Fruit small, oval, dark purple, with thick bloom; flesh greenish-yellow, harsh and strongly acid at first but assuming a more pleasant flavor as it shrivels upon the tree.
SUGAR
SUGAR
Prunus domestica
1. Cal. State Bd. Hort. 47. 1897-98. 2. Burbank Cat. 5 fig. 1899. 3. Waugh Plum Cult. 124. 1901. 4. U. S. D. A. Rpt. 275, Pl. XXXVI fig. 2. 1903.
Sugar Prune 1, 4.
The introduction of Sugar to the Atlantic States was preceded by very flattering accounts of it from the originator, Mr. Burbank, and from Pacific Coast plum-growers. Possibly our expectations were too high; for we have been greatly disappointed in this plum as compared with its parent, Agen, as the two varieties grow at Geneva—it should be said at once that neither grows nearly as well in New York as in California. The fruits of Sugar on the Station grounds are not larger than those of the Agen, while in California it is said to be twice or three times as large; the flavor is not as pleasant and the flesh is fibrous in the offspring and not so in the parent at Geneva, though in California the Sugar is said to be of better quality than the Agen. As the two grow here, Sugar is rather more attractive in appearance and ripens earlier, the latter character a distinct advantage since Agen is very late in New York. The trees of the two plums are much alike though those of Agen are larger and more productive than those of Sugar as grown in New York. There are, however, but two trees of the latter variety on the Station grounds and these are young, set in 1899, so that too much importance must not be attached to the comparison of the trees. Sugar is worth further trial in New York under other conditions of soil and climate but it is extremely doubtful whether it will surpass the Agen in this State.
This plum, a seedling of the well-known Agen, was introduced by its originator, Burbank, in 1899. The California Experiment Station in analyzing this plum found it to be richer in sugar than the Agen and states that it is larger and more easily dried. Sugar has become of great commercial importance in the California prune districts and has been top-grafted on other plums and even on almonds to the extent of hundreds of acres in that State and in Oregon. As yet it is only under trial in New York.
Tree of medium size, usually vigorous, spreading, dense-topped, hardy, productive; branches ash-gray, tinged red, smooth except for the numerous, small, raised lenticels; branchlets slender, with long internodes, green changing to brownish-red, dull, sparingly pubescent throughout the season, with numerous, inconspicuous, small lenticels; leaf-buds large, long, somewhat pointed, strongly appressed.
Leaves folded backward, obovate or oval, two and one-half inches wide, five inches long; upper surface dark green, rugose, covered with numerous hairs, the midrib narrowly grooved; lower surface pale green, overspread with thick pubescence; apex abruptly pointed or acute, base acute, margin serrate, with small dark glands; petiole nearly one inch long, covered with thick pubescence, lightly tinged with red, glandless or with from one to three small, globose, greenish-yellow glands at the base of the leaf.
Flowers large, intermediate in time of bloom; calyx-tube green; stamens longer than the pistil.
Fruit intermediate in time and length of ripening season; small, ovate or oval, halves equal; cavity shallow, narrow, abrupt; suture shallow, often a line; apex roundish or pointed; color dark reddish-purple changing to purplish-black, covered with thick bloom; dots numerous, small, light russet, inconspicuous; stem slender, long, pubescent, adhering; skin thin, tender, separating readily; flesh golden-yellow, juicy, coarse, fibrous, tender, sweet, mild; good to very good; stone light colored, with a tinge of red, thin, of medium size, ovate, flattened, with rough and pitted surfaces, blunt at the base, acute at the apex; ventral suture rather narrow, distinctly furrowed, slightly winged; dorsal suture with a wide, deep groove.
SURPRISE
SURPRISE
Prunus hortulana mineri?
1. Wis. Sta. Bul. 63:61 fig. 30. 1897. 2. Ia. Hort. Soc. Rpt. 112. 1899. 3. Am. Pom. Soc. Cat. 38. 1899. 4. Wis. Hort. Soc. Rpt. 69. 1900. 5. Ia. Sta. Bul. 46:289. 1900. 6. Wis. Sta. Bul. 87:18. 1901. 7. Waugh Plum Cult. 175. 1901. 8. Ia. Hort. Soc. Rpt. 228. 1904. 9. Ill. Hort. Soc. Rpt. 426. 1905. 10. S. Dak. Sta. Bul. 93:39. 1905.
Surprise is one of the best of the native plums in the Station orchard. The fruits are very attractive in appearance and while not of the rich flavor of the Domesticas they are yet of pleasant flavor with an abundance of juice which together make this a most refreshing fruit. The fruits keep well and would probably ship well. The color is a peculiar red which serves to identify the variety; on the whole the fruits resemble the Americanas while the trees are rather more of the Miner type. The variety is productive in New York and is so spoken of in Wisconsin by Goff,[224] but in Iowa it is said not to bear abundantly. If a native plum is wanted in New York, this variety is worthy a trial.
Surprise, according to the originator, Martin Penning of Sleepy Eye, Brown County, Minnesota, is the best of a thousand or more seedlings grown from pits of De Soto, Weaver and Miner sown in 1882. In 1889, Penning introduced this plum and ten years later it was added to the fruit catalog list of the American Pomological Society. The parentage of the variety is unknown but it has usually been thought that the botanical characters indicate that it is a seedling of Miner. As the tree grows here, (they came to the Station from Mr. Penning,) it appears to be a hybrid of Prunus americana and Prunus hortulana mineri, characters of both species being evident.
