ABUNDANCE
ABUNDANCE
Prunus triflora
1. Am. Pom. Soc. Rpt. 96. 1887. 2. Am. Gard. 9:360. 1888. 3. Ga. Hort. Soc. Rpt. 51, 52, 53, 99. 1889. 4. Bailey Ann. Hort. 103. 1889. 5. Am. Pom. Soc. Rpt. 106, 125. 1891. 6. Am. Gard. 13:700. 1892. 7. Rural N. Y. 52:666. 1893. 8. Cornell Sta. Bul. 62:19, 27, 32. 1894. 9. Tex. Sta. Bul. 32:488. 1894. 10. Rev. Hort. 160. 1895. 11. Mich. Sta. Bul. 118:52. 1895. 12. Cornell Sta. Bul. 106:41, 43, 44, 47, 48, 49. 1896. 13. Va. Sta. Bul. 67:96. 1896. 14. Cornell Sta. Bul. 131:195. 1897. 15. Ibid. 139:37, 38, 39, 40. 1897. 16. Am. Pom. Soc. Cat. 26. 1897. 17. Cornell Sta. Bul. 175:141, 142, 143. 1899. 18. Waugh Plum Cult. 132, 135. 1901. 19. Mich. Sta. Bul. 169:242, 248. 1899. 20. Ont. Fruit Exp. Sta. Rpt. 15. 1902. 21. Ohio Sta. Bul. 162:254, 255. 1905. 22. Texas Nur. Co. Cat. 9. 1907. 23. Ga. Sta. Bul. 68:7, 28. 1905.
Abundance 7. Babcock (?) 15, 17. Babcock 12, 16, 18. Botan 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 10. Botan 12, 16, 18. Botankio 12. Botankio 3. Burbank No. 2, 11, 12. Chase 12. Chase 14, 15, 17. Douglas 9, 15, 18. Douglas 17. Hattankio 8, 15. Hattonkin 12. Hytankayo 8, 9. Munson 8. Munson 9, 18. Oriole 22. Sweet Botan 7. Sweet Botan 15. Yellow Fleshed Botan 3, 6, 8, 17, 23. Yellow Fleshed Botan 5. Yellow Japan 12. Yellow Japan 8, 14.
Though Abundance has been in America only a quarter of a century, it is now about as well known as any other plum, being probably the best known of the Triflora plums. The two chief assets which have given the variety its great popularity so quickly are adaptability to a wide diversity of soils and climates and, as its name implies, abundance of fruit, for it bears not only heavily but yearly. As a market plum Abundance has been overplanted since it ships and keeps poorly, is much subject to brown-rot, matures unevenly and drops rather too readily as it ripens. Whether for market or home use, the fruit of this variety should be picked before it is quite ripe as it develops in flavor best when so picked and the dropping and rot are thus avoided to some extent. It is an exceedingly variable plum and undoubtedly several well marked strains could be selected, some of which are not as hardy or otherwise as valuable as others. While Abundance has passed the heyday of its popularity it is still one of the most desirable of the Triflora plums.
This variety was imported from Japan by Luther Burbank in 1884, and was introduced by John T. Lovett, Little Silver, New Jersey, under the name Abundance, in 1888. A large number of Japanese plums that have since been introduced have proved to be either identical or so nearly like the Abundance that much confusion has arisen. Abundance was first known as Botan, but that name was dropped as it refers to a group of plums in Japan rather than to a variety. Babcock, which is said to have been imported by Burbank in 1885 and named for Colonel E. F. Babcock, a nurseryman of Little Rock, Arkansas, has been described by Bailey as indistinguishable from Abundance. Botankio, described in the Georgia Horticultural Society Report for 1889, proved to be the Abundance as tested at the Cornell Experiment Station. The Chase plum, also disseminated in New York under the name Yellow Japan, was bought by the R. G. Chase Company, Geneva, New York, for the Abundance, but as it was thought to blossom and fruit later than that variety, it was distributed as a new plum; in 1897 Bailey considered it the same as Chabot, but in 1899 he stated that it and Abundance were identical. The Douglas plum is also identical. Dr. J. T. Whitaker of Tyler, Texas, imported this variety and introduced it in 1886 under the name of Hytankayo. Bailey, who tested Whitaker’s variety from trees obtained from T. V. Munson, Denison, Texas, found a yellow-fruited strain and to distinguish the purple form named the latter Munson.[202] As this name had been applied to a native plum, R. H. Price, of the Texas Experiment Station, in 1894 renamed the variety calling it Douglas.[203] There have been two types of this Douglas plum disseminated; Bailey, in 1899, found no difference between it and Abundance except that the Douglas seemed to have a little drier flesh; others testing Douglas found it to be identical with the Chabot. Burbank No. 2, imported by Luther Burbank in 1885 and introduced by him in 1889, is very similar if not identical with the Abundance. Oriole, recently introduced by the Texas Nursery Company, Sherman, Texas, is so nearly like Abundance as to be unworthy of a separate name. The American Pomological Society added Abundance to its fruit catalog list in 1897.
