1. Downing Fr. Trees Am. 3d App. 182. 1881. 2. Am. Pom. Soc. Cat. 38. 1881. 3. Country Gent. 49:106. 1884. 4. Am. Pom. Soc. Rpt. 96. 1887. 5. Mich. Pom. Soc. Rpt. 289, 290. 1889. 6. Gard. & For. 6:526. 1892. 7. Can. Hort. 16:301. 1893. 8. Mich. Sta. Bul. 103:35. 1894. 9. Ont. Fr. Exp. Sta. Rpt. 120. 1896. 10. Cornell Sta. Bul. 131:189. 1897. 11. Ohio Sta. Bul. 113:160. 1899. 12. Mich. Sta. Bul. 169:241, 242. 1899. 13. Can. Exp. Farm Bul. 43:33. 1903. 14. Budd-Hansen Am. Hort. Man. 304. 1903. 15. Ga. Sta. Bul. 67:278. 1904. 16. Ohio Sta. Bul. 162:256, 257. 1905.
Moore Arctic 8, 15. Moore’s Arctic 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 16. Moore’s Arctic, 13, 14.
Arctic is very generally supposed to be preeminent in two qualities, hardiness and productiveness. On the grounds of this Station it is both hardy and productive and from its behavior here it might well be recommended for these qualities, but as to its hardiness elsewhere pomologists do not agree. In the references given above, Downing says it is the hardiest plum known; in Michigan it is reported very tender in the nursery row; a Canadian writer says it is not hardy enough for Canada; and it is reputed in the prairie states to be not hardier than Lombard. The place of its origin, where few plums are grown, and the fact that it is one of but few that can be grown in parts of Canada and New Brunswick establish the claim that it is one of the hardiest of the Domesticas, possibly not more so, however, than Lombard, Voronesh and a few others. The small size and mediocre quality of the fruit and the dwarfish trees should rule Arctic out where less hardy varieties can be grown.
This variety was first noted in 1881 by Downing who says it originated on the grounds of A. T. Moore, Ashland, Maine, about forty miles north of Bangor. The parentage of Arctic is unknown. According to the originator, it was grown from a seed of a medium sized blue plum bought at a fruit-stand in Boston. In 1881 Arctic was added to the American Pomological Society catalog, where it still remains.
Tree small, of medium vigor, upright-spreading, very hardy, productive, an early bearer, subject to attacks of fungi; branches somewhat rough, dark ash-gray, with small lenticels; branchlets strongly inclined to develop spurs and blossom-buds, short, slender, with short internodes, greenish-red changing to dark brownish-drab, dull, sparingly pubescent, with inconspicuous, raised lenticels; leaf-buds short, obtuse, appressed.
Leaves obovate or oval, two inches wide, three and three-eighths inches long; upper surface dark green, covered with numerous hairs, the midrib grooved; lower surface silvery-green, pubescent; apex abruptly pointed or acute, base acute, margin finely serrate, with small, black glands; petiole five-eighths inch long, tinged red, pubescent, with from one to four globose, green glands usually at the base of the leaf.
Blooming season of medium length; flowers appearing after the leaves, one and three-sixteenths inches across, in the bud creamy-yellow changing to white as the petals expand; borne in clusters on lateral buds and spurs, singly or in pairs; pedicels five-eighths inch long, pubescent, greenish; calyx-tube green, campanulate, pubescent; calyx-lobes narrow, obtuse, pubescent on both surfaces, serrate, with ciliate margins, reflexed; petals narrow-obovate or oval, crenate, short-clawed; anthers yellowish; filaments one-half inch long; pistil pubescent at the base, shorter than the stamens.
Fruit mid-season, ripening period long; one and three-eighths inches by one and one-quarter inches in size, oval or ovate, slightly swollen on the suture side, compressed, halves equal; cavity very shallow and narrow, abrupt; suture shallow, indistinct; apex roundish; color dark purple becoming purplish-black at full maturity, covered with thick bloom; dots numerous, small, russet, inconspicuous, clustered about the apex; stem slender, seven-eighths inch long, pubescent, adhering to the fruit; skin of medium thickness and toughness, separating readily; flesh light yellow, juicy, coarse and fibrous, somewhat firm but tender, sweetish, mild; fair in quality; stone nearly free, characteristically small, seven-eighths inch by one-half inch in size, oval, flattened at the apex, acute at the base, rough and pitted; ventral suture ridged, faintly winged; dorsal suture broadly and shallowly grooved.
ARKANSAS
ARKANSAS
Prunus munsoniana
1. Am. Pom. Soc. Rpt. 162. 1881. 2. Cornell Sta. Bul. 38:60, 86. 1892. 3. Tex. Sta. Bul. 32:478. 1894. 4. Wis. Sta. Bul. 63:27. 1897. 5. Waugh Plum Cult. 192, 194 fig. 1901. 6. Budd-Hansen Am. Hort. Man. 293. 1903. 7. Ia. Hort. Soc. Rpt. 488. 1904.
Arkansas Lombard 1, 2, 3, 4, 7. Arkansas Lombard 5, 6.