Tree large, vigorous, upright, dense-topped, hardy, productive; trunk roughish; branches smooth, zigzag, thorny, dark ash-gray, with numerous, small lenticels; branchlets slender, medium to long, with long internodes, green changing to dark chestnut-red, with brownish-gray scarf-skin, glossy, glabrous, with numerous, conspicuous, small, raised lenticels; leaf-buds small, short, obtuse, plump, appressed.
Leaves falling early, folded upward, oval or ovate, two inches wide, four and one-half inches long, thin; upper surface light green, glabrous, smooth, with a grooved midrib; lower surface pale green, lightly pubescent; apex taper-pointed, base abrupt, margin often coarsely and doubly serrate, with amber glands which are not persistent; petiole thirteen-sixteenths inch long, slender, reddish, sparingly pubescent along one side, glandless or with from one to five small, globose, yellowish-brown glands usually on the stalk.
Blooming season intermediate in time and length; flowers appearing with the leaves, three-quarters inch across, creamy-white, with a disagreeable odor; borne in clusters from lateral buds, in threes or in fours; pedicels three-eighths inch long, slender, glabrous, green; calyx-tube greenish, campanulate, glabrous; calyx-lobes narrow, acute, pubescent on the inner surface, serrate and with reddish glands, erect; petals roundish-ovate, entire, narrowly clawed; anthers yellowish; filaments one-quarter inch long; pistil glabrous, equal to the stamens in length.
Fruit mid-season, ripening period short; one and three-eighths inches by one and one-eighth inches in size, halves equal; cavity shallow, flaring; suture very shallow, distinct; apex roundish or depressed; color dark red, covered with thin bloom; dots numerous, medium to large, russet, conspicuous, clustered about the apex; stem one-half inch long, glabrous, adhering to the fruit; skin thick, tough, clinging; flesh golden-yellow, juicy, fibrous, somewhat tender, sweet, insipid; quality fair; stone clinging, one inch by five-eighths inch in size, oval, flattened, pointed at the base and apex, with smooth surfaces.
TENNANT
TENNANT
Prunus domestica
1. Bailey Ann. Hort. 133. 1893. 2. Oregon Sta. Bul. 45:32. 1897. 3. Am. Pom. Soc. Cat. 40. 1899. 4. Can. Exp. Farm Bul. 2nd Ser. 3:57. 1900. 5. Waugh Plum Cult. 124. 1901. 6. Budd-Hansen Am. Hort. Man. 326. 1903.
Tennant Prune 1. Tenant Prune 4.
It is surprising that a variety of so much merit, especially of so great beauty, as Tennant, should not have been more widely tried in New York. In the survey of plum culture in this State in the preparation of the text for The Plums of New York, it could not be learned that the Tennant had been tried in more than four or five places. In size and beauty of form and coloring, all well shown in the illustration, Tennant has few superiors in the collection of plums growing at this Station. While it is not sufficiently high in quality to be called a first-rate dessert fruit it is more palatable than most of the purple plums. It ripens at a good time of the year, several days before the Italian Prune, and should, from the nature of its skin and the firmness of its flesh, both ship and keep well. A fault of the fruit as it grows here, a fault not ascribed to it elsewhere, is that it shrivels soon after ripening. Our trees are large, vigorous, healthy, hardy and productive—almost ideal plum-trees. This variety should be very generally tried in commercial plantations in New York and may well be planted in home collections for a culinary fruit at least. On the Pacific Coast it is cured for prunes, its meaty flesh fitting it very well for this purpose.
This is another promising plum from the Pacific Northwest. Tennant originated with Rev. John Tennant of Ferndale, Washington, and was introduced in 1893 by McGill and McDonald, Salem, Oregon. The variety is fairly well known in the region of its origin but is practically unknown in New York. It was listed in the American Pomological Society catalog in 1897 as successful in the Pacific Northwest.
Tree large, vigorous, round-topped, open, hardy, productive; trunk slightly roughened; branches stocky, smooth, with lenticels of medium number and size; branchlets thick, long, with long internodes, greenish-red changing to brownish-drab, with green patches and considerable scarf-skin, somewhat glossy, sparingly pubescent throughout the season, with small lenticels; leaf-buds large, long, pointed, appressed; leaf-scars prominent.
Leaves folded backward, oval or obovate, one and three-quarters inches wide, three and one-half inches long, thick, stiff; upper surface dark green, rugose, sparingly hairy, with a grooved midrib; lower surface silvery-green, with thick pubescence; apex abruptly pointed to acute, base acute, margin crenate, eglandular or with small, brown glands; petiole five-eighths inch long, thick, tinged red along one side, hairy, glandless or with one or two rather large, globose, brownish glands variable in position.
Blooming season early to medium, short; flowers appearing after the leaves, one inch or more across, white, the buds tinged yellow; borne on lateral spurs; pedicels one-half inch long, thick, pubescent, greenish; calyx-tube green, often with a swelling around the base, campanulate, pubescent; calyx-lobes broad, obtuse, pubescent on both surfaces, with thick, marginal hairs, erect; petals roundish-oval, entire, tapering to short, broad claws; anthers large, yellow; filaments five-sixteenths inch long; pistil pubescent at the base, equal to the stamens in length; stigma large.
Fruit intermediate in time and length of ripening season; one and three-quarters inches by one and five-eighths inches in size, roundish-truncate or roundish-oblong, with irregular surface which is somewhat ridged, halves equal; cavity narrow, abrupt, slightly compressed; suture variable in depth, distinct; apex deeply depressed; color dark reddish-purple, overspread with thick bloom; dots numerous, variable in size, whitish, conspicuous, clustered about the apex; stem thick, three-eighths inch long, pubescent, adhering well to the fruit; skin tough, adhering slightly to the pulp; flesh dark golden-yellow, somewhat dry, coarse, tough, firm, sweet, mild but pleasant; of good quality; stone clinging, seven-eighths inch by five-eighths inch in size, irregular-oval, flattened, obliquely necked, blunt at the apex, with deeply pitted surfaces, roughish; ventral suture prominent, heavily furrowed, not winged; dorsal suture usually with a narrow, shallow groove.
