1. U. S. D. A. Rpt. 574. 1888. 2. Cal. State Board Hort. 236, 239, Pl. II figs. 3 and 4. 1890. 3. Wickson Cal. Fruits 358. 1891. 4. Am. Pom. Soc. Cat. 25. 1897. 5. N. Mex. Sta. Bul. 27:124. 1898. 6. Ohio Sta. Bul. 113:158. 1899. 7. Waugh Plum Cult. 98. 1901. 8. Ohio Sta. Bul. 162:236, 237 fig., 254, 255. 1905.
Clyman has special merit as one of the earliest good Domesticas. The fruit resembles that of Lombard somewhat, but is smaller and is much better in quality. As grown in California the Clyman commands high prices for shipping eastward. Whether it could be grown profitably in the East remains to be seen but it deserves to be rather widely tested for an early home and market plum. In New York it has a few serious faults: the plums are susceptible to rot, they drop as soon as ripe and the trees seem not to be quite hardy at Geneva; though in the Ohio reference given above they are said to be “rather hardier than those of most other European sorts.” Otherwise than in hardiness the trees at this place are quite satisfactory. The variety is characterized by very long stamens. Clyman is well deserving of trial with the possibility that it may prove to be the best of our early Domesticas.
This plum was raised from a Peach plum stone planted in 1866, by Mrs. Hannah Clyman, Napa City, Napa Valley, California. The original tree was cut down but several suckers were taken from the roots and planted in an orchard. These bore fruit for many years, never failing to mature a crop. In 1886, Leonard Coates, a nurseryman and fruit-grower of Napa City, became interested in the plum on account of its extreme earliness and offered it to his customers. The American Pomological Society added Clyman to its fruit catalog list in 1897.
Tree rather large, vigorous, round and dense-topped, semi-hardy in New York, productive; branches ash-gray, nearly smooth, with numerous, small, raised lenticels; branchlets thick, rather long, with internodes of medium length, greenish-red changing to brownish-red, dull, heavily pubescent throughout the season, with numerous, indistinct, small lenticels; leaf-buds of medium size and length, conical, appressed; leaf-scars prominent.
Leaves folded backward, obovate, one and seven-eighths inches wide, three and one-quarter inches long; upper surface dark green, rugose, sparingly hairy; lower surface pale green, pubescent; apex abruptly pointed or acute, base acute, margin serrate or crenate, covered with small dark glands; petiole nearly seven-eighths inch long, pubescent, reddish, glandless or with from one to three globose, greenish-yellow glands variable in size and position.
Blooming season early and short; flowers appearing after the leaves, one and one-eighth inches across, white, the buds creamy at the apex when unfolding; borne in clusters on lateral spurs, singly or in pairs; pedicels about one-half inch long, thick, pubescent, greenish; calyx-tube green, campanulate, pubescent; calyx-lobes narrow, obtuse, pubescent on both surfaces, serrate, reflexed; petals obovate, dentate, tapering to short, broad claws; anthers yellow; filaments about seven-sixteenths inch long; pistil pubescent near the base, equal to the stamens in length.
Fruit very early, season short; one and one-half inches by one and three-eighths inches in size, oval, halves equal; cavity narrow, abrupt, regular; suture shallow and often indistinct; apex roundish or slightly depressed; color dark purplish-red, covered with thick bloom; dots numerous, small, russet, inconspicuous; stem five-eighths inches long, pubescent, adhering poorly to the fruit; skin tender, sour, separating readily; flesh pale yellow, dry, firm, sweet, mild but pleasant; of good quality; stone free, seven-eighths inch by five-eighths inch in size, somewhat flattened, irregular-oval, with pitted surfaces, tapering abruptly at the base, nearly acute at the apex; ventral suture of medium width, usually rather blunt; dorsal suture with a wide, deep groove.
COLUMBIA
Prunus domestica
1. Mag. Hort. 8:90. 1842. 2. Downing Fr. Trees Am. 292. 1845. 3. Cole Am. Fr. Book 216. 1849 4. Thomas Am. Fruit Cult. 334. 1849. 5. Am. Pom. Soc. Cat. 86. 1862. 6. Mas Pom. Gen. 2:159. 1873. 7. Hogg Fruit Man. 691. 1884. 8. Wash. Hort. Soc. Rpt. 135. 1893.
Columbian Gage 2, 4. Columbia Pflaume 6. Columbia Gage 7.
When grown on strong soils and in some climates, Columbia is possibly a plum of value and sometimes of superiority, but in New York in the average plantation it falls far short of other fruits of its type—that of the Reine Claude. The trees are productive and the fruit large and handsome but not of highest quality and moreover drops badly and is very susceptible to the brown-rot. Columbia originated early in the second quarter of the Nineteenth Century with L. V. Lawrence of Hudson, New York, from seed of Reine Claude.
Tree large, medium in vigor, upright-spreading, open-topped, productive; trunk stocky, rough; branches thick; branchlets pubescent; leaves folded upward, one and seven-eighths inches wide, four and one-quarter inches long, oval, thick, leathery; upper surface rugose; margin serrate or crenate, with small, dark glands; petiole thick, tinged red, pubescent, with from one to three globose glands.
Fruit mid-season; when well grown nearly one and one-half inches in diameter, roundish-oval, the smaller specimens rather ovate, dark purplish-red, overspread with thick bloom; stem surrounded by a fleshy ring at the cavity; skin tender, sour; flesh golden-yellow, dry, firm, sweet, mild; of good quality; stone semi-free or free, seven-eighths inch by three-quarters inch in size, roundish-oval, flattened; ventral suture prominent; dorsal suture widely and deeply grooved.