Arkansas, as the synonymy shows, originally, and even now, usually has Lombard as a suffix, but the name is misleading as the plum is in no wise like a Lombard and following the rules of the American Pomological Society it has been dropped in The Plums of New York. On the grounds of this Station, Arkansas is one of the most valuable plums of its species, being unusually attractive in size, color and shape and one of the best in quality of its kind. Its chief fault is a lack of robustness in the tree. While it would not prove profitable as a market plum in New York, it could be well planted in a commercial orchard in regions where native plums must be grown, and in New York it would at least add a pleasing variety to any collection of plums. This variety was brought to notice by T. V. Munson in 1881. It originated in Arkansas and was introduced by J. D. Morrow & Sons of that state.
Tree small, flattened, spreading, dense-topped, symmetrical, hardy, productive, somewhat subject to shot-hole fungus; trunk shaggy; branches rough, zigzag, sparingly thorny, dark ash-gray, with numerous lenticels; branchlets slender, with very short internodes, greenish-red changing to reddish-brown, glossy, glabrous, with few, conspicuous, raised lenticels; leaf-buds small, short, obtuse, free.
Leaves folded upward, lanceolate, peach-like, one and one-quarter inches wide, three and one-half inches long, thin; upper surface light green, smooth, glabrous, with grooved midrib; lower surface pale green, sparingly pubescent along the midrib and larger veins; apex taper-pointed, base acute, margin finely serrate, with light brown glands; petiole one-half inch long, slender, pubescent on one side, dull red, with from one to six small, globose, yellow or brownish-red glands.
Blooming season late and long; flowers appearing after the leaves, five-eighths inch across, in the buds creamy-yellow changing to white as they unfold; with a strong disagreeable odor; borne in very dense 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 short, sparingly pubescent on the inner surface, glandular-serrate, faintly hairy and with a trace of red on the margin, erect; petals obovate, crenate, with narrow claws, somewhat hairy at the base; anthers yellowish; filaments nearly one-quarter inch in length; pistil glabrous, slightly shorter than the stamens.
Fruit early, season very long; one inch by seven-eighths inch in size, roundish-ovate, halves slightly unequal; cavity shallow, flaring, regular; suture an indistinct line; apex roundish or pointed; color bright currant-red, with thin bloom; dots smallish, white, conspicuous, clustered about the apex; stem very slender, five-eighths inch long, glabrous, not adhering to the fruit; skin thin, tough, bitter, separating readily; flesh orange-yellow, juicy, fibrous, somewhat tender and melting, sweet at the skin but sour at the center, aromatic; good; stone clinging, three-quarters inch by one-half inch in size, oval, flattened and prolonged at the base, sharp-tipped at the apex; ventral suture acute, faintly ridged; dorsal suture acute.
AUTUMN COMPOTE
AUTUMN COMPOTE
Prunus domestica
1. McIntosh Bk. Gard. 2:533. 1855. 2. Gard. Chron. 26:364. 1866. 3. Hogg Fruit Man. 351. 1866. 4. Downing Fr. Trees Am. 897. 1869. 5. Mas Le Verger 6:71, fig. 36. 1866-73. 6. Hogg Fruit Man. 685. 1884. 7. Thompson Gard. Ass’t 4:156. 1901.
Autumn Compote 5. Compote d’Automne 5.
This plum is well and favorably known in England, but it is scarcely grown in America, though it has much in the character of its fruit at least to recommend it. The plums are attractive in appearance and while not of the highest flavor are yet far above the average in the qualities which make a good dessert fruit, while for culinary purposes it ranks among the best. The trees are productive, hardy and fairly vigorous and may be especially noted as holding their crop well. Autumn Compote is a seedling of Cooper, raised by Thomas Rivers, Sawbridgeworth, England, about 1840.
Tree of medium size and vigor, spreading, rather low and open-topped, hardy, very productive; branches smooth, dark brownish-gray, with lenticels intermediate in number and size; branchlets few, slender, very short, with long internodes, greenish-red changing to dark brownish-red, dull, sparingly pubescent early in the season, becoming heavily pubescent later, with few, inconspicuous, small lenticels; leaf-buds long, pointed, free.
Leaves drooping, folded backward, long-oval or obovate, two and one-eighth inches wide, four and one-fourth inches long, thick; upper surface dark green, smooth, hairy, with deeply grooved midrib; lower surface pale green, pubescent; apex acute, base tapering, margin crenate, eglandular; petiole thick, one-half inch long, tinged red, glandless or with from one to four globose, greenish-yellow, large glands usually on the stalk.
Season of bloom medium, short; flowers appearing after the leaves, one and one-quarter inches across, in the buds creamy-yellow changing to white as the flowers open; borne in clusters on short lateral spurs, singly or in pairs; pedicels nearly one-half inch long, glabrous, green; calyx-tube greenish, campanulate, glabrous; calyx-lobes broad, obtuse, glandular-serrate, sparingly pubescent on both surfaces, reflexed; petals oval, narrowly dentate, with very short and broad claws; anthers yellowish; filaments nearly seven-sixteenths inch long; pistil glabrous, longer than the stamens.
Fruit late, ripening period of medium length; one and five-eighths inches by one and three-eighths inches in size, oval or slightly ovate, halves unequal; cavity shallow, narrow, abrupt; suture shallow, a distinct line; apex roundish or slightly pointed; color purplish-red over a yellow ground, covered with bloom of medium thickness; dots numerous, small, light russet, conspicuous; stem glabrous, adhering to the fruit; skin thin, tender, separating readily; flesh golden-yellow, dry, firm but tender, sweet, not high in flavor; fair in quality; stone clinging but not tenaciously, one inch by five-eighths inch in size, irregularly and broadly ovate, flattened, roughish, slightly compressed and necked at the base, blunt or acute at the apex; ventral suture narrow, winged, strongly furrowed; dorsal suture acute or faintly furrowed.
