The Plums of New York | Project Gutenberg

Tree large, vigorous, upright-spreading, hardy, productive, healthy; branches rough, thorny, dark brown, with numerous lenticels of medium size; branchlets slender, long, with short internodes, dark brown, marked with considerable scarf-skin, glabrous, with numerous large, raised lenticels; leaf-buds small, medium in length, conical, free.

Leaves folded upward, oblanceolate, one inch wide, two and three-quarters inches long, thin; upper surface glabrous, with a lightly grooved midrib; lower surface light green, thinly pubescent along the midrib and larger veins which are tinged red; apex taper-pointed, base acuminate, margin finely serrate, with small glands; petiole one-half inch long, slender, tinged red, slightly hairy along one side, with from one to three small, brown glands usually at the base of the leaf.

Blooming season intermediate in time and length; flowers appearing before the leaves, white; borne in clusters on lateral buds and spurs, in twos or in threes; pedicels of medium length and thickness, glabrous except for occasional hairs, greenish; calyx-tube green, campanulate, glabrous; calyx-lobes narrow, obtuse, sparingly glandular, with marginal hairs, glabrous on the outer side, thinly pubescent on the inner side, erect; petals oval, entire, tapering at the base to short claws; anthers light yellow; filaments short; pistil glabrous, longer than the stamens.

Fruit early, one and one-half inches by one and three-eighths inches in size, roundish-ovate to roundish-cordate, sides unequal; cavity large, deep, narrow, regular, abrupt; suture deep, distinct; apex very pointed; color garnet-red, mottled; bloom thin; dots numerous, small, russet; stem one-half inch long, adhering to the fruit; skin above medium in thickness, tender, slightly astringent, separating easily; flesh light yellow, fibrous, somewhat meaty, sweet except near the center; good; stone clinging, five-eighths inch by one-half inch in size, irregular-oval, slightly flattened, pointed at both ends, with pitted surfaces; ventral suture prominently winged, narrow; dorsal suture not grooved.

RED MAGNUM BONUM

1. Parkinson Par. Ter. 576, 577. 1629. 2. Rea Flora 208. 1676. 3. Langley Pomona 92, Pl. XX fig. V. 1729. 4. Duhamel Trait. Arb. Fr. 2:98, Pl. XV. 1768. 5. Kraft Pom. Aust. 2:31, Tab. 178 fig. 1. 1796. 6. Willichs Dom. Enc. 4:300. 1803. 7. Prince Pom. Man. 2:59. 1832. 8. Hoffy Orch. Com. fig. 1841. 9. Floy-Lindley Guide Orch. Gard. 292. 1846. 10. Horticulturist 4:194. 1849. 11. Ann. Pom. Belge 99, Pl. 1853. 12. Elliott Fr. Book 428, 429. 1854. 13. Noisette Man. Comp. Jard. 2:499. 1860. 14. Downing Fr. Trees Am. 943. 1869. 15. Mas Pom. Gen. 2:139, fig. 70. 1873. 16. Hogg Fruit Man. 721. 1884. 17. Am. Pom. Soc. Rpt. 61. 1887. 18. Mathieu Nom. Pom. 445, 448. 1889. 19. Ia. Hort. Soc. Rpt. 87. 1890. 20. Guide Prat. 158, 358. 1895.

Askew’s Purple Egg 12, 14, 16, 18. Blaue Kaiserpflaume 15, 18, 20 incor. Blaue Eier Pflaume 18 incor. Bockshoden 18, 20. Bocksdutten 18, 20. Bonum Magnum 18 incor., 20. Blue Imperatrice 7 incor., 8. Copper Plum 8. Die Kaiserliche veilchenfarbige Pflaume 5. Die Rothe Kaiserpflaume 10. Dame Aubert 13. Dame Aubert Violette 14, 16, 18, 20. Die Rothe Eierpflaume 14. Dame Aubert Rouge 17. Dame Aubert Rouge 19. D’Oeuf Violette 20. Early Forcing 12. Florence 12, 14, 16, 18, 20. Frühe Treib Zwetsche 18. Frühe Treibzwetsche 20. Great Imperial Plum 18, 20. Grosse Früh Zwetsche 18 incor. Grosse Ungarische Zwetsche 18 incor. Imperiall 1. Imperial 3, 6. Impériale Violette 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 14, 16, 18, 20. Impériale Violette 4, 15, 20. Imperial Violet 7. Impériale 7, 14, 16, 18, 20. Imperiall 9. Imperial 9, 14, 18. Impériale Rouge 10, 14, 16, 18. Imperial Rouge 12, 18. Imperial Violet 14, 18. Impériale Hâtive 18, 20. Impériale rouge 20. Large Orlean 7. Mogul Rouge 16, 18. Oeuf Rouge 16, 18. Prune d’Oeuf Violette 18. Prinzessinpflaume 15. Prune-figue 13. Prune Impériale Violette 11. Prune d’oeuf 7, 14, 18. Purple Egg 7, 12, 14, 16, 18. Prune-oeuf 7. Purple Magnum Bonum 12, 14, 18. Red Magnum Bonum 8, 12, 20. Red Magnum 6. Red Imperiale 7, 8, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20. Red Bonum Magnum 3, 7, 18, 20. Red Egg Plum 10. Red Egg 12. Red Imperial 12. Red Egg 14, 16, 18. Red Aubert 17. Rote Eier Pflaume 18. Rote Kaiserpflaume 18. Rote Kaiser Zwetsche 18. 116 Riga 19. Rothe Kaiserpflaume 20. Rothe Kaiserzwetsche 20. Shepler ?14, ?18. Sainte-Catherine (Belgien) 18, 20. The Imperial Plum 2. Violette oder Blaue Kaiserpflaume 15.