TRAGEDY
TRAGEDY
Prunus domestica
1. Cal. State Bd. Hort. 236, Pl. II fig. 5, 237. 1890. 2. Ibid. 109 fig. 8. 1891. 3. Wickson Cal. Fruits 358. 1891. 4. N. Mex. Sta. Bul. 27:125. 1898. 5. Am. Pom. Soc. Cat. 40. 1899. 6. Waugh Plum. Cult. 124. 1901.
Tragedy Prune 1, 3, 4.
Tragedy is another western plum which, like the Tennant, has not been well tested in the East. It is an older plum than the Tennant and somewhat better known in New York but still the reports of it are not sufficient in number or of great enough range to enable a fair opinion to be given as to its merits. As the variety grows at Geneva the fruits are very attractive in appearance—above medium size, a dark, rich purple color, and having the full, rounded form much liked by consumers in a dessert plum. The flesh is juicy, tender and sweet so that the quality may be called good; possibly the flesh is a little too soft for long shipping or long keeping as it grows here, though in one of the California references it is spoken of as “valuable for eastern shipment.” The trees are very satisfactory except that in New York they are not quite as reliable in bearing as could be wished. A fault, as the variety grows here and which may be local, is that a large proportion of the pits are cracked and all are soft and granular. The tree is reported by some as “scale proof” but unfortunately this statement can neither be denied nor affirmed. A plum with the good qualities possessed by Tragedy, should be better known in New York.
The following history is contributed by Professor E. J. Wickson, Berkeley, California. Tragedy originated as a chance seedling on the farm of O. R. Runyon, near Courtland, Sacramento County, California, probably in the late seventies. It was first offered to the trade in dormant buds by W. R. Strong and Company of Sacramento in 1887. Since the German Prune and Duane Purple grew on the place of its origin and as it shows characters of both, it has been noted as a probable cross of these varieties. The name Tragedy is understood to have been given to the fruit by Mr. Runyon because the plum was noted to be desirable on or about a day upon which a certain event held to be tragical occurred in the neighborhood. In 1899, the American Pomological Society considered Tragedy worthy a place in its list of fruits.
Tree large, vigorous, round-topped, hardy, variable in productiveness; branches ash-gray, usually smooth, with raised lenticels of various sizes; branchlets twiggy, thick, medium to short, with short internodes, greenish-red changing to dark brownish-drab, covered with thick pubescence, with obscure, small lenticels; leaf-buds intermediate in size and length, obtuse, plump, appressed.
Leaves folded backward, oval or obovate, one and three-quarters inches wide, three and three-quarters inches long; upper surface dark green, glabrous except for the few hairs on the deeply and narrowly grooved midrib; lower surface pubescent; apex acute or obtuse, base acute; petiole five-eighths inch long, thick, pubescent, faintly tinged red, glandless or with one or two small, globose, greenish-brown glands usually at the base of the leaf.
Blooming season early, short; flowers appearing with the leaves, seven-eighths inch across, white; borne on lateral buds, usually in pairs; pedicels one-half inch long, thick, pubescent, greenish; calyx-tube green, with roughened surface, campanulate, glabrous; calyx-lobes acute, lightly pubescent, serrate, with many glands and marginal hairs, reflexed; petals broadly oval, crenate, short-clawed; anthers bright yellow; filaments nearly five-sixteenths inch long; pistil pubescent at the base, much longer than the stamens.
Fruit early, season short; one and five-eighths inches by one and three-eighths inches in size, oval, swollen on the suture side, compressed, halves unequal; cavity narrow, abrupt, regular; suture shallow, often an indistinct line; apex roundish; color dark purplish-black, covered with thick bloom; dots numerous, variable in size, russet, inconspicuous; stem five-eighths inch long, pubescent, adhering well to the fruit; skin of medium thickness and toughness, somewhat sour, separating readily; flesh greenish-yellow, juicy, tender, sweet, mild; good; stone clinging, one inch by five-eighths inch in size, irregular-oval, flattened, obliquely necked; apex acute; surfaces pitted, roughish; ventral suture narrow, prominent, not winged; dorsal suture narrowly and deeply grooved.
TRANSPARENT
Prunus domestica
1. Downing Fr. Trees Am. 395. 1857. 2. Flor. & Pom. 56, Col. Pl. fig. 1862. 3. Hogg Fruit Man. 383. 1866. 4. Downing Fr. Trees Am. 950. 1869. 5. Jour. Hort. N. S. 17:258. 1869. 6. Am. Pom. Soc. Rpt. 91. 1869. 7. Am. Pom. Soc. Cat. 24. 1871. 8. Pom. France 7: No. 25. 1871. 9. Mas Pom. Gen. 2:31, fig. 16. 1873. 10. Cat. Cong. Pom. France 365. 1887. 11. Mathieu Nom. Pom. 428. 1889. 12. Guide Prat. 154, 364. 1895. 13. Nicholson Dict. Gard. 3:166. 14. Waugh Plum Cult. 124. 1901. 15. Soc. Nat. Hort. France Pom. 554 fig. 1904.