BARTLETT
Prunus triflora × Prunus simonii
1. Cal. State Bd. Hort. 53. 1897. 2. Vt. Sta. Bul. 67:7. 1898. 3. Burbank Cat. 1899. 4. Can. Hort. 25:411. 1902. 5. Ga. Sta. Bul. 68:6. 1905. 6. De Vries Plant Breeding 226. 1907.
Bartlett was grown by Burbank from a cross of Prunus simonii with Delaware, the latter one of his earliest hybrids. The originator disposed of the variety in 1899 and it immediately became popular with nurserymen and was soon offered for sale in all parts of the United States. Fruit-growers have not received it so well, however, and most of those who have tried it have discarded it or hold the variety as a curiosity. The fruit is attractive in appearance and the Bartlett pear flavor is agreeable, but the skin cracks badly in this State and the flesh is too soft for shipping. The tree with its stiff, upright branches resembles a Lombardy poplar and with its bright, glossy green foliage is an attractive ornamental. It is still further peculiar in bearing thick clusters of flowers at the ends of lateral spurs.
Tree lacking in size and vigor, upright, open-topped, not very hardy, productive; branches rough, with numerous fruit-spurs; branchlets slender, short, glabrous throughout the season; leaf-buds plump; leaves folded upward, oblanceolate, one and one-half inches wide, three and one-quarter inches long, thin; margin finely serrate, in two series, eglandular or with small, dark glands; petiole slender, with from one to four small glands; blooming season early, long; flowers appearing before the leaves.
Fruit very early; one and three-eighths inches by one and one-quarter inches in size, long-cordate to slightly oval, dark purplish-red over yellow, covered with thick bloom; skin tender, bitter; flesh yellow, not very juicy, tender, sweet, with a peculiar but pleasant flavor; of good quality; stone clinging, seven-eighths inch by one-half inch in size, elongated-ovate, narrow, blunt at the base, long drawn out at the apex, the surfaces rough.
BASSETT
Prunus maritima
1. Gard. Mon. 17:335. 1875. 2. Cornell Sta. Bul. 38:75. 1892. 3. Bailey Ev. Nat. Fruits 214. 1898. 4. Waugh Plum Cult. 229. 1901. 5. Ohio Sta. Bul. 162:254, 255. 1905. 6. S. Dak. Sta. Bul. 93:10. 1905.
Bassett’s American 2, 3. Bassett’s American 4.
Bassett, the best known of the few cultivated varieties of Prunus maritima, was found growing wild in New Jersey and was turned over to a nurseryman, Wm. F. Bassett of Hamilton, New Jersey, who introduced it in 1872. After its introduction it became somewhat popular in the West, gaining quite a reputation as being “curculio proof,” However, its marked inferiority to varieties of other species, in both size and quality, has now banished it from all commercial plantings. The following description is compiled.
Tree vigorous, spreading. Fruit late mid-season; very small, roundish, dull red, covered with thin bloom; skin thick, tough; flesh greenish-yellow; quality poor; stone of medium size, roundish, smooth, free.
BAVAY
BAVAY
Prunus domestica
1. Gard. Chron. 6:65. 1846. 2. Mag. Hort. 12:340. 1846. 3. Horticulturist 1:527. 1846. 4. Lee Gen. Farmer 10:241. 1849. 5. Thomas Am. Fruit Cult. 328. 1849. 6. Elliott Fr. Book 423. 1854. 7. Am. Pom. Soc. Cat. 210. 1856. 8. Downing Fr. Trees Am. 370. fig. 1857. 9. U. S. D. A. Rpt. 190, Pl. XII. 1865. 10. Hogg Fruit Man. 379. 1866. 11. Downing Fr. Trees Am. 897. 1869. 12. Pom. France 7: No. 6. 1871. 13. Mas Le Verger 6:93, fig. 47. 1866. 14. Oberdieck Deut. Obst. Sort. 437. 1881. 15. Cat. Cong. Pom. France 363. 1887. 16. Rev. Hort. 515. 1888. 17. Mathieu Nom. Pom. 422. 1889. 18. Mich. Sta. Bul. 129:32, 33. 1896. 19. Cornell Sta. Bul. 131:191. 1897. 20. Mich. Sta. Bul. 169:241, 242. 1899. 21. Waugh Plum Cult. 96. 1901. 22. Va. Sta. Bul. 134:40. 1902. 23. Ohio Sta. Bul. 162:241. 1905.
Bavay’s Green Gage 17, 21. Bavay’s Green Gage 11. Bavay’s renkloie 12. Bavay’s Reine Claude 17. Bavays Reine-Claude 13. De Bavay 15. Monstreuse de Bavay 15. Monstrueuse de Bavay 10, 11, 12, 17. Prune de Bavay 12, 17. Queen Claude of Bavay 6. Reine Claude 21, 23. Reine-Claude de Bavay 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 15, 16, 19. Reine-Claude de Bavay 6, 11, 13, 17, 18, 21. Reine-Claude Monstreuse de Bavey 1. Reine-Claude Monot 17. Reine-Claude von Bavays 14. St. Claire 10. Saint Clair 11, 17. Sainte-Claire 17. Saint-Claire 12.