Once popular, Red Magnum Bonum is now but of historical interest. Three centuries ago this variety was cultivated in England by John Tradescant under the name Imperiall. It was mentioned by all of the early horticultural writers and it seems clear that the variety was well established in Europe at least as early as the beginning of the Seventeenth Century. As all plums at that time were propagated from seed, a large number of sub-varieties of this sort were produced and as these became established the nomenclature of the variety became much involved. In 1729 Langley called it the Red Magnum Bonum, a name it has since retained. It is not known when the variety was introduced into this country but its first appearance in American literature was in 1803. After its introduction nurserymen sold any large red plum as Red Magnum Bonum and it became difficult to find the true variety. Professor J. L. Budd apparently reintroduced this plum in 1881-1882 under the name Dame Aubert Rouge. Although very extensively grown in America at one time it has never been a favorite because of its poor quality. The American Pomological Society rejected it in 1858 from a list of candidates for its catalog. The following description is compiled.

Tree hardy, vigorous, productive; young shoots glabrous. Fruit mid-season; large, oval, deep red in the sun, pale red in the shade, covered with thin bloom; stem one inch long; flesh greenish, firm, slightly coarse, dry, brisk subacid; of fair quality; stone oval, free.

REINE CLAUDE

1. Quintinye Com. Gard. 67, 68, 69. 1699. 2. Langley Pomona 93, Pl. XXIII fig. 7. 1729. 3. Duhamel Trait. Arb. Fr. 2:89, Pl. XI. 1768. 4. Knoop Fructologie 2:62. 1771. 5. Kraft Pom. Aust. 28, Tab. 173 fig. 2, 41, Tab. 193 fig. 2. 1796. 6. Forsyth Treat. Fr. Trees 20. 1803. 7. Miller Gard. Dict. 3. 1807. 8. Coxe Cult. Fr. Trees 237, fig. 14. 1817. 9. Phillips Com. Orch. 306. 1831. 10. Lond. Hort. Soc. Cat. 147, 148. 1831. 11. Prince Pom. Man. 2:48. 1832. 12. Gallesio Pom. Ital., Pl. 1839. 13. Downing Fr. Trees Am. 276 fig. 106. 1845. 14. Floy-Lindley Guide Orch. Gard. 283, 382, 419. 1846. 15. Poiteau Pom. Franc. 1:1846. 16. Horticulturist 2:178, 179, fig. 30, 291. 1847. 17. Thomas Am. Fruit Cult. 326 fig. 253, 329. 1849. 18. Hovey Fr. Am. 2:69, Pl. 1851. 19. Am. Pom. Soc. Cat. 54. 1852. 20. Elliott Fr. Book 410. 1854. 21. Thompson Gard. Ass’t 517. 1859. 22. Downing Fr. Trees Am. 917. 1869. 23. Mas Le Verger 6:55, fig. 28. 1866-73. 24. Pom. France 7: No. 5. 1871. 25. Oberdieck Deut. Obst. Sort. 434. 1881. 26. Lauche Deut. Pom. 20, Pl. IV 20. 1882. 27. Hogg Fruit Man. 703. 1884. 28. Mathieu Nom. Pom. 433. 1889. 29. Guide Prat. 154, 363. 1895. 30. Bailey Sur. Unlike 176, 243. 1896. 31. Cornell Sta. Bul. 131:186. 1897. 32. Botanical Gazette 26:423. 1898. 33. Gard. Chron. 3rd Ser. 24:465. 1898. 34. Waugh Plum Cult. 22, 106, 107 fig. 1901.