Diaphane 4, 12. Diaphane Lafay 4. Durchscheinende Reineclaude 9, 12. Durchscheinende Reine-Claude 11. Prune Diaphane 9. Prune Diaphane Laffay 4, 11. Reine-Claude De Guigne 9. Reine-Claude Diaphane 1, 8, 9, 10, 12, 15. Reine-Claude Diaphane 2, 3, 4, 5, 11. Reine-Claude Transparente 9, 11, 12, 15. Reine-Claude Transparent 4. Transparent Green Gage 6. Transparent Gage 3, 4, 7, 8, 13. Transparent Gage 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15. Transparent Gage Plum 2, 5.
In Europe Transparent is considered one of the best of all dessert plums but either it does not do as well in America or the American bred plums of the Reine Claude group, to which this variety belongs, are much better on this continent than in the Old World. At any rate in our soil and climate there are a dozen or more Reine Claude plums as good or better in quality than Transparent and much superior in other characters. It is, however, worth planting by the connoisseur for its quality and because of the transparency of skin—in the latter respect it is unique among Domestica plums. The flower-buds of this variety have a remarkable tendency to produce leaves in the place of floral organs.
Transparent is an old French variety. M. Lafay, a rose-grower at Bellevue, near Paris, raised it from the seed of the Reine Claude and named it Reine Claude Diaphane. It was grown previous to 1836, for, during this year, Thomas Rivers of England, while visiting M. Lafay, was told of its origin. In 1871, the American Pomological Society listed Transparent in its catalog as worthy of culture. The color of this variety leads to the suspicion that Reine Claude is not the only parent.
Tree large, vigorous, spreading, open-topped, hardy, productive; branches slender, ash-gray, roughish towards the trunk, with small lenticels; branchlets above medium in thickness, short, with internodes of average length, green changing to brownish-red often retaining some green, dull, pubescent, with small lenticels; leaf-buds of medium size and length, conical, somewhat appressed.
Leaves folded upward, obovate or oval, two and one-half inches wide, five inches long, above average thickness; upper surface rugose, nearly glabrous, with a grooved midrib; lower surface pubescent; apex abruptly pointed or acute, base acute, margin often doubly serrate or crenate, with small, dark glands; petiole seven-eighths inch long, thick, pubescent, faintly tinged red, glandless or with from one to four rather large, globose or oval, greenish-brown glands usually on the stalk.
Season of bloom medium, short; flowers appearing after the leaves, one and one-eighth inches across, white; borne in scattering clusters on lateral buds and spurs, singly or in pairs; pedicels five-eighths inch long, thick, pubescent, greenish; calyx-tube green, campanulate, glabrous; calyx-lobes obtuse, lightly pubescent, glandular-serrate, reflexed; petals obovate, crenate, tapering to short, broad claws; anthers yellow with a tinge of red; filaments three-eighths inch long; pistil glabrous, shorter than the stamens, often in pairs.
Fruit late, intermediate in length of ripening season; one and three-eighths inches by one and one-half inches in size, oblate, compressed; halves equal; cavity wide, flaring; suture a line; apex flattened or depressed; color red over a dark amber-yellow ground, mottled, covered with thin bloom; dots numerous, grayish or light russet, conspicuous, decreasing in number but increasing in size towards the cavity; stem thick, three-quarters inch long, pubescent, adhering well to the fruit; skin thin, adhering but slightly; flesh golden-yellow, juicy, fibrous, tender, very sweet, aromatic, pleasant; very good to best; stone clinging, five-eighths inch by one-half inch in size, roundish-oval, turgid, blunt at the base and apex, with slightly pitted surfaces; ventral suture, wide, blunt, faintly grooved; dorsal suture with a deep groove of medium width.
UNGARISH
Prunus domestica
1. Ia. Agr. Col. Bul. 50, 51. 1886. 2. Ia. Hort. Soc. Rpt. 86. 1890. 3. Mich. Sta. Bul. 118:53. 1895. 4. Kan. Sta. Bul. 101:117, 119, 120 fig. 1901. 5. Waugh Plum Cult. 109. 1901. 6. Can. Exp. Farms Rpt. 102. 1902. 7. Budd-Hansen Am. Hort. Man. 326. 1903. 8. Can. Exp. Farms Rpt. 433. 1905.
Hungarian 3, ?6. Hungarian Prune 3. Hungarian Prune 4. Hungary 1. Ungarische 8. Ungarish Prune 2, 7. Quetsche de Hongrie 1. Zwetsche Ungarische 1.
Budd’s Ungarish as grown at the New York State Experiment Station is nearly identical with the Italian Prune. The only differences to be detected are that the Italian Prune is a trifle smaller, a little more firm, not as broad and not quite as sweet as the Ungarish. The pit of the latter is usually tinged with red, while that of the former is rarely so colored. If the Ungarish prove as productive as the Italian Prune it may be more desirable because of its larger size. In 1883 Professor J. L. Budd of the Iowa Experiment Station imported trees under the name Quetsche de Hongrie or Zwetsche Ungarische from C. H. Wagner of Riga, Russia and from Wilhelm Wohler of Wilna, Russia. Budd disseminated the variety as Hungary, a name soon changed to Hungarian Prune and later to Ungarish. This is not to be confused with the true Hungarian so well known in Europe as the Quetsche de Hongrie.
UTAH
Prunus besseyi × Prunus watsoni
1. Dieck in Dippel Laubholzkunde 3:634. 1893. 2. Cornell Sta. Bul. 70:262, Pl. II fig. 3. 1894. 3. Tex. Sta. Bul. 32:490. 1894. 4. Vt. Sta. Bul. 67:21. 1898. 5. Waugh Plum Cult. 225. 1901.
Black Utah Hybrid 2, 4, 5. Utah Hybrid 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.
