Chapter III: Leading Varieties of Plums (2)

Bavay is one of the best of the green plums—a worthy rival in all respects and in some superior to its parent Reine Claude. It is unexcelled as a dessert plum and its delicious flavor is retained in cooking, making the somewhat rare combination of a first rate dessert and a first rate culinary fruit. Bavay is not only satisfactory in the qualities which make it desirable to the consumer but it is a good market plum for it both keeps and ships well. The flavor is not quite equal to that of Reine Claude, one of the best of all plums in quality, but in tree-characters the Bavay surpasses the older variety. The trees bear young, annually and heavily, sometimes too heavily, and while not as hardy, as large, as robust or as long-lived as could be wished, yet in these respects they are superior to those of most of the varieties of Reine Claude plums. Some horticulturists recommend that the Bavay be top-worked on a more vigorous, hardy and longer-lived stock but the behavior of trees so treated in this vicinity makes top-working a very doubtful expedient. Lombard is usually recommended as a stock upon which to work it. Bavay is indispensable in home orchards and can be recommended for much more general planting in commercial orchards.

This variety is a seedling of Reine Claude produced by Major Esperin of Malines, Belgium, about 1832, and dedicated by him in 1843, to M. De Bavay, Director of the Royal Nurseries, at Vilvordes, near Brussels. Though this variety is distinct from its parent in tree-characters, in having a later season, smaller fruit and a different flavor, the two plums have become confused by many nurserymen and horticulturists. In 1856, the American Pomological Society placed Bavay on its fruit catalog list where it still remains.

Tree of medium size and vigor, upright-spreading, open-topped,
hardy, very productive, somewhat susceptible to sunscald;
branches smooth except for the few, large, raised lenticels,
light ash-gray; branchlets medium in thickness and length, with
internodes of variable length, dull brownish-red, pubescent,
with numerous, inconspicuous, small lenticels; leaf-buds large,
long, pointed, appressed.

Leaves folded backward, oval, or slightly obovate, wide, long,
thick; upper surface nearly smooth, covered sparsely with
hairs; lower surface thickly pubescent, especially along the
midrib and larger veins; apex acute; margin crenate, glandless;
petiole thick, long, tinged lightly with red, glandless or with
from one to three globose, greenish-yellow glands on the stalk
or base of the leaf.

Blooming season intermediate in time and length; flowers
appearing after the leaves, one and one-eighth inches across,
whitish or creamy at the apex of the petals; borne on lateral
buds and spurs, singly or in pairs; pedicels three-eighths inch
long, pubescent, green; calyx-tube greenish, obconic, pubescent
at the base; calyx-lobes rather broad, obtuse, pubescent on
both surfaces, glandular-serrate, reflexed; petals broadly
obovate, crenate, tapering below to short, broad claws; anthers
yellowish; filaments three-eighths inch long; pistil pubescent
on the ovary, longer than the stamens.

Fruit late, season long; of medium size, roundish-oval, halves
equal; cavity intermediate in depth and width, abrupt; suture
a line; apex roundish; color greenish-yellow changing to dark
straw-yellow, obscurely streaked and splashed, covered with
thin bloom; dots numerous, small, grayish, obscure, clustered
about the apex; stem thick, short, pubescent, adhering well
to the fruit; skin rather tough, separating readily; flesh
rich golden-yellow, juicy, slightly fibrous, tender, sweet,
pleasant flavor; very good; stone free, seven-eighths inch by
five-eighths inch in size, oval, slightly necked, blunt at
the apex, with pitted surfaces; ventral suture winged, deeply
furrowed; dorsal suture widely and deeply grooved.

BEJONNIERES

_Prunus insititia_

=1.= Downing _Fr. Trees Am._ 898. 1869. =2.= _Cat. Cong. Pom.
France_ 472. 1887. =3.= _Ibid._ 453. 1906.

Des Béjonnières 2, 3. _Prune des Béjonnières_ 1.

This variety is so highly prized in France that it is here recommended for trial even though the trees as they grow in this part of New York have not been productive. It is too small for a dessert plum but might become of value here if used as in France for tarts, spices, preserves and drying. The plum originated about 1827 in the nursery of Andre Leroy, Béjonnieres, Angers, France.

Tree medium in size and vigor, upright-spreading, unproductive;
leaf-scars swollen; leaves oval, medium in width and length;
margin with small dark glands, finely serrate; petiole with
none or from one to six glands, usually on the stalk; flowers
appearing after the leaves, tinged creamy-white as they open;
borne on lateral buds and spurs, in pairs or in threes.

Fruit late, season of medium length; one and three-eighths
inches by one and one-quarter inches in size, obovate, a little
necked, yellow, blotched with red on the exposed cheek, covered
with thin bloom; stem long; apex strongly depressed; flesh pale
yellow, firm but tender, sweet, aromatic; very good; stone
semi-clinging, three-quarters inch by one-half inch in size,
oval.

BELGIAN PURPLE

_Prunus domestica_

=1.= Downing =Fr. Trees Am.= 373. 1857, =2.= Hogg _Fruit Man._
351. 1866. =3.= _Pom. France_ =7=: No. 27. 1871. =4.= Mas _Le
Verger_ =6=:105. 1866-73. =5.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 36. 1877.
=6.= _Cat. Cong. Pom. France_ 340. 1887. =7.= _Guide Prat._
153, 352. 1895.

_Bleue de Perk_ 4. _Bleue de Bergues_ 3, 7. _Bleue de Belgique_
1, 7. _Bleu de Perque_ 1. _Blaue von Belgien_ 4, 7. _Bleu de
Bergues_ 6. _Bleu de Peck_ 6. _Belgian Purple_ 4, 6, 7. Bleue
de Belgique 7. _Belgische Damascene_ 7. _Bleue de Perck_ 7.
Bleu de Belgique 6. _Fertheringham_ 3 incor. Prune Bleue de
Belgique 3.

Belgian Purple is a medium grade plum of little value for dessert but rather highly esteemed for culinary purposes, especially in Europe. It probably has but a small place in American pomology. Concerning the origin of the variety, nothing is known although it is generally believed to have originated in Belgium prior to 1850.

Tree large, vigorous, round and dense-topped, not always
hardy, very productive; branchlets numerous, thick, pubescent
throughout the season; leaf-scars prominent; leaves flattened
or folded upward, oval, one and five-eighths inches wide, three
and one-half inches long; margin serrate or crenate; petiole
five-eighths inch long, glandless or with from one to two small
glands usually at the base of the leaf; flowers nearly one inch
across, white, with a peculiar greenish and creamy tinge near
the apex of the petals and often splashed with pink towards
the base; borne on lateral buds and spurs; calyx-tube thickly
pubescent.

