominent.
Leaves long-oval or long-obovate, one and five-eighths inches wide, three and one-half inches long, medium to thick; upper surface dark green, thinly pubescent, with a grooved midrib; lower surface silvery-green, lightly pubescent; apex acute, base somewhat tapering, margin often doubly serrate, eglandular or with small, dark glands; petiole one-half inch long, thick, tinged red, pubescent, glandless or with one or two globose, yellowish-green glands usually at the base of the leaf.
Blooming season short; flowers appearing after the leaves, one inch across, the buds creamy-yellow, changing to white on expanding; borne in clusters on short, lateral spurs, singly or in pairs; pedicels nine-sixteenths inch long, slender, nearly glabrous; calyx-tube greenish, campanulate, pubescent only at the base; calyx-lobes obtuse, pubescent on both surfaces, glandular-serrate, strongly reflexed; petals oval, entire or occasionally notched at the apex, short-clawed; anthers yellow; filaments five-sixteenths inch long; pistil pubescent only on the ovary, longer than the stamens.
Fruit mid-season, ripening period long; one and three-quarters inches by one and five-eighths inches in size, oval or roundish-oval, slightly compressed, halves unequal; cavity narrow, abrupt, roundish; suture usually a line; apex roundish or flattened; color light to dark purplish-red, overspread with thick bloom; dots numerous, small, light russet; stem slender, three-quarters inch long, adhering well to the fruit; skin thin, tender, separating readily; flesh yellowish, juicy, slightly fibrous, firm and sweet, mild; inferior in quality; stone semi-free to free, one inch by five-eighths inch in size, dark colored, oval, flattened, roughened; base and apex acute; ventral suture slightly furrowed, acute; dorsal suture widely and rather deeply grooved.
LONG FRUIT
Prunus triflora
1. Wild Bros. Cat. 27. 1892. 2. Cornell Sta. Bul. 62:26. 1894. 3. Am. Pom. Soc. Cat. 26. 1897-99. 4. Waugh Plum Cult. 138. 1901.
Long Fruited 1.
Long Fruit is noted among the leading varieties of plums in The Plums of New York chiefly to condemn it. On the grounds of this Station and elsewhere in New York where tested, the trees are unproductive, the crop drops badly and the fruits are small and poor in quality. The variety was imported from Japan in 1885 by Luther Burbank.
Tree large, vigorous, vasiform to spreading, unproductive; branches roughened by numerous raised lenticels; branchlets slender, with short internodes, glabrous, marked by scarf-skin; leaves oblanceolate, somewhat peach-like, one inch wide, two and one-half inches long, thin; margin finely crenate, with small, amber glands; petiole slender, tinged with red, glandless or with from one to five small glands usually on the stalk; blooming season early; flowers appearing after the leaves, seven-eighths inch across; borne singly or in pairs; calyx-tube much swollen at the base.
Fruit early; one inch by one and one-eighth inches in size, roundish-oblate; cavity deep; color dark red over a yellow ground, covered with thin bloom; stem slender, adhering poorly to the fruit; skin thick, somewhat astringent; flesh greenish-yellow or pale yellow, tender, sweet, mild; poor in quality; stone semi-clinging, small, one-half inch by three-eighths inch in size, roundish-oval, turgid, blunt at the base, the apex terminating abruptly in a small, sharp point, with smooth surfaces.
LUCOMBE
Prunus domestica
1. Pom. Mag. 3:99. 1830. 2. Downing Fr. Trees Am. 281. 1845. 3. Floy-Lindley Guide Orch. Gard. 284, 383. 1846. 4. Am. Pom. Soc. Cat. 222. 1858. 5. Hogg Fruit Man. 711. 1884. 6. Guide Prat. 163, 358. 1895. 7. Waugh Plum Cult. 117. 1901. 8. Budd-Hansen Am. Hort. Man. 320. 1903.
Incomparable de Lucombe 6. Lucombe’s Nonesuch 2, 3, 5. Lucombe’s Nonsuch 1, 4. Lucombe’s Nonsuch 6, 7. Lucombe’s Unvergleichliche 6. Lucombe’s Nonesuch 8. Luccombe’s Nonesuch 3. Nonsuch 7. Nonesuch 8.