This interesting natural hybrid was grown by J. E. Johnson at Wood River, Nebraska, some time previous to 1870. Mr. Johnson planted seed of the native dwarf cherry which had grown near Sand plums and which supposedly had been pollinized by the plums. The resulting plants proved to be intermediates between the cherry and the plum and are now generally thought to be natural hybrids. From these seedlings, one was selected and propagated. Shortly afterwards Mr. Johnson moved to Utah taking his new hybrid with him and from there distributed it as Utah. In 1893 a German botanist, Dieck (References, 1), described this hybrid and gave it the specific name Prunus utahensis. The plant has no commercial value. It is described as follows:
Tree a dwarfish tree-like bush three or four feet in height; branches and branchlets zigzag after the habit of Prunus watsoni: leaves small, narrow-ovate, pointed at the ends; margins crenulate, glandless, sometimes small glands on the petioles; fruit early, small, round, dark mahogany-red, covered with bloom; skin very bitter; flesh melting; pleasant flavor; quality poor; stone small, round like that of a cherry.
VICTORIA
VICTORIA
Prunus domestica
1. Lond. Hort. Soc. Cat. 153. 1831. 2. Downing Fr. Trees Am. 315. 1845. 3. Ann. Pom. Belge 45, Pl. 1856. 4. Thompson Gard. Ass’t 516. 1859. 5. Cultivator 8:26 fig. 1860. 6. Am. Pom. Soc. Cat. 88. 1862. 7. Thomas Am. Fruit Cult. 349 fig. 379. 1867. 8. Downing Fr. Trees Am. 948. 1869. 9. Pom. France 7: No. 13. 1871. 10. Mas Le Verger 6:23, fig. 12. 1866-73. 11. Oberdieck Deut. Obst. Sort. 419. 1881. 12. Hogg Fruit Man. 728. 1884. 13. Mathieu Nom. Pom. 438. 1889. 14. Gaucher Pom. Prak. Obst. No. 98 fig. 1894. 15. Guide Prat. 159, 367. 1895. 16. Cornell Sta. Bul. 131:193. 1897. 17. Jour. Roy. Hort. Soc. 21:222. 1897. 18. Mich. Sta. Bul. 169:243, 248. 1899. 19. Garden 57:267. 1900. 20. Waugh Plum Cult. 122, 123 fig. 1901.
Alderton 4, 6, 8, 9, 12, 13, 14, 15. Dauphin 8, 13. Denyer’s Victoria ?2, 3, 6, 8, 9, 12, 13, 14, 15. Denyer’s Victoria 4. Dolphin 8, 13. Imperial de Sharp 8, 13. Königin Victoria 11, 13, 15. Königin Victoria 9, 14, 15. La Victorine 1. Prune Reine Victoria 3. Queen Victoria ?2, 3, 13, 14, 15. Queen Victoria 9. Reine Victoria 9, 10, 13, 14, of some 15. Royal Dauphine 8, 13. Sharp 20. Sharp’s Emperor 2, 8. Sharp’s Emperor 3, 9, 10, 12, 13, by error 15, 20. Sharpe’s Emperor, 17 incor. Victoria-Pflaume 14. Sharp’s Kaiserpflaume 13. Victoria 8, 9, 13, 14, 20. Victoria’s Kaiserzwetsche 14, 15.
For some reason Victoria, long known in America, has never attained great popularity in this country. It is a large plum attaining nearly the size of Pond, though the color-plate does not so show it, and has much the same color as the plum with which we have just compared it. Here resemblances cease for Victoria is not the same shape as Pond, is a little better in quality, is earlier and quite different in tree-characters. It would seem that this would make a good market plum as it is firm enough in flesh to ship well, as grown here keeps remarkably well, is better in quality than the average market plum and is handsome, though Americans seem to care little for red plums, preferring the yellow sorts and still more the purple kinds. Unfortunately, Victoria does not always color well in our climate. The trees of this variety at this Station, while productive, are not large nor robust, and the foliage is a little too susceptible to fungi. These defects of the tree may account for the lack of popularity of the variety in New York though even if they are to be found in all localities, which is probably not the case, this plum is still worth growing to some extent for home or market.
The origin of this plum and even its right to the name under which it is discussed here are matters of controversy. The London Horticultural Society in 1831 mentioned La Victorine in its catalog but since no description was given it cannot be identified as Victoria. Sharp’s Emperor which has been confused with this variety, was described in the same publication. These two varieties were considered as identical by Charles Downing, Hogg, Mas and others; while Royer[225] who tested Sharp’s Emperor, obtained from Liegel, thought it to be distinct, as did Thomas, the Guide Pratique and Pearson of England. Hogg in describing the Victoria says, “This is a Sussex plum, and was discovered in a garden at Alderton in that county. It became known as Sharp’s Emperor, and was ultimately sold by a nurseryman named Denyer, in the year 1844 at Brixton, near London, at a high price as a new variety under the name of Denyer’s Victoria.” Pearson in the Journal of the Royal Horticultural Society for 1897 says the reason that Hogg and other authorities had called these varieties identical is that they had not seen the true variety. At this Station we have not seen Sharp’s Emperor but judging from the descriptions it is distinct though very similar. The American Pomological Society placed Victoria on its fruit list in 1862 but in 1871, Sharp’s Emperor was substituted as the correct name with Victoria as a synonym. This change was probably made to comply with Downing’s nomenclature of 1869. A review of the whole controversy cannot but lead to the conclusion that Victoria is the correct name and it appears also to be in most common use.
Tree of medium size and vigor, upright-spreading, hardy, productive; branches ash-gray, smooth, with few large lenticels; branchlets thick, short, stout, with short internodes, greenish changing to dark brownish-drab, dull, with thick pubescence, with few inconspicuous, small lenticels; leaf-buds large, long, conical or pointed, free.