Abricot Verd 5, 9. Abricot Vert 3, 7, 10, 11, 13, 14, 21, 22, 23, 24, 27, 28, 29. Abricotée Sageret ?22, 28. Aloise’s Green Gage 22, 24, 27, ?28, 29. Blanche Grosse Espece 10. Bonne Verte 5. Bradford Gage 13, 20, 21, 22, 28, 29. Bradford Green Gage 27, 28. Bradford Queen Gage 24, ?29. Brugnon Green Gage 10, 18, 21, 22, 24, 27, 28, 29. Brugnon Gage 20, 22, 28, 29. Bruyn Gage 13, 17, 18 incor., 20, 22, 28, 29. Burgnon Gage 13, 24. Cant’s Late Green Gage 22, 28. Claudia 12. Damas Gris 24, 28, 29. Damas Verd 9. Damas Vert 7, 10, 13, 18, 21, 22, 24, 27, 28, 29. Dauphine 5, 7, 10, 11, 13, 14, 18, 21, 22, 23, 24, 27, 28, 29. Die grosse Königin Claudiapflaume, die grüne Abrikose 5. Die Königin Klaudia 5. Dauphine 3. Dauphiny 6. Drap d’Or of some 10, 18, 28, 29. Echte Grosse Reine-Claude 28, 29. Gage Verte 28, 29. Great Green Damask 22, 27, 28. Great Green Damaski 24, 29. Great Queen Claudia 11. Green Gage 2, 6, 8, 10, 11, 13, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 27, 30, 31, 33, 34. Green Spanish 14, 18. Gros Damas Vert 11, 22, 28, 29. Grosse Königin Claudiapflaume 5. Green Gage 7, 9, 23, 24, 28, 29, 32, 34. Goring’s Golden Gage 22, 24, 27, 28, 29. Grosse Reine 10, 13, 18, 20, 21, 22, 24, 27, 28, 29. Grosse Grüne Reine-Claude 25, 28. Grosse Reine-Claude 7, 25, 26, 28. Grosse Reine-Claude 3, 5, 10, 11, 13, 14, 18, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 29. Gros Reine-Claude 14. Grüne Aprikose 5, 28, 29. Grüne Abrikose 5. Grüne Reineclaude 25. Gute Grüne 28, 29. Huling’s Reine-Claudia 22, 28. Huling’s Reine Claude 11. Ida Gage 22. Ida Green Gage 16. Ida Green Gage 20, 22, 24, 27, 28, 29. Isleworth Green Gage 13, 18, 20, 21, 22, 24, 27, 28, 29. Isleworth Green Gage 10. King of Plums 20. Königin Claudia 28, 29. Königin Klaudia 5. Large Queen Claude 11. La Grosse Reine-Claude 11. Large Queen Claudia 6. Large green claudia 11. Livingston Manor 22, 28. Louis Brun ?22, ?28. Mammola 12. Mirabelle Vert Double 22, 24, 27, 28, 29. Murray’s Reine Claudia 22, 28. Murray’s Reine Claude 11, 14, 22, 27. Prune de Reine Claude 15. Prunus Domestica Cereola 32. Prunus Domestica var. cereola 33. Prunus Domestica var. Claudiana 32. Queen Claude 2. Queen Claudia 11, 22, 24, 27, 28, 29. Reine-Claude Ancienne 23, 24, 28, 27. Reine-Claude Blanche Grosse Espece 10. Reineclaude d’oree 29. Reine-Claude Blanche La Grosse 11, 22. Reine-Claude 8, 10, 11, 13, 17, 18, 20, 21, 22, 27, 28, 33. Reine Claud 1. Reine-Claudia 2. Reine-Claude Blanche 10. Reine-Claude Dorée 22, 23, 24, 25, 28, 29. Reine-Claude Dore 18, 22. Reine-Claude Grosse 27, 28. Reine-Claude Verde Perdrigon 5. Reine-Claude Verte 23, 29. Rensselaer Gage 20, 22. Rensselvar Gage 24, 29. Rensselaar Gage 27, 28. Reine-Claude Verte Tiquetée 28, 29. Reine-Claudia Blanche La Grosso 22, 28. Royal Green Gage 28, 29. Schuyler Gage 20, incor. 22, 24, 27. Schuyler’s Gage ?13, 20, 28, 29. Sucrin Vert 10, 11, 13, 18, 21, 22, 24, 27, 28, 29. Sultaneck Erik ?28, 29. Susina Regina 12. Triomphe Garcon 24, 28, 29. Triomphe Valet 24, 28, 29. Trompe Garcon 22, 27, 28, 29. Tromp-Valet 7. Trompe Valet 22, 27, 28, 29. Verdacia 27, 28. Verdacchia rotonda 12. Verdoch 27, 32, 34. Verdochia 32. Verdochio 22, 24, 27, 28, 29. Verducia 22. Verte Bonne 3, 7, 9, 10, 11, 14, 18, 21, 22, 23, 24, 28, 29. Vert Bonne 13, 22, 27. Verte d’Espagne 23, 28, 29. Verte Tiquetée 22, 24, 27, 28, 29. Vilmot’s Green Gage 29. Vilmot’s Late Green Gage 29. Wilmot’s Green Gage 10, 11, 18, 20, 21, 22, 24, 27, 28. Wilmot’s Late Green Gage 11, 18, 20, 21, 22. Wilmot’s Late Green Gage 10, 13, 18, 20, 21, 22, 28, 29. Wilmot’s New Green Gage 10, 11, 13, 18, 20, 22, 28, 29. Waterloo 20.

In the pomological literature since Quintinye in 1699, Reine Claude has been the standard in quality for plums. For the qualities that gratify or assist in gratifying the sense of taste,—richness of flavor, consistency and texture of flesh, abundance of juice and pleasant aroma,—the Reine Claude is unsurpassed. It is, however, now probably equalled in quality by several of the great number of similar varieties which have originated in America and for which American plum-growing is justly distinguished. Under ordinary cultivation the Reine Claude is not a remarkably handsome plum but when grown on thrifty trees, the crop thinned, foliage and fruit kept free from pests and the fruits sufficiently exposed to the sun to color well, it is a beautiful fruit, its size, form and color all adding to its beauty. The tree is only of moderate size in the orchard and in the nursery is so small and wayward that nurserymen hesitate to grow it. The trees, though small, are productive and bear regularly, the chief defect being the susceptibility to sunscald whereby the bark on the trunk is killed and the beginning of the end is marked. The short life of the trees of this variety is largely due to this injury to the bark and has led to top-working on Lombard and other stocks, an operation successful only when done early in the life of the stock. Another serious fault is that the fruit cracks badly if showers occur at ripening time. Reine Claude is still one of the most profitable plums grown in New York and whether for the commercial or home plantation deserves a place in the plum orchard.

For a complete history of this variety the reader is referred to the discussion of the Reine Claude group of plums. The Bavay, a distinct variety, is called the true Reine Claude by many nurserymen and horticultural writers. Green Gage is a synonym of the Reine Claude and is preferred by some writers for this plum but since “Reine Claude” is as well known and much older it has been retained in The Plums of New York. The American Pomological Society placed this variety on its fruit catalog list in 1852.

Tree of medium size and vigor, round-topped, hardy, productive; trunk and branches of medium thickness and smoothness; branches ash-brown, with few lenticels; branchlets short, with short internodes, reddish-brown, lightly pubescent; leaf-buds large, long, conical or pointed, free; leaf-scars prominent.

Leaves four and one-half inches long, two inches wide, oval, thick, leathery; upper surface dark green, smooth, covered with fine, scattering hairs; lower surface pale green, pubescent; apex acute, margin often doubly crenate, glandular; petiole three-quarters inch long, tinged red, glandless or with one or two small, globose, greenish glands variable in position.