Bavay is one of the best of the green plums—a worthy rival in all respects and in some superior to its parent Reine Claude. It is unexcelled as a dessert plum and its delicious flavor is retained in cooking, making the somewhat rare combination of a first rate dessert and a first rate culinary fruit. Bavay is not only satisfactory in the qualities which make it desirable to the consumer but it is a good market plum for it both keeps and ships well. The flavor is not quite equal to that of Reine Claude, one of the best of all plums in quality, but in tree-characters the Bavay surpasses the older variety. The trees bear young, annually and heavily, sometimes too heavily, and while not as hardy, as large, as robust or as long-lived as could be wished, yet in these respects they are superior to those of most of the varieties of Reine Claude plums. Some horticulturists recommend that the Bavay be top-worked on a more vigorous, hardy and longer-lived stock but the behavior of trees so treated in this vicinity makes top-working a very doubtful expedient. Lombard is usually recommended as a stock upon which to work it. Bavay is indispensable in home orchards and can be recommended for much more general planting in commercial orchards.
This variety is a seedling of Reine Claude produced by Major Esperin of Malines, Belgium, about 1832, and dedicated by him in 1843, to M. De Bavay, Director of the Royal Nurseries, at Vilvordes, near Brussels. Though this variety is distinct from its parent in tree-characters, in having a later season, smaller fruit and a different flavor, the two plums have become confused by many nurserymen and horticulturists. In 1856, the American Pomological Society placed Bavay on its fruit catalog list where it still remains.
Tree of medium size and vigor, upright-spreading, open-topped, hardy, very productive, somewhat susceptible to sunscald; branches smooth except for the few, large, raised lenticels, light ash-gray; branchlets medium in thickness and length, with internodes of variable length, dull brownish-red, pubescent, with numerous, inconspicuous, small lenticels; leaf-buds large, long, pointed, appressed.
Leaves folded backward, oval, or slightly obovate, wide, long, thick; upper surface nearly smooth, covered sparsely with hairs; lower surface thickly pubescent, especially along the midrib and larger veins; apex acute; margin crenate, glandless; petiole thick, long, tinged lightly with red, glandless or with from one to three globose, greenish-yellow glands on the stalk or base of the leaf.
Blooming season intermediate in time and length; flowers appearing after the leaves, one and one-eighth inches across, whitish or creamy at the apex of the petals; borne on lateral buds and spurs, singly or in pairs; pedicels three-eighths inch long, pubescent, green; calyx-tube greenish, obconic, pubescent at the base; calyx-lobes rather broad, obtuse, pubescent on both surfaces, glandular-serrate, reflexed; petals broadly obovate, crenate, tapering below to short, broad claws; anthers yellowish; filaments three-eighths inch long; pistil pubescent on the ovary, longer than the stamens.
Fruit late, season long; of medium size, roundish-oval, halves equal; cavity intermediate in depth and width, abrupt; suture a line; apex roundish; color greenish-yellow changing to dark straw-yellow, obscurely streaked and splashed, covered with thin bloom; dots numerous, small, grayish, obscure, clustered about the apex; stem thick, short, pubescent, adhering well to the fruit; skin rather tough, separating readily; flesh rich golden-yellow, juicy, slightly fibrous, tender, sweet, pleasant flavor; very good; stone free, seven-eighths inch by five-eighths inch in size, oval, slightly necked, blunt at the apex, with pitted surfaces; ventral suture winged, deeply furrowed; dorsal suture widely and deeply grooved.
BEJONNIERES
Prunus insititia
1. Downing Fr. Trees Am. 898. 1869. 2. Cat. Cong. Pom. France 472. 1887. 3. Ibid. 453. 1906.
Des Béjonnières 2, 3. Prune des Béjonnières 1.
This variety is so highly prized in France that it is here recommended for trial even though the trees as they grow in this part of New York have not been productive. It is too small for a dessert plum but might become of value here if used as in France for tarts, spices, preserves and drying. The plum originated about 1827 in the nursery of Andre Leroy, Béjonnieres, Angers, France.
Tree medium in size and vigor, upright-spreading, unproductive; leaf-scars swollen; leaves oval, medium in width and length; margin with small dark glands, finely serrate; petiole with none or from one to six glands, usually on the stalk; flowers appearing after the leaves, tinged creamy-white as they open; borne on lateral buds and spurs, in pairs or in threes.
Fruit late, season of medium length; one and three-eighths inches by one and one-quarter inches in size, obovate, a little necked, yellow, blotched with red on the exposed cheek, covered with thin bloom; stem long; apex strongly depressed; flesh pale yellow, firm but tender, sweet, aromatic; very good; stone semi-clinging, three-quarters inch by one-half inch in size, oval.
BELGIAN PURPLE
Prunus domestica
1. Downing Fr. Trees Am. 373. 1857, 2. Hogg Fruit Man. 351. 1866. 3. Pom. France 7: No. 27. 1871. 4. Mas Le Verger 6:105. 1866-73. 5. Am. Pom. Soc. Cat. 36. 1877. 6. Cat. Cong. Pom. France 340. 1887. 7. Guide Prat. 153, 352. 1895.