Leaves folded backward, obovate, two and three-eighths inches wide, five inches long, thick, stiff; upper surface dark green, rugose, with a narrow groove on the midrib, sparingly hairy; lower surface medium green, thickly pubescent; apex abruptly pointed, base cuneate, margin serrate or crenate, eglandular or with small dark glands; petiole one inch long, covered with thick pubescence, tinged red on one side, glandless or with from one to three globose or reniform, yellow glands usually on the stalk.
Season of bloom medium, short; flowers appearing with the leaves, one and one-eighth inches across, white, the buds tinged yellow; borne in clusters on lateral buds and spurs, singly or in pairs; pedicels nearly three-eighths inch long, thick, heavily pubescent; calyx-tube green, campanulate, pubescent; calyx-lobes medium to narrow, obtuse, glandular-serrate, thickly pubescent on both surfaces, reflexed; petals roundish-obovate, entire or occasionally notched, tapering to short, broad claws; anthers yellow; filaments one-quarter inch long; pistil glabrous, longer than the stamens.
Fruit mid-season, ripening period of medium length; one and seven-eighths inches by one and one-half inches in size, long-oval, oblong, compressed, halves equal; cavity shallow, narrow, flaring; suture variable in depth, prominent; apex roundish or depressed; color dark red, mottled before full maturity, covered with thick bloom; dots numerous, russet, conspicuous; stem thick, three-quarters inch long, very pubescent, adhering strongly to the fruit; skin thin, tender, adhering but slightly; flesh light yellow, juicy, coarse, firm, sweet, mild but pleasant; good; stone free, one and one-eighth inches by three-eighths inch in size, broad-oval, strongly flattened, deeply pitted, roughish, blunt at the base and apex; ventral suture narrow, distinctly winged; dorsal suture widely and deeply grooved.
VIOLET DIAPER
Prunus domestica
1. Parkinson Par. Ter. 576, 578. 1629. 2. Langley Pomona 93, Pl. XXIII fig. II. 1729. 3. Duhamel Trait. Arb. Fr. 2:101, Pl. XVII fig. 1768. 4. Prince Pom. Man. 2:70, 92. 1832. 5. Elliott Fr. Book 425. 1854. 6. Koch Deut. Obst. 572. 1876. 7. Le Bon Jard. 339. 1882. 8. Hogg Fruit Man. 690. 1884. 9. Mathieu Nom. Pom. 452. 1889. 10. Guide Prat. 157, 355. 1895.
Black Diapred 1. Blaue Diaprée 9, 10. Blaue Herzformige Pflaume 9, 10. Buntfarbige Violette Pflaume 9, 10. Cheston 1, 9, 10. Cheston 4, 5, 8. Cheston Matchless 5. Cheston’s Plumb 2. Dennie 1. Diaprée noire 7. Die Violette Diaprée 10. Diaprée Violette 3, 10. Diaprée Violette 4, 8, 9. Diapre Violet 4. Friars 1. Friars 8. Friar’s Plum 9. Matchless 4, 5, 9, 10. Purple Diaper 6. Violet Diaper 5, 9. Violette Diaprée 9. Violette Violen Pflaume 9, 10. Veilchen Pflaume 9, 10.
Violet Diaper was cultivated at the beginning of the Seventeenth Century and has maintained itself in Europe until the present time although never attaining nor deserving the popularity of the Red Diaper. Matchless, cited as a synonym, is manifestly incorrect as the true Matchless is a yellow plum; but since it has been used so long and by so many writers as a synonym, it seems best to mention it as such. This plum is not grown in America. It is described as follows:
Fruit early; of medium size, oval; suture faint; cavity almost lacking; skin free; dark purple, covered with thick bloom; flesh yellow, firm, sweet; good; freestone.
VORONESH
VORONESH
Prunus domestica
1. Am. Pom. Soc. Rpt. 76. 1883. 2. Ibid. 61. 1887. 3. Am. Gard. 11:625 fig. 1. 1890. 4. Waugh Plum Cult. 116. 1901. 5. Budd-Hansen Am. Hort. Man. 327, 329. 1903.
Moldavka 1, 2, 3, 4. Voronesh Yellow 3, 5. Yellow Moldavka 5. Yellow Voronesh 2.
Voronesh is a Russian sort supposed to be ironclad as to cold. It is perfectly hardy at Geneva, the trees are also very productive and the fruits are attractive enough in size and color to meet market demands but the flavor is so insipid as to make the plum unfit for dessert and hardly fit for kitchen use. It is given the honor of a color-plate because it is a somewhat distinct type. In 1881 Professor J. L. Budd secured from J. E. Fisher, Voronesh, Russia, a variety which he introduced as Voronesh Yellow. At the same time he imported a variety from Fisher under the name Moldavka which proved to be identical with his Voronesh Yellow, though Budd held that while they were very similar the Moldavka was more oval than Voronesh.
Tree of medium size, round-topped, productive; leaves drooping, folded backward, narrow-obovate, two and one-quarter inches wide, four and one-half inches long, thick; margin doubly serrate, with small, yellowish glands; petiole one-half inch long, tinged red, pubescent, sometimes with two globose, yellowish-red glands usually on the stalk near the base of the leaf; blooming season early, short; flowers appearing after the leaves, fully one and one-eighth inches across, dull white; borne on lateral buds and spurs, singly or in pairs.
