The Plums of New York | Project Gutenberg

Hammer is one of the best native plums. On the Station grounds the trees of this variety make the best orchard plants of any of the native varieties, being large, vigorous, shapely and hardy, falling short only in being a little uncertain in bearing. The fruits are good in quality, handsome in appearance and keep and ship well, but crack badly in unfavorable weather and, according to some writers, are quite subject to brown-rot. Hammer extends the season of the Americana plums considerably, for though a hybrid, it may best be ranked with the Americanas, and is well worth planting in home orchards in New York, where the native plums are too seldom found; in particular, this variety can be recommended for the colder parts of this State where Domestica and Insititia plums are not hardy.

Hammer is one of H. A. Terry’s numerous productions and was grown from a seed of the Miner evidently fertilized by an Americana. The blood of the latter is shown by its hardiness and its broad, Americana-like foliage. The variety first fruited in 1888 and was sent out in 1892.

Tree very large, vigorous, round-topped, widely spreading, hardy at Geneva, an uncertain bearer; trunk and larger limbs shaggy; branches long, rough, brash, thorny, dark ash-gray, with many, large lenticels; branchlets thick, very long, with long internodes, green changing to dull reddish-brown, glabrous, with raised lenticels of medium number and size; leaf-buds small, short, obtuse, plump, free.

Leaves folded upward, oval or slightly obovate, two and one-eighth inches wide, four inches long, thin; upper surface somewhat rugose; lower surface pale green, very lightly pubescent along the midrib; apex taper-pointed, base obtuse, often unsymmetrical, margin coarsely and doubly serrate, eglandular; petiole three-quarters inch long, sparingly pubescent along one side, tinged red, glandless or with from one to four small, globose, greenish-brown glands on the stalk.

Blooming season medium to late, long; flowers appearing after the leaves, fifteen-sixteenths inch across, white, with a disagreeable odor; borne in clusters on lateral buds and spurs, in twos or in threes; pedicels five-eighths inch in length, slender, glabrous, greenish; calyx-tube green, campanulate, glabrous; calyx-lobes narrow, obtuse, thinly pubescent within, glandular-serrate and with marginal hairs, somewhat reflexed; petals ovate or oval, irregularly crenate, tapering below into claws of medium length and breadth; anthers yellowish; filaments seven-sixteenths inch in length; pistil glabrous, equal to or shorter than the stamens in length.

Fruit mid-season, ripening period of average length; one and one-quarter inches in diameter, roundish-oval, slightly compressed, halves equal; cavity very shallow, narrow, flaring; suture an indistinct line; apex roundish; color crimson overspread with thick bloom; dots numerous, very small, light russet, inconspicuous; stem slender, five-eighths inch long, glabrous, not adhering to the fruit; skin thick, tough, inclined to crack under unfavorable conditions, separating readily; flesh golden-yellow, juicy, fibrous, tender and melting, sweet, strongly aromatic; good; stone semi-free, three-quarters inch by five-eighths inch in size, flattened, roundish-oval, somewhat compressed at the base, abruptly pointed at the apex, rough; ventral suture rather narrow, faintly ridged; dorsal suture with a narrow, shallow groove.

HAND

1. Horticulturist 2:436. 1847. 2. Ibid. 6:21 fig., 187, 294. 1851. 3. Am. Pom. Soc. Rpt. 190, 214. 1856. 4. Downing Fr. Trees Am. 382. 1857. 5. Hogg Fruit Man. 362. 1866. 6. Mas Pom. Gen. 2:19, fig. 10. 1873. 7. Ont. Fr. Exp. Sta. Rpt. 120. 1896. 8. Cornell Sta. Bul. 131:185. 1897. 9. Waugh Plum Cult. 108 fig. 1901. 10. Budd-Hansen Am. Hort. Man. 314, 315 fig. 1903. 11. Mass. Sta. An. Rpt. 17:159. 1905.

Gen. Hand 1, 2. General Hand 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8. Genl. Hand 4. General Hand 9, 10. Montgomery 3 incor.

Unproductiveness and uncertainty in bearing keep this magnificent yellow dessert plum from being one of the most commonly grown of all plums in America. Even with these handicaps, it has maintained its popularity for a century, is grown in all collections and shown in all exhibitions of note. It is the largest of the Reine Claude plums, well molded, a golden-yellow and when allowed to become fully ripe is most excellent in flavor and pleasing in all the flesh attributes of a good dessert plum. It is not as high in quality as some other of the Reine Claude plums, as, for example the Washington, with which it is often compared, for it is a little coarser in flesh and not as sprightly, but it is better than is commonly thought, because it is seldom allowed to reach its best flavor by full maturity. The trees on the Station grounds are all that could be asked for even in bearing; and elsewhere size, vigor and hardiness are usually satisfactory but productiveness is a weak point. The amateur should always plant this variety and it would seem as if it were more often worth planting in commercial orchards.

The history of this variety is well known. The original tree grew on the place of General Hand, on the Conestoga River, about a mile from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and first fruited about 1790. Thirty years later a Mr. Miller procured grafts and succeeded in growing them. The variety was brought to the notice of fruit-growers by E. W. Carpenter, a nurseryman of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, who sent grafts to his brother, S. Carpenter, of Lancaster, Ohio, and Robert Sinclair, Baltimore, Maryland. To the latter the introduction of the Hand has been incorrectly attributed. In 1856, Hand was listed in the fruit catalog of the American Pomological Society.