Tree large, vigorous, vasiform, open-topped, hardy in New York, very productive, susceptible to attacks of shot-hole fungus; branches rough, dark ash-gray, inclined to split when overloaded, with few, slightly raised lenticels; branchlets slender, short, with short internodes, red early in the season changing to dark brown, glossy, glabrous, with numerous, inconspicuous, small lenticels; leaf-buds small, short, conical, plump, free.
Leaves folded upward, narrow-obovate or oblanceolate, peach-like, one and three-eighths inches wide, three and one-quarter inches long, thin; upper surface light green, smooth, glabrous, with grooved midrib; lower surface pale green, pubescent on the midrib and larger veins; apex taper-pointed, base cuneate, margin very finely serrate, with small, brownish glands; petiole three-eighths inch long, slightly pubescent along one side, reddish, glandless or with from one to five small, globose, green or reddish glands usually on the stalk.
Blooming season early; flowers appearing with the leaves, medium in size; borne in clusters on lateral buds and spurs, in pairs or in threes; pedicels of medium length and thickness, slightly pubescent, greenish; calyx-tube green, obconic, glabrous; calyx-lobes obtuse, with ciliate margins, glabrous, erect; petals broadly oval, entire, abruptly clawed; anthers yellowish; filaments of average length; pistil glabrous, equal to the stamens in length.
Fruit early, season short; one and three-eighths inches in diameter, roundish-ovate, halves nearly equal, slightly compressed; cavity medium in depth and width, abrupt, regular; suture shallow, distinct; apex pointed; color pinkish-red changing to darker red, mottled, with thin bloom; dots numerous, of medium size, russet, conspicuous; stem one-half inch long, glabrous, parting easily from the fruit; skin thin, tough, bitterish, separating readily; flesh yellow, very juicy, tender and melting, sweet except next to the pit, pleasantly aromatic; good; stone clinging, three-quarters inch by one-half inch in size, oval, somewhat compressed, pointed, rough, ridged along the ventral suture; dorsal suture grooved.
AGEN
AGEN
Prunus domestica
1. Kraft Pom. Aust. 2:38, Tab. 189 fig. 1. 1796. 2. Lond. Hort. Soc. Cat. 143, 147, 152, 153. 1831. 3. Prince Pom. Man. 2:75, 100. 1832. 4. Poiteau Pom. Franc. 1. 1846. 5. Downing Fr. Trees Am. 309. 1845. 6. U. S. Pat. Off. Rpt. 30. 1854. 7. Thompson Gard. Ass’t 519. 1859. 8. Am. Pom. Soc. Cat. 86. 1862. 9. Oberdieck Deut. Obst. Sort. 427. 1881. 10. Hogg Fruit Man. 683. 1884. 11. Mas Le Verger 6:81, fig. 1866-73. 12. Cal. State Bd. Hort. 291. 1885-86. 13. Cat. Cong. Pom. France 343. 1887. 14. Cal. State Bd. Hort. 49, 50. 1887-88. 15. Ibid. 233, 235, 340. 1890. 16. Ibid. 96, 105, Pl. 1. 1891. 17. Guide Prat. 160, 353. 1895. 18. Oregon Sta. Bul. 45:24. 1897. 19. Cornell Sta. Bul. 131:191. 1897. 20. U. S. D. A. Div. Pom. Bul. 7:315, 316. Pl. IV, fig. 4. 1898. 21. Mich. Sta. Bul. 169:241, 242. 1899. 22. Cal. Fr. Gr. Con. 29. 1901. 23. Waugh Plum Cult. 94, 95 fig. 1901. 24. Baltet Cult. Fr. 495, fig. 331, 506, 507, fig. 336. 1908. 25. Wickson Cal. Fruits 225. 1908. 26. Cal. Fr. Grower 40:18, 19, fig. 1909.
Agen 22. Agener Kaiserzwetsche 17. Agen Date 3. Agen Datte 5, 10. Agener Pflaume 17. Agener Pflaume 9. Agen Prune 21. California 20. California 16. D’Agen 2, 10, 11, 17, 24. D’Agen 3, 5, 8, 13, 20. D’Ast 13, 17. Date 21. Datte 17. De Brignole 17. D’Ente 13, 17, 24. D’Ente d’Agen 13. Datte Violette 1, 13, 17. Die Blaue Dattelpflaume 17. Die Blaue Dattelpflaume 1. Du Roi 17. French 20. French Prune 15, 18, 23, 25. French Prune (?) 2, 12, 14, 15, 26. Lot d’Ente 18. Petite 20. Petite d’Agen 14, 20, 26. Petite Prune 18. Petite Prune 23. Petite Prune d’Agen 25. Prune d’Agen 5, 6, 7, 8, 15, 17, 19, 25. Prune d’Agen 14, 16, 18, 23. Prune de Brignole (of some) 5, 7, 17. Prune d’Ante 3. Prune d’Ast 5, 7, 10, 11. Prune d’Ente 7, 12, 18. Prunier d’Agen 3. Prunier d’Agen 6. Prune d’Ente 22. Prune du Roi 10. Robe de Sergent 3, 5, 7, 8, 11, 13, 17, 18. Robe de Sargent 10, 12. Roi d’Agen 2. Saint Maurin 2, 4. St. Maurin 5, 7, 10, 17. Saint Mauriniana 4. Violette Dattelzwetsche 17.