Fruit mid-season, ripening period short; one and seven-eighths inches by one and one-half inches in size, ovate, necked, slightly enlarged on the suture side, dark lemon-yellow, with thin bloom; dots very numerous, of medium size, white, conspicuous; stem adhering strongly to the fruit; skin tough, sour; flesh dark amber-yellow, very tender, sweet, mild; poor; stone free, one and three-eighths inches by five-eighths inch in size, long-oval, flattened, somewhat necked, acute at the apex, the surfaces smooth or partially honeycombed; ventral suture prominent.
WALES
Prunus domestica
1. Gard. Chron. 5:837. 1845. 2. Mag. Hort. 12:340. 1846. 3. McIntosh Bk. Gard. 529. 1855. 4. Downing Fr. Trees Am. 392. 1857. 5. Thompson Gard. Ass’t 515. 1859. 6. Ann. Pom. Belge 7, Pl. 1859. 7. Mas Pom. Gen. 2:119, fig. 60. 1873. 8. Flor. & Pom. 253, Pl. 1875. 9. W. N. Y. Hort. Soc. Rpt. 21:20. 1876. 10. Hogg Fruit Man. 718. 1884. 11. Mathieu Nom. Pom. 443. 1889. 12. Ont. Fr. Exp. Sta. Rpt. 96, 120. 1896. 13. Cornell Sta. Bul. 131:190. 1897. 14. Am. Pom. Soc. Cat. 26. 1897. 15. Ohio Sta. Bul. 113:160. 1899. 16. Waugh Plum Cult. 125. 1901.
Chapman’s Prince of Wales, 3, 5. Chapman’s Prince of Wales 4, 10, 11. Chapman’s Prince of Wales’ Plum 1. Prince Albert? 11. Prince De Galles 7. Prince De Galles 6, 11. Prince of Wales 2, 4, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 15. Prince of Wales 7, 11, 14, 16. Prinz Von Wales 11. Prune Prince of Whales 6.
Wales, more commonly known as the Prince of Wales, seems to have much merit yet it has long been grown in America, probably three-quarters of a century, without attaining distinction with fruit-growers. In recent years it has been favorably commented upon in a number of publications and seems to be better known and more grown than formerly. Whether this tardily-given recognition is not too late is a question. So many good plums have been introduced both at home and abroad in the last few decades that a sort dating back nearly a century must be meritorious, indeed, to stand the competition. As Wales grows in New York, it is rather too poor in quality to recommend it for a home variety and the plums are too small, as they generally grow, for a good commercial fruit. The trees are enormously productive and are very satisfactory in other characters as well. In a bulletin from the Cornell Station (References, 13) this variety is said to have “much to commend it for general favor:” while in Ohio (References, 15) it is thought that Wales “ought to become popular.”
Wales, a seedling of Orleans, was raised by a Mr. Chapman, Brentford, Middlesex, England, in 1830. It was exhibited before the London Horticultural Society in 1845 where it was awarded a prize. The following year, Hovey, the American pomologist, (References, 2) described the variety but the date of the first importation to this country is unknown. It was not until 1897 that the variety was sufficiently known to be placed on the fruit catalog list of the American Pomological Society.
Tree large, vigorous, slightly vasiform, open-topped, hardy, very productive; branches ash-gray, smooth except for the numerous, small, slightly raised lenticels, often marked by concentric rings; branchlets of medium thickness and length, with long internodes, green changing to brownish-red, dull, thinly pubescent, with numerous, inconspicuous, small lenticels; leaf-buds large, long, conical or pointed; leaf-scars prominent.
Leaves folded upward, roundish-ovate or oval, two and one-half inches wide, three and one-half inches long; upper surface dark green, somewhat rugose, covered with numerous hairs; lower surface pale green, thickly pubescent; apex and base abrupt, margin crenate, eglandular or with small dark glands; petiole one-half inch long, pubescent, tinged red, glandless or with from one to three small, globose, yellowish-brown glands usually at the base of the leaf.
Blooming season short; flowers one inch across, white, with a yellow tinge; usually borne in pairs; pedicels eleven-sixteenths inch long, thick, pubescent, greenish; calyx-tube green, campanulate, lightly pubescent toward the base; calyx-lobes broad, obtuse, pubescent on both surfaces, glandular-serrate and with marginal hairs, erect; petals broadly oval, crenate, tapering to short, blunt claws; filaments five-sixteenths inch long; pistil glabrous except on the ovary, longer than the stamens; stigma large.
Fruit late, season short; one and five-eighths inches by one and one-half inches in size, roundish-oval, halves equal; cavity narrow, abrupt; suture a line; apex roundish; color reddish-purple, overspread with thick bloom; dots few, large, often tinged red, conspicuous; stem thick, one-half inch long, pubescent, adhering well to the fruit; skin tough, separating readily; flesh golden-yellow, juicy, tender, sweet, mild; good; stone semi-free or free, seven-eighths inch by five-eighths inch in size, oval, turgid, blunt at the base and apex, with slightly pitted surfaces; ventral suture narrow, often acute or with a slight wing; dorsal suture widely and deeply grooved.
WANGENHEIM
Prunus domestica
1. Cultivator 8:26 fig. 1860. 2. Mas Le Verger 6:157, fig. 79. 1866-73. 3. Am. Pom. Soc. Cat. XXIV. 1871. 4. Mathieu Nom. Pom. 453. 1889. 5. Guide Prat. 159, 367. 1895. 6. Waugh Plum Cult. 125. 1901.
Die Wangenheim 4. De Wangenheim 5. Prune de Wangenheim 4. Prune Wangenheim Hâtive 4. Quetsche Précoce de Wangenheim 2, 4, 5. Von Wangenheim Pflaume 2, 4, 5. Wangenheims Frühzwetsche 2, 5. Wangenheims Früh Zwetsche 4. Wangenheim Hâtive 4.