Tree large, vigorous, spreading, dense-topped, hardy, variable in productiveness; branches dark ash-gray, rough, with small lenticels; branchlets of medium thickness and length, with long internodes, green changing to brownish-red, pubescent early in the season, becoming less so at maturity, with few, inconspicuous, small lenticels; leaf-buds large, long, obtuse, appressed; leaf-scars large.

Leaves folded backward, obovate or oval, two and three-eighths inches wide, four and one-half inches long; upper surface dark green, rugose, slightly hairy, with a shallow, grooved midrib; lower surface pale green, pubescent; apex and base acute, margin finely and doubly serrate; petiole three-quarters inch long, thickish, pubescent, tinged red, with from one to four small, globose, greenish-brown glands on the stalk or base of the leaf.

Blooming season intermediate in time, short; flowers appearing after the leaves, one and one-quarter inches across, white; borne sparsely on lateral buds and spurs; pedicels seven-eighths inch long, very pubescent, greenish; calyx-tube green, campanulate, pubescent; calyx-lobes broad, obtuse, pubescent on both surfaces, glandular-serrate, reflexed; petals roundish or obovate, slightly crenate, with short, broad claws; anthers yellowish; filaments three-eighths inch long; pistil lightly pubescent at the base, equal to the stamens in length.

Fruit mid-season, ripening period long; one and three-quarters inches in diameter, roundish-truncate or oblate, halves equal; cavity deep, flaring; suture shallow, distinct; apex flattened or depressed; color yellow, obscurely striped and mottled with green, overspread with thin bloom; dots numerous, whitish, inconspicuous, clustered about the apex; stem unusually long, averaging one and five-sixteenths inches in length, very pubescent, adhering strongly to the fruit; skin thick, tough, slightly astringent, separating readily; flesh golden-yellow, juicy, somewhat fibrous, firm, sweet, with pleasant, mild flavor; very good; stone semi-free or free, the cavity larger than the pit, seven-eighths inch by three-quarters inch in size, broadly oval, turgid, blunt at the base and apex, slightly roughened; ventral suture broad, sometimes winged; dorsal suture broadly and deeply grooved.

HARRIET

1. Gard. Chron. 18:441. 1882. 2. Hogg Fruit Man. 705. 1884.

Harriet is little known in America, but as the variety grows on our grounds it appears to be somewhat desirable. The type is that of Reine Claude, the fruit being slightly yellower; the quality is very good and the tree-characters are good. It is doubtful, however, in spite of these attributes to recommend it, whether, with the multiplicity of plums of this type, the variety in question can make headway in the United States. Harriet was originated by Thomas Rivers, Sawbridgeworth, England, about 1870. While considerably grown in England, it can hardly be said to be one of the leading varieties in that country.

Tree medium in size and vigor, spreading, open, productive; branchlets thick, very short, pubescent throughout the season; leaf-buds large, long, tipped brush-like at the apex; leaves folded upward, oval, one and one-half inches wide, two and three-quarters inches long, the young leaves bright red when opening; margin serrate or almost crenate; petiole tinged red, glandless or with one or two glands usually at the base of the leaf; blooming season intermediate, short; flowers appearing after the leaves, one inch across; borne on lateral buds and spurs, singly or in pairs.

Fruit mid-season, ripening period long; about one and three-eighths inches in diameter, roundish-oblate, somewhat oblique, golden-yellow, sometimes mottled with red, overspread with thin bloom; flesh golden-yellow, firm, sweet, pleasant in flavor; of very good quality; stone clinging, five-eighths inch by one-half inch in size, oval, turgid, with slightly roughened surfaces.

HAWKEYE

1. Ia. Hort. Soc. Rpt. 287. 1887. 2. U. S. D. A. Rpt. 441. 1889. 3. Ia. Hort. Soc. Rpt. 55, 85. 1890. 4. Cornell Sta. Bul. 38:38, 86. 1892. 5. Wis. Sta. Bul. 63:40, 41. 1897. 6. Am. Pom. Soc. Cat. 24. 1897. 7. Colo. Sta. Bul. 50:37. 1898. 8. Ia. Sta. Bul. 46:274. 1900. 9. Waugh Plum Cult. 151. 1901. 10. Ont. Fr. Gr. Assoc. 144. 1901. 11. Wis. Sta. Bul. 87:13. 1901. 12. S. Dak. Sta. Bul. 93:19. 1905. 13. Ohio Sta. Bul. 162:254, 255. 1905.

This variety is a very satisfactory and widely planted Americana. It is typical of its species; and its foliage, fruit and pit in the color-plate herewith presented all represent Prunus americana very well. The fruit of Hawkeye is more satisfactory than the tree, being both attractive in appearance and pleasant to eat either out of hand or cooked; the chief fault of the fruit is that it seems to be easily infected with brown-rot. The trees are crooked in body and quite too straggling and at the same time too dense in growth to make good orchard plants. It requires very careful pruning and training to keep the trees at all manageable. In some of the references given above it is stated that Hawkeye on its own roots is a better tree than otherwise propagated. This variety belongs in the middle west but it might be grown for home use in northern New York where it is too cold for the European plums.