Bleue de Perk 4. Bleue de Bergues 3, 7. Bleue de Belgique 1, 7. Bleu de Perque 1. Blaue von Belgien 4, 7. Bleu de Bergues 6. Bleu de Peck 6. Belgian Purple 4, 6, 7. Bleue de Belgique 7. Belgische Damascene 7. Bleue de Perck 7. Bleu de Belgique 6. Fertheringham 3 incor. Prune Bleue de Belgique 3.
Belgian Purple is a medium grade plum of little value for dessert but rather highly esteemed for culinary purposes, especially in Europe. It probably has but a small place in American pomology. Concerning the origin of the variety, nothing is known although it is generally believed to have originated in Belgium prior to 1850.
Tree large, vigorous, round and dense-topped, not always hardy, very productive; branchlets numerous, thick, pubescent throughout the season; leaf-scars prominent; leaves flattened or folded upward, oval, one and five-eighths inches wide, three and one-half inches long; margin serrate or crenate; petiole five-eighths inch long, glandless or with from one to two small glands usually at the base of the leaf; flowers nearly one inch across, white, with a peculiar greenish and creamy tinge near the apex of the petals and often splashed with pink towards the base; borne on lateral buds and spurs; calyx-tube thickly pubescent.
Fruit mid-season; medium to below in size, roundish-oval, purplish-black, overspread with thick bloom; flesh rich, golden-yellow, medium juicy, firm, sweet, mild; fair to good; stone nearly free, of medium size, oval, flattened, often with a distinct wing.
BELLE
BELLE
Prunus domestica
1. Horticulturist 10:71. 1855. 2. Downing Fr. Trees Am. 394. 1857. 3. Flor. & Pom. 144, Pl. 1863. 4. Hogg Fruit Man. 351, 384. 1866. 5. Mas Le Verger 6:27, fig. 14. 1866-73. 6. Le Bon Jard. 341. 1882. 7. Barry Fr. Garden 410. 1883. 8. Decaisne & Naudin Man. Am. des Jard. 4:382. 9. Mathieu Nom. Pom. 449, 451. 1889. 10. Garden 50:295. 1896. 11. Rivers Cat. 33. 1898. 12. Fish Hardy-Fr. Bk. 2:55. 13. Thompson Gard. Ass’t 4:156. 1901. 14. Waugh Plum Cult. 96. 1901.
Autumn Beauty 11. Autumn Beauty 9. Belle de Septembre 9, 11, 14. Belle de Septembre 1, 3, 4, 7, 10, 12, 13. Gros Rouge de Septembre 3, 4, 9. Lawrence Early 9. Regina nova 6. Reine-Claude Rouge 9. Reine-Claude Rouge de Septembre 5, 9. Reine-Claude Rouge of September 2. Reine-Claude Rouge de Van Mons 5, 6, 8. Reine-Claude Rouge de Van Mons 9. Reine-Claude Rouge Van Mons 4, 9. Reine Nova (Berre) 9. Reina Nova 2, 3, 4, 9. Rote Claude 9. Reine Nova 9. Schöne September Königspflaume 9. Van Mons Königspflaume 9. Van Mons Königspflaume 5. Van Mons Red 9. Van Mons’ Red 4. Van Mons Red Gage 5, 9.
Belle is an unusually large, handsome plum but unfortunately is not of very high quality. It is much like Pond but is brighter red, a little smaller, less necked, the stem is shorter, the apex more blunt and it is more of a clingstone. European authorities say that Belle is second to none for culinary purposes and its handsome appearance gives it value across the seas as a dessert plum. As Belle grows on the grounds of this Station—it seems not to be found elsewhere in New York—the tree-characters are quite above those in the average variety of plums and when considered with the fine, late fruits, indicate that the variety might be grown with profit for market purposes. It well deserves to be tried by commercial plum-growers.
Belle came from Brussels, Belgium, and was propagated by the famous horticulturist, Van Mons. Nothing further is known of its origin.
Tree above medium in size, vigorous, upright, open-topped, hardy, productive; branches smooth, dull dark ash-gray, with small, numerous, raised lenticels; branchlets thick, with short internodes, green changing to brownish-red, often marked with scarf-skin, dull, very pubescent early in the season becoming less pubescent as maturity advances, with numerous, small lenticels; leaf-buds of medium size and length, conical, free.
Leaves flattened or folded upward, obovate, one and seven-eighths inches wide, four and one-half inches long, thick, leathery; upper surface dark green, with deeply grooved midrib, sparingly hairy; lower surface silvery-green, pubescent; apex acute, base cuneate, margin shallowly but broadly crenate, with few small dark glands; petiole one and one-eighth inches long, thick, pubescent, tinged with light red, glandless or with one or two small, globose, yellowish glands on the stalk or base of the leaf.
Blooming season late and long; flowers appearing after the leaves, one and one-eighth inches across, the buds cream-tipped changing to white on expanding; borne on lateral buds and spurs, usually singly; pedicels about seven-sixteenths inch long, thick, pubescent, green; calyx-tube greenish, campanulate, glabrous except towards the base; calyx-lobes above medium in width, obtuse, slightly pubescent on both surfaces, glandular-serrate, erect; petals broadly ovate, crenate, with short, broad claws; anthers yellowish; filaments five-sixteenths inch long; pistil glabrous, equal to the stamens in length.