This variety, very well known and highly esteemed in Germany, has been grown to some extent in America both on the Pacific and Atlantic Coasts and in neither region has it proved equal to standard plums. According to Dittrich, Wangenheim originated at Beinheim, a small place near Gotha, Saxe-Cobourg, Germany.
Tree large, vigorous, upright-spreading, productive; trunk rough; branches rough, stocky; branchlets nearly glabrous; leaves folded upward, slightly rugose; margin finely serrate, with small glands; petiole tinged red, pubescent, with from one to three small glands usually at the base of the leaf.
Fruit mid-season; one and one-quarter inches by one and one-eighth inches in size, ovate, purplish-red, covered with thin bloom, yellowish, rather dry, firm, sweet, mild; of good quality; stone very free, three-quarters inch by one-half inch in size, irregular-oval, flattened, with faintly pitted surfaces; ventral suture distinctly winged; dorsal suture with a narrow, shallow groove.
WASHINGTON
WASHINGTON
Prunus domestica
1. Prince Treat. Hort. 24. 1828. 2. Pom. Mag. 1:16, Pl. 1828. 3. Lond. Hort. Soc. Cat. 154. 1831. 4. Prince Pom. Man. 2:53. 1832. 5. Floy-Lindley Guide Orch. Gard. 298, 383, 418. 1846. 6. Cole Am. Fr. Book 210. 1849. 7. Thomas Am. Fruit Cult. 326 fig., 327. 1849. 8. Hovey Fr. Am. 1:87, Col. Pl. 1851. 9. Am. Pom. Soc. Cat. 54. 1852. 10. Elliott Fr. Book 415. 1854. 11. Ann. Pom. Belge 4:23, Pl. 1856. 12. Thompson Gard. Ass’t 520. 1859. 13. Downing Fr. Trees Am. 951. 1869. 14. Pom. France 7: No. 24. 1871. 15. Mas Le Verger 6:59. 1866-73. 16. Hogg Fruit Man. 729. 1884. 17. Mathieu Nom. Pom. 453. 1889. 18. Mich. Sta. Bul. 103:32, 33, fig. 1894. 19. Cornell Sta. Bul. 131:193. 1897. 20. Va. Sta. Bul. 134:44. 1902. 21. Can. Exp. Farm Bul. 43:36. 1903.
Anglesio 17. Bolmar 3, 6, 7, 8, 10, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17. Bolmar’s Washington 3, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 14, 16, 17. Bolmar’s Washington 5. Bolmer 1, 4, 13, 17. Bolmer’s Washington 1, 4, 13. Bolmore’s Washington 4. Double Imperial Gage 1, 4. Franklin 3, 4, 5, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17. Imperial Gage (of Albany) 4. Irving’s Bolmar 10, 13, 16, 17. Irving’s Bolmer 14. Jackson 11, 13, 14, 17. Louis Philippe 14. Louis Philipp 17. New Washington 3, 4, 5, 8, 10, 11, 13, 14, 17. Parker’s Mammoth 10, 13, 16, 17. Philippe 1, 11, 13, 14, 17. Prune Washington Jaune 11. Superior Gage 1, 4, 8. Superior Green Gage 4, 8. The Washington Plum 2, 8. Washington 5, 8. Washington Bolmar 8. Washington Gage 4. Washington Jaune 13, 14, 17. Washington Mammot 14, 17. Washington Yellow 17.
Washington holds high rank among the Reine Claude varieties, plums unsurpassed for dessert purposes. The fruits are large in size for one of this group; handsome in form and color (in the latter respect the color-plate does not do the variety justice); abundant in juice yet firm and meaty enough in flesh to keep and ship well; fine in flavor though not quite equalling some others of its group in this character. The trees are large, hardy, vigorous and healthy, remarkable for their broad, glossy, abundant leaves, bear bountiful crops annually and at a favorable period of maturity. Washington thus has a combination of characters which few of its group, with which only it must be compared, possess. The variety, however, is not without defects; the fruits are subject to brown-rot, so much so that its value as a commercial variety is greatly lessened; the quality varies greatly in different locations and even in different years,—the latter very noticeable on the Station grounds; the trees are slow in coming in bearing and the crops are small for some years after fruiting begins. From the above considerations it may be seen that while this variety is almost always worth planting in a home collection, the location for it as a commercial fruit needs to be chosen with some care.
There are two accounts of the origin of this variety. William Prince gives its history as follows (References, 1): “It has always been the custom at the establishment of the author, at Flushing, to plant annually the seeds of the finest fruits, for the purpose of originating new varieties; and, about the year 1790, his father planted the pits of twenty-five quarts of the Green Gage plum; these produced trees yielding fruit of every colour; and the White Gage, Red Gage, and Prince’s Gage, now so well known, form part of the progeny of those plums; and there seems strong presumptive evidence to suppose that the Washington Plum was one of the same collection.” Michael Floy gives a different history of the Washington (References, 5). He states that he received the variety in 1818 from a Mr. Bolmar of New York who in turn had purchased his trees from a market woman in 1814. The purchased trees were produced as suckers from the roots of a Reine Claude tree which had been killed below the graft by lightning on the Delancey farm, now the Bowery, in New York City. In 1819, a few of the trees, budded the previous year by Floy, were sent to England. The American Pomological Society added the Washington to its fruit catalog list in 1852. Taking in consideration the evidence of other writers and further facts offered in other accounts by the Princes, father and son, it seems almost certain that the first history is correct and that Bolmar’s trees had their origin in the Prince nursery.