COMPASS
Prunus besseyi × Prunus hortulana mineri
1. Northwestern Agr. 348. 1895. 2. Vt. Sta. Bul. 67:10. 1898. 3. Ia. Sta. Bul. 46:266. 1900. 4. Budd-Hansen Am. Hort. Man. 294. 1903. 5. S. Dak. Sta. Bul. 93:13. 1905.
Compass Cherry 2. Heideman Sand Cherry.
In 1891 H. Knudson of Springfield, Minnesota, pollinated the Sand Cherry with pollen from the Danish Morello cherry and the Miner plum. The seed of the resulting cross, beyond question that of the Sand Cherry and the plum, was planted on August seventh of the same year and, in 1894 produced fruit for the first time. In 1893 C. W. H. Heideman of New Ulm, Minnesota, secured a cion from this tree and another the following year. In 1895 Heideman introduced as his own, under the name of Heideman Sand Cherry, a hybrid between the Sand Cherry and a plum. In the controversy which followed it developed that the two hybrids were identical and that Knudson was the real originator. Subsequently C. W. Sampson of Eureka, Minnesota, introduced Knudson’s plum under the name Compass. The variety is of interest to plant-breeders and may have some commercial value in the Northwest but is worthless for its fruit in New York.
Tree inferior in size, spreading, open-topped, productive; branches and branchlets slender, the branchlets marked by very conspicuous, large, raised lenticels; leaf-buds plump; leaves folded upward, one and one-eighth inches wide, three inches long; margin serrate; petiole tinged red, glandless or with from one to three globose glands usually on the base of the leaf; blooming season late, of medium length; flowers appearing after the leaves, seven-eighths inch across, creamy-white as the buds unfold; borne on lateral spurs, in threes and fours.
Fruit early, season short; seven-eighths inch by three-quarters inch in size, ovate or roundish-oval, light red changing to dark red at maturity, the skin speckled with small red dots before fully ripe; skin tough, astringent; flesh light greenish-yellow, very juicy, melting, subacid except near the skin; poor; stone clinging, five-eighths inch by three-eighths inch in size, large, elongated-oval, with smooth surfaces.
COPPER
Prunus domestica
1. Coxe Cult. Fr. Trees 234. 1817. 2. Prince Pom. Man. 2:93. 1832. 3. Elliott Fr. Book 425. 1854. 4. Downing Fr. Trees Am. 906. 1869. 5. Am. Pom. Soc. Cat. 36. 1875. 6. Cornell Sta. Bul. 131:183. 1897. 7. Waugh Plum Cult. 98. 1901.
Copper 2. French Copper 3, 4. French Copper 1, 2, 6.
It is supposed that Copper came from France but very little is actually known regarding its history. The round early variety described by Coxe and Prince is distinct from the Copper now grown in this country. It is probable that the Copper of Downing and of the American Pomological Society are either distinct, or are early strains of the fruit described here, since both are mid-season plums while the variety of the following description is distinctly late. This old sort has been recommended of late by nurserymen and some plum-growers and it may be worth putting on the markets again as the trees are extremely productive, the fruit ships well, and its extreme lateness might extend the plum season. The fruit is not fit for dessert but makes an attractive, dark red, well-flavored sauce.
Tree variable in size and vigor, round and dense-topped, productive; branches numerous, with large lenticels; branchlets twiggy, marked with scarf-skin, glabrous throughout the season; leaves folded upward, obovate or oval, one and one-half inches wide, three and one-half inches long; upper surface rugose; margin serrate or crenate, eglandular or with small dark glands; petiole pubescent, tinged red, glandless or with one or two globose glands; blooming time mid-season, short; flowers appearing after the leaves, seven-eighths inch across; borne singly or in pairs.
Fruit very late, season of medium length; one and one-half inches by one and three-eighths inches in size, roundish-oval, slightly necked; cavity almost lacking; color a metallic brownish-purple, overspread with thick bloom; skin thick, tough, somewhat astringent; flesh dull yellow, medium juicy, firm, moderately sweet; poor; stone free, seven-eighths inch by one-half inch in size, irregular-ovate, abruptly contracted at the base, with roughened surfaces; dorsal suture prominent.
CRITTENDEN
Prunus insititia
1. Hogg Fruit Man. 695. 1884. 2. Mathieu Nom. Pom. 426. 1889. 3. Am. Gard. 14:146. 1893. 4. Guide Prat. 163, 353. 1895. 5. Rural N. Y. 55:622. 1896. 6. Cornell Sta. Bul. 131:184. 1897. 7. Garden 53:266. 1898. 8. Waugh Plum Cult. 127, 128. 1901.
Crittenden’s Damson 2. Crittenden’s Prolific Damson 2. Crittenden’s 1. Crittenden’s Prolific 1. Cluster 1. Cluster 3, 8. Cluster Damson 2. Cluster Damson 4. Damson Cluster 4. Farleigh Damson 6. Farleigh Prolific 7. Farleigh 5. Prolific 1. Prolific Damson 2.
This Damson came to notice early in the last century in the orchard of James Crittenden of East Farleigh, Kent, England. In both Europe and America it seems to be as well known under the names Farleigh and Cluster as under its true name. Crittenden ranks high among the Damsons in England but in America it is not a great favorite; just why is hard to say. It is likely that it fails in some tree-character, for, with the exception of being a little too tart, the fruit has few faults.
Tree of medium size, upright-spreading, open-topped, productive; branches very thorny and spinescent; branchlets pubescent throughout the season; leaf-buds plump; leaves folded upward, obovate or oval, one and one-eighth inches wide, two and one-half inches long, thin; margin finely serrate, with small dark glands; petiole one-half inch long, glandless or with one or two glands; blooming season intermediate in time and length; flowers appearing after the leaves, seven-eighths inch across, densely clustered; borne usually in twos, fragrant.