Agen is the plum par excellence for prune-making in France and America. Several qualities make it admirably fit for curing into prunes. To begin with, it has a high percentage of sugars and solids so that the plum cures readily into a firm, sweet, long-keeping prune which in cooking needs comparatively little sugar; again, the trees bear regularly, abundantly and the plums are uniform in size,—productiveness, regular bearing and uniformity of size of fruit being necessary attributes of a good prune-making plum; lastly, it hangs well on the tree as it ripens and afterwards so that the curing really begins on the tree. Besides making most excellent prunes, the Agen is a very good dessert plum—one of the best—and ought to be in every home orchard and, where it attains sufficient size, in every commercial plantation. Lack of size is the defect in this variety which has kept it from being more largely grown outside of prune-making regions. If by pruning, thinning and other cultural treatment the size of the plums could be increased, the Agen should prove a valuable commercial fruit in New York.
The name of this variety is derived from Agen, a region in France where it is extensively grown. Tradition says that on their return from the Crusades, the Benedictine monks brought with them from Turkey or Persia what was then known as the Date plum and planted it in the garden of their abbey on the River Lot, in the vicinity of Bordeaux, France, and that afterwards this became the Agen. Its first recorded importation into the United States was made in 1854 by the United States Patent Office, though it was described by Prince as early as 1832. The most important introduction was made, however, in 1856, when Louis Pellier of San Jose, California, introduced Agen on the Pacific Coast, where it soon became and still is the leading plum, though with curious persistency the fruit-growers there call it the “French Prune” and the “Petite Prune.” In 1862 this variety was added to the fruit catalog list of the American Pomological Society. There are many strains of Agen in America, due to the numerous importations of grafts from various parts of France, where the plum orchards are frequently grown from seedlings or from sprouts; some of these strains are worthy of varietal recognition.
Tree of medium size, upright-spreading, dense-topped, hardy, very productive; branches ash-gray, smooth, with numerous, large, raised lenticels; branchlets slender, short, with short internodes, greenish-red changing to dark brownish-drab, dull, pubescent, with small lenticels; leaf-buds of medium size and length, conical, free.
Leaves folded upward, obovate or oval, one and three-quarters inches wide, three and one-quarter inches long, velvety; upper surface with few fine hairs and a narrow, grooved midrib; lower surface pale green, thickly pubescent; apex abruptly pointed, base acute, margin doubly serrate; petiole one inch long, slender, pubescent, tinged red, with two or three small, globose, greenish-brown glands usually on the stalk.
Season of bloom intermediate in time and length; flowers appearing after the leaves, one and one-eighth inches across, white; borne on lateral spurs, singly or in pairs; pedicels five-eighths inch long, thick, glabrous except for a few short hairs, greenish; calyx-tube green, campanulate, pubescent; calyx-lobes obtuse, somewhat pubescent within, with glandular margin, reflexed; petals broadly oval or obovate, entire, tapering to short, broad claws; anthers yellowish; filaments five-sixteenths inch long; pistil glabrous, equal to the stamens in length.
Fruit late, season short; one and one-half inches by one and one-eighth inches in size, obovate, the base necked, halves equal; cavity shallow, narrow, flaring; suture very shallow, indistinct; apex roundish or flattened; color reddish or violet-purple, overspread with thin bloom; dots numerous, small, brown, obscure, clustered about the apex and interspersed between russet flecks; stem thick, seven-eighths inch long, glabrous, adhering well to the fruit; skin thin, tough; flesh greenish-yellow, tender, sweet, aromatic; very good to best; stone semi-free or free, seven-eighths inch by one-half inch in size, oval, flattened, with pitted surfaces, rather abrupt at the base and apex; ventral suture somewhat narrow, furrowed, with distinct wing; dorsal suture widely grooved.
AITKIN
Prunus nigra
1. Minn. Hort. Soc. Rpt. 426. 1896. 2. Wis. Sta. Bul. 63:24, 27, 28 fig. 11, 43. 1897. 3. Jewell Nur. Cat. 1899-1906. 4. Waugh Plum Cult. 169. 1901. 5. Can. Exp. Farm Bul. 43:29. 1903. 6. Ia. Hort. Soc. Rpt. 227. 1904.
Aitken 4. Beatty 6 incor. Itasca 1 incor.
Aitkin is very favorably mentioned in the references given above and undoubtedly has value for the Northwest. It was listed in the catalog of the American Pomological Society in 1899. The variety was found growing wild in Aitkin County, Minnesota, by D. C. Hazelton on land adjoining his farm. It seemed to possess merit and was introduced in 1896 by the Jewell Nursery Company of Lake City, Minnesota. Because of having originated near Itasca Lake, it has been confused with the Itasca plum, which preceded it by nearly ten years. The following description is a compilation:
Tree vigorous, productive, ripening its wood very early; fruit earliest in season of its group; large for its class, oval, deep red, with no bloom; skin thin, not astringent; flesh yellow, juicy, sweet and rich; good; stone large, oval, flattened, clinging.