This old plum has a reputation of high excellence and is well entitled to it. Despite the fact that it must compete for favor with such estimable plums as Reine Claude, Washington and Hand, belonging to the same group with these, it is still much grown in England and is well thought of for home use in America. Hardly in accordance with its reputation, it was rejected by the American Pomological Society in 1858 for a place in its list of fruits. Lucombe originated as a seedling about 1825 with a Mr. Lucombe of Lucombe, Prince and Company, nurserymen, at Exeter, England, and was first described by Lindley in 1830 in the Pomological Magazine.
Tree large, of medium vigor, upright-spreading, productive; branches covered with numerous fruit-spurs; twigs very short, with heavy pubescence; leaves one and three-quarters inches wide, three and one-quarter inches long, dark green; margin finely serrate or crenate, with small, dark glands; petiole pubescent, glandless or with one or two small glands usually at the base of the leaf; blooming season intermediate, short; flowers appearing after the leaves; petals with a yellowish tinge as the buds unfold; borne on long naked spurs with tufts of leaves and flowers at the ends, singly or in pairs.
Fruit mid-season, period of ripening long; one and three-eighths inches by one and one-half inches in size, roundish-oblate or roundish-obovate, greenish-yellow, becoming golden-yellow, indistinctly splashed and streaked with green, covered with thin bloom; flesh golden-yellow, firm, sweet, pleasant, mild; very good; stone free, three-quarters inch by five-eighths inch in size, roundish, slightly necked, with pitted surfaces.
MAQUOKETA
MAQUOKETA
Prunus hortulana mineri
1. Mich. Pom. Soc. Rpt. 290. 1889. 2. Ia. Hort. Soc. Rpt. 55, 85. 1890. 3. Cornell Sta. Bul. 38:40. 1892. 4. Mich. Sta. Bul. 118:53. 1895. 5. Ibid. 123:20. 1895. 6. Ia. Sta. Bul. 31:346. 1895. 7. Wis. Sta. Bul. 63:46. 1897. 8. Budd-Hansen Am. Hort. Man. 298. 1903. 9. Ga. Sta. Bul. 67:277. 1904. 10. Ohio Sta. Bul. 162:256, 257. 1905.
Maquoketa is distinguished as one of the best of the native plums for culinary purposes. Nearly all of the plums brought in from the wild in America have so much astringency, most of it coming from the skins, that they are impalatable to some. Now and then a variety is nearly free from this disagreeable taste and Maquoketa is one of these. The quality, as a dessert fruit, is very good for a native and the fruits keep and ship well. In the South the plums are subject to both curculio and brown-rot. The trees, like those of nearly all of the Miner-like plums, are rather better formed and more adaptable to orchard conditions than those of other species. After the Americana and Nigra plums, Maquoketa is one of the hardiest of our native varieties, growing even in Minnesota. The variety belongs in the South and Middle West and there are few, if any, places in New York where it is worth growing.
The origin of this plum is uncertain. It is reported in the references given as a native found on the banks of the Maquoketa River in eastern Iowa and also as a Miner seedling grown under cultivation. It has been known to fruit-growers since about 1889.
Tree of medium size and vigor, spreading, low-topped, open, hardy, variable in productiveness, susceptible to attacks of shot-hole fungus, the trunk shaggy; branches slender, rough, zigzag, with few thorns, dark, dull ash-gray, with numerous lenticels; branchlets slender, long, with internodes of medium length, green, changing to dull reddish-brown, glabrous, with numerous, conspicuous, small, slightly raised lenticels; leaf-buds very small, short, obtuse, appressed.
Leaves falling early, folded upward, broadly lanceolate, peach-like, one and three-quarters inches wide, four and one-half inches long; upper surface light green, changing to a dull red late in the fall, glossy, glabrous, with a narrowly grooved midrib and veins; lower surface silvery-green, thinly pubescent; apex taper-pointed, base rather abrupt; margin with serrations in two series, with very small, black glands; petiole five-eighths inch long, tinged with dull red, hairy, with from one to four globose, rather large, dark brownish-yellow glands.