Fruit late, season of medium length; seven-eighths inch by three-quarters inch in size, oval, slightly necked, purplish-black, overspread with very thick bloom; flesh greenish-yellow, medium juicy, firm but tender, sour, sprightly; probably good for preserves; stone clinging, five-eighths inch by three-eighths inch in size, oval, acute at the base, with surfaces nearly smooth.
CZAR
Prunus domestica
1. Hogg Fruit Man. 693. 1884. 2. Ellwanger & Barry Cat. 27. 1886. 3. Gard. Chron. 10:333. 1891. 4. Guide Prat. 153, 359. 1895. 5. Cornell Sta. Bul. 131:183. 1897. 6. Rivers Cat. 34. 1898. 7. Mich. Sta. Bul. 169:242, 244. 1899. 8. Ohio Sta. Bul. 113:159. 1899. 9. Waugh Plum Cult. 99. 1901. 10. Thompson Gard. Ass’t 4:157. 1901. 11. Nicholson Dict. Gard. 3:166. 12. Garden 68:303. 1905. 13. Ohio Sta. Bul. 162:236, 237 fig., 254, 255. 1905.
Le Czar 4. The Czar 2, 6, 11. The Czar 4.
Czar seems to have a very good reputation in Europe, in England especially, as a culinary fruit but in America it is but second rate for cooking and cannot be called a dessert plum at all. Its earliness might make it valuable were it not for the fact that Clyman is as early and in nearly all other respects is a better plum. The Czar, like Clyman, is not quite hardy and lacks somewhat in productiveness. The stone of Czar is usually covered with a granular, gummy exudation about the apex and its flowers are peculiar in being more or less doubled. It is doubtful if this variety is worth planting in New York. This plum was raised by Thomas Rivers, Sawbridgeworth, England, from a Prince Englebert seed fertilized by Early Prolific. It first fruited in 1874 and was named for the Czar of Russia who visited England during the same year. Ellwanger & Barry, of Rochester, New York, offered it for sale in the United States in 1886.
Tree intermediate in size and vigor, round and open-topped, not always hardy, moderately productive; branches covered with many fruit-spurs, smooth except for the numerous raised lenticels and transverse cracks in the bark; branchlets covered with thick pubescence throughout the season, with numerous small lenticels; leaf-buds large, strongly free; leaves folded upward, oval, one and three-quarters inches wide, three inches long; petiole one-half inch long, thick, pubescent, eglandular or with one or two large, yellowish-green glands at the base of the leaf; blooming season intermediate in time, short; flowers appearing after the leaves, one inch or more across, white, with a yellowish tinge at the apex of the petals; borne in clusters on lateral spurs, in pairs or in threes; filaments five-sixteenths inch long; pistil glabrous except at the base, slightly longer than the stamens.
Fruit very early, season short; one and one-half inches in diameter, irregular roundish-oval, compressed, dark purplish-black, overspread with thick bloom; flesh yellow, coarse and somewhat granular, fibrous, tender, sweet, pleasant flavor; good; stone free, three-quarters inch by five-eighths inch in size, oval or slightly ovate, blunt at the base, somewhat acute at the apex, with ridged and roughened surfaces; ventral suture wide, broadly furrowed, with a short blunt wing; dorsal suture acute or with a narrow, shallow, indistinct groove.
DAMSON
Prunus insititia
1. Parkinson Par. Ter. 578. 1629. 2. Gerard Herball 1496, 1498. 1636. 3. Quintinye Com. Gard. 67. 1699. 4. Langley Pomona 94. 1724. 5. Forsyth Treat. Fr. Trees 21. 1803. 6. Am. Gard. Cat. 588. 1806. 7. Phillips Com. Orch. 306. 1831. 8. Lond. Hort. Soc. Cat. 145, 146. 1831. 9. Downing Fr. Trees Am. 297. 1845. 10. Thomas Am. Fruit Cult. 342. 1849. 11. Pom. Soc. Cat. 86. 1862. 12. Hooper W. Fr. Book 244. 1857. 13. Mas Pom. Gen. 2:69. 1873. 14. Manning Hist. Mass. Hort. Soc. 4. 1880. 15. Hogg Fruit Man. 695. 1884. 16. De Candolle Or. Cult. Plants 212. 1885. 17. Mathieu Nom. Pom. 438. 1889. 18. Am. Gard. 14:146, 147. 1893.
August Pflaume 17. Blacke Damascene ?1. Blew Damson 1. Black Damascene 5. Black Damson ?8. Black Damson 9, 11, 17. Blew Damask 3. Black Damosine 4. Blue Damson 10, 11. Bullace 17. Common Damson 6, 15. Common Damson 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 17. Damascene 2. Damascene 7, 16. Damson 17. Damas Noir ?8. Damascus ?8. Damas Commun 13. Early Damson of many 9, 10, 17. Haber Pflaume 17. Hafer Schlehe 17. Jakobs Pflaume 17. Kleine Blaue Julians Pflaume 17. Kreke 17. Krieche 17. Purple Damson 9, 10, 17. Prunus Insititia 17. Round Damson 8, 15. Round Black Damson ?8. Small Round Damson 8. Sankt-Julians Pflaume 17. Schlehen Pflaume 17. Wahre Schlehen Damascene 17. Zipperle 17. Zipperlein 17.