ALHAMBRA
[Prunus triflora × Prunus cerasifera × Prunus domestica] × [(Prunus simonii × Prunus triflora) × (Prunus americana × Prunus nigra)]
1. Vt. Sta. Bul. 67:5. 1898. 2. De Vries Plant Breeding 213. 1907.
Although it is over a decade since Alhambra was offered to fruit-growers, it has made little headway in popularity and is chiefly of interest because of its breeding. It is not often that we can trace the pedigree of a plant for more than one or at the most two generations, but in Alhambra we are particularly fortunate. Luther Burbank, the originator, began by crossing Kelsey and Pissardi, and the offspring from this cross was fertilized with Agen pollen. This tri-hybrid was in turn fertilized with pollen from a complex hybrid of a cross of Prunus simonii and Prunus triflora pollinated by a cross of Prunus americana and Prunus nigra. As might be expected, the offspring of this final cross was extremely variable and from it was selected the Alhambra. The variety was named by the originator in 1898.
The fruit as described by Waugh is “egg-shaped, large or very large; cavity medium shallow, abruptly rounded; suture shallow; apex pointed; color dark, dull red; dots many, small, yellowish; bloom thin, purplish; skin firm; flesh yellow inside, reddish outside; stone medium to large, flat, pointed, nearly smooth, clinging; flavor brisk subacid; quality first rate.”
ALTHAM
Prunus domestica
1. Jour. Hort. N. S. 17:228. 1869. 2. Lange Allgem. Garten. 2:419. 1879. 3. Oberdieck Deut. Obst. Sort. 432. 1881. 4. Lauche Deut. Pom. 19, Pl. IV. 1882. 5. Hogg Fruit Man. 692. 1884. 6. Mathieu Nom. Pom. 420. 1889. 7. Gaucher Pom. Prak. Obst. 94, Pl. 1894. 8. Soc. Nat. Hort. France Pom. 550 fig. 1904. 9. Cat. Cong. Pom. France 468, fig. 1906. 10. Baltet Cult. Fr. 490, fig. 328. 1908.
Althan’s Reine Claude 6, 7. Althann’s Reine Claude 2, 3, 4, 6. Althahn’s Rote Reine-Claude 6, 7. Althann’s Reine Claude 7. Count Althann’s Gage 5. Count Althann’s Gage 6, 7. Graf Althan’s Reine-Claude 6. Graf Althann’s Reine-Claude 7. Hathen’s Red Gage 1. Reine-Claude Rouge de Hathen 1. Reine-Claude d’Althann 5, 6, 7. Reine-Claude Comte Althan 5, 6. Reine-Claude de Comte Hathem 5, 6. Reine-Claude du Comte Hathem 6, 7. Reine-Claude du Comte d’Althan 8. Reine-Claude Althan’s 5, 6, 7. Reine-Claude Comte d’Althan 6. Reine-Claude d’Althan 8. Reine-Claude d’Althan 6, 7, 10. Reine-Claude Rouge Comte Althan 6, 7. Reine-Claude Rouge du Comte Hethau 6. Reine-Claude rouge du comte Hethan 7. Reinette Claude Comte d’Althan 9. Reinette Claude d’Althan 9.
Altham is an excellent plum for dessert or home use. The color is a trifle too dull for market purposes and yet it is better colored than McLaughlin, which sells fairly well. The fruit is the type of the last named plum but is later. In Europe this variety is well known and highly esteemed for its quality, but unfortunately it is almost unknown in America. The variety is well worth trial in this country as a fine plum of the Reine Claude group. Altham is a seedling of Reine Claude, raised by Herr Prochaska, gardener to Count Michael Joseph Althann, of Swoyschitz, in Bohemia. It was noted in the English Journal of Horticulture for 1869 as a new plum sent out by Thomas Rivers.
Tree of medium size, upright-spreading, dense-topped, productive; leaf-scars prominent; leaves folded upward, obovate, two and one-quarter inches wide, nearly four inches long, very thick, leathery; margin doubly crenate, with few, small, dark glands; petiole thick, with from one to four globose, yellowish-green glands on the stalk; season of bloom intermediate, short; flowers appearing after the leaves, one inch across, yellowish at the apex of the petals; borne on lateral buds and spurs, singly or in twos.
Fruit mid-season; one and one-half inches by one and five-eighths inches in size, oblate, strongly truncate at the base, compressed; color dark purplish-red over a yellow ground, covered with thick bloom; dots russet surrounded with a dark red ring; stem adhering strongly to the pulp; flesh light golden-yellow, firm but tender, sweet, mild, pleasant; very good to best; stone semi-clinging, seven-eighths inch by five-eighths inch in size, flattened, irregular-oval, with pitted surfaces, contracted at the base into a short oblique neck; ventral suture prominent, heavily furrowed, often with distinct wing; dorsal suture wide, deep.
AMERICA
AMERICA
Prunus munsoniana × Prunus triflora
1. Burbank Cat. 3. 1898 2. Vt. Sta. Bul. 67:5. 1898, 3. Rural N. Y. 59:706. 1900. 4. Vt. Sta. An. Rpt. 14:273. 1900. 5. Mich. Sta. Bul. 205:37 1903. 6. Del. Penin. Hort. Soc. Rpt. 36. 1905. 7. Ohio Sta. Bul. 162:254, 255. 1905. 8. Ga. Sta. Bul. 68:8, 35. 1905.