Blooming season late and of medium length; flowers appearing after the leaves, one inch across, yellowish as the buds begin to open, changing to white, with a disagreeable odor; borne in clusters on lateral spurs and buds, varying from two to four flowers in a cluster; pedicels five-eighths inch long, slender, glabrous, greenish; calyx-tube green, narrowly campanulate, glabrous; calyx-lobes narrow, slightly obtuse, nearly glabrous on the outer surface, but pubescent within, serrate, with dark colored glands and marginal hairs, reflexed; petals oval or ovate, with long, tapering claws of medium width, sparingly hairy at the base; anthers yellowish; filaments seven-sixteenths inch in length; pistil glabrous, slender, shorter than the stamens.
Fruit late, ripening period short; below medium in size, ovate or roundish-ovate, halves equal; cavity shallow, rather wide, rounded, flaring; suture a distinct line; apex roundish or slightly pointed; colors some time before fully ripe becoming dark carmine, covered with thin bloom; dots numerous, small to medium, light brown, clustered about the apex; stem rather slender, glabrous, parting readily; skin thick, tough, astringent, semi-adherent, removing a thin layer of pulp when detached; flesh deep yellow, juicy, coarse, fibrous, nearly melting next to the skin, becoming firmer toward the center, sweet at first but astringent near the pit, with a strong flavor; inferior in quality; stone adhering, of medium size, oval, turgid, bluntly pointed at the base and apex, with slightly roughened surfaces; ventral suture acute, ridged; dorsal suture a narrow, shallow groove.
MARIANNA
MARIANNA
Prunus cerasifera × ?
1. Ga. Hort. Soc. Rpt. 28. 1886. 2. Gard. Mon. 29:148. 1887. 3. Am. Pom. Soc. Cat. 38. 1889. 4. Neb. Hort. Soc. Rpt. 56. 1889. 5. Ill. Hort. Soc. Rpt. 63. 1890. 6. Cornell Sta. Bul. 38:66, fig., 71, 83, 86. 1892. 7. Tex. Sta. Bul. 32:479, 480 fig. 1894. 8. Rev. Hort. 278. 1894. 9. Rural N. Y. 54:600. 1895. 10. Mich. Sta. Bul. 152:210. 1898. 11. Bailey Ev. Nat. Fruits 208, 213. 1898. 12. Vt. Sta. An. Rpt. 13:336-369. 1900. 13. Waugh Plum Cult. 36, 232. 1901. 14. Ga. Sta. Bul. 67:277. 1904. 15. S. Dak. Sta. Bul. 93:67. 1905.
Marianna has little or no value for its fruit. It is illustrated and discussed at length in The Plums of New York for two reasons. First, because it has long been an enigma which has baffled both horticulturists and botanists; second, because it is extensively used as a stock upon which other kinds of plums are propagated. In 1884, a plum of unknown species was introduced to the trade. Some said the new variety belonged to Prunus cerasifera and others that it was an offspring of some native species. The characters of the first named species are so apparent in Marianna that all are now agreed that this variety is from either a self or a cross-fertilized seed of Prunus cerasifera; if the latter the other parent must have been some native species, the particular variety possibly being Wild Goose, one of the Munsoniana plums. Its behavior on these grounds, its robustness and semi-sterility and its not fitting exactly into any known species, mark it as a hybrid. A curious character peculiar to this variety is that it grows very readily from cuttings and for this reason it is a cheap stock for plums of all kinds and is used even for peaches and apricots. Besides rooting readily, the Marianna does not sprout and may be budded as late or later than the peach. It is chiefly used in propagation in the South, but, for reasons stated in the discussion of stocks in Chapter II, the Marianna is not now employed by nurserymen as largely as formerly, though there are still conditions in which it is the best of stocks. The tree is a handsome ornamental at any season of the year and its broad, spreading top makes it a good shade tree.
Marianna originated as a seedling in a mixed orchard belonging to Charles G. Fitze, Marianna, Polk County, Texas; its parentage is unknown. The originator considered it a seedling of Wild Goose, but, it is probably an offspring of DeCaradeuc and, as stated in the foregoing paragraph, undoubtedly a hybrid. In 1884, Charles N. Eley, Smith Point, Texas, introduced the Marianna to fruit-growers; in 1889 it was placed on the fruit catalog list of the American Pomological Society.