The common Damson, the Damson of the ancients, probably little changed since before Christ’s time, is still worthy of cultivation even though a score or more of its offspring are offered to take its place. In productiveness, vigor of tree and hardiness it is scarcely surpassed by any of its kind and while its fruits are smaller and more astringent than the best of its offspring they are not surpassed for the chief use of all Damsons—the making of preserves. The chief asset of the Damson is its great adaptability to various soils and climates, surpassing all newcomers of its type in this respect. So while undoubtedly some of the improved Damsons surpass the parent variety under many conditions, there yet remain localities in which the original stock is possibly most valuable.
The Damson takes its name from Damascus from whence it was brought into Italy at least a century before the Christian era. What is a Damson? In England and America it is an oval, usually black, Insititia. The European continental countries have an entirely different conception of a Damson from that of the English and Americans. The Germans speak of our common plums as Damson-like, while the French use the term Damas indiscriminately. The English, however, have not always made a sharp distinction for Parkinson in 1629 speaks of the great Damaske or Damson Plummes as sweet prunes imported from France and Gerard in 1636 described the Damson tree as synonymous to the Plum. The term Damson is applied to a group as well as to a variety. For a further history of this plum in Europe and America see the index for references to the Damson in Chapter I.
DAWSON
Prunus domestica
Dawson Seedling. American Prune.
Dawson is a prune-like plum characterized by an elongated neck, a peculiar putty-like color of flesh and by large size. The quality is very good and the trees in all characters are well up to the average of those of the plums on the Station grounds. The plum is worthy a more extensive trial than it has yet had. The following history of the variety is given by its originator: In 1884, P. P. Dawson of Payette, Idaho, planted a lot of Italian prune pits. In 1891 one of the seedlings produced fruit which was so distinct as to size that Mr. Dawson deemed it worthy of propagation. The variety was introduced by Mr. Dawson and A. F. Hitt, Weiser, Idaho, about 1898.
Tree above medium in size, vigorous, round and dense-topped, productive; branchlets thick, short, twiggy, marked with scarf-skin; leaf-scars prominent; leaves flattened, oval, two and one-quarter inches wide, four inches long, dark green, rugose; margin doubly crenate, eglandular or with small dark glands; petiole pubescent, glandless or with one or two small glands usually at the base of the leaf; blooming season late, short; flowers appearing with the leaves, white with yellowish tinge; petals fringed at the apex.
Fruit mid-season, ripening period short; medium in size, strongly obovate, distinctly necked, dark reddish-purple, overspread with medium thick bloom; flesh light but dull yellow, tinged red near the surface, dry, firm, medium sweet, mild but pleasant; of good quality; stone clinging, above medium in size, long-oval or ovate, flattened, distinctly necked, with roughened surfaces; ventral suture broad, blunt.
DECAISNE
Prunus domestica
1. Gard. Chron. 23:461. 1863. 2. Mas Pom. Gen. 2:43. 1873. 3. Cat. Cong. Pom. France 411. 1887. 4. Guide Prat. 159. 1895.
Decaisnes Pflaume 2. Prune Decaisne 1, 2.
Though a supposed seedling of Golden Drop this variety has all of the ear-marks of one of the Reine Claude group. It is inferior to several other plums of the last named group and is not worth recommendation. Decaisne was originated about 1846 by Jamin and Durand, nurserymen, at Bourg la-Reine, near Paris, France, from seed of Golden Drop. In the United States, it has been mainly distributed by Ellwanger & Barry of Rochester, New York, and by the California Nursery Company of Niles, California.
Tree intermediate in size and vigor, upright-spreading, rather open-topped, productive; trunk rough; leaves two inches wide, four inches long, oval, thick, leathery; upper surface rugose; lower surface thinly pubescent; petiole with from two to three large, globose or reniform glands.
Fruit mid-season or later; one and seven-eighths inches by one and five-eighths inches in size, oblong-oval, greenish-yellow, overspread with thin bloom; skin sour; flesh greenish-yellow, tender, mild; good; stone clinging, one inch by seven-eighths inch in size, broad-oval, with pitted surfaces; ventral suture rather prominent, heavily grooved, with a short but distinct wing; dorsal suture wide, deep.
DE CARADEUC
DE CARADEUC
Prunus cerasifera
1. Am. Pom. Soc. Rpt. 86. 1871. 2. Am. Pom. Soc. Cat. 38. 1877. 3. Barry Fr. Garden 418. 1883. 4. Cornell Sta. Bul. 38:66, 71, 86. 1892. 5. Bailey Ev. Nat. Fruits 212. 1898. 6. Vt. Sta. An. Rpt. 13:369. 1900. 7. Waugh Plum Cult. 230. 1901. 8. Budd-Hansen Am. Hort. Man. 310. 1903. 9. Ga. Sta. Bul. 67:274. 1904. 10. Ga. Hort. Soc. Cat. 13. 1905.
Caradeuc 1.
De Caradeuc is without value in this climate for its fruit and is described at length and illustrated in The Plums of New York only because it is one of the few representatives of Prunus cerasifera cultivated for its fruit. The plums are garnet-red, very attractive in appearance and are borne so much earlier than those of other species that the variety may be worth planting in home orchards to lengthen the season and for the sake of variety. This plum is grown rather commonly in the South where the fruits are said to keep well and not rot. The trees are handsome ornamentals bearing remarkably rich, green foliage and a profusion of white flowers which are followed by beautifully colored fruits. The variety can be recommended for lawn or park where a small, compact, flowering tree is wanted.