Fruit mid-season; medium to below in size, roundish-oval,
purplish-black, overspread with thick bloom; flesh rich,
golden-yellow, medium juicy, firm, sweet, mild; fair to good;
stone nearly free, of medium size, oval, flattened, often with
a distinct wing.

BELLE

_Prunus domestica_

=1.= _Horticulturist_ =10=:71. 1855. =2.= Downing _Fr. Trees
Am._ 394. 1857. =3.= _Flor. & Pom._ 144, Pl. 1863. =4.= Hogg
_Fruit Man._ 351, 384. 1866. =5.= Mas _Le Verger_ =6=:27,
fig. 14. 1866-73. =6.= _Le Bon Jard._ 341. 1882. 7. Barry
_Fr. Garden_ 410. 1883. 8. Decaisne & Naudin _Man. Am. des
Jard._ =4=:382. =9.= Mathieu _Nom. Pom._ 449, 451. 1889. =10.=
_Garden_ =50=:295. 1896. =11.= Rivers _Cat._ 33. 1898. =12.=
Fish _Hardy-Fr. Bk._ =2=:55. =13.= Thompson _Gard. Ass’t_
=4=:156. 1901. =14.= Waugh _Plum Cult._ 96. 1901.

Autumn Beauty 11. _Autumn Beauty_ 9. _Belle de Septembre_ 9,
11, 14. Belle de Septembre 1, 3, 4, 7, 10, 12, 13. _Gros Rouge
de Septembre_ 3, 4, 9. _Lawrence Early_ 9. _Regina nova_ 6.
_Reine-Claude Rouge_ 9. _Reine-Claude Rouge de Septembre_ 5, 9.
Reine-Claude Rouge of September 2. Reine-Claude Rouge de Van
Mons 5, 6, 8. _Reine-Claude Rouge de Van Mons_ 9. _Reine-Claude
Rouge Van Mons_ 4, 9. _Reine Nova_ (Berre) 9. _Reina Nova_ 2,
3, 4, 9. _Rote Claude_ 9. _Reine Nova_ 9. _Schöne September
Königspflaume_ 9. Van Mons Königspflaume 9. _Van Mons
Königspflaume_ 5. _Van Mons Red_ 9. Van Mons’ Red 4. _Van Mons
Red Gage_ 5, 9.

Belle is an unusually large, handsome plum but unfortunately is not of very high quality. It is much like Pond but is brighter red, a little smaller, less necked, the stem is shorter, the apex more blunt and it is more of a clingstone. European authorities say that Belle is second to none for culinary purposes and its handsome appearance gives it value across the seas as a dessert plum. As Belle grows on the grounds of this Station—it seems not to be found elsewhere in New York—the tree-characters are quite above those in the average variety of plums and when considered with the fine, late fruits, indicate that the variety might be grown with profit for market purposes. It well deserves to be tried by commercial plum-growers.

Belle came from Brussels, Belgium, and was propagated by the famous horticulturist, Van Mons. Nothing further is known of its origin.

Tree above medium in size, vigorous, upright, open-topped,
hardy, productive; branches smooth, dull dark ash-gray, with
small, numerous, raised lenticels; branchlets thick, with short
internodes, green changing to brownish-red, often marked with
scarf-skin, dull, very pubescent early in the season becoming
less pubescent as maturity advances, with numerous, small
lenticels; leaf-buds of medium size and length, conical, free.

Leaves flattened or folded upward, obovate, one and
seven-eighths inches wide, four and one-half inches long,
thick, leathery; upper surface dark green, with deeply
grooved midrib, sparingly hairy; lower surface silvery-green,
pubescent; apex acute, base cuneate, margin shallowly but
broadly crenate, with few small dark glands; petiole one and
one-eighth inches long, thick, pubescent, tinged with light
red, glandless or with one or two small, globose, yellowish
glands on the stalk or base of the leaf.

Blooming season late and long; flowers appearing after the
leaves, one and one-eighth inches across, the buds cream-tipped
changing to white on expanding; borne on lateral buds and
spurs, usually singly; pedicels about seven-sixteenths
inch long, thick, pubescent, green; calyx-tube greenish,
campanulate, glabrous except towards the base; calyx-lobes
above medium in width, obtuse, slightly pubescent on both
surfaces, glandular-serrate, erect; petals broadly ovate,
crenate, with short, broad claws; anthers yellowish; filaments
five-sixteenths inch long; pistil glabrous, equal to the
stamens in length.

Fruit late, season of medium length; one and seven-eighths
inches by one and three-quarters inches in size, roundish-oval,
slightly compressed, halves nearly equal; cavity shallow,
flaring; suture shallow, rather wide, prominent; apex roundish
or depressed; color light purplish-red over a greenish-yellow
ground, overspread with thin bloom; dots numerous, small,
russet, inconspicuous; stem one-half inch long, thickly
pubescent, adhering strongly to the fruit, with fleshy ring
about the base; skin of average thickness and toughness, sour,
separating from the pulp; flesh pale yellow, juicy, coarse,
firm, sweet at the skin, but tart at the center, pleasant,
aromatic; good; stone clinging, one and three-sixteenths inches
by three-quarters inch in size, oval, turgid, blunt at the
apex, with rough and pitted surfaces; ventral suture winged,
with few but prominent ridges; dorsal suture widely and deeply
grooved.

BERCKMANS

_Prunus triflora_

=1.= _Ga. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 53, 99. 1889. =2.= _Cornell Sta.
Bul._ =62=:20. 1894. =3.= _Ga. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 95. 1895.
=4.= _Cornell Sta. Bul._ =106=:43, 44. 1896. =5.= _Rural N.
Y._ =56=:614. 1897. =6.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Rpt._ 26. 1897. =7.=
_Cornell Sta. Bul._ =175=:138, 143. 1899. =8.= _Rural N. Y._
=62=:582. 1903. =9.= _Ga. Sta. Bul._ =68=:9, 28. 1905.

_Botan_ of some 2, 4. Botan White 6. Sweet Botan 1. _Sweet
Botan_ 2, 3, 4. _True Sweet Botan_ 2, 4, 9. White-fleshed Botan
1. _White-fleshed Botan_ 2, 4, 8, 9.