Tree large, vigorous, broad, spreading, open and flat-topped, hardy, unproductive, comparatively free from insects or diseases; trunk rough; branches numerous, usually smooth, but sometimes roughened by the cracking of the bark, thorny, dark ash-gray, with numerous, very large, raised lenticels; branchlets slender, twiggy, with internodes of medium length, green changing to dull reddish-brown, with gray scarf-skin, glabrous, with conspicuous, large, raised lenticels; leaf-buds very small and short, obtuse, appressed.
Leaves folded upward, elongated-oval, one and one-eighth inches wide, two and five-eighths inches long, thin; upper surface smooth, glabrous, with a shallow groove on the midrib; lower surface pale green, lightly pubescent along the midrib and larger veins; apex and base acute, margin very finely serrate, with small, black or amber glands; petiole slender, three-quarters inch long, pubescent along one side, usually tinged red, glandless or with from one to three very small, globose, greenish-brown glands variable in position.
Blooming season intermediate in time and length; flowers appearing after the leaves, three-quarters inch across, white; borne in clusters on lateral spurs, in twos or in threes; pedicels three-eighths inch long, slender, glabrous, greenish; calyx-tube green, campanulate, glabrous; calyx-lobes acute, sparingly pubescent, ciliate, erect; petals very small, separated from each other, broadly oval, entire, tapering to narrow claws; anthers yellowish; filaments three-sixteenths inch long; pistil glabrous, equal to the stamens in length.
Fruit early, season of medium length; one and one-eighth inches or more in diameter, oval or roundish-oval, often not compressed, halves equal; cavity shallow, narrow, abrupt, regular; suture a line; apex roundish or blunt-pointed; color bright, light red changing to darker red, overspread with thin bloom; dots numerous, small, light russet, conspicuous, clustered about the apex; stem slender, five-eighths inch long, glabrous; skin tough, bitter, inclined to crack under unfavorable conditions, parts readily; flesh yellow, tinged red under the skin and next to the stone, unusually juicy, fibrous, watery and melting, sweet next to the skin, but acid near the pit, sprightly; inferior in quality; stone clinging, three-quarters inch by one-half inch in size, elongated-oval, blunt-pointed, surfaces pitted; ventral suture blunt, wide, slightly ridged; dorsal suture widely and deeply grooved.
MARU
Prunus triflora
1. Ga. Hort. Soc. Rpt. 29. 1886. 2. Ibid. 53, 99. 1889. 3. Am. Pom. Soc. Rpt. 105, 106. 1891. 4. Rev. Hort. 515. 1891. 5. Ibid. 278. 1894. 6. Cornell Sta. Bul. 62:26. 1894. 7. Tex. Sta. Bul. 32:489. 1899. 8. Cornell Sta. Bul. 106:57. 1896. 9. Rural N. Y. 56:615. 1897. 10. Cornell Sta. Bul. 175:143. 1899. 11. Mich. Sta. Bul. 169:242, 249. 1899. 12. Waugh Plum Cult. 138. 1901. 13. Ga. Sta. Bul. 68:9, 31. 1905.
Maru is much in evidence in plum literature, the concensus of opinion being that it is little short of worthless. Its quality is not high and it comes in season about with Abundance which surpasses it in nearly all characters. The variety was introduced by Luther Burbank and is said to have been imported by him about 1885. In Japan this name is applied to any round plum, but so far in America it has been restricted to this variety.
Tree large, lacking in vigor, broad-vasiform, dense-topped, unproductive, somewhat susceptible to attacks of shot-hole fungus; trunk and branches rough; branchlets twiggy, marked with thin, russety scarf-skin, glabrous, with large, prominent lenticels; leaves folded upward, oblanceolate, peach-like, thin, one and three-eighths inches wide, three inches long; upper surface yellowish-green late in the season; margin very finely serrate, with small glands; petiole with from one to six glands usually on the stalk; blooming season early; flowers appearing after the leaves, three-quarters inch across; borne in clusters on lateral spurs, in threes or fours; pistil longer than the stamens.
Fruit early, about one and one-quarter inches in diameter, roundish-cordate, dull red, with medium thick bloom; flesh deep yellow, tender and melting, sweet next the skin, but slightly astringent near the pit; poor in quality; stone clinging, five-eighths inch by one-half inch in size, oval or roundish, turgid, with rough surfaces.