Fruit mid-season; one and three-quarters inches by one and five-eighths inches in size, roundish-oval, halves equal; cavity narrow, regular, abrupt; suture shallow, broad; apex pubescent, roundish or slightly depressed; color yellowish green, indistinctly streaked with green, becoming golden-yellow at full maturity, sometimes mottled on the sunny side with red, overspread with thin bloom; dots very numerous, small, grayish, conspicuous, clustered about the apex; stem thick, three-quarters inch long, pubescent; skin tough, adhering to the pulp; flesh greenish-yellow or golden-yellow, juicy, firm, sweet, mild; very good; stone semi-clinging, one inch by three-quarters inch in size, oval, turgid, tapering at the base, blunt at the apex, with thickly pitted surfaces; ventral suture wide, distinctly furrowed, often with a short wing; dorsal suture with a very wide and deep groove.

ROBINSON

1. Ind. Hort. Soc. Rpt. 134. 1883. 2. Am. Pom. Soc. Rpt. 151. 1891. 3. Cornell Sta. Bul. 38:64, 86. 1892. 4. Me. Sta. An. Rpt. 12:67. 1896. 5. Am. Pom. Soc. Rpt. 89. 1897. 6. Wis. Hort. Soc. Rpt. 137. 1899. 7. Wis. Sta. Bul. 87:15. 1901. 8. Waugh Plum Cult. 199. 1901. 9. Kan. Sta. Bul. 101:131. 1901. 10. Ga. Sta. Bul. 67:280. 1904. 11. Ohio Sta. Bul. 162:256, 257. 1905.

Robinson has long been one of the best known of its species though it is probably inferior in fruit-characters at least to several other Munsoniana sorts. The plums are attractive in coloring but small in size and comparatively low in quality. The trees are capricious in growth and not as hardy as some others of the species but where they can be grown are always productive. The variety is rated by some authors among those that need cross-pollination to insure large crops. Robinson may be worth growing in the South and in the States of the Plains but it cannot be recommended for any purpose in New York.

This variety is a seedling grown by a Mr. Pickett of Putnam County, Indiana, from a seed brought with him from North Carolina about 1835. In 1879, Dr. J. H. Robinson read a paper before the Indiana Horticultural Society on Chicasaw plums, and gave a very flattering description of this plum, which he had been growing since 1872. Later it was named by the Putnam County Horticultural Society in honor of Dr. Robinson. This name was used as a synonym of Miner by Downing in 1869 but at the present time that usage has almost disappeared in plum literature.

Tree variable in size, often large, vigorous, spreading, not uniform in habit, somewhat open and flat-topped, hardy, medium to productive; trunk shaggy; branches very rough, zigzag, thorny, dark ash-gray, with numerous, large, narrow and strongly elongated, raised lenticels; branchlets slender to medium, with internodes medium to below in length, greenish-red changing to dull, dark chestnut-red, glabrous, with numerous very conspicuous, large, raised lenticels; leaf-buds small, short, obtuse, free.

Leaves folded upward, lanceolate, peach-like, one and five-sixteenths inches wide, three and one-half inches long, thin; upper surface dark green, glabrous, with deeply grooved midrib; lower surface glabrous except along the midrib and larger veins; apex taper-pointed, base obtuse, margin very finely serrate, with small, dark red glands; petiole slender, five-eighths inch long, reddish, lightly pubescent along one side, glandless or with from one to seven small, globose, reddish-brown glands on the stalk and on the base of the leaf.

Blooming season medium to late, long; flowers appearing with the leaves, eleven-sixteenths inch across, whitish, somewhat self-fertile; borne in clusters on lateral buds and spurs, in twos, threes or fours; pedicels seven-sixteenths inch long, slender, glabrous, greenish; calyx-tube green, narrow-campanulate, glabrous; calyx-lobes narrow, slightly obtuse, glandular, pubescent and with marginal hairs, erect; petals ovate or oval, small, narrow, slightly crenate, tapering below to long, narrow claws; anthers yellowish; filaments one-quarter inch long; pistil glabrous, slightly shorter than or equal to the stamens in length.

Fruit early, season very long; less than an inch in diameter, roundish or roundish-oval, halves equal; cavity of medium depth and width, abrupt; suture a line; apex roundish; color clear currant-red, overspread with thick bloom; dots scattering, large, russet, conspicuous, clustered around the apex; stem slender, five-eighths inch long, glabrous, adhering to the fruit; skin tough, bitter, separating readily; flesh golden-yellow, very juicy, somewhat fibrous, tender and melting, sweet next the skin, with some astringency near the center, of mild but pleasant flavor; fair in quality; stone clinging, five-eighths inch by three-eighths inch in size, oval, turgid, very slightly flattened and necked at the base, abrupt-pointed at the apex, roughish; ventral suture blunt, slightly ridged; dorsal suture with a rather broad groove of medium depth.

ROLLINGSTONE

1. Rural N. Y. 44:645. 1885. 2. Minn. Hort. Soc. Rpt. 279. 1885. 3. N. J. Hort. Soc. Rpt. 186. 1885. 4. Wis. Hort. Soc. Rpt. 32. 1885. 5. Minn. Sta. Bul. 10:73 fig. 1890. 6. Cornell Sta. Bul. 38:41, 86. 1892. 7. Am. Pom. Soc. Cat. 24. 1897. 8. Wis. Sta. Bul. 63:56, 58 fig. 28. 1897. 9. Colo. Sta. Bul. 50:45. 1898. 10. Ohio. Sta. Bul. 113:153. 1899. 11. Waugh Plum Cult. 162. 1901. 12. Ga. Sta. Bul. 67:280. 1904. 13. Ohio Sta. Bul. 162:256, 257. 1905.

Minnesota 2. Rolling Stone 3, 4.