This variety was introduced by Luther Burbank in 1887 from imported stock. P. J. Berckmans[206] of Augusta, Georgia, who had secured some Botan trees from Burbank, noted that this plum differed from the rest and, in order to distinguish it, named it Sweet Botan. The nomenclature of Botan was confused and indefinite and Bailey, in 1894, renamed the new plum Berckmans. As it is very similar to Abundance, still more confusion has arisen in regard to it. Compared with Abundance, Berckmans is more spreading in growth; fruit less pointed, with dryer and more insipid flesh; color brighter red and the stone usually freer; but it is neither as productive nor as free from rot. In 1897 the American Pomological Society placed the variety on its fruit list. As Berckmans is inferior to Abundance and ripens at the same season, it is not worth recommending for general planting. It is to be regretted that so distinguished a horticulturist as Mr. Berckmans is not to have his name perpetuated in a better plum than the one named in his honor.

BERGER

_Prunus triflora_

=1.= _Cornell Sta. Bul._ =62=:20, 21 fig., 31. 1894. =2.= Ibid,
=106=:45, 62, 67. 1896. =3.= Ibid, =139=:46. 1897. =4.= Ibid,
=175=:132, 133 fig. 26. 1899. =5.= _Texas Sta. Bul._ =32=:486
fig. 7, 490, 492. 1899. =6.= _W. N. Y. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 92.
1899. =7.= _Ohio Sta. Bul._ =162=:248 fig., 254, 255. 1905.

_Honsmomo_ 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. _Red Nagate_ 1, 2 incor. _Satsuma_
1, 2 incor. _Shiro Smomo_ 1, 2, 5. Strawberry 1, 3, 6.
_Strawberry_ 2, 4. _Uchi Bene_ 6. Uchi-Beni 1, 2, 5.
_Uchi-Beni_ 3, 4. _Ura-Beni_ 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.

At first sight Berger is a wholly insignificant plum, being no larger than a sweet cherry; but the variety is so distinct in several characters that every collection should have a tree or two of it and the plum-breeder will find it most interesting and valuable. Its peculiarities are: A flavor quite distinct from that of any other Triflora plum; its cherry-like appearance; early ripening, maturing in this State shortly after the middle of July; its pronounced upright habit of growth; its light green foliage; and its habit of bearing its fruit close to the old wood. In common with many other Japanese varieties, the nomenclature of Berger is badly confused. According to Bailey, who received specimens of this variety from various sections of the country, H. H. Berger & Company of San Francisco sent out this plum under several names. Berckmans of Georgia received it as Red Nagate; N. S. Platt of Connecticut as Satsuma; to another person in the South it came as Shiro Smomo, while T. V. Munson of Texas grew it under the name of Berger, a term finally adopted by Bailey. In the meanwhile, Stark Brothers of Louisiana, Missouri, introduced a plum very similar to this under the name Strawberry but the variety was dropped by them in 1893. Whether or not this “Strawberry” or “Uchi-Beni,” as it was sometimes called, was really the Berger it is impossible to say but it is certain that both of these names have been applied to the Berger. The following description is a compilation.

Tree vigorous, upright, open-topped, medium hardy; leaves
narrow, light colored; blooming season early; flowers white,
small.

Fruit very early; unusually small, roundish but truncate at the
ends, attractive light to dark red, covered with thick bloom;
flesh firm, meaty, light yellow, sweet, of pleasant flavor;
fair to good; stone very small and cherry-like, free, with
smooth surfaces.

BLACK BULLACE

_Prunus insititia_

=1.= Parkinson _Par. Ter._ 576, 578. 1629. =2.= Gerard
_Herball_ 1498. 1636. =3.= Miller _Gard. Dict._ =3=:1754. =4.=
Abercrombie _Gard. Ass’t_ 13. 1786. =5.= Deane _N. E. Farmer
Dict._ 266. 1797. =6.= Miller _Gard. Dict._ =3=:1807. =7.=
_Lond. Hort. Soc. Cat._ 144. 1831. =8.= Phillips _Com. Orch._
306. 1831. =9.= Prince _Pom. Man._ =2=:105. 1832. =10.= Hogg
_Fruit Man._ 689. 1884. =11.= _Jour. Hort._ =27=:476. 1874.
=12.= _Garden_ =59=:226. 1901.

Black Bulleis 1. Bullesse 2. _Earley’s November_ 11.

This variety is interesting chiefly as an early type of the Insititia plums, its thorny branches, wayward growth, small and austere fruit, all bespeaking a wild fruit. The plums when ripened by frost are not unpleasant to taste and are borne in prodigious quantities. The variety, however, is surpassed by many other Insititias and has little value other than to show the steps between wild and highly cultivated fruits.

Black Bullace is one of the oldest of cultivated plums and all data in regard to its origin have been lost. It resembles the wild forms of its species very closely and it may have been selected from the wild. Parkinson, writing in 1629, (References, 1) gives a short description of this variety; and Gerard, in 1636, (References, 2) says: “The Bullesse and the Sloe tree are wilde kindes of Plums, which do vary in their kind, even as the greater and manured Plums do. Of Bullesse, some are of greater and of better taste than others. Sloes are some of one taste, and some of others, more sharp; some greater and others lesser; the which to distinguish with long descriptions were to small purpose, considering they be all and every of them known even to the simplest; therefore this shall suffice for their several descriptions.” Black Bullace has long been known in England and was among the first European varieties cultivated in this country. Deane in _The New England Farmer_, 1797, describes this variety briefly as under cultivation at that time but it did not prove popular in North America and after Prince, 1832, it seems to have dropped from American plum literature.

Tree of medium size and vigor, upright or slightly spreading,
dense-topped, hardy, very productive; branches smooth except
for the numerous, small, raised lenticels, dark, ash-gray;
branchlets long, with short internodes, green changing to dark
brownish-drab, thickly pubescent, with numerous, inconspicuous,
small lenticels; leaf-buds small short, obtuse, free.

Leaves oval, one and one-half inches wide, three and
one-quarter inches long; upper surface dark green, rugose,
hairy, with grooved midrib; lower surface silvery-green,
heavily pubescent; apex abruptly pointed or acute, base acute,
margin serrate or crenate, with a few, smallish, dark glands;
petiole three-quarters inch long, green, thickly pubescent,
glandless or with one or two small, globose, greenish-brown
glands on the stalk or at the base of the leaf.