Fruit late, season of medium length; one and seven-eighths inches by one and three-quarters inches in size, roundish-oval, slightly compressed, halves nearly equal; cavity shallow, flaring; suture shallow, rather wide, prominent; apex roundish or depressed; color light purplish-red over a greenish-yellow ground, overspread with thin bloom; dots numerous, small, russet, inconspicuous; stem one-half inch long, thickly pubescent, adhering strongly to the fruit, with fleshy ring about the base; skin of average thickness and toughness, sour, separating from the pulp; flesh pale yellow, juicy, coarse, firm, sweet at the skin, but tart at the center, pleasant, aromatic; good; stone clinging, one and three-sixteenths inches by three-quarters inch in size, oval, turgid, blunt at the apex, with rough and pitted surfaces; ventral suture winged, with few but prominent ridges; dorsal suture widely and deeply grooved.
BERCKMANS
Prunus triflora
1. Ga. Hort. Soc. Rpt. 53, 99. 1889. 2. Cornell Sta. Bul. 62:20. 1894. 3. Ga. Hort. Soc. Rpt. 95. 1895. 4. Cornell Sta. Bul. 106:43, 44. 1896. 5. Rural N. Y. 56:614. 1897. 6. Am. Pom. Soc. Rpt. 26. 1897. 7. Cornell Sta. Bul. 175:138, 143. 1899. 8. Rural N. Y. 62:582. 1903. 9. Ga. Sta. Bul. 68:9, 28. 1905.
Botan of some 2, 4. Botan White 6. Sweet Botan 1. Sweet Botan 2, 3, 4. True Sweet Botan 2, 4, 9. White-fleshed Botan 1. White-fleshed Botan 2, 4, 8, 9.
This variety was introduced by Luther Burbank in 1887 from imported stock. P. J. Berckmans[206] of Augusta, Georgia, who had secured some Botan trees from Burbank, noted that this plum differed from the rest and, in order to distinguish it, named it Sweet Botan. The nomenclature of Botan was confused and indefinite and Bailey, in 1894, renamed the new plum Berckmans. As it is very similar to Abundance, still more confusion has arisen in regard to it. Compared with Abundance, Berckmans is more spreading in growth; fruit less pointed, with dryer and more insipid flesh; color brighter red and the stone usually freer; but it is neither as productive nor as free from rot. In 1897 the American Pomological Society placed the variety on its fruit list. As Berckmans is inferior to Abundance and ripens at the same season, it is not worth recommending for general planting. It is to be regretted that so distinguished a horticulturist as Mr. Berckmans is not to have his name perpetuated in a better plum than the one named in his honor.
BERGER
Prunus triflora
1. Cornell Sta. Bul. 62:20, 21 fig., 31. 1894. 2. Ibid, 106:45, 62, 67. 1896. 3. Ibid, 139:46. 1897. 4. Ibid, 175:132, 133 fig. 26. 1899. 5. Texas Sta. Bul. 32:486 fig. 7, 490, 492. 1899. 6. W. N. Y. Hort. Soc. Rpt. 92. 1899. 7. Ohio Sta. Bul. 162:248 fig., 254, 255. 1905.
Honsmomo 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Red Nagate 1, 2 incor. Satsuma 1, 2 incor. Shiro Smomo 1, 2, 5. Strawberry 1, 3, 6. Strawberry 2, 4. Uchi Bene 6. Uchi-Beni 1, 2, 5. Uchi-Beni 3, 4. Ura-Beni 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.
At first sight Berger is a wholly insignificant plum, being no larger than a sweet cherry; but the variety is so distinct in several characters that every collection should have a tree or two of it and the plum-breeder will find it most interesting and valuable. Its peculiarities are: A flavor quite distinct from that of any other Triflora plum; its cherry-like appearance; early ripening, maturing in this State shortly after the middle of July; its pronounced upright habit of growth; its light green foliage; and its habit of bearing its fruit close to the old wood. In common with many other Japanese varieties, the nomenclature of Berger is badly confused. According to Bailey, who received specimens of this variety from various sections of the country, H. H. Berger & Company of San Francisco sent out this plum under several names. Berckmans of Georgia received it as Red Nagate; N. S. Platt of Connecticut as Satsuma; to another person in the South it came as Shiro Smomo, while T. V. Munson of Texas grew it under the name of Berger, a term finally adopted by Bailey. In the meanwhile, Stark Brothers of Louisiana, Missouri, introduced a plum very similar to this under the name Strawberry but the variety was dropped by them in 1893. Whether or not this “Strawberry” or “Uchi-Beni,” as it was sometimes called, was really the Berger it is impossible to say but it is certain that both of these names have been applied to the Berger. The following description is a compilation.
Tree vigorous, upright, open-topped, medium hardy; leaves narrow, light colored; blooming season early; flowers white, small.
Fruit very early; unusually small, roundish but truncate at the ends, attractive light to dark red, covered with thick bloom; flesh firm, meaty, light yellow, sweet, of pleasant flavor; fair to good; stone very small and cherry-like, free, with smooth surfaces.