Hawkeye is a seedling of Quaker grown by H. A. Terry,[217] Crescent, Iowa. It first fruited in 1882 and the following year was introduced by the originator. In the Iowa Horticultural Society Report for 1887, Mr. Terry stated that the original tree had borne five crops in succession and he believed it to be the most valuable variety in cultivation for the West and Northwest. The American Pomological Society placed this plum on its fruit catalog list in 1897.

Tree large, vigorous, rather upright at first, becoming spreading, low-headed, hardy, usually productive, but variable in some locations, susceptible to attacks of shot-hole fungus; branches numerous, dark brown, rough, thorny, with numerous, large lenticels; branchlets long, willowy, with internodes of medium length, green, changing to dull reddish-brown, shining, glabrous, with numerous large, raised lenticels; leaf-buds small, short, pointed, appressed.

Leaves tinged red late in the season, nearly flat, oval or slightly obovate, two inches wide, four inches long, rather thin; upper surface dark green, smooth, glabrous, with midrib and larger veins deeply grooved; lower surface light green, lightly pubescent along the midrib and larger veins; apex taper-pointed, base very abrupt, margin coarsely and doubly serrate, the serrations often becoming spiny, eglandular; petiole rather slender, nine-sixteenths inch in length, tinged with pink, sparingly pubescent along one side, glandless or with one or two globose, greenish-brown glands.

Blooming season intermediate in time and length; flowers appearing with the leaves, showy on account of the numerous, pure white, flat petals, with a somewhat disagreeable odor; borne in clusters on lateral buds and spurs, in pairs; pedicels seven-sixteenths inch in length, glabrous, green with a distinct reddish tinge on one side; calyx-tube red, broadly obconic, glabrous; calyx-lobes short, obtuse, pubescent on both surfaces, eglandular, with a hairy, serrate margin, somewhat reflexed; petals ovate, crenate, but somewhat fringed, long and narrowly clawed; anthers yellowish; filaments five-sixteenths inch long; pistil glabrous, shorter than the stamens.

Fruit mid-season, ripening period of medium length; about one and one-eighth inches in diameter, roundish-oval or ovate, not compressed, halves equal; cavity unusually shallow, very narrow; suture an indistinct line; apex roundish; color dull carmine, covered with thin bloom; dots numerous, gray or reddish, nearly obscure, with almost none around the base; stem slender, below medium in length; skin thick, tough, astringent, adhering; flesh pale, dull yellow, very juicy, slightly fibrous, watery and melting, sweet at first with a tart and somewhat astringent after-taste; good; stone adhering to the pulp, seven-eighths inch by five-eighths inch in size, roundish-oval, flattened, smooth, blunt at the base and apex, conspicuously winged on the ventral suture, with a deep but narrow groove on the dorsal suture.

HUDSON

1. Mich. Hort. Soc. Rpt. 289. 1889. 2. Mich. Sta. Bul. 103:35 1894. 3. Ohio Hort. Soc. Rpt. 30:168. 1896-97. 4. Cornell Sta. Bul. 131:181 fig. 40 III, 187. 1897. 5. Am. Pom. Soc. Cat. 25. 1897. 6. Can. Exp. Farm Bul. 2nd Ser. 3:52. 1900. 7. Waugh Plum Cult. 109. 1901.

Hudson River Purple 6. Hudson River Purple Egg 1, 3, 4. Hudson River Purple Egg 2, 5, 7. Purple Egg 2.

Hudson is limited in cultivation, belonging almost wholly to the Hudson River Valley where it has long been somewhat of a favorite for both home and market planting. The variety has few qualities of fruit to commend it especially outside of the region where it is now grown and even here its value is probably overrated. The fruits are of only medium size, not markedly attractive in appearance and the quality is below the average among standard plums. The trees are for most part very good in constitution and habit of growth and in particular bear very well; they have the faults of not bearing early and of being subject to black-knot. The variety, and perhaps it is well, is being less planted than formerly.

Nothing is known of the origin of the Hudson except that it has been grown in the Hudson River Valley for a good many years. About 1870 it attracted the attention of S. D. Willard of Geneva, New York, who, thinking it a valuable acquisition, commenced its propagation. In 1897, it was listed by the American Pomological Society as a successful variety for this region. J. R. Cornell, a well informed fruit-grower of Newburgh, New York, in a letter written February 21, 1910, says, “I recall Hudson very distinctly as it was grown when I was a small boy over fifty years ago. I would not be surprised, if the facts could be obtained, to learn that the variety came from Europe, in fact, I incline to that opinion.”

Tree large, vigorous, spreading, very productive, hardy; branches ash-gray, smooth except for the small, raised lenticels; branchlets slender, with long internodes, greenish-red changing to brownish-red, dull, glabrous early in the season becoming lightly pubescent at maturity, with small, inconspicuous lenticels; leaf-buds below medium in size and length, conical, strongly appressed.