MAYNARD
Prunus triflora × Prunus simonii
1. Vt. Sta. An. Rpt. 12:226. 1899. 2. Nat. Nur. 11:5. 1903. 3. Oregon Nur. Cat. 24. 1903. 4. Can. Hort. 28:285. 1905.
The habit of the tree of Maynard is commendable and the plums are very acceptable to those who care for the Triflora fruits. The season follows Climax, a period when there is a dearth of Triflora plums. Maynard has been so widely advertised that it is hardly necessary to say that it is worthy of trial. The variety was first fruited in 1897 by Burbank after which it was tested by him for five years and was then sold to the Oregon Nursery Company by whom it was introduced in 1903. It was named by the originator in honor of Professor T. S. Maynard, then in charge of horticulture in the Massachusetts Agricultural College.
Tree large, vigorous, upright, open-topped, productive; branchlets thick, dark chestnut-red; leaves obovate, one and one-half inches wide, three and one-half inches long, thin; margin finely serrate, with small, dark glands; petiole slender, glandless or with one or two small glands usually at the base of the leaf.
Fruit early; about one and three-eighths inches in diameter, roundish-truncate, dark red, changing to purplish-black, overspread with thick bloom; flesh reddish, with a tinge of yellow near the pit, fibrous, tender and melting, sweet, aromatic; good to very good; stone semi-clinging, three-quarters inch by five-eighths inch in size, broadly oval, turgid, blunt at the base and apex, with pitted surfaces; ventral suture prominent, with deep furrows and with a narrow, blunt wing; dorsal suture acute or with an indistinct groove.
McLAUGHLIN
McLAUGHLIN
Prunus domestica
1. Horticulturist 1:195 fig. 54. 1846. 2. Cole Am. Fr. Book 209 fig. 1849. 3. Thomas Am. Fruit Cult. 332. 1849. 4. Mag. Hort. 16:456, 457 fig. 28. 1850. 5. Hovey Fr. Am. 2:47, Pl. 1851. 6. Am. Pom. Soc. Rpt. 36, 55. 1852. 7. Am. Pom. Soc. Cat. 231. 1854. 8. Cultivator 6:52 fig. 1858. 9. Flor. & Pom. 200. 1870. 10. Mas Le Verger 6:137, fig. 69. 1866-73. 11. Am. Gard. 14:299 fig. 1893. 12. Gaucher Pom. Prak. Obst. 97, Col. Pl. 95. 1894. 13. Cornell Sta. Bul. 131:189. 1897. 14. Mich. Sta. Bul. 169:242, 246. 1899. 15. Waugh Plum Cult. 115, 116 fig. 1901. 16. Va. Sta. Bul. 134:43. 1902. 17. Mass. Sta. An. Rpt. 17:159. 1905.
M’Laughlin 2. McLaughlin’s Gage Plum 9. MacLaughlin 12. MacLanglin 12.
McLaughlin stands well up with the best of plums in quality and when well grown is very attractive in appearance. Its flesh is sweet and yet not so sweet as to cloy the appetite; in flavor it is rich and delicate and while somewhat like that of Reine Claude, is different, so that the variety has a taste quite of its own; though the juice is abundant, the flesh is not watery; the texture is neither too coarse nor too fine, too fibrous nor too mealy, but in a fruit rightly matured is most pleasantly melting. There are few other plums in which the characters pleasing to the taste exist in such nice proportions. McLaughlin is a little smaller than some other plums of its group, but is quite large enough for a dessert plum. Unless at its best, it is not as attractive in color as Jefferson, Washington, Reine Claude and some others of its type, but at its very best, it is unsurpassed by any other plum in coloring; it has in perfection the delicate yellow skin which belongs to the Reine Claudes upon which is marbled tints of white, yellow and crimson, the blending of which the illustration shows but poorly. The fruit of McLaughlin has its imperfections, however. The flesh clings tenaciously to the stone, is too melting to keep or ship well and rots badly on the tree. These defects debar the variety in America, with present market demands, from commercial plantations. The tree is above the average in size and vigor and is as hardy as any, more so than most of the Reine Claude varieties. It comes in bearing early and is rather productive. The place for this plum, from the summary of its characters, is apparent at once—in the home orchard and in the collection of the fruit connoisseur.