America is illustrated and described in full chiefly because it is the most promising cross between Prunus munsoniana and Prunus triflora. The fruit of the variety is unusually attractive in appearance, golden-yellow with a red cheek and waxy lustre turning currant-red when ripe, ships exceptionally well and is of very good quality for cooking, but is without merit as a dessert plum. The trees are large, very vigorous, as hardy as either of its parents or possibly more so, and enormously productive. The qualities of fruit and tree are such that the variety ought to succeed in commercial plantations where any but the hardiest native plums are cultivated. America is almost phenomenally free from rot, considering its parentage.
This variety is one of Luther Burbank’s productions, grown from a seed of Robinson fertilized by pollen from Abundance. It was introduced by the originator in 1898 and has been since that time well tested at several places in the eastern states and is very generally well spoken of for a plum of its kind for the East.
Tree large, vigorous, spreading, somewhat open-topped, hardy, very productive; branches roughish and with cracked bark, slightly zigzag, dark ash-gray, with numerous, conspicuously raised lenticels; branchlets willowy, long, with short internodes, green with a reddish tinge changing to dark chestnut-red, glossy, glabrous, with numerous, small, raised lenticels; leaf-buds small, short, conical, free.
Leaves folded upward, broadly lanceolate, peach-like, one and one-half inches wide, three and one-fourth inches long, thin; upper surface reddish late in season, smooth and glossy, with deeply grooved midrib; lower surface light green, sparingly pubescent along the midrib and larger veins which are more or less red; apex taper-pointed, base abrupt, margin finely and doubly crenate and with numerous, small, dark glands; petiole one-half inch long, tinged red, pubescent along one side, glandless or with one or two small globose, reddish glands on the upper part of the stalk.
Blooming season intermediate and long; flowers appearing after the leaves, one-half inch across, white; borne in clusters on short lateral spurs and buds, in pairs or in threes; pedicels five-sixteenths inch long, slender, pubescent, green; calyx-tube greenish, obconic, glabrous; calyx-lobes obtuse, with a trace of red along the margin, glandular-serrate, glabrous, with marginal hairs, erect; petals small, roundish, entire, tapering abruptly to narrow claws; anthers yellowish; filaments three-sixteenths inch long; pistil glabrous, longer than the stamens.
Fruit early, season of medium length; one and three-eighths inches in diameter, roundish-oval, halves equal; cavity shallow, flaring; suture shallow, a distinct line; apex roundish; color clear, dark, currant-red over golden-yellow, mottled, with thin bloom; dots numerous, small, whitish, inconspicuous; stem slender, one-half inch long, glabrous, adhering to the fruit; skin thin, bitterish, separating readily from the pulp; flesh yellow, juicy, fibrous, somewhat tender, sweet, not high in flavor; fair in quality; stone clinging, seven-eighths inch by one-half inch in size, oval, pointed, with pitted surfaces, broadly ridged along the ventral suture; dorsal suture grooved.
AMERICAN
Prunus domestica
1. Oregon Sta. Bul. 61:17, 18. 1900.
American Seedling 1.
American originated with a Mr. Peterson of Elkton, Douglas County, Oregon, as a sprout from an old tree. It has never been extensively disseminated, but seems to be a variety of considerable promise. The fruit as grown on the Station grounds resembles Hand rather closely; is large for a plum of its type, is a handsome golden color, is high in quality and will probably keep and ship well. Too little is known of its tree-characters to recommend it unqualifiedly.
Tree above medium in size, vigorous, round-topped, dense, productive; branches numerous; branchlets thick, marked by grayish scarf-skin; leaves flattened, oval or obovate, two and one-quarter inches wide, four and one-half inches long, dark green; margin serrate or crenate; blooming season intermediate, short; flowers appearing after the leaves, one and three-eighths inches across, singly or in twos, fragrant.
Fruit mid-season; very large, roundish-oblate, truncate, golden-yellow, indistinctly streaked with green, mottled, covered with thin bloom; flesh light golden-yellow, tender, sweet, pleasant flavor; good to very good; stone clinging, one inch by three-quarters inch in size, broadly oval, flattened, surfaces pitted; dorsal suture wide, deep.
AMERICAN EAGLE
Prunus americana
1. Cornell Sta. Bul. 38:36. 1892. 2. Am. Pom. Soc. Cat. 37. 1899. 3. Can. Exp. Farms Rpt. 105. 1900. 4. Waugh Plum Cult. 142. 1901. 5. Can. Exp. Farm Bul. 43:28. 1903. 6. Ohio Sta. Bul. 162:254, 255. 1905.
Of the origin of this very good Americana variety little is known except that it probably came from Missouri, as it was introduced, in the fall of 1859, by the Osceola Nursery Company, Osceola, Missouri. Although an old variety it was not listed by the American Pomological Society until 1899. In regions where Americana plums are grown, American Eagle ought to be better known, its chief defect being the dull color of the fruit.
Tree vigorous, spreading; leaves large; petiole glandular. Fruit mid-season; large, varies from roundish-oval to nearly oblate, dark red, covered with thick bloom; stem short, pubescent; flesh yellow, juicy, fibrous, sweet, aromatic, with characteristic Americana flavor; of good quality; stone clinging, three-eighths inch by one-half inch in size, roundish, turgid, conspicuously winged; surface smooth.