Blooming season intermediate in time and length; flowers
appearing with the leaves, seven-eighths inch across, white;
borne on lateral buds and spurs, singly or in pairs; pedicels
three-eighths inch long, pubescent, greenish; calyx-tube
green, campanulate, pubescent only at the base; calyx-lobes
narrow, obtuse, pubescent at margin and base, with few glands,
reflexed; petals oval, entire, tapering abruptly to short
claws; anthers yellowish; filaments three-eighths inch in
length; pistil glabrous, shorter than the stamens.

Fruit late, season long; one and one-eighth inches by
seven-eighths inch in size, distinctly oval, necked, not
compressed, halves equal; cavity small, shallow, narrow,
flaring; suture lacking; apex roundish, with stigma usually
adhering; color purplish-black, covered with thick bloom;
dots numerous, small, brown, inconspicuous; stem one-half
inch long, pubescent, adhering to the fruit; skin of medium
thickness and toughness, slightly astringent, adhering
somewhat; flesh greenish-yellow, juicy and fibrous, firm,
sour or agreeably tart late in the season; stone clinging,
three-quarters inch by one-half inch in size, irregularly oval
or ovate, slightly necked at the base, acute at the apex, with
pitted surfaces; ventral suture swollen, blunt; dorsal suture
acute or partially furrowed.

BLACKMAN

_Prunus hortulana_ × _Prunus persica_

=1.= _Gara. Mon._ =24=:82. 1882. =2.= Ibid, =29=:45, 302. 1887.
=3.= _Cornell Sta. Bul._ =38=:77. 1892.

Blackman is supposed to be a hybrid between the Wild Goose plum and a peach. According to Bailey, a Mrs. Charity Clark secured plum pits from an orchard of Wild Goose and Washington plums in Rutherford County, Tennessee, about 1865 and gave them to Dr. Blackman of Nashville of that State. One of the seedlings appeared promising and was disseminated by a local nurseryman under the name Blackman. A rival nurseryman in attempting to procure cions of this variety inadvertently cut them from an adjacent tree, a barren seedling from the same lot of seed. Unfortunately the spurious Blackman received a wide distribution while the true variety remained practically unknown. Afterwards in order to avoid confusion the original Blackman was rechristened Charity Clark under which name it is now known. The tree of the second Blackman is strong and vigorous but rarely produces its plum-like fruit. The foliage is about midway in character between the plum and peach; the fruit-buds are formed abundantly but seldom open. From a horticultural standpoint, the variety is of course worthless but the hybrid, one of the first of its kind, is interesting and worth recording.

BLEEKER

_Prunus domestica_

=1.= Prince _Pom. Man._ 25. 1828. =2.= Kenrick _Am. Orch._ 255.
1832. =3.= Manning _Book of Fruits_ 104. 1838. =4.= Downing
_Fr. Trees Am._ 273. 1845. =5.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 54. 1852.
=6.= Thompson _Gard. Ass’t_ 515. 1859. =7.= Downing _Fr. Trees
Am._ 899. 1869. =8.= Mas _Le Verger_ =6=:21. 1866-1873. =9.=
Hogg _Fruit Man._ 686. 1884. =10.= Mathieu _Nom. Pom._ 423.
1889. =11.= _Guide Prat._ 158, 364. 1895. 12. Waugh _Plum
Cult._ 96. 1901.

_Bleecker’s_ 11. Bleecker’s German Gage 1. _Bleecker’s German
Gage_ 2. Bleecker’s Gage 2, 4, 5, 6, 7. _Bleecker’s Gage_ 9,
10, 11, 12. Bleeker’s Gage 3. _Blucher’s Gage_ 6. Bleecker’s
Yellow 7. _Bleeker’s_ 10. _Bleecker’s Yellow Gage_ 7, 8, 11.
_Bleecker’s Gage_ 8. Bleeker’s Yellow 9. _Bleeker’s Gelbe
Zwetsche_ 11. Bleeker’s Gelbe Zwetsche 10. _Bleeker’s Yellow
Gage_ 9, 10. _Bleeker’s Gelbe Reine-Claude_ 10. _Bleeker’s
Gelbe Renklode_ 11. _Bleeker’s Yellow_ 10. _German Gage_ 4,
6, 7, 9, 10, 11. _Jaune de Bleeker_ 10, 11. _Reine-Claude de
Bleeker_ 10. Reine-Claude de Bleecker 8, 11.

Just why this old and one time popular plum is now so seldom grown cannot be said. It is a delicious dessert plum of the Reine Claude group, much like Yellow Gage but distinguished from it by a longer and stouter stalk. Its tree-characters in New York are good and the fruit in all the qualities that make plums desirable is as good as that of most of its class. The variety originated with a Mrs. Bleeker of Albany, New York, about 1810 from a pit given her by Rev. Mr. Dull of Kingston, New York. This stone had come from Germany and was thought to have been that of a German prune but this is probably an error as the seedlings of that variety come true or nearly so. Bleeker was listed in the catalogs of the American Pomological Society from 1852 to 1897.

Tree large, vigorous, upright-spreading, open-topped,
productive; trunk and branches thick and covered with rough
bark; branches slightly pubescent; leaves two and one-quarter
inches wide, four inches long, oval, stiff; upper surface
somewhat rugose; margin serrate; petiole five-eighths inch
long, thick, tinged red, with from two to three glands usually
on the stalk.

Fruit early; nearly one and one-half inches in diameter,
roundish-oval, greenish-yellow, striped and splashed with green
becoming golden-yellow at full maturity, overspread with thin
bloom; flesh golden-yellow, dry, coarse, firm, sweet, mild; of
good quality; stone semi-clinging, one inch by five-eighths
inch in size, obovate, acute at the apex, medium turgid, with
pitted surfaces.

BLUE PERDRIGON

_Prunus domestica_

=1.= Parkinson _Par. Ter._ 576. 1629. =2.= Rea _Flora_ 208.
1676. =3.= Quintinye _Com. Gard._ 67, 68, 69, 1699. =4.=
Langley _Pomona_ 92, Pl. 23 fig. 4. 1729. =5.= Duhamel _Trait.
Arb. Fr._ =2=:85. 1768. =6.= Prince _Pom. Man._ =2=:66. 1832.
=7.= Downing _Fr. Trees Am._ 290. 1845. =8.= Floy-Lindley
_Guide Orch. Gard._ 280, 293, 383. 1846. =9.= _U. S. Pat. Off.
Rpt._ 287. 1853. =10.= Hogg _Fruit Man._ 687. 1884. =11.=
Mathieu _Nom. Pom._ 452. 1889. =12.= _Guide Prat._ 154, 361.
1895.