De Caradeuc originated with A. De Caradeuc, Aiken, South Carolina, between 1850 and 1854. Mr. De Caradeuc brought plum trees from France and planted them in the vicinity of several native plum trees. From the seed of the former he produced this variety. The originator believed his new plum to be a hybrid but practically all students of plum botany think that it is a pure offshoot of Prunus cerasifera. The variety was introduced by P. J. Berckmans of Augusta, Georgia. In 1877 De Caradeuc was placed on the American Pomological Society fruit catalog list where it is still maintained.
Tree very large, vigorous, spreading, open-topped, variable in productiveness; trunk rough; branches slender, roughish or smooth, dark ash-gray, with numerous, large, raised lenticels; branchlets very numerous, twiggy, slender, medium to long, with long internodes, tinged with red when young, changing to dull reddish-brown, glossy, glabrous, with few, small lenticels; leaf-buds very small and short, obtuse, appressed.
Leaves numerous on the branchlets, becoming scattering in the interior of the tree, folded upward, oval, one and one-eighth inches wide, two inches long, thin; upper surface dark green, sparingly pubescent, smooth, with broadly grooved midrib; lower surface pale green, pubescent; apex acute, base broadly cuneate, margin often in two series of fine serrations, without glands; petiole slender, one-half inch long, slightly pubescent, tinged red, eglandular or with one or two very small, globose, greenish glands usually at the base of the leaf.
Blooming season rather early, short; flowers appearing after the leaves, seven-eighths inch across, white; borne on lateral buds and spurs; pedicels eleven-sixteenths inch long, below medium in thickness, glabrous, green; calyx-tube reddish, campanulate, glabrous; calyx-lobes broad, obtuse, slightly glandular-serrate, pubescent, strongly reflexed; petals roundish or ovate, crenate, not clawed; anthers yellow; filaments one-quarter inch in length; pistil glabrous, longer than the stamens, somewhat defective.
Fruit very early, season short; one and one-quarter inches in diameter, roundish, halves usually equal; cavity shallow and narrow, abrupt, regular; suture a dark red line; apex roundish; color light or dark crimson-red over a yellow ground, overspread with thin bloom; dots few, light russet, clustered about the apex; stem slender, eleven-sixteenths inch in length, glabrous, adhering well to the fruit; skin thin, tough, parting readily; flesh medium yellow, very juicy, fibrous, tender and melting, slightly sweet, lacking in flavor; inferior in quality; stone clinging, five-eighths inch by one-half inch in size, roundish-oval, turgid, blunt, with somewhat pitted surfaces; ventral suture acute, furrowed; dorsal suture distinctly and broadly grooved.
DE SOTO
DE SOTO
Prunus americana
1. Ill. Hort. Soc. Rpt. 225. 1877. 2. Ia. Hort. Soc. Rpt. 356. 1879. 3. Ibid. 159. 1880. 4. Ibid. 237. 1882. 5. Am. Pom. Soc. Cat. 42. 1883. 6. Ia. Hort. Soc. Rpt. 366. 1883. 7. Ill. Hort. Soc. Rpt. 63. 1890. 8. Cornell Sta. Bul. 38:37, 86. 1892. 9. Wis. Sta. Bul. 63:24, 35, 36, fig. 16. 1897. 10. Waugh Plum Cult. 147. 1901. 11. Budd-Hansen Am. Hort. Man. 295. 1903. 12. Can. Exp. Farm Bul. 43:30. 1903. 13. S. Dak. Sta. Bul. 93:15. 1905.
Traer 3. Trayer 4.
De Soto probably holds first place among the Americana plums in the favor of fruit-growers. The qualities which commend it are: A tree rather better suited to the orchard than other varieties of Prunus americana having little of the waywardness of most sorts of its species and somewhat the manner of growth of the European plums. The trees, too, are enormously productive, so much so that in many cases their vitality is weakened by over-bearing unless thinned. The fruits of De Soto, while not as large nor as brilliantly colored as some of the Americanas, are not surpassed by any of the native plums in quality and keep and ship as well as any. The variety becomes, therefore, a market sort of value in some regions. The fruits are a little more subject to curculio than those of most of the native plums and the trees blight in the South somewhat and do not stand the drouths of the Mississippi Valley as well as some other varieties. Notwithstanding these defects, speaking generally, the De Soto may be recommended as one of the best of its species.
De Soto was found on the bank of the Mississippi River near De Soto, Wisconsin. The first settler to call attention to the plum was a Mr. Tupper who settled on the land where it was found in 1853 or 1854. The Trayer Brothers bought the place in 1855 and in clearing the farm they removed all the plum trees except a grove of what was at first called Trayer, afterwards De Soto. Later Stephen Heal came into possession of the property and in 1864 Elisha Hale, Lansing, Iowa, commenced to cultivate and disseminate the variety. De Soto was placed on the American Pomological Society fruit catalog list in 1883, dropped in 1891, and restored again in 1897.
Tree small, intermediate in vigor, spreading, open-topped, perfectly hardy, produces heavy crops annually, bears young; branches rough and shaggy, somewhat zigzag, thorny, dark ash-brown, with inconspicuous, small, raised, lenticels; branchlets numerous, long, green, changing to dull reddish-brown, pubescent at first, becoming glabrous late in the season, with conspicuous, large, raised lenticels; leaf-buds below medium in size, pointed, appressed.
Leaves falling early, folded upward, oval, one and three-quarters inches wide, four inches long; upper surface dark green changing to greenish-yellow, glossy, with scattering hairs and a narrow, grooved midrib; lower surface finely pubescent; apex taper-pointed, base somewhat abrupt, margin very coarsely and deeply doubly serrate, petiole five-eighths inch long, of medium thickness, pubescent, tinged red, glandless or with one or two globose, brownish glands on the stalk.