Rollingstone is an old Americana sort which has been kept in cultivation chiefly because it is of very good quality for one of its species. The fruit is rather dull in color and small but not unattractive in appearance; the plums are little troubled by either the brown-rot or the plum curculio and ship very well because of the tough skin. The tree is dwarfish with a crooked trunk, shaggy bark, unkempt top and very twiggy—a typical Americana and most difficult to grow into a good orchard plant. The variety is characterized by long, conspicuous stamens, stigmas frequently defective and by very large leaves. The variety has little or no value in New York.

Rollingstone was found near an old Indian camping ground on the Rollingstone Creek, Winona County, Minnesota, by Mr. O. M. Lord,[220] Minnesota City, about 1852. Mr. Lord planted trees of this plum in his garden and found that they improved greatly under cultivation, so much so that they soon became very popular in the local market. About 1882 he introduced the Rollingstone to fruit-growers in general. Mr. H. M. Thompson of St. Francis, according to the Minnesota Horticultural Society Report for 1885, sent this plum out under the name Minnesota but fortunately it has not been distributed under its synonym widely enough to cause much confusion. In 1897 the American Pomological Society added Rollingstone to its fruit catalog list.

Tree dwarfish, variable in vigor, spreading, flat-topped, hardy, productive, healthy; trunk shaggy; branches dark ash-gray, thorny, rough, zigzag, with numerous, rather large lenticels; branchlets slender, twiggy, medium to short, with internodes of average length, greenish turning to dark brown, glossy, glabrous, with conspicuous, small, raised lenticels; leaf-buds medium in size and length, appressed.

Leaves falling early, folded upward, obovate or long-ovate, one and one-half inches wide, three and one-half inches long, thin; upper surface smooth, glabrous, with a narrow groove on the midrib; lower surface silvery green, lightly pubescent, the veins prominent; apex taper-pointed, base rather acute, margin coarsely and doubly serrate, eglandular; petiole slender, five-eighths inch long, tinged red, sparingly pubescent, glandless or with one or two small, globose, reddish glands on the stalk.

Blooming season late and short; flowers appearing after the leaves; three-quarters inch across, the buds creamy-white changing to white as the flowers expand; borne in clusters on lateral buds and spurs, in threes or in fours; pedicels seven-sixteenths inch long, below medium in thickness, glabrous, green; calyx-tube reddish-green, obconic, glabrous; calyx-lobes narrow, acute, eglandular, glabrous on the outer surface but lightly pubescent within, heavily pubescent on the margin and with irregular deep serrations, erect; petals oval or slightly ovate, dentate, tapering below into narrow claws reddish at the base; stamens conspicuous; anthers yellow; filaments three-eighths inch long; pistil glabrous, equal to the stamens in length; stigma often abortive.

Fruit mid-season or earlier, ripening period short; about one inch in diameter, roundish, halves equal; cavity shallow, flaring, marked before maturity with light-colored, radiating streaks; suture a line; apex roundish; color dark purplish-red, with thin bloom; dots numerous, small, light russet, inconspicuous; stem slender, nine-sixteenths inch long, adhering poorly to the fruit; skin thick, tough, semi-adherent; flesh orange-yellow, juicy, slightly fibrous, tender and melting, sweet, strongly aromatic; good; stone semi-free, five-eighths inch by one-half inch in size, roundish-oval, flattened, smoothish, blunt at the base and apex; ventral suture acute, faintly ridged; dorsal suture acute, with a narrow, shallow, indistinct groove.

ROYAL TOURS

1. Duhamel Trait. Arb. Fr. 2:81, Pl. XX fig. 8. 1768. 2. Kraft Pom. Aust. 2:35, Tab. 184 fig. 2. 1796. 3. Downing Fr. Trees Am. 313. 1845. 4. Elliott Fr. Book 423. 1854. 5. Mas Le Verger 6:53, fig. 27. 1866-73. 6. Lange Allgem. Garten. 2:420. 1879. 7. Le Bon Jard. 2:341. 1882. 8. Cat. Cong. Pom. France 368. 1887. 9. Mathieu Nom. Pom. 438. 1889. 10. Guide Prat. 160, 365. 1895. 11. Waugh Plum Cult. 120, 121. 1901.

Damas de Tours 7. Die königliche Pflaume von Tours 2. Diel’s Königspflaume 9 incor. Diels Königpflaume 10. Frühe Herrn Pflaume 9 incor., 10. Kings plum of Tours 6. Königspflaume von Tours 5, 10. Königspflaume von Tours 9. Königliche Pflaume von Tours 9, 10. Königs Pflaume 9 incor., 10. Königliche Grosse Pflaume 9, 10. Königin von Tours 9, 10. Moroccopflaume 10. Morocco 9 incor. Prune Royale de Tours 5, 9. Rothe Königspflaume 10. Roi 10. Royale 8, 10. Royale de Tours 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 10. Royale de Tours 2, 4, 9, 10, 11. Royal Tours 3, 4, 9. Royal of Tours 4. Royal red Plum 8, 10. Worth 11.

This excellent variety should be grown generally in America for home use, at least, if it proves nearly as desirable as it is rated in Europe. Royal Tours is an old French sort supposed to have originated in the neighborhood of Tours, France. Although highly esteemed in Europe, it has not gained favor in this country and is rarely found here. Waugh states that in 1899 he secured specimens of it from North Carolina where it was grown locally under the name Worth. The following description is compiled.

Tree strong, vigorous; branches thick, short, smooth; fruit early mid-season; of medium size, irregularly roundish, swollen on one side, dark reddish-purple covered with thick bloom; cavity deep; suture prominent; stem short, thick; skin thick, firm; dots conspicuous; flesh greenish-yellow, firm, sweet; very good; stone large, oblong, rough, clinging.

RUTLAND PLUMCOT

1. Burbank Cat. 13 fig. 1901. 2. De Vries Pl. Br. 218. 1907. 3. Fancher Creek Nur. Cat. 10 fig. 1909.

Plumcot 1, 2.