_Blue Perdrigon_ 6, 7, 11, 12. _Brignole Violette_ 7, 10, 11,
12. _Battle Monument_ 10, 11. _Blaue Fasanen Pflaume_ 11, 12.
_Blauer Perdrigon_ 11, 12. Blew Perdrigon 2, 3. 4. Perdrigon
1, 3, 9. Perdrigon Violet 5, 12. _Perdrigon Violet_ 6, 8,
11. _Perdrigon Violette_ 7, 10. _Perdigon_ 8. _Perdigevena_
8. _Violet Perdrigon_ 4, 6, 7, 10, 11. Violet Perdrigon 6,
8. Violetter Perdrigon 11. _Violette Fasanen Pflaume_ 11.
_Violette Huhner Pflaume_ 11. _Violette Rebhuhn Pflaume_ 11.
_Violette Fasanenpflaume_ 12. _Violette Huhnerpflaume_ 12.
_Violetter Perdrigon_ 12. _Violettes Rebhuhnerei_ 11, 12.

Early records indicate that the Blue Perdrigon was introduced into England from Italy. Hakluyt, writing in 1582, says, “Of late time the Plum called the _Perdigevena_ was procured out of Italy, with two kinds more, by the Lord Cromwell, after his travel.” Gough, in his _British Topography_, states that Lord Cromwell introduced the “Perdrigon plum” into England in the time of Henry VII. From these accounts it would seem that this plum was established in England some time during the latter part of the Fifteenth Century. For three hundred years it thrived so well in England that writers had no hesitation in pronouncing it their best plum. From England it came early to America. Probably it was included in the shipment of plum pits ordered from England by the Governor and Company of the Massachusetts Bay Colony in New England in 1629. In spite of its Old World reputation, however, it never found favor here and is now rarely if ever seen even in collections. The older writers mentioned a Black Perdrigon which they considered distinct from the variety under discussion. Inasmuch as all plums until recently were propagated from seed, it is more than likely that there were all gradations in color and that some attempted to classify the darker seedlings as a distinct variety. This hypothesis is borne out by the fact that after grafting and budding became the common method of propagation the so-called Black Perdrigon became extinct. The following description is a compilation.

Tree vigorous, but not always productive; young shoots
pubescent; fruit mid-season; medium in size, obovate,
compressed on the suture side, purple or blue, with
thick bloom; stem slender; skin thick, very tough; flesh
greenish-yellow, firm, rich, sweet, aromatic; good; stone
small, flattened, clinging; fruit hangs on the tree until it
shrivels.

BODDAERT

_Prunus domestica_

=1.= Downing _Fr. Trees Am._ 2d App. 156. 1876. =2.= _Am. Pom.
Soc. Cat._ 36. 1877. =3.= Hogg _Fruit Man._ 687. 1884. =4.=
Mathieu _Nom. Pom._ 423. 1889. =5.= Lucas _Vollst. Hand. Obst._
472. 1894. =6.= Waugh _Plum Cult._ 97. 1901.

Boddaert’s Green Gage 1, 3. Boddart’s Green Gage 2. Boddaert’s
Reine Claude 4. _Boddaert’s Green Gage_ 4, 6. _Reine-Claude de
Boddaert_ 4. _Reine-Claude Boddaert_ 1, 3, 4. Reine-Claude von
Boddaert 4.

Boddaert has much to commend it, the fruit being surpassed by that of but few other plums of its type—that of the Reine Claude. The plums are large, attractive and of very good quality. Since the variety has been known so long it must be that the tree has some fatal defect; otherwise it would be more largely grown. Boddaert is probably a Reine Claude seedling and is of foreign origin, the details of its early history not being known. Downing, in 1876, first mentioned the variety in America; the following year it was placed on the fruit list in the American Pomological Society catalog.

Tree large, medium in vigor, upright-spreading, open-topped,
productive; trunk rough; branches smooth, except for a few,
raised lenticels; branchlets of medium thickness, brash,
thinly pubescent; leaves oval, two and one-quarter inches
wide, four inches long, thick and leathery; upper surface dark
green, rugose; margin crenate, with small dark glands; petiole
pubescent, thick, tinged red, usually with two globose glands.

Fruit mid-season; about one and one-half inches in diameter,
roundish-ovate, strongly compressed, yellow, mottled with green
before full maturity, overspread with thin bloom; stem thickly
pubescent; flesh light yellow, dry, meaty, tender, sweet; good
in quality; stone semi-free or free, seven-eighths inch by
five-eighths inch in size, oval or ovate, turgid, with pitted
surfaces.

BRADSHAW

_Prunus domestica_

=1.= _Mag. Hort._ =12=:341. 1846. =2.= _Horticulturist_
=10=:15, 253. 1855. =3.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Rpt._ 190, 214. 1856.
=4.= _Cultivator_ =8=:25 fig. 1860. =5.= Mas _Pom. Gen._ =2=:3,
fig. 2. 1873. =6.= _Mich. Pom. Soc. Rpt._ 303. 1878. =7.= _Am.
Pom. Soc. Rpt._ 61, 118. 1883. =8.= Hogg _Fruit Man._ 709.
1884. =9.= _Rural N. Y._ =44=:103. 1885. =10.= _Me. Pom. Soc.
Rpt._ 130. 1888. =11.= _Ibid._ 144. 1889. =12.= Mathieu _Nom.
Pom._ 434. 1889. =13.= _Mich. Sta. Bul._ =103=:32, 33, fig. 6.
1894. =14.= _Guide Prat._ 157, 359. 1895. =15.= _Cornell Sta.
Bul._ =131=:182. 1897. =16.= _Mich. Sta. Bul._ =169=:242, 244.
1899. =17.= _W. N. Y. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ =44=:91. 1899. =18.=
Thompson _Gard. Ass’t_ =4=:158. 1901. =19.= Waugh _Plum Cult._
97. 1901. =20.= _Ont. Fruit Exp. Sta. Rpt._ 16, 17 fig. 1902.
=21.= _Va. Sta. Bul._ =134=:40. 1902. =22.= _Can. Exp. Farm
Bul._ =43=:33. 1903. =23.= _Ohio Sta. Bul._ =162=:239, 254,
255, 256. 1905.