McLaughlin was raised by James McLaughlin of Bangor, Maine, first fruiting about 1840. The parentage of the variety is disputed, but no one doubts that it contains Reine Claude blood, though the tree is too vigorous to have been raised from the Reine Claude self-pollinated. Judging from the tree-characters, it may have sprung from the Washington or Imperial Gage fertilized by the Reine Claude. The American Pomological Society, in 1852, placed the McLaughlin with the plums that promised well, and at the next meeting added it to the recommended list.
Tree of medium size, variable in vigor, spreading, open-topped, hardy, medium to productive; branches stocky, ash-gray, smooth, with small, indistinct lenticels; branchlets few, thick, short, with short internodes, greenish-red changing to brownish-drab, lightly pubescent, with numerous, small lenticels; leaf-buds above medium in size, long, pointed, appressed; leaf-scars swollen.
Leaves oval, two inches wide, three and one-half inches long, thick; upper surface dark green, glossy, covered with fine hairs; lower surface pale green, pubescent; apex abruptly pointed, base acute, margin crenate, with small, black glands; petiole five-eighths inch long, thick, pubescent, tinged red, with one or two small, globose, yellowish glands usually at the base of the leaf.
Season of bloom intermediate, short; flowers appearing after the leaves, fifteen-sixteenths inch across, white, with yellow tinge near the apex of the petals; borne on lateral spurs and buds, singly or in pairs; pedicels one-half inch long, thick, very pubescent, greenish; calyx-tube green, obconic, pubescent; calyx-lobes narrow, obtuse, sparingly pubescent on both surfaces, glandular-serrate and with marginal hairs, reflexed; petals obovate, crenate, tapering below to short, broad claws; anthers yellowish; filaments one-quarter inch long; pistil glabrous except at the ovary, longer than the stamens.
Fruit early, season short; one and five-eighths inches by one and seven-eighths inches in size, roundish-oblate, compressed, halves equal; cavity shallow, narrow, abrupt; suture shallow; apex flattened or depressed; color greenish-yellow, blushed and mottled with red, overspread with thick bloom; dots numerous, small, light colored; stem thick, three-quarters inch long, pubescent, adhering well to the fruit, surrounded at the cavity by a fleshy ring; skin tough, slightly adhering; flesh light yellow, juicy, sweet, mild and pleasant; very good; stone clinging, one inch by three-quarters inch in size, irregular broad-oval, very blunt at the base and apex, heavily wrinkled and deeply pitted; ventral suture narrow, distinctly furrowed, winged; dorsal suture widely and deeply grooved.
MIDDLEBURG
MIDDLEBURG
Prunus domestica
1. W. N. Y. Hort. Soc. Rpt. 31:60. 1886. 2. Mich. Hort. Soc. Rpt. 288. 1889. 3. Cornell Sta. Bul. 131:189. 1897. 4. Ont. Fr. Exp. Sta. Rpt. 119. 1898. 5. Mich. Sta. Bul. 169:242, 246. 1899. Ibid. 187:77, 79. 1901.
Middleburgh 1.
It is somewhat remarkable that so good a plum as Middleburg should have so long escaped the attention of fruit-growers and even of pomologists. Not even Downing has recorded it, though he lived not more than a hundred miles from the place of its origin, which must have taken place in his time. The fruits may be surpassed somewhat by other purple plums in appearance but few of them are better in quality, either for dessert or for cooking. It is especially valuable too, because it ripens late, hangs well to the tree and ships and keeps well, in the latter respect equalling the best of the prunes. Out of a collection of about three hundred sorts on the Station grounds, this would undoubtedly be chosen as the favorite purple plum of its season. The trees, while of only medium size, are robust, healthy, hardy and usually productive. In Schoharie County, eastern New York, where this variety originated and has long been grown, black-knot is usually epidemic and Middleburg and Palatine are said to be the sorts most free from the disease—so free that neither is much troubled by it. From its behavior here it is certain that, belying the looks of either fruit or tree, Middleburg will improve upon acquaintance and that when well known it will be wanted in home collections at least and more than likely some commercial fruit-growers will find it profitable.