Leaves flattened, obovate or oval, two inches wide, three and three-quarters inches long; upper surface dark green, smooth, sparsely hairy along the grooved midrib; lower surface silvery-green, faintly pubescent; apex acute, base abrupt, margin serrate, eglandular or with small dark glands; petiole five-eighths inch long, thick, lightly pubescent, glandless or with from one to three greenish-yellow glands.

Blooming season short; flowers appearing after the leaves, one and one-eighth inches across, white; borne in scattering clusters on lateral spurs, singly or in pairs; pedicels nine-sixteenths inch long, glabrous except for a few scattering hairs; calyx-tube green, campanulate, pubescent at the base; calyx-lobes obtuse, lightly pubescent on both surfaces, glandular-serrate, reflexed; petals obovate, crenate, tapering to short, broad claws; anthers yellowish; filaments three-eighths inch long; pistil glabrous, longer than the stamens.

Fruit late, season of medium length; one and five-eighths inches by one and one-eighth inches in size, long-oval, halves unequal; cavity shallow, narrow, abrupt, regular; suture shallow; apex slightly pointed; color dark reddish-purple changing to purplish-black, overspread with thick bloom; dots numerous, small, russet, inconspicuous; stem slender, one inch long, sparingly pubescent; skin thin, tender, sour, separating readily; flesh golden-yellow, juicy, rather tender, sweet next the skin but sour towards the center, aromatic; good; stone one and one-eighth inches by five-eighths inch in size, sometimes reddish, ovate, roughened and faintly pitted, acute at the base and apex; ventral suture wide, with numerous ridges; dorsal suture with a wide, shallow groove.

HULINGS

1. Prince Treat. Hort. 23. 1828. 2. Kenrick Am. Orch. 261. 1832. 3. Downing Fr. Trees Am. 277. 1845. 4. Horticulturist 1:166. 1846. 5. Am. Pom. Soc. Cat. 86. 1862. 6. Hogg Fruit Man. 705. 1884. 7. Mathieu Nom. Pom. 435. 1885. 8. Guide Prat. 158, 366. 1895.

Gloire de New York, 6, 7, 8. Huling’s Superb 7, 8. Huling’s Superb 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. Huling’s Treffliche 7. Keiser 2. Keyser’s Plum 3, 6, 7, 8. Superbe de Huling 8.

Hulings is one of the largest of the Reine Claude group of plums and a remarkably fine fruit in every respect. It is particularly agreeable to the taste because of its sprightliness, which so many plums of its type lack. As this variety grows in New York it has much to recommend it for commercial plantations. Its lack of popularity among planters is due somewhat to the wholesale substitution by nurserymen of spurious varieties for it. Hulings originated early in the last century with a Mr. Keyser of Pennsylvania who grew it from seed, but Dr. W. E. Hulings of the same state brought it to public notice.

Tree large, vigorous, upright-spreading, dense-topped, productive; branchlets brash, thick, pubescent; leaves unusually large, obovate, three inches wide, six and one-half inches long, thick, leathery, rugose; margin crenate or serrate; petiole thick, tinged red, pubescent, with from one to three globose glands.

Fruit maturing in mid-season; about one and seven-eighths inches in diameter, roundish, dull greenish-yellow, overspread with thin bloom; skin thin, somewhat sour; flesh greenish, firm but tender, sprightly; good to very good; stone clinging, one and one-eighth inches by three-quarters inch in size, broad-oval, medium turgid, with short, thick, slightly oblique apex; ventral suture often winged; dorsal suture wide, deep.

HUNGARIAN

1. Knoop Fructologie 2:61. 1771. 2. Willichs Dom. Enc. 4:190. 1803. 3. Lond. Hort. Soc. Cat. 143, 148. 1831. 4. Downing Fr. Trees Am. 2nd App. 156. 1876. 5. Oberdieck Deut. Obst. Sort. 404. 1881. 6. Mas Le Verger 6:51, fig. 26. 1866-73. 7. Koch Deut. Obst. 568. 1876. 8. Mathieu Nom. Pom. 452. 1889. 9. Cal. State Board Hort. 111 fig. 11. 1891. 10. Lucas Vollst. Hand. Obst. 474. 1894. 11. Lange Allgem. Garten. 2:421. 1897. 12. Mich. Hort. Soc. Rpt. 465. 1893. 13. Oregon Sta. Bul. 45:33. 1897. 14. Waugh Plum Cult. 109. 1901.

Autriche Violette (Pr. de) 8. Blaue Dattel Pflaume 8. Blue Egg-Plum? 2. Datte de Hungrie 13. Dattelzwetsche 6. Datte Violette 8. Date de Hongrie 14. Datte de Hongrie 4, 14. Date Plum 7. D’Autriche 3. Frühe Dattelzwetsche 10. Grosse u. Lange Früh Zwetsche 8. Grosse Früh Zwetsche 8. Hungarian Date 9. Hungarian Prune? 3, 14. Hungarica 7. Hungarian Prune 4, 11, 12. Hungarian Plum 2. Lange Violette Dattel Zwetsche 8. Osterreichische Pflaume 8. Prune-Datte 3, 6. Prune Datte Violette 3. Prune d’Autriche 6, 8. Quetsche de Hongrie 8. Quetsche Datte Violette 8. Quetsche Datte 6, 8. Quetsche-Datte Violette 6. Quetsche Hongroise 1. Quetsche de Hongrie 6. Sabel Pflaume 8. Späte Dattel Pflaume 8. Ungarische Pflaume 8. Ungarische Dattelzwetsche 5. Ungarishe Sabel Pflaume 8. Violette Dattelzwetsche 6. Violette Dattelzwetsche 8. Türkische Zwetsche 8. Ungarische Zwetsche 8. Virginische Ludwig’s Pflaume 8.