Blooming season medium to late and of average length; flowers appearing after the leaves, one and one-eighth inches across, white; borne in clusters on lateral buds and spurs, in twos and threes; pedicels eleven-sixteenths inch in length, below medium in thickness, covered with short, thick pubescence, greenish; calyx-tube green, campanulate, pubescent; calyx-lobes somewhat acute, eglandular, thickly pubescent on both surfaces, with a swollen ring at the base of the lobes, semi-reflexed; petals oblong or ovate, erose, tapering abruptly into long, narrow claws; anthers yellowish; filaments three-eighths inch in length; pistil glabrous, equal to or shorter than the stamens.
Fruit mid-season, ripening period short; one and one-half inches in diameter, roundish, varying to oval or ovate, compressed, often strongly truncate at the base; cavity shallow or medium, abrupt; suture very shallow or a line; apex roundish or somewhat pointed; color yellowish-red becoming a light or dark crimson over an orange-yellow ground, overspread with thin bloom; dots very numerous, small, light russet, inconspicuous; stem rather slender, three-quarters inch long, sparingly pubescent; skin thick, tough, very astringent, clinging to the pulp; flesh golden-yellow, very juicy, fibrous, tender and melting, of medium sweetness, mild; fair to good; stone nearly free, seven-eighths inch in size, oval, turgid, blunt-pointed, smooth; ventral suture bluntly acute and with slight furrows; dorsal suture acute, not furrowed.
DIAMOND
DIAMOND
Prunus domestica
1. Lond. Hort. Soc. Cat. 146. 1831. 2. Kenrick Am. Orch. 259. 1832. 3. Downing Fr. Trees Am. 298. 1845. 4. Lee Gen. Farmer 6:141. 1845. 5. Am. Pom. Soc. Cat. 222, 244. 1858. 6. Hogg Fruit Man. 696. 1884. 7. Mich. Hort. Soc. Rpt. 327. 1889. 8. Guide Prat. 159, 355. 1895. 9. Mich. Hort. Soc. Rpt. 382. 1895. 10. Cornell Sta. Bul. 131:183, fig. 40 VI. 1897. 11. Am. Pom. Soc. Cat. 25. 1897. 12. Vt. Sta. An. Rpt. 12:214, 217. 1899. 13. Mich. Sta. Bul. 169:244. 1899. 14. W. N. Y. Hort. Soc. Rpt. 92. 1899. 15. Garden 56:168. 1899. 16. Can. Exp. Farm Bul. 43:33. 1903. 17. Can. Exp. Farms Rpt. 423. 1903.
Black Diamond 9. Black Diamond 11, 13. Diamant 8. Diamantpflaume 8. Dymond 15. Kentish Diamond 17. Kingston 14 incor. Smith’s Prune 7. Smith Prune 14.
To judge Diamond by appearance would be a grievous error. It is a large, beautifully colored, well-formed plum, tempting the palate; but one taste out of hand is a sufficiency. The flesh is coarse and the flavor not at all pleasant to one accustomed to good plums. Hogg says, in the reference given, that Diamond is one of the best preserving and cooking plums but in this case we doubt Hogg’s judgment unless, as may be, Diamond is much better in England than in America. The firm flesh and tough skin of the variety commend it as a market plum and the trees are above the average in size, vigor, hardiness and productiveness—all characters excepting quality bespeaking the favor of plum-growers. It is planted largely for the markets where, of course, it sells upon its appearance.
According to Downing, this variety was raised from seed by an Englishman, in Kent, named Diamond. Kenrick and Hogg, however, state that it was raised in the nursery of a Mr. Hooker, in Kent. The London Horticultural Society briefly described this variety in its fruit catalog for 1831 so that its origin antedates that year. The American Pomological Society rejected Diamond for its catalog in 1858 but placed it in its fruit list in 1897.
Tree above average in size and vigor, upright-spreading, somewhat dense-topped, hardy, very productive; branches ash-gray, roughish, with numerous, small lenticels, the bark marked with transverse lines; branchlets of medium thickness and length, with long internodes, greenish-red changing to dark brownish-red, dull, somewhat pubescent, with numerous, small lenticels; leaf-buds large, long, pointed, appressed.
Leaves folded upward, obovate or oval, one and seven-eighths inches wide, three and one-quarter inches long; upper surface dark green, with few hairs and with a grooved midrib; lower surface pubescent; apex obtuse to acute, base acute, margin serrate, with small, brown glands; petiole five-eighths inch long, slender, pubescent, reddish, with from one to four small, globose or reniform, greenish-yellow glands on the stalk or base of the leaf.
Blooming season early or medium, short; flowers appearing after the leaves, one inch across, the buds yellow-tipped changing to white on expanding; borne on lateral spurs, in pairs; pedicels five-eighths inch long, somewhat slender, pubescent, green; calyx-tube greenish, campanulate, pubescent; calyx-lobes broad, obtuse, pubescent on both surfaces, glandular-serrate, reflexed; petals broadly oval or roundish, entire or slightly crenate, tapering to short, broad claws; anthers roundish, yellow; filaments five-sixteenths inch in length; pistil lightly pubescent at the base, longer than the stamens.
Fruit mid-season, ripening period short; one and seven-eighths inches by one and three-quarters inches in size, oval, slightly necked, swollen on the ventral side, compressed; cavity very narrow and abrupt; suture shallow, often a line; apex roundish or pointed; color deep reddish-purple changing to dark purplish-black at full maturity, with thick bloom; dots numerous, small, russet, inconspicuous; stem slender, one inch long, finely pubescent, adhering well to the fruit; skin thin, rather sour, separating readily; flesh pale or golden-yellow, sometimes with a faint red tinge next the skin, not juicy, coarse, firm but rather tender, mild subacid to nearly sweet, not high in flavor; of fair quality; stone with a trace of red, semi-clinging, one and one-eighth inches by five-eighths inch in size, long-oval, necked at the base, abruptly sharp-pointed at the apex, with pitted surfaces; ventral suture rather broad, lightly furrowed; dorsal suture widely grooved.