Middleburg came from Middleburg, Schoharie County, New York, where it was found as a chance seedling. Mr. S. D. Willard, of Geneva, first called attention to the variety in 1886 at a meeting of the Western New York Horticultural Society. Its origin is much older than the date given, as it has been extensively grown in Schoharie County for a half-century or more.
Tree above medium in size, vigorous, round and open-topped hardy, productive; branches ash-gray, smooth, with small lenticels; branchlets of medium thickness and length, with long internodes, greenish-red, changing to brownish-red, overspread with light bloom, dull, somewhat pubescent, with few, inconspicuous, small lenticels; leaf-buds of medium size and length, pointed, appressed.
Leaves folded upward, oval, one and one-half inches wide, three and one-half inches long, rather thick, stiff; upper surface dark green, sparingly pubescent on the grooved midrib and larger veins; lower surface silvery-green, pubescent; apex and base acute, margin doubly serrate, with a few, small, dark glands; petiole eleven-sixteenths inch long, pubescent, tinged red, glandless or with from one to three small, globose, greenish-brown glands on the stalk or base of the leaf.
Blooming season early to medium, short; flowers appearing after the leaves, one inch across, white, borne in scattering clusters on lateral spurs, singly or in pairs; pedicels three-quarters inch long, overspread with fine, short pubescence, greenish; calyx-tube green, campanulate, pubescent at the base; calyx-lobes obtuse, thinly pubescent on both surfaces, glandular-serrate, somewhat reflexed; petals roundish or obovate, entire, with short, abrupt claws; anthers yellowish; filaments five-sixteenths inch long; pistil glabrous, equal to the stamens in length, with a large, pubescent ovary.
Fruit very late, season long; one and five-eighths inches by one and one-half inches in size, distinctly oval, compressed, halves equal; cavity very shallow, narrow, flattened; suture usually lacking; apex roundish; color varies from light to deep purplish-red, overspread with thick bloom; dots numerous, small, russet, inconspicuous; stem one inch long, thinly pubescent, adhering well to the fruit; skin thin, slightly sour, separating readily; flesh light yellow, rather juicy, somewhat coarse, firm, sprightly when first mature, becoming sweetish, strongly aromatic, pleasant flavored; very good; stone semi-free or free, one inch by five-eighths inch in size, irregular-oval, with pitted surfaces, slightly acute at the base and apex; ventral suture narrow, winged, faintly ridged; dorsal suture acute or with a shallow, narrow groove.
MILLER SUPERB
Prunus domestica
Of the two hundred and more varieties of plums which have fruited on the Station grounds, Miller Superb is one of the finest for dessert. The variety is of the Reine Claude group and is fully up with the best of these plums—all noted for high quality. In size and appearance, the plums resemble those of the well-known Bavay though usually larger. This plum originated with Colonel Charles Miller of Geneva, New York, when, is not known. About 1889, M. F. Pierson of Stanley, New York, secured cions of the plum from Colonel Miller and named the variety Miller Superb. It has never been introduced and is grown locally only to a very limited extent. Its large size, productiveness and superior quality should recommend it strongly for more general cultivation.
Tree of medium size and vigor, upright-spreading, open-topped, productive; branches rough as they approach the rough trunk; leaf-scars enlarged; leaves flattened, oval, two inches wide, three and three-quarters inches long; margin serrate or crenate, with few, small, dark glands; petiole long, thick, reddish, pubescent, with from one to three glands usually at the base of the leaf; blooming season of medium length; flowers appearing after the leaves, one inch or more across, white with yellowish tinge; borne on lateral buds and spurs, singly or in pairs.
Fruit intermediate in time and length of ripening season; one and three-quarters inches by one and five-eighths inches in size, roundish-oval or roundish-ovate, golden-yellow, mottled and splashed with green and sometimes with a blush on the exposed cheek, overspread with thin bloom; dots conspicuous; flesh light golden-yellow, juicy, firm but tender, sweet, pleasant in flavor; very good; stone clinging or semi-clinging, one inch by five-eighths inch in size, ovate or oval, somewhat flattened, usually winged; dorsal suture grooved.
MILTON
Prunus munsoniana × ?