This plum, representing a type hardly known in America, may be a descendant of a species distinct from Prunus domestica, and if not, must at least be considered a well-marked division of the species named. It differs but little from typical Domestica varieties in habit of growth but the leaves are smaller, distinctly folded, and droop, giving an aspect to the tree distinct from the Domesticas in general. But it is the fruit that differs most. Fruit and stone are more elongated than in other varieties of its supposed species and the stone is larger, flatter, more pitted and more pointed at the base and apex. The stem, too, is longer than in the average Domestica. These differences in leaf, fruit and pit may be well seen if the color-plate of this variety be compared with those of well-recognized Domesticas. It is doubtful if Hungarian is worth cultivating in New York though it is larger than the commonly grown German Prune, with which it must be compared, and is fully equal if not better in quality but its type is unknown and consumers hesitate to buy the unknown. It is well worth a place in private collections.

Nothing is known of the history of this plum other than that it has been long under cultivation and that, as its name suggests, it came from Hungary. As in the case of many of the varieties which came from Hungary there are several strains of this plum. The variety that is known in America as Hungarian was reported by Downing in 1876, as originating in Belgium, a mistake, as this is known to have been widely spread for a long time in Europe and European authorities trace it back to Hungary. The Ungarish of Budd, the Hungarian Prune of the Pacific Coast which is Pond Seedling, and the Date Plum, a yellow plum of Downing, all passing under the name “Hungarian,” are distinct varieties.

Tree large, vigorous, upright-spreading, dense-topped, hardy, productive; branches ash-gray, smooth, with few, small lenticels; branchlets thick, long, with internodes of average length, greenish-red changing to brownish-red, dull, sparsely pubescent, with few, small, inconspicuous lenticels; leaf-buds of medium size and length, conical, appressed.

Leaves drooping, folded upward, oval or obovate, one and five-eighths inches wide, three and one-quarter inches long, thick; upper surface dark green, rough, hairy, with a deeply, narrowly grooved midrib; lower surface pale green, pubescent; apex and base acute, margin serrate, eglandular or with small brown glands; petiole nine-sixteenths inch long, pubescent, tinged red, glandless or with one or two globose, greenish-yellow glands usually at the base of the leaf.

Blooming season intermediate in time and length; flowers appearing after the leaves, seven-eighths inch across, the buds tinged yellow, changing to white on opening, not clustered but distributed on lateral spurs, singly or in pairs; pedicels seven-eighths inch long, very slender, pubescent, greenish; calyx-tube green, campanulate, pubescent; calyx-lobes narrow, acuminate, thickly pubescent on both surfaces, glandular-serrate, reflexed; petals narrowly ovate, serrate, converging at the base into narrow claws; anthers yellowish; filaments seven-sixteenths inch long; pistil glabrous, equal to the stamens in length, small, slender.

Fruit late, season short; one and five-eighths inches by one inch in size, distinctly oblong, somewhat necked, swollen on the suture side, compressed, halves unequal; cavity very shallow and narrow, abrupt; suture shallow; apex pointed; color dark reddish-purple, overspread with thick bloom; dots numerous, small, russet, inconspicuous; stem slender, one and one-eighth inches long, pubescent, adhering well to the fruit; skin thin, tough, slightly sour, separating readily; flesh yellowish-green, juicy, firm but tender, sweet, mild; good to very good; stone semi-free to free, one and one-eighth inches by one-half inch in size, irregular long-oval, flattened, necked at the base, acute at the apex, with thickly pitted surfaces; ventral suture wide, blunt; dorsal suture with a wide, deep groove.

ICKWORTH

1. Gard. Chron. 1:734. 1841. 2. Ibid. 2:176. 1842. 3. Downing Fr. Trees Am. 302. 1845. 4. Thomas Am. Fruit Cult. 345. 1849. 5. Elliott Fr. Book. 420. 1854. 6. Thompson Gard. Ass’t 517. 1859. 7. Mas Le Verger 6:57, Pl. 29. 1866-73. 8. Barry Fr. Garden 413. 1883. 9. Hogg Fruit Man. 706. 1884. 10. Mathieu Nom. Pom. 435. 1889. 11. Wickson Cal. Fruits 358. 1891. 12. Cornell Sta. Bul. 131:187. 1897. 13. Waugh Plum Cult. 110. 1901.

Ickworth Imperatrice 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12. Ickworth Imperatrice 13. Imperatrice Ickworth 10. Imperatrice Jckworth 7. Jckworth Imperatrice 7. Knight’s No. 6. 3, 5, 9, 10.