One of the interesting novelties of recent plum-breeding is the Plumcot grown by Luther Burbank[221] from a cross between the plum and the apricot. Not having seen the fruit of this remarkable cross we are unable to judge of its value to the plum-grower. Out of a large number of extremely variable seedlings of this cross Burbank selected this, the Rutland Plumcot, named in honor of an Australian admirer of the fruit. The variety was introduced by the Fancher Creek Nursery in 1906 and 1907. The following description is partly compiled.

Tree vigorous, spreading, open, not a heavy bearer; branches thorny; branchlets rather slender, with short internodes, dull red; leaves folded upward, oval, one and five-eighths inches wide, two and seven-eighths inches long, rather stiff; margin finely and doubly crenate, glandular; petiole greenish-red, with from one to four globose glands.

The fruit in California attains a large size; suture and cavity deep; skin fuzzy like an apricot, purple; flesh deep red, subacid; quality fair; stone large, broad-oval.

SAINT CATHERINE

1. Quintinye Com. Gard. 67, 68, 69. 1699. 2. Langley Pomona 94, Pl. 24 fig. 6. 1729. 3. Miller Gard. Dict. 3. 1754. 4. Duhamel Trait. Arb. Fr. 2:97, Pl. XX fig. 5, 109, Pl. XIX. 1768. 5. Knoop Fructologie 2:55. 1771. 6. Lond. Hort. Soc. Cat. 153. 1831. 7. Prince Pom. Man. 2:76, 103. 1832. 8. Kenrick Am. Orch. 267. 1832. 9. Gallesio Pom. Ital. 2: Pl. 1839. 10. Downing Fr. Trees Am. 283 fig. 112. 1845. 11. Floy-Lindley Guide Orch. Gard. 298, 383. 1846. 12. Poiteau Pom. Franc. 1:1846. 13. U. S. Pat. Off. Rpt. XXX. 1854. 14. Ann. Pom. Belge 65, Pl. 1855. 15. Thompson Gard. Ass’t 520. 1859. 16. Am. Pom. Soc. Cat. 86. 1862. 17. Pom. France 7: No. 23. 1871. 18. Mas Le Verger 6:89, fig, 45. 1866-73. 19. Hogg Fruit Man. 724. 1884. 20. Mathieu Nom. Pom. 431. 1889. 21. Wickson Cal. Fruits 356 fig. 1891. 22. Guide Prat. 161, 365. 1895. 23. Oregon Sta. Bul. 45:33 fig. 1897.

Bricet 7. Bricette 4, 7, 12. Bricette 7, 19. Brisette 20, 22. Catherine (Prune de Ste.) 5. Catharinenpflaume 18, 20, 21. De Sainte-Catherine 22. Gelbe Catharinenpflaume 20. Gelbe Catharinenpflaume 18, 22. Gelbe Katharinenpflaume 17, 22. Gute Kathe 20. Mirabelle Tardive 7. Petite Bricette 7. Pruneau de Tours 18. Prune de Sainte Catherine 7, 17, 20. Prune Sainte Catherine 13. Prune Sainte-Catherine 18. Prune Sainte-Catherine Jaune 18. Prunier Sainte-Catherine 14. Pruneaux de Tours 13. St. Catharine 1, 2, 7, 8, 16, 19, 23. Saint Catherine 7. Sainte Catherine 11, 20. Sainte-Catharine 3, 4, 12, 17, 18, 22. Sainte-Catherine de Tours 17, 20, 22. Sainte-Catherine jaune 20, 21. Sainte-Catherine ordinaire 17, 20, 22. St. Katharine 1. Späte Mirabelle 20 incor., 22. Susina Di Santa Caterina 9. Torlo d’Ovo 9. Torlo d’Uovo 9. Yellow St. Catharine 7.

This plum is grown only on the Pacific Coast in America and even there is to be found but locally and is now passing from cultivation. It is, however, one of the well-known sorts in Europe, especially in France where it is used for prune-making. It appears to be of the Reine Claude group in which group America has so many plums of surpassing merit that this one has no place on this side of the Atlantic. It is included in The Plums of New York largely because of its historic interest and because there seems to be no complete description of it made from trees and fruits grown on this continent.

The origin of this old plum is unknown. It was first mentioned by Quintinye in 1699. Wherever it originated, it is now grown most extensively in France and is known to commerce as the Prune of Tours. The people in Northern Italy cultivate it under the name Torlo d’Ovo (References, 9). The Belgians have used Saint Catherine incorrectly for the Imperiale Violette (References, 14). In America, according to Kenrick, it was not uncommon around Boston in 1832 but it evidently did not receive much recognition, for the United States Patent Office reimported it from France in 1854 and distributed it in the northeastern part of this country. The American Pomological Society added it to its fruit catalog list in 1862 and dropped it in 1899.

Tree large, vigorous, round-topped, usually hardy, productive; branches sparingly thorny, light ash-brown, smooth except for the few raised lenticels; branchlets thick, long, with long internodes, greenish-red changing to dark reddish-brown, marked with scarf-skin, nearly glabrous throughout the season, with few, conspicuous, large, raised lenticels; leaf-buds of medium size and length, conical or pointed, broad at the base, appressed.

Leaves folded upward, oval, one and one-half inches wide, three inches long; upper surface lightly pubescent, with a grooved midrib; lower surface silvery-green, pubescent; apex and base acute, margin crenate, with small, dark glands; petiole three-quarters inch long, thick, with a red tinge, pubescent, glandless or with from one to three conspicuous, globose, bright yellow glands variable in size, usually on the stalk.