_Black Imperial_ 5, 14. _Blue Imperial_ 5, 14, 19, 20.
_Bradshaw_ 9, 14. Grosse Schwarze Kaiser Pflaume 12. _Hart
Prune_ 17. Large Black Imperial 8, 14, 18. _Large Black
Imperial_ 2, 3, 12. _Mooney_ 9, 17. Niagara 7, 9, 10, 11.
_Niagara_ 13, 15, 17, ?19, 20, ?22, 23.

Bradshaw leads all other plums in number of trees in New York, according to a survey of the leading orchards made in the preparation of _The Plums of New York_. A study of the variety does not justify this popularity. The trees grow rather slowly and are slow in coming into bearing; the fruit is not especially high in quality and in many regions is attacked by brown-rot too freely for profitable orchard culture. To offset these faults the trees are large and well formed, bear regularly and heavily, are hardy, robust and healthy, the best of recommendations, and the plums are large, attractive in appearance and keep and ship well especially if picked a little green. The variety, curiously enough, is not nearly as badly attacked by San José scale as other plums. Probably one of the reasons why Bradshaw is so largely grown in New York is that it is easily handled in the nursery and quickly makes a very good nursery tree. Bradshaw does not deserve the high place it holds with plum-growers, and must give way sooner or later to better varieties for commercial orchards. The value of the crop is greatly lessened in New York because it ripens in the midst of the peach season.

Unfortunately, the origin of this plum is not known. The Europeans and some Americans have held that it came from America but, since it is identical with the Large Black Imperial, it must be of foreign origin. It was named by C. M. Hovey in 1846, and was described in his _Magazine of Horticulture_ with the following explanation: “For the want of a name to distinguish a very large and excellent plum, exhibited for three or four years in succession, by E. E. Bradshaw, Esq., Charlestown, we have called it the Bradshaw plum.” Barry, in 1855, states in the _Horticulturist_ that he “received it from Wm. Kenrick, a nurseryman in Newton, Massachusetts, under the name of Large Black Imperial; but as it has been described in _Hovey’s Magazine_ as Bradshaw, we have adopted that name in our catalog.” Though the name Bradshaw is incorrect according to the rule of priority, it would now cause too much confusion to change it.

Niagara, a well known variety in this State, is identical with Bradshaw in all characters, in spite of a supposedly distinct origin. According to Mr. George Atwood of the State Department of Agriculture, a Mr. Moody of Lockport exhibited, about 1870, the Mooney plum, afterwards named the Niagara. Being interested in the variety, Mr. Atwood visited Mooney, at Lockport, the man from whom Moody had secured his stock. In Mooney’s yard were found several bearing trees, which had been grown from sprouts taken from the original seedling tree, grown in Canada. These trees could not be told from the Bradshaw. If the Niagara is distinct as to origin, it is probably a seedling of Bradshaw. Bradshaw was recommended to fruit-growers as a promising variety by the American Pomological Society in 1856 and has since remained on the fruit list of the society.

Tree large, vigorous, broad-vasiform, dense-topped, hardy, very
productive; branches smooth except for the numerous, small,
raised lenticels, dark ash-gray; branchlets short, with long
internodes, greenish-red changing to brownish-red, often with
heavy gray scarf-skin, dull, sparingly pubescent, with obscure,
small lenticels; leaf-buds variable in size and length,
pointed, free.

Leaves drooping, folded backward, obovate or oval, two inches
wide, four and one-quarter inches long, thickish; upper surface
dark green, rugose, pubescent, with a shallow groove on the
midrib; lower surface grayish-green, thickly pubescent; apex
acute, base abrupt, margin not regular, varying from coarsely
crenate to serrate, eglandular or with few, small, dark glands;
petiole three-quarters inch long, pubescent, reddish, glandless
or with from one to three large, globose, greenish-brown glands
on the stalk or at the base of the leaf.

Season of bloom short; flowers appearing after the leaves, one
and three-sixteenths inches across, the buds creamy changing
to white as the flowers expand; borne on lateral buds and
spurs, singly or in pairs; pedicels nearly eleven-sixteenths
inch long, pubescent, green; calyx-tube greenish, campanulate,
pubescent only at the base; calyx-lobes wide, obtuse, pubescent
on both surfaces, glandular-serrate, margins ciliate, reflexed;
petals broadly oval, erose, with short, broad claws; anthers
yellowish; filaments seven-sixteenths inch long; pistil
pubescent at the base, shorter than the stamens.

Fruit mid-season; two inches by one and three-quarters
inches in size, oval or obovate, compressed, halves equal;
cavity shallow, narrow, abrupt, with a fleshy ring around
the stem; suture very shallow; apex roundish or flattened;
color light purplish-red changing to dark reddish-purple at
maturity, covered with thick bloom; dots numerous, small,
russet, inconspicuous, clustered about the apex; stem thick,
seven-eighths inch long, pubescent, adhering strongly to the
fruit; skin thin, somewhat tough, sour, separating readily;
flesh dull yellow, often with a trace of red when fully
mature, juicy, fibrous, somewhat tender, sweet, pleasant;
good; stone semi-free, flattened, one and one-quarter inches
by three-quarters inch in size, irregularly oval, necked at
the base, blunt at the apex, strongly roughened and pitted,
often with numerous, small, deep pits near the margins of both
ventral and dorsal sutures; ventral suture strongly furrowed
and winged; dorsal suture with a deep, narrow groove.

BRYANSTON

_Prunus domestica_

=1.= _Lond. Hort. Soc. Cat._ 144. 1831. =2.= _Jour. Hort._ N.
S. =17=:286. 1869. =3.= Downing _Fr. Trees Am._ 902. 1869.
=4.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 24. 1871. =5.= Barry _Fr. Garden_
411. 1883. =6.= Hogg _Fruit Man._ 688. 1884. =7.= _Tenn. Sta.
Bul._ =3=: No. 5, 88. 1890. =8.= _Guide Prat._ 155. 1895. =9.=
Thompson _Gard. Ass’t_ =4=:157. 1901. =10.= Waugh _Plum Cult._
98. 1901. =11.= _Mass. Sta. An. Rpt._ =17=:158. 1905.

Bryanstone 11. Bryanston Gage 1, 2, 6, 9. Bryanston’s Gage 3,
5, 7. _Bryanston’s Gage_ 10. Bryanstone Gage 4. Reine-Claude
Bryanston 8.