BLACK BULLACE
BLACK BULLACE
Prunus insititia
1. Parkinson Par. Ter. 576, 578. 1629. 2. Gerard Herball 1498. 1636. 3. Miller Gard. Dict. 3:1754. 4. Abercrombie Gard. Ass’t 13. 1786. 5. Deane N. E. Farmer Dict. 266. 1797. 6. Miller Gard. Dict. 3:1807. 7. Lond. Hort. Soc. Cat. 144. 1831. 8. Phillips Com. Orch. 306. 1831. 9. Prince Pom. Man. 2:105. 1832. 10. Hogg Fruit Man. 689. 1884. 11. Jour. Hort. 27:476. 1874. 12. Garden 59:226. 1901.
Black Bulleis 1. Bullesse 2. Earley’s November 11.
This variety is interesting chiefly as an early type of the Insititia plums, its thorny branches, wayward growth, small and austere fruit, all bespeaking a wild fruit. The plums when ripened by frost are not unpleasant to taste and are borne in prodigious quantities. The variety, however, is surpassed by many other Insititias and has little value other than to show the steps between wild and highly cultivated fruits.
Black Bullace is one of the oldest of cultivated plums and all data in regard to its origin have been lost. It resembles the wild forms of its species very closely and it may have been selected from the wild. Parkinson, writing in 1629, (References, 1) gives a short description of this variety; and Gerard, in 1636, (References, 2) says: “The Bullesse and the Sloe tree are wilde kindes of Plums, which do vary in their kind, even as the greater and manured Plums do. Of Bullesse, some are of greater and of better taste than others. Sloes are some of one taste, and some of others, more sharp; some greater and others lesser; the which to distinguish with long descriptions were to small purpose, considering they be all and every of them known even to the simplest; therefore this shall suffice for their several descriptions.” Black Bullace has long been known in England and was among the first European varieties cultivated in this country. Deane in The New England Farmer, 1797, describes this variety briefly as under cultivation at that time but it did not prove popular in North America and after Prince, 1832, it seems to have dropped from American plum literature.
Tree of medium size and vigor, upright or slightly spreading, dense-topped, hardy, very productive; branches smooth except for the numerous, small, raised lenticels, dark, ash-gray; branchlets long, with short internodes, green changing to dark brownish-drab, thickly pubescent, with numerous, inconspicuous, small lenticels; leaf-buds small short, obtuse, free.
Leaves oval, one and one-half inches wide, three and one-quarter inches long; upper surface dark green, rugose, hairy, with grooved midrib; lower surface silvery-green, heavily pubescent; apex abruptly pointed or acute, base acute, margin serrate or crenate, with a few, smallish, dark glands; petiole three-quarters inch long, green, thickly pubescent, glandless or with one or two small, globose, greenish-brown glands on the stalk or at the base of the leaf.
Blooming season intermediate in time and length; flowers appearing with the leaves, seven-eighths inch across, white; borne on lateral buds and spurs, singly or in pairs; pedicels three-eighths inch long, pubescent, greenish; calyx-tube green, campanulate, pubescent only at the base; calyx-lobes narrow, obtuse, pubescent at margin and base, with few glands, reflexed; petals oval, entire, tapering abruptly to short claws; anthers yellowish; filaments three-eighths inch in length; pistil glabrous, shorter than the stamens.
Fruit late, season long; one and one-eighth inches by seven-eighths inch in size, distinctly oval, necked, not compressed, halves equal; cavity small, shallow, narrow, flaring; suture lacking; apex roundish, with stigma usually adhering; color purplish-black, covered with thick bloom; dots numerous, small, brown, inconspicuous; stem one-half inch long, pubescent, adhering to the fruit; skin of medium thickness and toughness, slightly astringent, adhering somewhat; flesh greenish-yellow, juicy and fibrous, firm, sour or agreeably tart late in the season; stone clinging, three-quarters inch by one-half inch in size, irregularly oval or ovate, slightly necked at the base, acute at the apex, with pitted surfaces; ventral suture swollen, blunt; dorsal suture acute or partially furrowed.
BLACKMAN
Prunus hortulana × Prunus persica
1. Gara. Mon. 24:82. 1882. 2. Ibid, 29:45, 302. 1887. 3. Cornell Sta. Bul. 38:77. 1892.
Blackman is supposed to be a hybrid between the Wild Goose plum and a peach. According to Bailey, a Mrs. Charity Clark secured plum pits from an orchard of Wild Goose and Washington plums in Rutherford County, Tennessee, about 1865 and gave them to Dr. Blackman of Nashville of that State. One of the seedlings appeared promising and was disseminated by a local nurseryman under the name Blackman. A rival nurseryman in attempting to procure cions of this variety inadvertently cut them from an adjacent tree, a barren seedling from the same lot of seed. Unfortunately the spurious Blackman received a wide distribution while the true variety remained practically unknown. Afterwards in order to avoid confusion the original Blackman was rechristened Charity Clark under which name it is now known. The tree of the second Blackman is strong and vigorous but rarely produces its plum-like fruit. The foliage is about midway in character between the plum and peach; the fruit-buds are formed abundantly but seldom open. From a horticultural standpoint, the variety is of course worthless but the hybrid, one of the first of its kind, is interesting and worth recording.
BLEEKER
Prunus domestica
1. Prince Pom. Man. 25. 1828. 2. Kenrick Am. Orch. 255. 1832. 3. Manning Book of Fruits 104. 1838. 4. Downing Fr. Trees Am. 273. 1845. 5. Am. Pom. Soc. Cat. 54. 1852. 6. Thompson Gard. Ass’t 515. 1859. 7. Downing Fr. Trees Am. 899. 1869. 8. Mas Le Verger 6:21. 1866-1873. 9. Hogg Fruit Man. 686. 1884. 10. Mathieu Nom. Pom. 423. 1889. 11. Guide Prat. 158, 364. 1895. 12. Waugh Plum Cult. 96. 1901.