Season of bloom intermediate, long; flowers appearing after the leaves, one inch across, white, the buds tinged yellow as they open; borne on lateral spurs, in twos or in threes; pedicels nearly one inch long, slender, with thin pubescence, greenish; calyx-tube green, campanulate, glabrous; calyx-lobes small, narrow, acute, pubescent on the inner surface, erect; petals oval, entire, not clawed; anthers yellow with a tinge of red; filaments three-eighths inch long; pistil glabrous, equal to the stamens in length, often abortive.

Fruit late, intermediate in length of ripening season; small, obovate or oval, slightly necked, truncate at the base, compressed, halves equal; cavity shallow, narrow, flaring; suture varies from shallow to deep, often prominent; apex depressed; color dull green, changing to golden-yellow, overspread with thin bloom; dots numerous, small, gray, inconspicuous, clustered about the apex; stem slender, very long, often one and one-eighth inches in length, glabrous, adhering well to the fruit; skin thick, tough, clinging slightly; flesh light golden-yellow, juicy, fibrous, sweet, mild, pleasant, not high in flavor; good; stone clinging, three-quarters inch by one-half inch in size, oval, flattened, slightly acute at the base and apex, with roughened surfaces; ventral suture finely grooved, blunt; dorsal suture with a wide, shallow groove.

SAINT JULIEN

1. Miller Gard. Dict. 3. 1754. 2. Lond. Hort. Soc. Cat. 153. 1831. 3. Prince Pom. Man. 2:73. 1832. 4. Noisette Man. Comp. Jard. 2:500. 1860. 5. Downing Fr. Trees Am. 946. 1869. 6. Hogg Fruit Man. 725. 1884. 7. Mathieu Nom. Pom. 449. 1889. 8. Rev. Hort. 438. 1892. 9. Trait. Prat. Sech. Fruits 170. 1893. 10. Bot. Gaz. 26:425. 1898.

Common Saint Julian 3. Common Saint Julien 5, 7. French St. Julien 3, 5, 7. Gros Saint-Julien 3. Gros Saint-Julien 4. Kleine Blaue Julians Pflaume 7. Large Saint Julien ?3. Petit Saint Julien 4. Petit Saint Julien 3, 5, 7. Prunus Insititia var. 7. Prunus Domestica Juliana 10. Prunier Saint-Julien 8. St. Julien 6. St. Julian 3. Saint Julien 3. Saint Julien Petit ?2. Saint-Julien Petit 3, 5, 7. The St. Julian Plum 1. Weichharige Schlehen Damascene 7.

The Saint Julien plums, as we now use the name, constitute a division of Prunus insititia used as propagating stocks. Whether the name was ever applied to a specific variety can not be said. Miller, in 1754, described a “St. Julian” and gave its chief use as a stock for plums, peaches and Bruxelles Apricot. Later writers recommend them chiefly, if not only, as stocks though in France it is said the fruits are dried and sold by the pharmacists and herbalists under the name Prunus medicines (medicinal prunes). Carrière, in Revue Horticole 1892, speaks very highly of these plums as stocks and describes them as follows:

“Tree vigorous, with branches spreading-straggling, relatively short, branched at the extremity. Leaves numerous, slightly roughened by the prominence of the numerous nerves on the lower surface, short, oblong, usually rounded at the apex, attenuated at the base, where are found a few very small glands; petiole about two centimeters long, yellowish, lengthening out into a prominent midrib; buds short, oval, pointed, deep reddish-brown; dark green above, pale green below, bordered regularly with very close, short, slightly inclined teeth.

Fruits very abundant, pedunculate, spherical or oblong, peduncle a little bent, rather strong, nearly three centimeters long, inserted in a very small cavity, regularly rounded. Skin strongly attached to the flesh, even, glossy, purplish-black, more or less glaucous; flesh free from the seed, pulpy, very juicy, soft, greenish, sweet, leaving a taste a little strong, but not disagreeable; seed short oval, elliptical, flattened, ten millimeters in width, nearly fifteen to sixteen millimeters in length, with grayish-red surface roughened by small, regular projections. Matures from July to September.”

SAINT MARTIN

1. Lond. Hort. Soc. Cat. 144, 153. 1831. 2. Prince Pom. Man. 2:74. 1832. 3. Downing Fr. Trees Am. 295 fig. 119. 1845. 4. Poiteau Pom. Franc. 1. 1846. 5. Mag. Hort. 14:151 fig. 15. 1848. 6. Thomas Am. Fruit Cult. 336 fig. 260, 337. 1849. 7. Elliott Fr. Book. 423. 1854. 8. Thompson Gard. Ass’t 515. 1859. 9. Am. Pom. Soc. Cat. 40. 1867. 10. Guide Prat. 162, 365. 1895.

Catherine violette 8, 10. Coe’s Fine Late Red 8. Coe’s Fine Late Red 1, 5, 7, 10. Coe’s Late Red 3, 6, 9. Coe’s Late Red 5, 6, 7, 10. Coë’s sehr späte rothe Pflaume 10. De la Saint-Martin 10. Oktoberpflaume 10. Prune de la St. Martin 3. Prunier de Saint Martin 2, 5, 7. Red St. Martin 2, 7. Red Saint Martin 5, 6, 7. Rouge tardive de Coë 10. Saint Martin Rouge 5. Saint-Martin Rouge 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 10. Saint Martin 2, 3, 5. St. Martin 2, 6, 7, 8. St. Martin Rouge 8. Violette d’Octobre 10. Violette Octoverpflaume 8. Violette Oktoberpflaume 10.

Saint Martin is an old French variety now hardly worth growing, brought into England by a Mr. Coe who called it Coe’s Fine Late Red, a name continued by the London Horticultural Society in its catalog. In the United States, too, it became quite generally known as Coe’s Late Red in spite of the efforts of Prince, Downing and Elliott to have it pass under its true name. The variety was mentioned in the American Pomological Society’s catalogs from 1867 to 1897. It is described as follows:

Fruit very late; of medium size, roundish, bright purplish-red with thin blue bloom; suture distinct; cavity shallow; stem of moderate length and thickness; flesh yellow, with a vinous flavor; fair to good; freestone.