AMES
AMES
Prunus americana × Prunus triflora
1. Vt. Sta. An. Rpt. 12:220. 1899. 2. Ia. Hort. Soc. Rpt. 112. 1899. 3. Ia. Sta. Bul. 46:261. 1900. 4. Waugh Plum Cult. 203. 1901. 5. Budd-Hansen Am. Hort. Man. 293. 1903. 6. S. Dak. Sta. Bul. 93:9. 1905. 7. Ill. Hort. Soc. Rpt. 422. 1905. 8. Rural N. Y. 65:730. 1906.
De Soto × Oregon No. 3 6. Japan Hybrid No. 3 2.
Though Ames has been known to the public scarcely ten years, its good qualities have given it relatively high rank among Americana plums with which it must be compared. Though supposed to be a cross between Prunus americana and Prunus triflora, the variety shows few, if any, traces of the Triflora parentage, except, possibly in the shape and color of the fruit. The variety is distinguished from other Americana plums by reddish dots on the fruit instead of the yellowish dots commonly found on the plums of this species. The fruit of Ames is very attractive in color, the quality is fair, it keeps and ships well and it is fairly free from rot, characters which make it desirable where the native plums are grown.
This variety was produced by Professor J. L. Budd[204] of Ames, Iowa, by crossing De Soto with pollen of a “large Japanese plum received from Oregon.” For a long while it was known as De Soto × Oregon No. 3 and as Japan Hybrid No. 3, but was named Ames by Professor John Craig, now of Cornell University.
Tree of medium size, spreading, dense-topped, hardy, productive; branches roughish, thorny, the trunk shaggy, dark ash-brown, with numerous, large, raised lenticels; branchlets willowy, thick, long, with long internodes, green changing to dark chestnut-red, glossy, glabrous, thickly strewn with conspicuous, large, raised lenticels; leaf-buds small, short, obtuse, plump, appressed.
Leaves falling early, flattened, oval, two inches wide, four inches long; upper surface dark green, glabrous, slightly rugose; lower surface light green, pubescent; apex taper-pointed, base abrupt, margin coarsely serrate, the serrations ending in hair-like tips, eglandular; petiole seven-eighths inch long, slender, pubescent, tinged red, glandless or with from one to three globose, greenish-red glands.
Blooming season medium in time and length; flowers appearing after the leaves, nearly one inch across, white; borne in clusters on lateral buds and spurs, in threes or fours; pedicels one-half inch long, slender, glabrous, greenish; calyx-tube green, campanulate, glabrous; calyx-lobes narrow, somewhat acute, reflexed, pubescent on the inner surface, the margin faintly pubescent and with a trace of red; petals small, oval, somewhat dentate, tapering below to long, narrow, slightly hairy claws; anthers yellowish; filaments five-sixteenths inch long; pistil glabrous, equal to the stamens in length, frequently defective.
Fruit mid-season, one and seven-sixteenths inches by one and five sixteenths inches in size, ovate or oval, sides compressed, halves equal; cavity shallow, narrow, flaring; suture a line; apex roundish; color light to dark red over a yellow ground, covered with thin bloom; dots numerous, small, brownish-red; stem slender, glabrous; skin medium in thickness and toughness, adhering; flesh golden-yellow, juicy, coarse, fibrous, tender and melting, semi-sweet; of fair quality; stone nearly free, one inch by five-eighths inch in size, irregular-oval, flattened and elongated at the base, abruptly pointed at the apex, very smooth; ventral suture winged and furrowed; dorsal suture acute.
APPLE
APPLE
Prunus triflora ×?
1. Burbank Cat. 2. 1898. 2. Vt. Sta. Bul. 67:6. 1898. 3. Vt. Sta. An. Rpt. 12:220. 1899. 4. Am. Gard. 21:36. 1900. 5. Waugh Plum Cult. 203. 1901. 6. Ga. Sta. Bul. 68:12, 35. 1905. 7. Mass. Sta. An. Rpt. 17:161. 1905.
The Apple is a conspicuous plum; its shape, color, size, flavor; its firm, blood-red flesh and long-keeping quality, all distinguish it. Even the tree is marked with its robust growth, flat-topped head, peculiar, light brown bark, handsome foliage and wood that can be propagated from cuttings with surprising ease. It is difficult to predict the future of this interesting plum, but probably it will remain for most part a curiosity. Its peculiar flavor is not pleasant at first taste and it is doubtful if many will learn to like it. Unpalatability is the defect of the variety which will most often be counted against it. In general the Apple is inferior for dessert or kitchen to the Satsuma, itself none too good, which it most nearly resembles of all plums. In the Station collection tree and fruit are quite susceptible to both fungus and insect pests and the fruits ripen unevenly. The fruit of the variety keeps and ships remarkably well and these qualities may be its saving grace, both so well developed as to make it valuable for breeding purposes when these characters are desired.