Ickworth is hardly known in America though in England it is a favorite late plum noted as being one of the best of all plums for late keeping. In New York the plums of this variety are too small for the market and are not high enough in quality for a home plum; moreover, the plums do not always ripen in this latitude. In California Ickworth has been found to make a very good prune and to ship very well in the green state but here again small size debars it from great commercial value. The habits of growth of Ickworth are very good and so markedly so that when considered with the late keeping qualities of the fruit, one wishes that this variety might be bred with a larger plum of better quality with the hope of an offspring from the union of especial value as a late plum.

Knight, the noted English pomologist, raised this plum from the Imperatrice fertilized by Golden Drop and named it after Ickworth Park, near Bury St. Edmunds. Knight aimed in raising this and other plums to produce a fruit containing sufficient sugar to keep well and not shrivel. In Ickworth he succeeded to a high degree.

Tree large, rather vigorous, upright-spreading, hardy, productive; branches dark ash-gray, roughened by the numerous, large, raised lenticels; branchlets of medium thickness and length, with internodes of average length, green changing to brownish-drab, dull, lightly pubescent, with numerous, inconspicuous, small lenticels, leaf-buds small, short, conical, appressed.

Leaves folded upward, obovate or oval, one and three-eighths inches wide, three inches long, thick, leathery; upper surface dark green, shining, pubescent only along the grooved midrib; lower surface silvery-green, sparingly pubescent; apex abruptly pointed or acute, base acute, margin crenate, with small dark glands; petiole one-half inch long, thick, greenish, pubescent along one side, glandless or with from one to four large, reniform or globose, yellowish-brown glands usually on the stalk.

Season of bloom intermediate, long; flowers appearing after the leaves, one inch across, white; borne in thin clusters on lateral buds and spurs, singly or in pairs; pedicels seven-sixteenths inch long, below medium in thickness, glabrous, greenish; calyx-tube green, campanulate, glabrous; calyx-lobes broad, obtuse, lightly pubescent, with few glands and marginal hairs, erect; petals roundish or roundish-oval, finely crenate, tapering below to short, broad claws; anthers yellowish; filaments one-quarter inch long; pistil glabrous, longer than the stamens.

Fruit very late, season long; one and three-eighth inches by one and one-quarter inches in size, oval or roundish-oval, sometimes slightly compressed, halves unequal; cavity shallow, narrow, abrupt; suture shallow, wide; apex one-sided, roundish or depressed; color purplish-red changing to purplish-black, mottled, overspread with thick bloom, dots numerous, very small, inconspicuous, scattered between irregular flecks and nettings; stem thirteen-sixteenths inch long, lightly pubescent, adhering well to the fruit; skin thick, tender, adhering; flesh dull yellowish, juicy, sweet, mild, pleasant; good; stone usually clinging, seven-eighths inch by one-half inch in size, irregularly oval, flattened, faintly pitted, acute at the base, blunt at the apex; ventral suture wide, heavily furrowed, swollen; dorsal suture widely and shallowly grooved.

IMPERATRICE

1. Quintinye Com. Gard. 67, 69. 1699. 2. Langley Pomona 95, Pl. XXV fig. III. 1729. 3. Duhamel Trait. Arb. Fr. 105, Pl. XVIII. 1768. 4. Kraft Pom. Aust. 2:45, Tab. 200 fig. 2. 1796. 5. Miller Gard. Dict. 3. 1807. 6. Forsyth Treat. Fr. Trees 20. 1803. 7. Pom. Mag. 1:33. 1828. 8. Lond. Hort. Soc. Cat. 148. 1831. 9. Prince Pom. Man. 2:60. 1832. 10. Downing Fr. Trees Am. 290. 1845. 11. Floy-Lindley Guide Orch. Gard. 287, 383. 1846. 12. Thomas Am. Fruit Cult. 344. 1849. 13. Elliott Fr. Book 416. 1854. 14. McIntosh Bk. Gard. 2:529. 1855. 15. Thompson Gard. Ass’t 515. 1859. 16. Mas Pom. Gen. 2:101. 1873. 17. Am. Pom. Soc. Cat. 36. 1877. 18. Hogg Fruit Man. 687. 1884. 19. Mathieu Nom. Pom. 423, 452. 1889. 20. Guide Prat. 161, 358. 1895.

Blue Perdrigon, of some 2. Blaue Kaiserin 19. Blue Imperatrice 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17, 18. Blue Imperatrice 16, 19. Die Veischenfarbige Kaiserinnpflaume 4. Empress I. Empress 5, 6, 9, 18, 19. Fürsten Zwetsche 19. Fürstenzwetsche 20. Hoheitspflaume 19, 20. Imperatrice Blue 8. Imperatrice 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 18, 19. Imperatrice Violette 3, 16, 20. Imperatrice Violette 4, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 18, 19. Late Red Imperial 9. Late Violet, of some 2. Prinzessin Pflaume 19. Prune d’Altesse? 9. Red Magnum Bonum 9. Red Imperial 9. Smith’s large October? 9. The Imperatrice Plum 7. Veritable Imperatrice 8, 10, 13, 14, 15, 19. Violette 8, 10, 13, 14, 15, 19. Violette Kaiserin 19. Violette Kaiserin 16, 20, Violet Empress 9, 19.