SATSUMA

1. Gard. Mon. 366, 367. 1887. 2. U. S. D. A. Rpt. 652, Pl. I fig., 636. 1887. 3. Gard. & For. 1:471. 1888. 4. Bailey Ann. Hort. 103. 1889. 5. Am. Pom. Soc. Rpt. 105, 106, 125. 1891. 6. Ga. Hort. Soc. Rpt. 54. 1892. 7. Cornell Sta. Bul. 62:29. 1894. 8. Rev. Hort. 458. 1894. 9. Ga. Hort. Soc. Rpt. 96. 1895. 10. Guide Prat. 165, 366. 1895. 11. Cornell Sta. Bul. 106:46, 53. 1896. 12. Ala. Col. Sta. Bul. 85:446. 1897. 13. Cornell Sta. Bul. 139:38, 42. 1897. 14. Am. Pom. Soc. Cat. 26. 1897. 15. Mich. Sta. Bul. 169:243, 250. 1899. 16. Cornell Sta. Bul. 175:151. 1899. 17. Ohio Sta. Bul. 113:158. 1899. 18. Waugh Plum Cult. 141. 1901. 19. Mich. Sta. Bul. 187:77, 80. 1901. 20. Ga. Sta. Bul. 68:14, 33, 34. 1905. 21. De Vries Pl. Br. 170. 1907.

Beni Smono No. 4 ?6. Blood Plum 7, 9, 16, 18, 20. Blood Plum? 1. Blood Plum No. 4 ?9, 13. Blood Plum No. 4 ?11. Honsmomo 11. Honsmomo ?9, 11. Japan Blood Plum 3. Sanguine 10. Satsuma Blood 4. Yonemomo 5, 7, 9, 16, 20. Yonesmomo 5, 20.

There is a group of several varieties of Triflora plums unique in having the flesh deep red in color and very firm and juicy. Of these red-fleshed plums, Satsuma was the first to be introduced into fruit-growing in America and is one of the parents of most of the others. While the fruit is not as large nor as handsome in color as in some of its offspring, it is still one of the best varieties for quality of fruit and its trees are possibly as good as those of any of the other sorts of red-fleshed Trifloras. Satsuma, besides being one of the best of its class in quality for either dessert or culinary purposes, keeps and ships very well and if the plums are of sufficient size and have been allowed to color properly, the variety makes a good showing on the markets. Too often, however, it is so unattractive as it reaches the market that it does not sell well. In the South the plums are said to be much attacked by brown-rot but they are not more susceptible here than other plums. The trees are rather above the average for the species in size, habit, health, hardiness and productiveness though they bear sparingly when young. They bloom early in the season and are distinguished from other Triflora sorts by having many spurs and short branches along the main branches. Satsuma might possibly be found worth growing commercially in a very small way in some parts of the State.

Satsuma was raised from the same lot of plum pits from which the Burbank came, the seeds having been sent to Luther Burbank by a Japanese agent in 1883. In 1887 Burbank’s tree was the only bearing one in America but since then it has been tested in all of the large plum regions, having been introduced by Burbank in 1889. In 1897 it was added to the fruit catalog list of the American Pomological Society. Even though this plum is very distinct, with its solid red flesh, it is much confused with other sorts. A Japanese in a letter[222] to L. A. Berckmans says “Beni-Smomo comprises a group of red-fleshed plums. In Satsuma, my native home, Hon-smomo and Yone-smomo are the most noted and familiar fruits of this group, the first is the smallest in size and deepest in color, while the second is the largest and most highly esteemed. In some districts, plums in this group are called Uchi-Beni, which means red inside.” Hon-smomo or Blood Plum No. 4 was separated from the Satsuma or Yonemomo by the Georgia Horticultural Society but Bailey found them indistinguishable.

Tree medium to large, vigorous, upright-spreading, usually quite hardy, moderately productive, bearing heavier crops as the tree becomes older; branches grayish-brown; branchlets medium to above in thickness and length, with short internodes, dark chestnut-red, glabrous, with slightly raised lenticels of medium number and size; leaf-buds small, short, conical, appressed.

Leaves somewhat lanceolate, four inches by one and one-half inches in size, of medium thickness; upper surface dark green, with a shallow, grooved midrib; lower surface light green, glabrous; margin finely and doubly crenate, glandular; petiole three-quarters inch long, tinged red, with from one to three reniform, greenish-yellow glands variable in size, usually at the base of the blade.

Blossoms white; borne in pairs or in threes; pedicels nine-sixteenths inch long, slender, glabrous, greenish; calyx-tube green, obconic, glabrous; calyx-lobes medium in width, acute, somewhat serrate, with dark colored glands, glabrous, erect; petals tapering below to claws of medium length, reddish at the base.

Fruit mid-season or later; one and seven-eighths inches by two inches in size, variable in shape, ranging from roundish-cordate to somewhat oblate, flattened at the base, compressed, halves unequal; cavity deep, narrow, abrupt, compressed; suture variable in depth, prominent; apex pointed or roundish; color dark dull red, with thin bloom; dots numerous, of medium size, russet, somewhat conspicuous, clustered about the apex; stem slender, three-eighths inch long, glabrous; skin of medium thickness and toughness, bitter, semi-adherent; flesh dark purplish-red, juicy, tender at the skin, becoming tough at the center, sweet, with an almond-like flavor; of good quality; stone semi-clinging or clinging, seven-eighths inch by five-eighths inch in size, oval, strongly pointed, rough, tinged red; ventral suture narrow, winged; dorsal suture grooved.