The fruits of Bryanston fall not a little short, all things considered, of being as good as those of several other of the varieties in the Reine Claude group of which this plum is a member. For this reason Bryanston is not often rated by horticulturists as one of the best plums, but the large, vigorous trees growing on the Station grounds are so especially desirable for this variety, in a group which taken as a whole is noted for poor trees, that it is here described among the leading plums. The fruit is larger than that of Reine Claude but is less attractive in color and shape and the quality is not as high. It is later than the variety with which it has just been compared and the crop is not borne as regularly. While this plum can hardly be recommended for extensive orchard plantings, it yet has too many merits to be forgotten.

This variety is said to be the result of crossing Reine Claude and Golden Drop at Bryanston Park, Blandford, England. It was first noted in the London Horticultural Society fruit catalog in 1831 but no information in regard to the date of its origin seems to have been published. In 1871 the American Pomological Society added it to its fruit catalog list but dropped it in 1897.

Tree very large and vigorous, round-topped, open, hardy, very
productive; branches smooth, becoming rough near the trunk,
ash-gray, with lenticels of medium size and number; branchlets
somewhat slender, short, with long internodes, greenish-red
changing to dull reddish-brown, marked by scarf-skin, dull,
glabrous, with few, inconspicuous, small lenticels; leaf-buds
above medium in size and length, pointed, free; leaf-scars
prominent.

Leaves folded backward, oval or obovate, one and five-eighths
inches wide, three and one-quarter inches long, leathery; upper
surface dark green, sparingly hairy, with a shallow groove on
the midrib; lower surface yellowish-green, pubescent; apex
abruptly pointed or acute, base acute, margin crenate, bearing
small, dark glands; petiole one-half inch long, pubescent, with
a little red, glandless or with one or two small, globose,
yellowish glands.

Blooming season intermediate in time, short; flowers appearing
with the leaves, one and one-eighth inches across, white,
creamy at the apex of the petals in the newly opened flowers;
borne on lateral buds and spurs, singly or in pairs; pedicels
one-half inch long, thick, pubescent, greenish; calyx-tube
green, campanulate, pubescent at the base; calyx-lobes broad,
obtuse, pubescent on both surfaces, glandular-ciliate, somewhat
reflexed; petals roundish-ovate, erose; anthers yellow;
filaments about one-quarter inch long; pistil glabrous except
at the base, slightly longer than the stamens; stigma large.

Fruit mid-season; one and five-eighths inches by one and
one-half inches in size, irregular roundish-truncate, halves
unequal; cavity shallow, narrow, abrupt; suture usually
shallow, prominent; apex flattened or depressed; color dull
yellow with greenish streaks, sometimes with pinkish blush
about the cavity, mottled, overspread with thin bloom; dots
numerous, small, inconspicuous; stem thick, three-quarters inch
long, pubescent, adhering well to the fruit; skin thin, tough,
sour, separating readily; flesh greenish-yellow, juicy, firm
but tender, sweet, aromatic; very good; stone nearly free,
seven-eighths inch by five-eighths inch in size, broadly oval,
turgid, slightly contracted at the blunt base, roundish at the
apex, with rough and pitted surfaces; ventral suture broad,
with a distinct but small wing; dorsal suture widely and deeply
grooved.

BURBANK

_Prunus triflora_

=1.= _Ga. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 53, 99. 1889. =2.= _U. S. D. A.
Rpt._ 392. 1891. =3.= Wickson _Cal. Fruits_ 360. 1891. =4.=
_Cornell Sta. Bul._ =106=:46, 63. 1896. =5.= _Ala. Col. Sta.
Bul._ =85=:445. 1897. =6.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 26. 1897. =7.=
_Am. Gard._ =19=:75, 132, 220, 792. 1898. =8.= _Mich. Sta.
Bul._ =169=:242, 249. 1899. =9.= _Cornell Sta. Bul._ =175=:143.
1899. =10.= Waugh _Plum Cult._ 134. 1901. =11.= _W. N. Y. Hort.
Soc. Rpt._ 88. 1902. =12.= _Can. Hort._ =25=:272. 1902. =13.=
Budd-Hansen _Am. Hort. Man._ 308. 1903. =14.= _Ga. Sta. Bul._
=68=:11, 28. 1905. =15.= _Ohio Sta. Bul._ =162=:256. 1905.
=16.= DeVries _Plant Breeding_ 170. 1907.

_Persing Nos. 1 & 2_, 15. _Russian plum 20M._ 4. Wassu 4.
_Wassu_ 9.

Probably Abundance holds first place among the Triflora plums in New York but Burbank is a close second and in many localities has first preference. Abundance is in the lead chiefly because the trees of this variety are larger and better formed and bear more fruit than those of Burbank. To offset the advantages of Abundance the fruit of Burbank is of better quality, more handsomely colored, keeps and ships better and is less susceptible to brown-rot. The fruit of Burbank ripens a week or more later than that of Abundance, which in most seasons is a slight advantage for the first-named variety. The trees of this plum are distinguished from those of all other plums by their low, spreading habit, flat top and somewhat drooping branches, characters which make them more or less difficult to handle in the orchard and very difficult to manage in the nursery. The wood of Burbank is brittle, true of all Trifloras, but a serious defect in this one. In common with other varieties of its species, Burbank is less troubled with curculio and black-knot than the European plums. The fruit of this variety begins to color some days before ripe and should be picked before fully matured if it is to be kept or shipped. Usually the best specimens of Burbank come from thinned trees and thinning is a necessary operation in all commercial orchards. The variety does not thrive in the South, being poor in quality and rotting badly. In New York, Burbank is not being planted nearly so largely as a few years ago, the Domesticas being much more profitable than this or other Triflora plums. It is a very desirable variety for home plantations in New York.

Burbank was produced from a plum pit sent to Luther Burbank[207] by a Japanese agent in 1883.[208] The fruit of this variety proved to be very superior and Mr. Burbank sent specimens of it to the Division of Pomology, United States Department of Agriculture in 1887, where it was named in honor of the introducer. Wassu, introduced by J. L. Normand, and the Russian plum, 20 M, sent out by Professor J. L. Budd proved to be indistinguishable from the Burbank as tested by Bailey, but Kerr[209] thinks the Wassu is a distinct variety. The American Pomological Society added Burbank to the fruit list in its catalog in 1897.

Tree large, vigorous, distinguished by its low, sprawling habit
and flat open top, unusually hardy for a Japanese variety,
very productive, healthy; branches somewhat roughish, dark
ash-gray, thickly covered with fruit-spurs, with few, large,
raised lenticels; branchlets medium in thickness and length,
with short internodes, greenish-red changing to dark brown,
with gray scarf-skin, glossy, glabrous, with raised lenticels
of medium size and number; leaf-buds short, obtuse, free.