DOUBLE FLOWERING GAGE
Prunus domestica
1. Duhamel Trait. Arb. Fr. 2:92. 1768. 2. Knoop Fructologie 57. 1771. 3. Kraft Pom. Aust. 2:32, Tab. 179 fig. 2. 1796. 4. Prince Pom. Man. 2:49. 1832. 5. Mag. Hort. 9:165. 1843. 6. Downing Fr. Trees Am. 316. 1845. 7. Poiteau Pom. Franc. 1:1846. 8. Mas Pom. Gen. 2:47. 1873. 9. Guide Prat. 163, 363. 1895.
Die grosse Königin Klaudia Pflaume mit halbgefullter Bluthe 3. Dauphin à Fleurs semi-doubles 5. Dauphin à Fleurs doubles 5. Dauphin à fleurs semi-doubles 5. Double-blossomed 5. Double-blossomed Plum 6. Gelbe Reneclode Mit Gefullter Bluthe 8. Prune à Fleurs Doubles 8. Prunier à fleurs semi-double 8. Prunier à fleur semi-double 1, 7. Prune à Fleurs Doubles 2. Prunier à fleur semi-double 4. Prune Semi-double 4. Prune à fleurs semi-double 4. Reine-Claude Semi-Double 8. Reine-Claude à fleur semi-double 4. Reine-Claude à Fleurs Semi-double 5, 9. Reine-Claude mit Halbgefullter Bluthe 9. Semi-double flowering Reine Claude 4.
This is an ornamental variety of the Reine Claude type first noted by Duhamel in 1768. It was probably well known in Europe at this time for a little later it was mentioned by Knoop of Holland and Kraft of Austria. Duhamel described two varieties; one with small fruit which was insipid when over-ripe, and the other large and of good flavor. In 1846, Poiteau thought the latter was probably identical with a variety growing at Luxembourg but he did not think the former was extant. In the third edition of the London Horticultural Society’s catalog, yellow and purple forms were mentioned, showing that the variety has been represented by more than one type. It is worthy of note that the double blossoms, except in strong soils, are apt to degenerate and become single. The following description is compiled.
Tree irregular and spreading, unproductive; branches brown on the shaded side and blood-red on the sunny side; flowers large, semi-double, with from twelve to eighteen petals; fruit mid-season; large, spherical; suture shallow, sometimes a line; flesh greenish-yellow, tender, soft, juicy, sweet, agreeably aromatic; clingstone.
DOWNING
DOWNING
Prunus munsoniana
1. Ia. Hort. Soc. Rpt. 287, 1887. 2. Ibid. 275, 448. 1893. 3. Ibid. 334. 1894. 4. Wis. Sta. Bul. 63:24, 30. 1897. 5. Am. Pom. Soc. Cat. 24. 1897. 6. Waugh Plum Cult. 185. 1901. 7. Wis. Sta. Bul. 87:12. 1901. 8. Ia. Sta. Bul. 46:269. 1900. 9. Ia. Hort. Soc. Rpt. 445. 1903. 10. Ohio Sta. Bul. 162:247 fig., 254, 255. 1905. 11. S. Dak. Sta. Bul. 93:15. 1905.
Charles Downing 1, 2, 3, 4, 7. Charles Downing 5, 6, 8, 11.
Downing is one of the best varieties of its species. The trees are large, usually productive, not often sterile as are some of its near of kin sorts and for a southern plum the variety is remarkably hardy, never having suffered in Geneva from cold. The only fault that can be found with the tree is that the foliage is quite susceptible to the shot-hole fungus. The fruit is particularly attractive with its bright, solid, garnet-red skin, golden flesh and sweet, pleasant flavor. Unfortunately the flesh is a little too fibrous and clings too tenaciously to the stone for pleasant eating. Downing adds a pleasing variety to any collection of plums and in some regions ought to sell with profit to the grower for the markets.
H. A. Terry of Crescent, Iowa, grew Downing from seed of the Wild Goose, which the originator thinks was fertilized by some Americana variety. The Downing, however, shows no traces of Americana parentage. It is reported as originating in 1882 and first fruiting in 1885. The American Pomological Society placed this variety on its fruit catalog list in 1897.
Tree large, spreading, flat-topped, hardy in New York, variable in productiveness; branches rough, dark gray, with a few large lenticels; branchlets slender, with very short internodes, greenish-red changing to dull reddish-brown, glossy, somewhat pubescent, with numerous, small, slightly raised lenticels; leaf-buds small, short, obtuse, appressed.
Leaves folded upward, broadly lanceolate, peach-like, one and three-eighths inches wide, three inches long, thin; upper surface reddish late in the fall, smooth, glabrous, with deeply grooved midrib; lower surface glabrous except along the midrib and larger veins; apex taper-pointed, margin very finely serrate, eglandular or sometimes with small dark glands; petiole thirteen-sixteenths inch long, slender, tinged with red, pubescent along one side, glandless or with from one to five small, globose, yellowish-red glands usually on the stalk.