1. Ia. Hort. Soc. Rpt. 287. 1887. 2. Ibid. 393. 1892. 3. Ibid. 334. 1894. 4. Neb. Hort. Soc. Rpt. 201. 1897. 5. Wis. Sta. Bul. 63:24, 48. 1897. 6. Am. Pom. Soc. Cat. 40. 1899. 7. Ia. Sta. Bul. 46:280. 1900. 8. Ala. Col. Sta. Bul. 112:178. 1900. 9. Terry Cat. 6. 1900. 10. Waugh Plum Cult. 187. 1901. 11. Can. Exp. Farm. Bul. 43:31. 1903. 12. Ia. Hort. Soc. Rpt. 445. 1903. 13. Ga. Sta. Bul. 67:277. 1904. 14. Miss. Sta. Bul. 93:15. 1905. 15. Ohio Sta. Bul. 162:256, 257. 1905. 16. Ill. Hort. Soc. Rpt. 420. 1905.
The special merits of Milton, as compared with other native varieties, are that it blooms late and ripens early. It thus escapes frosts, when, for example, its parent, Wild Goose, might be injured; and its early ripening prolongs the season for native plums. The fruits are large, of very good quality, though a little too juicy for pleasant eating or to ship well, very attractive in appearance, and, more important than all else for the regions in which it is likely to be grown, it is comparatively free from rot. Unfortunately, the flesh clings most tenaciously to the stone even after cooking. In its fruit-characters, Milton strongly resembles one of the Mineri plums, but the tree is very much like that of Wild Goose, its known parent. In New York, Milton is one of the best of the native plums but it is hardly so considered in the Middle West, where these plums are most grown, judging from the discussions of it in the references given above.
Milton, a seedling of Wild Goose grown by H. A. Terry, Crescent, Iowa, first fruited in 1885. The originator believed that the other parent was an Americana, but from the characters of the tree it was more likely one of the Mineri plums. The American Pomological society added Milton to its fruit catalog list in 1899.
Tree of medium size and vigor, round and dense-topped, symmetrical, hardy at Geneva, productive, healthy; branches brash, rough, thorny, dark brownish-gray, with numerous, large, narrow and much elongated lenticels; branchlets very slender, willowy, medium to long, with internodes of average length, greenish-red, changing to dull reddish-brown, thinly pubescent, with numerous, conspicuous, small, slightly raised lenticels; leaf-buds small, short, obtuse, free.
Leaves folded upward, broadly lanceolate or oblanceolate, peach-like, one inch wide, three inches long, thin; upper surface smooth, with a grooved midrib; lower surface thinly pubescent on the midrib and larger veins; apex taper-pointed; base slightly acute, margin serrate or crenate, with numerous, minute, dark glands; petiole seven-sixteenths inch long, slender, reddish, lightly pubescent, glandless or with from one to four small, globose, yellowish-brown glands usually on the stalk.
Blooming season late and long; flowers appearing after the leaves, three-quarters inch across, the buds creamy when opening, changing to white, odor disagreeable; borne in thin clusters on lateral spurs and buds, singly, in pairs, or in threes; pedicels three-quarters inch long, very slender, glabrous, greenish; calyx-tube green, obconic, glabrous; calyx-lobes narrow, slightly obtuse, pubescent within, with dark colored glands and marginal hairs, erect; petals oval, entire or deeply indented, tapering below to long, narrow claws margined with few scattering hairs near the base; anthers yellow with a faint trace of red; filaments five-sixteenths inch long; pistil slender, glabrous, equal to the stamens in length.
Fruit very early, season short; one and three-sixteenths inches by one inch in size, oval, slightly compressed, halves equal; cavity shallow, narrow, abrupt, regular; suture a distinct line; apex roundish or slightly pointed; color dark red, covered with thin bloom; dots very numerous, medium to large, russet, conspicuous; stem slender, seven-eighths inch long, adhering fairly well to the fruit; skin thin, tough, astringent, separating readily; flesh yellowish, the juice given off readily leaving a tough, fibrous pulp, sweet next the skin, but rather acid at the center, of pleasant flavor; fair to good; stone adhering, three-quarters inch by one-half inch in size, long-oval, slightly elongated at the base and apex, somewhat flattened, surface broken into irregular ridges; ventral suture blunt, faintly ridged; dorsal suture a narrow, shallow groove.
MINER
Prunus hortulana mineri