Imperatrice has been long known and widely grown but the variety has no especial cultural value in the United States, the fruit being too small and too poor in quality. If it has any merit, it is keeping quality, the fruit hanging well on the tree and keeping well, even improving after picking.

This is an old variety, well known in Austria, France and England during the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries. Like most long-known varieties its nomenclature is badly confused. Writers have confounded it with Semiana, the Perdrigons, German Prune and other plums of similar appearance. Duhamel regarded this variety as Perdrigon Late, holding that the true Imperatrice is nearly round. Calvel, also, describes a roundish plum under this name in his Traite Complet sur les Pepinieres. It is probable, however, that both Duhamel and Calvel were mistaken as all other authors describe an obovate plum. This variety was introduced into America early in the last century but has never become popular. It is of interest, nevertheless, since it has been a leading European variety, is a parent of a number of other varieties and its name is given to a group of plums. The American Pomological Society added it to its fruit catalog list in 1877, but dropped it in 1883.

Tree large, vigorous, upright-spreading, productive; leaves obovate or oval, two and one-quarter inches wide, four and one-quarter inches long, slightly rugose; margin crenate; petiole one inch long, thick, tinged red, pubescent, glandless, or with one or two small glands usually at the base of the leaf.

Fruit late; one and one-half inches by one and three-eighths inches in size, roundish or ovate, purplish-black, overspread with medium thick bloom; flesh golden-yellow, rather dry, firm but tender, sweet; of fair quality; stone free, one inch by three-quarters inch in size, roundish-ovate, the surfaces often granular and with a reddish tinge.

IMPERIAL EPINEUSE

1. Cal. State Bd. Hort. 48, 50. 1897-98. 2. U. S. D. A. Div. Pom. Bul. 7:316. 1898. 3. Can. Exp. Farm Bul. 2nd Ser. 3:53 1900. 4. Bailey Cyc. Hort. 1378. 1901. 5. Wickson Cal. Fruits 221, 224. 1908.

Clairac Mammoth 1, 5. Imperial Epineux 3.

Imperial Epineuse is well worthy a trial in New York. It is not surpassed in quality by any other plum of its color. It is one of the largest plums in the Prune group and is made further attractive by a handsome reddish-purple color which is lighter or darker according to the exposure of the plums to the sun. As grown in two orchards near Geneva the tree-characters are exceptionally good; the crop is so borne on the main limbs as to be protected from the sun and the tree is particularly large and vigorous, its strong upright growth being a striking characteristic of the variety. If the variety proves to be as valuable elsewhere in the State in all characters as it is here it cannot but make a very desirable plum for the market.

The Imperial Epineuse was found growing as a chance seedling about 1870 in an abandoned monastery near Clairac, in the Valley of Lot, the great prune district of France. It was first brought to the United States by Felix Gillett of Nevada City, California, who received the variety with several others in 1883, three years previous to a similar importation made by John Rock of Niles, California. After testing the variety Mr. Gillett mentioned it, without a name, in his catalog in 1888 but owing to the scarcity of the trees was unable to introduce it to the trade until 1893 when it was sent out under the name “Clairac Mammoth,” from the name of its place of origin. In 1895 E. Smith & Sons of Geneva, New York, received this variety from Gillett and grew it under the name “Clarice Mammoth”.

Tree large, vigorous, spreading, fairly productive; branches numerous, covered with many fruit-spurs; branchlets twiggy, marked with scarf-skin; leaf-buds large, very free, broad at the base; leaves folded backward, obovate, one and three-quarters inches wide, three and one-half inches long, thick, rugose, glabrous except along the deeply and widely grooved midrib; petiole one inch long, tinged red, glandless or with from one to three globose glands; blooming season intermediate in time and length; flowers appearing after the leaves, one inch across, singly or in threes.

Fruit rather late, season short to medium in length; large, slightly obovate, purplish-red, darker on the sunny side, mottled, overspread with thick bloom; flesh greenish-yellow, fibrous, rather tender, sweet, agreeable in flavor; good to very good; stone clinging, one inch by five-eighths inch in size, irregular-oval, flattened, obliquely but bluntly contracted at the base, with pitted surfaces; ventral suture narrow, prominent, often distinctly winged.

IMPERIAL GAGE

1. Am. Gard. Cal. 588. 1806. 2. Prince Treat. Hort. 25, 26. 1828. 3. Lond. Hort. Soc. Cat. 147, 148. 1831. 4. Prince Pom. Man. 2:56. 1832. 5. Kenrick Am. Orch. 209. 1835. 6. Mag. Hort. 6:123. 1840. 7. Cultivator 10:167 fig. 1843. 8. Downing Fr. Trees Am. 278 fig. 107. 1845. 9. Floy-Lindley Guide Orch. Gard. 302, 383. 1846. 10. N. Y. Agr. Soc. Rpt. 343 fig. 1847. 11. Thomas Am. Fruit Cult. 325, 326 fig. 254. 1849. 12. Mag. Hort. 16:454. 1850. 13. Am. Pom. Soc. Cat. 54. 1852. 14. Elliott Fr. Book 411. 1854. 15. U. S. Pat. Off. Rpt. 148, Pl. 5 fig. 1. 1864. 16. Barry Fr. Garden 413. 1883. 17. Mathieu Nom. Pom. 443. 1889. 18. Wickson Cal. Fruits 355. 1891. 19. Mich. Sta. Bul. 103:34. 1894. 20. Guide Prat. 154, 364. 1895. 21. Cornell Sta. Bul. 131:187. 1897. 22. Va. Sta. Bul. 134:42. 1902. 23. Ohio Sta. Bul. 162:239, 254, 255. 1905.