Blooming season medium to late, long; flowers appearing after the leaves, one and one-sixteenth inches across, the buds yellow-tipped changing to white when expanded, with a strong, disagreeable odor; borne in dense clusters on lateral buds and spurs, in threes; pedicels eleven-sixteenths inch in length, very slender, glabrous, greenish; calyx-tube green, obconic, glabrous; calyx-lobes below medium in width, acute, finely pubescent on the inner surface only, somewhat reflexed, glandular-serrate, the glands numerous and dark colored; petals oval, narrow, long, crenate, tapering beneath to long, narrow claws; anthers pale yellow, with a faint reddish tinge; filaments seven-sixteenths inch in length; pistil slender, glabrous, shorter than the stamens.
Fruit mid-season, ripening period short; about one and one-eighth inches in diameter, rather large for its class, roundish-ovate, not compressed, halves equal; cavity shallow, narrow, flaring; suture very shallow and obscure; apex roundish or slightly conical; color garnet-red, with thin bloom; dots numerous, variable in size, grayish-yellow, conspicuous, clustered around the apex; stem slender, about three-eighths inch in length, glabrous, parting readily from the fruit; skin thin, slightly astringent, adhering but little; flesh golden-yellow, juicy, coarse, fibrous, tender and somewhat melting, very sweet next the skin but tart toward the center, aromatic; good; stone clinging, three-quarters inch by one-half inch in size, oval, somewhat oblique, turgid, roughish; ventral suture narrow, strongly winged; dorsal suture acute, unfurrowed.
DRAP D’OR
DRAP D’OR
Prunus insititia
1. Quintinye Com. Gard. 2:69. 1699. 2. Langley Pomona 94, 97, Pl. 24 fig. 5. 1729. 3. Duhamel Trait. Arb. Fr. 2:96. 1768. 4. Knoop Fructologie 57. 1771. 5. Coxe Cult. Fr. Trees 233 fig. 2. 1817. 6. Lond. Hort. Soc. Cat. 146. 1831. 7. Prince Pom. Man. 2:75. 1832. 8. Kenrick Am. Orch. 261. 1832. 9. Mag. Hort. 9:163. 1843. 10. Downing Fr. Trees Am. 274. 1845. 11. Poiteau Pom. Franc. 1:1846. 12. Floy-Lindley Guide Orch. Gard. 297, 383. 1846. 13. Thompson Gard. Ass’t 516. 1859. 14. Hogg Fruit Man. 359, 371, 387. 1866. 15. Pom. France 7: No. 12. 1871. 16. Am. Pom. Soc. Cat. 36. 1875. 17. Cat. Cong. Pom. France 350. 1887. 18. Mathieu Nom. Pom. 428. 1889. 19. Guide Prat. 153, 359. 1895. 20. Soc. Nat. Hort. France Pom. 538 fig. 1904. 21. Baltet Cult. Fr. 489, 503. 1908.
Cloth of Gold 2, 5, 7, 12, 14, 18, 19. Cloth of Gold Plum 15. Damas Jaune 15, 18, 19. Doppelte Mirabelle 18. Drap d’Or 1, 2. Drap d’Or Pflaume 15. Drap d’Or 7, 15, 18, 19, 20, 21. Double Drap d’Or 17. Double Mirabelle 17. Glauzende gelbe Mirabelle 15. Glänzende Gelbe Mirabelle 18, 19. Gold Pflaume 18. Goldfarbige Pflaume 15, 18, 19. Goldstoff 18. Goldzeng 18. Grosse Mirabelle ?7, 15, 18, 19, 21. Grosse Mirabelle 8, 21. Grosse Mirabelle Drap d’Or 18, 19. Mirabelle 15, 17. Mirabelle Double 19, 21. Mirabelle Double 3, 5, 6, 7, 10, 12, 13, 14, 18. Mirabelle Double de Metz 20. Mirabelle de Nancy 19, 21. Mirabelle de Nancy 14, 18. Mirabelle Drap d’Or 15, 18, 19. Mirabellen 15. Mirabelle grosse double de Metz 15, 18, 19. Mirabelle Grosse de Nancy 20. Mirabelle Grosse 15, 17, 20, 21. Mirabelle la grosse 7, 15, 18, 19. Mirabelle Grosse 6, ?7, 10, 13, 14, 15, 19. Mirabelle Perlée 15, 18, 19. Mirabelle von Metz 15. Perdrigon Hâtif 15, 20, of some 17, 18, 19. Perdrigon Jaune 20. Yellow Damask ?14. Yellow Damask 14, 18. Yellow Gage of some 5, 7. Yellow Perdrigon 9, 10, 13, 14, 15, 18, 19.
Drap d’Or represents a type of the plum hardly known in America but very popular in continental Europe and most popular of all plums in France, the chief plum-growing country of the Old World. It is probable that the division of Prunus insititia represented by Drap d’Or, the Mirabelle plums, will thrive in America as well as the commonly grown Damsons of the same species. These plums certainly deserve to be far more generally planted than they now are. It is certain from the behavior of the few trees of the Mirabelle group now growing in New York that they have very decided merit. Drap d’Or is probably not the best of the yellow, sweet Insititias but it is at least well worth trial.
According to Pomologie De La France, this variety was cited by Merlet in 1675 and is of old and uncertain origin. Merlet placed the Mirabelle and the Drap d’Or in the Damas class, but Poiteau thought that the latter was probably a cross between Reine Claude and Mirabelle since it resembled the former in quality and shape and the latter in color and size. Yellow Damask, Mirabelle de Nancy, Yellow Perdrigon, Gross Mirabelle and others have proved to be identical with the Drap d’Or as tested in Europe. Whether all of the other synonyms mentioned are the true Drap d’Or is a question; their number indicates that there are many variations in this type of the plum. The American Pomological Society placed Drap d’Or in its catalog list in 1875 and withdrew it in 1899.