Bleecker’s 11. Bleecker’s German Gage 1. Bleecker’s German Gage 2. Bleecker’s Gage 2, 4, 5, 6, 7. Bleecker’s Gage 9, 10, 11, 12. Bleeker’s Gage 3. Blucher’s Gage 6. Bleecker’s Yellow 7. Bleeker’s 10. Bleecker’s Yellow Gage 7, 8, 11. Bleecker’s Gage 8. Bleeker’s Yellow 9. Bleeker’s Gelbe Zwetsche 11. Bleeker’s Gelbe Zwetsche 10. Bleeker’s Yellow Gage 9, 10. Bleeker’s Gelbe Reine-Claude 10. Bleeker’s Gelbe Renklode 11. Bleeker’s Yellow 10. German Gage 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11. Jaune de Bleeker 10, 11. Reine-Claude de Bleeker 10. Reine-Claude de Bleecker 8, 11.
Just why this old and one time popular plum is now so seldom grown cannot be said. It is a delicious dessert plum of the Reine Claude group, much like Yellow Gage but distinguished from it by a longer and stouter stalk. Its tree-characters in New York are good and the fruit in all the qualities that make plums desirable is as good as that of most of its class. The variety originated with a Mrs. Bleeker of Albany, New York, about 1810 from a pit given her by Rev. Mr. Dull of Kingston, New York. This stone had come from Germany and was thought to have been that of a German prune but this is probably an error as the seedlings of that variety come true or nearly so. Bleeker was listed in the catalogs of the American Pomological Society from 1852 to 1897.
Tree large, vigorous, upright-spreading, open-topped, productive; trunk and branches thick and covered with rough bark; branches slightly pubescent; leaves two and one-quarter inches wide, four inches long, oval, stiff; upper surface somewhat rugose; margin serrate; petiole five-eighths inch long, thick, tinged red, with from two to three glands usually on the stalk.
Fruit early; nearly one and one-half inches in diameter, roundish-oval, greenish-yellow, striped and splashed with green becoming golden-yellow at full maturity, overspread with thin bloom; flesh golden-yellow, dry, coarse, firm, sweet, mild; of good quality; stone semi-clinging, one inch by five-eighths inch in size, obovate, acute at the apex, medium turgid, with pitted surfaces.
BLUE PERDRIGON
Prunus domestica
1. Parkinson Par. Ter. 576. 1629. 2. Rea Flora 208. 1676. 3. Quintinye Com. Gard. 67, 68, 69, 1699. 4. Langley Pomona 92, Pl. 23 fig. 4. 1729. 5. Duhamel Trait. Arb. Fr. 2:85. 1768. 6. Prince Pom. Man. 2:66. 1832. 7. Downing Fr. Trees Am. 290. 1845. 8. Floy-Lindley Guide Orch. Gard. 280, 293, 383. 1846. 9. U. S. Pat. Off. Rpt. 287. 1853. 10. Hogg Fruit Man. 687. 1884. 11. Mathieu Nom. Pom. 452. 1889. 12. Guide Prat. 154, 361. 1895.
Blue Perdrigon 6, 7, 11, 12. Brignole Violette 7, 10, 11, 12. Battle Monument 10, 11. Blaue Fasanen Pflaume 11, 12. Blauer Perdrigon 11, 12. Blew Perdrigon 2, 3. 4. Perdrigon 1, 3, 9. Perdrigon Violet 5, 12. Perdrigon Violet 6, 8, 11. Perdrigon Violette 7, 10. Perdigon 8. Perdigevena 8. Violet Perdrigon 4, 6, 7, 10, 11. Violet Perdrigon 6, 8. Violetter Perdrigon 11. Violette Fasanen Pflaume 11. Violette Huhner Pflaume 11. Violette Rebhuhn Pflaume 11. Violette Fasanenpflaume 12. Violette Huhnerpflaume 12. Violetter Perdrigon 12. Violettes Rebhuhnerei 11, 12.
Early records indicate that the Blue Perdrigon was introduced into England from Italy. Hakluyt, writing in 1582, says, “Of late time the Plum called the Perdigevena was procured out of Italy, with two kinds more, by the Lord Cromwell, after his travel.” Gough, in his British Topography, states that Lord Cromwell introduced the “Perdrigon plum” into England in the time of Henry VII. From these accounts it would seem that this plum was established in England some time during the latter part of the Fifteenth Century. For three hundred years it thrived so well in England that writers had no hesitation in pronouncing it their best plum. From England it came early to America. Probably it was included in the shipment of plum pits ordered from England by the Governor and Company of the Massachusetts Bay Colony in New England in 1629. In spite of its Old World reputation, however, it never found favor here and is now rarely if ever seen even in collections. The older writers mentioned a Black Perdrigon which they considered distinct from the variety under discussion. Inasmuch as all plums until recently were propagated from seed, it is more than likely that there were all gradations in color and that some attempted to classify the darker seedlings as a distinct variety. This hypothesis is borne out by the fact that after grafting and budding became the common method of propagation the so-called Black Perdrigon became extinct. The following description is a compilation.