In his catalog for 1898 Burbank announces the Apple as a new plum and says, “Among the welcome surprises found three years ago among a lot of some twenty-five thousand plum seedlings was this one, bearing a cruel load of enormous plums when only two years old.... It was at once named Apple from the very close resemblance in form, color general appearance, and rare keeping qualities.... Its parentage is not known, except that it is a second generation seedling from cross-bred seedlings, and no doubt Satsuma and probably Robinson are in its line of ancestry.” Satsuma characters are readily detected in tree and fruit and especially its hard, red flesh, but in no way is its descent from Robinson apparent.
Tree of medium size, flat-topped, spreading, dense-topped, slow-growing, semi-hardy, productive; branches rough and thorny, with numerous fruit-spurs, dark ash-gray, reddish and with numerous lenticels; branchlets often with a rosette of flower-buds on the apex of the shoots, slender, with short internodes, greenish-red changing to dark brown, glossy, glabrous, with numerous, conspicuous, large, raised lenticels; leaf-buds small, short, obtuse, plump, appressed.
Leaves folded upward, obovate or oblanceolate, one and one-quarter inches wide, three and three-quarters inches long, thin, leathery; upper surface purplish-red late in the season, glossy, glabrous, with grooved midrib; lower surface light green, pubescent at the base of the veins; apex acutely pointed, base cuneate, margin finely and doubly crenate and with small amber glands; petiole five-eighths inch long, pubescent, red along one side, with from three to ten large, conspicuous, reniform, red or 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, in threes or fours; pedicels medium in length and thickness, glabrous; calyx-tube obconic, glabrous; calyx-lobes narrow, obtuse, glandular-ciliate, glabrous, erect; petals oval, entire, short-clawed; anthers yellowish; filaments of medium length; pistil glabrous, shorter than the stamens, often defective.
Fruit mid-season; one and one-half inches long, one and three-quarters inches wide, roundish-oblate, compressed, halves equal; cavity medium in depth and width, flaring, with concentric russet rings; suture shallow; apex depressed and at one side; color dull dark red, with waxy bloom; dots numerous, large, russet, conspicuous, clustered about the apex; stem five-eighths inch long, glabrous; skin tough, bitterish, separating from the pulp; flesh dark red, juicy, firm but tender, sweet, with pleasant mild flavor, aromatic; good; stone clinging, three-quarters inch by five-eighths inch in size, oval or obovate, turgid, pointed, roughish, winged on the ventral, deeply furrowed on the dorsal suture.
APRICOT
Prunus domestica
1. Parkinson Par. Ter. 578. 1629. 2. Rea Flora 209. 1676. 3. Quintinye Com. Gard. 67, 69. 1699. 4. Duhamel Trait. Arb. Fr. 2:93, Pl. XIII. 1768. 5. Knoop Fructologie 2:52, 53, 54. 1771. 6. Kraft Pom. Aust. 2:28, Tab. 173 fig. 1; 2:34, Tab. 183 fig. 1. 1796. 7. Prince Pom. Man. 71. 1832. 8. Kenrick Am. Orch. 255. 1832. 9. Thomas Am. Fruit Cult. 327. 1849. 10. Elliott Fr. Book 424. 1854. 11. Noisette Man. Comp. Jard. 2:498. 1860. 12. Downing Fr. Trees Am. 896, 952. 1869. 13. Mas Pom. Gen. 2:133. 1873. 14. Le Bon Jard. 338. 1882. 15. Hogg Fruit Man. 684, 1884. 16. Mathieu Nom. Pom. 421, 431, 454. 1889.
Apricocke 1. Apricock Plum 2. Abricot de France 5. Abricot Blanc 16. Abricot Blanche 5. Abricot ordinaire 5. Abricote 5. Abricote blanc 7, 12. Abricotée 4, 13. Abricotée 6, 7, 10, 12, 16. Abricotée Perdrigon 6. Abricotée Blanche 7, 12, 15, 16. Apricot Plum of Tours 7. Abricote de Tours 7. Abricotée de Tours 7, 10, 12, 13, 15, 16. Apricot Plum 8. Apricot Plum of Tours 10, 12, 16. Abricotée Blanc 12. Aprikosenartige Pflaume 13. Apricot 13. Aprikosenartige Pflaume 16. Apricot Plum 16. Aprikosen Perdrigon 16. Die Abrikosenartige Pflaume 6. Die Morillenpflaume 6. French Apricot 9. Frühe Gelbe Kaiser Pflaume 16. Gelbe Apricosenartige Pflaume 13. Gelbe Dauphins 16. Gelbe Reine-Claude 16. Gelbe Aprikosenpflaume 16. Lieflander Gelbe Pflaume 16. Morillen Pflaume 16. Old Apricot 12, 13, 15, 16. Prune-Abricot 11. Prune Abricotée 14. Prune Abricotée Blanche 11. Prune Abricotée de Tours 8. Prune Abricote 8. Prune d’Abricot Ordinaire 5. Prune d’Abricot Blanch 5. Prune d’Abricot bigarree 5. Prune d’Abricot de France 5. Prune d’Abricot 16. Red Apricot 10 incor. Reine-Claudenartige Aprikosen Pflaume 16. Susina Massina Piccola 16. The New Apricot Plum 16. Virginale 5. White Apricot Plum 7, 12. Wahre Aprikosen Pflaume 16. White apricot 12, 16. Weisse Aprikosen Pflaume 16. Yellow Apricot 10, 12, 13, 15, 16.