Flushing Gage 7, 8, 11, 12, 14, 15, 17, 20. Flushing Gage 3, 9. Harper 22. Imperial Gage 17, 20. Imperial Green Gage 7. Jenkinson’s Imperial 6, 14, 15. Prince’s Gage 4, 12, 17. Prince’s Imperial Gage 4, 5, 6, 10. Prinzens Kaiser Reine Claude 20. Prince’s Kaiser Reine-Claude 17. Prince’s Imperial Gage 8, 11, 14, 15, 17, 20. Prince’s White Gage 4, 12, 17. Reine-Claude de Flushings 20. Reine-Claude Imperiale 20. Reine-Claude Imperiale 17. Reine-Claude Verte Imperiale 17. Reine-Claude Imperiale de Prince 17, 20. Reine-Claude Blanche de Boston 17, 20. Reine-Claude Verte Superieure 20. Superior Gage 9. Superior Green Gage 12, 14, 15, 17, 20. Superior Green Gage? 3. Superiour Green Gage 8. White Gage? 1, 2, 20. White Gage 14, 15. White Gage of Boston 7, 8, 11, 17.

Probably there is more contradictory evidence as to the value of Imperial Gage than of any other American grown plum. It is down in some of the fruit books as being the largest of all the Reine Claude plums and in others as being too small to be desirable; in some, as being of highest quality and in others as being quite too insipid to be called a dessert fruit. These contradictions have arisen because the variety grows quite differently in different soils. The Imperial Gage is best adapted to light sandy soils, growing largest and being best in quality on such soils and making the poorest show of all on heavy clay. The illustration in The Plums of New York shows it as it grows on an unsuitable soil—small, poorly colored, worthless for a money-crop and not very desirable for home use. The technical description is also based on trees grown and fruit produced on soil to which it is illy-adapted. The trees from which these fruits came are nearly perfect in habits of growth, vigorous, hardy, healthy and bearing large crops of plums—such as they are. On suitable soils the variety possesses all the qualities that constitute a fine plum, the product being adapted alike for dessert, canning, home and market. It has an especially agreeable flavor in all the various culinary preparations in which it can be used. Its capriciousness does not warrant its being largely planted but for selected locations it will prove a most valuable fruit.

The Princes in their nursery at Flushing, Long Island, New York, about the year 1790, planted the pits of twenty-five quarts of the Green Gage plum and from these produced, among others, a plum which they called the White Gage. William R. Prince, in order to distinguish this variety from the other Gage plums, changed the name to Prince’s Imperial Gage, now shortened to Imperial Gage. In 1852, the American Pomological Society placed it on its catalog list of recommended fruits.

Tree large, vigorous, upright-spreading, open-topped, hardy, very productive; branches ash-gray, smooth, with conspicuous, transverse cracks in the bark, with lenticels of medium size; branchlets slender, short, with internodes above medium in length, greenish-red changing to dark brownish-red, dull, sparingly pubescent throughout the season, with small, inconspicuous lenticels; leaf-buds medium in size and length, conical, appressed.

Leaves folded upward, oval or slightly obovate, one and seven-eighths inches wide, three and one-quarter inches long, thick; upper surface dark green, rugose, pubescent, with a shallow groove on the midrib; lower surface yellowish-green, pubescent; apex abruptly pointed, base acute, margin crenate, with small dark glands; petiole one-half inch long, thick, pubescent, purplish-red along one side, glandless or with one or two small, globose, yellowish-green glands usually on the stalk.

Blooming season short; flowers one and one-eighth inches across, white; borne on lateral buds and spurs, singly or in pairs; pedicels three-quarters inch long, pubescent, greenish; calyx-tube green, campanulate, pubescent, with a swollen ring at the base; calyx-lobes above medium in width, obtuse, pubescent on both surfaces, glandular-serrate, slightly reflexed; petals broadly obovate, crenate, tapering below to short, broad claws; anthers yellowish; filaments three-eighths inch long; pistil glabrous, longer than the stamens; stigma large.

Fruit intermediate in time and length of ripening season; one and nine-sixteenths inches in diameter, oval or slightly ovate, compressed, halves equal; cavity very shallow and narrow, abrupt; suture shallow, often a line; apex roundish or depressed; color dull greenish-yellow, with obscure green streaks, mottled and sometimes faintly tinged red on the sunny side, overspread with thick bloom; dots numerous, small, grayish, obscure, clustered about the apex; stem three-quarters inch long, pubescent, adhering well to the fruit; skin thin, tender, separating readily; flesh golden-yellow, juicy, firm but tender, sweet, mild; good to very good; stone nearly free, one inch by five-eighths inch in size, oval, flattened, with pitted surfaces; rather blunt at the base becoming acute in the largest fruits, very blunt at the apex; ventral suture wide, ridged; dorsal suture widely and deeply grooved.