Since John Parkinson described the “Apricocke” plum in 1629, several types of this variety have appeared in literature and these have become so badly confused that it is impossible to separate them. However, as the variety is nearly extinct, and will probably never be revived, this confusion is happily of historic rather than of economic interest. Nearly all writers recognize at least two types, one of which is superior to the other. The better of these can readily be identified as the “Abricotée” of Duhamel, and should be considered the true Apricot. Little is known of the early history of this variety other than that it was very generally distributed throughout Europe early in the Seventeenth Century. The American Pomological Society rejected Apricot in 1858, though it is doubtful if they had the true type. This variety is not to be confused with the Prunus simonii, commonly called “Apricot,” or the native plum of that name.
The following description is compiled: tree large, vigorous, productive; fruit mid-season; large, roundish or slightly elongated, with prominent suture, yellow, blushed with red, overspread with thin bloom; flesh yellow, sweet, pleasant, slightly musky; good; stone small, free.
ARCH DUKE
ARCH DUKE
Prunus domestica
1. Hogg Fruit Man. 684. 1884. 2. Ont. Fr. Gr. Assoc. Rpt. 35. 1891. 3. U. S. D. A. Pom. Rpt. 45. 1895. 4. W. N. Y. Hort. Soc. Rpt. 42:83. 1897. 5. Cornell Sta. Bul. 131:182. 1897. 6. Mich. Sta. Bul. 169:241, 242. 1899. 7. Ibid. 187:77, 78. 1901. 8. Waugh Plum Cult. 95. 1901. 9. Thompson Gard. Ass’t 4:156 1901. 10. Ohio Sta. Bul. 162:242, 243 fig., 254, 255. 1905.
Late Diamond 1.
Arch Duke ought to become one of the leading plums for the market in New York. The qualities which fit it for a high place among commercial varieties are: large size, handsome color—a rich, dark purple with thick bloom—and firmness of flesh and skin so that it both keeps and ships well. The accompanying color-plate does not do the variety justice, either in beauty, color or size of fruit. Arch Duke compared with Grand Duke, known by all plum-growers, is nearly as large, neck thicker, the same color, bloom heavier, quality higher, flesh firmer, stone free and ripens earlier. The tree-characters, like the fruit-characters, are all good. While this variety is suitable for both home and market use it appears after a thorough test in many parts of the State for nearly twenty years to be especially well adapted for a market fruit.
Arch Duke was raised by Thomas Rivers, Sawbridgeworth, England, from seed of De Montfort, and was sent out in 1883. It was first noted in America by the Ontario Fruit Growers’ Association in 1891 and was imported into the United States by S. D. Willard[205] of Geneva, New York, about 1892.
Tree of medium size, upright-spreading, hardy in New York except in exposed locations, very productive; branches smooth, dark ash-gray, with small, raised lenticels; branchlets of medium thickness and length, with long internodes, greenish-red changing to brownish-red, glossy, covered thinly with bloom and with sparse pubescence; lenticels numerous, very small, obscure; leaf-buds large, long, pointed, free; leaf-scars swollen.
Leaves folded upward, oval or obovate, one and five-eighths inches wide, three and five-eighths inches long, thickish, stiff; upper surface dark green, glossy, glabrous, with grooved midrib; lower surface silvery-green, sparingly pubescent; apex and base acute, margin doubly serrate, with small, dark glands; petiole three-quarters inch long, pubescent along one side, tinged red, usually with two large, globose, greenish-yellow glands on the stalk or on the base of the leaf.
Blooming season intermediate in time and length; flowers appearing after the leaves, one and one-eighth inches across, in the bud creamy-yellow changing to white when expanded; borne in scattering clusters on lateral buds and spurs, singly or in pairs; pedicels nine-sixteenths inch long, glabrous, green; calyx-tube greenish, campanulate, glabrous; calyx-lobes obtuse, pubescent on both surfaces, glandular-serrate and with marginal hairs, slightly reflexed; petals obovate or oval, crenate, with short, broad claws; anthers yellowish, with a trace of pink; filaments five-sixteenths inch long; pistil glabrous, equal to the stamens in length.
Fruit late, season very short; one and three-quarters inches by one and three-eighths inches in size, long-oval, slightly compressed and necked; cavity shallow, narrow, compressed, abrupt; suture shallow and rather broad, prominent; apex elongated; color reddish-purple changing to dark blue at full maturity, overspread with thick bloom; dots numerous, small, brownish-russet, inconspicuous; stem often inserted at one side of the base, five-eighths inch long, glabrous, adhering well to the fruit; skin tough, adhering; flesh deep golden-yellow often a little reddish, juicy, coarse, firm, but somewhat tender, sweet, pleasant and sprightly; good; stone free, the cavity larger than the pit, one and one-eighth inches by five-eighths inch in size, long-oval, necked, abruptly tipped at the apex, often reddish, rough; ventral suture broad, blunt, slightly furrowed; dorsal suture with an indistinct shallow groove.
ARCTIC
ARCTIC
Prunus domestica