Leaves folded upward, broadly oblanceolate, peach-like, one and
one-eighth inches wide, three and three-quarters inches long,
thin; upper surface light green, smooth, pubescent only on the
deeply grooved midrib; lower surface glabrous, pubescent on the
midrib; apex taper-pointed, base cuneate, margin finely and
doubly serrate, with small amber or reddish glands; petiole
nine-sixteenths inch long, sparingly hairy on one side, tinged
red, with from one to four small, reniform or globose glands
mostly on the stalk.

Blooming season early and short; flowers appearing with the
leaves, white; borne in dense clusters on the lateral buds
and spurs, in threes; pedicels one-quarter inch long, thick,
glabrous; calyx-tube green, obconic, glabrous; calyx-lobes
broad, obtuse, glandular-serrate, glabrous, erect; petals
broadly oval, entire, short-clawed; anthers yellowish;
filaments one-quarter inch long; pistil glabrous, longer than
the stamens.

Fruit early, season long; variable in size, large when the tree
is not overloaded, one and three-quarters inches in diameter,
roundish-conic, halves equal; cavity deep, abrupt, regular;
suture shallow; apex roundish; color dark red over a yellow
ground, mottled, with thick bloom; dots numerous, large,
russet, conspicuous; stem five-eighths inch long, glabrous,
parting readily from the fruit; skin thin, tough, sour,
separating from the pulp; flesh deep yellow, juicy, tender,
firm, sweet, aromatic; good; stone clinging, three-quarters
inch by five-eighths inch in size, roundish-oval, turgid, blunt
but sharp-tipped, roughish, with a slightly winged ventral
suture; dorsal suture acute.

CHABOT

_Prunus triflora_

=1.= _Ga. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 29. 1886. =2.= _Ibid._ 52, 99. 1889.
=3.= _Am. Gard._ =12=:501. 1891. =4.= _Ibid._ =13=:700. 1892.
=5.= _Rev. Hort._ 132, Pl. 537. 1892. =6.= _Cornell Sta. Bul._
=62=:20, 22, 28. 1894. =7.= _Ibid._ =106=:44, 48, 51, 60. 1896.
=8.= Rogers _Cat._ 9. 1896. =9.= _Cornell Sta. Bul._ =139=:38.
1897. =10.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 26. 1897. =11.= _Cornell Sta.
Bul._ =175=:150. 1899. =12.= Waugh _Plum Cult._ 134, 135 fig.
1901. =13.= _Can. Exp. Farm Bul._ =43=:37. 1903. =14.= _Ohio
Sta. Bul._ =162=:250, 254, 255, 256, 257. 1905. =15.= _Ga. Sta.
Bul._ =68=:12, 14, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32. 1905.

Babcock 15. _Babcock_ ?15. Bailey 3, 4, 6, 7. _Bailey_ 9, 11,
12, 15. _Chase_ 9, 15. _Chabot_ 15. _Douglas_ 15. Furugiya
7, 15. _Furugiya_ 11, 12, 15. Hytankayo 14. _Hytankayo_ 15.
_Hon-smomo_ 15. _O-Hatankyo_ 11. Orient 6, 7. _Orient_ 14.
O-hattankio 15. Paragon 8. _Red Nagate_ of some 7. Uchi Beni of
some 11. _Yellow Japan_ 9, 11, 12.

When properly handled the fruits of Chabot are far the most attractive of the many Triflora plums. They are large, beautifully molded and handsomely mottled in shades of red over yellow with occasional splashes of russet and a heavy but delicate bloom. To secure the best coloring, the fruit must be picked before ripe and be matured in dark storage. Early picking is necessary also because the season of ripening is very long and the fruit drops badly if permitted to hang to the trees until fully ripe. There should be at least three pickings for this variety. Unfortunately, the quality of Chabot belies its appearance, being at best not above the average. The fruits are firm and ship well and keep rather better than those of any other plum of its species. The trees are hardy and dependable in bearing but not as productive as could be wished. The blossoms of Chabot open later than those of most other Trifloras, enabling this sort occasionally to escape frosts which injure other varieties of this species. The stamens are often short, undeveloped and wholly or in part sterile. Because of its attractive fruit this variety might well be grown more than it is for the markets.

Chabot was imported from Japan by a Mr. Chabot of Berkeley, California, and was introduced to the trade by Luther Burbank in 1886. As with Abundance, the nomenclature of Chabot is badly confused. Several names that have been found to be synonymous with the former have also been applied to the latter. J. L. Normand, Marksville, Louisiana, imported trees from Japan, among which was a tree that was different from any growing on his grounds. He named this variety after Bailey and introduced it in 1891. Later this was found to be identical with Chabot. Furugiya, another introduction by Normand, is undoubtedly Chabot. H. N. Starnes of the Georgia Experiment Station, who has tested many of the Japanese plums, published in Bulletin 68 of his station, the additional synonyms: Chase, O-hattankio, Hytankayo, Douglas, Hon-smomo and Babcock. Orient, introduced by Stark Brothers, Louisiana, Missouri, in 1893, is Chabot as tested at the New York and Ohio experiment stations. Paragon, introduced by the Rogers Nursery Company, Moorestown, New Jersey, has also proved to be identical. In 1897 the American Pomological Society added this variety to its fruit catalog list.

Tree large, vigorous, vasiform or upright-spreading,
open-topped, slow-growing, hardy, productive, susceptible to
attacks of shot-hole fungus; branches roughish, the fruit-spurs
numerous, dark ash-gray, with raised lenticels variable in
size; branchlets slender, with short intemodes, greenish-red
changing to dark chestnut-red, glossy, glabrous, with numerous,
conspicuous, rather large, raised lenticels; leaf-buds small,
short, obtuse, somewhat appressed.

Leaves folded upward, obovate or oblanceolate, peach-like, one
and one-quarter inches wide, three inches long, thin; upper
surface light green, smooth, with a shallow, grooved midrib;
lower surface pale green, glabrous except at the base of the
veins; apex acutely pointed, base cuneate, margin finely
serrate, with small, amber or dark red glands; petiole one-half
inch long, slender, slightly pubescent along the upper surface,
heavily tinged with red, glandless or with from one to six
small, globose or reniform, greenish-brown glands usually on
the stalk.

Blooming season intermediate and long; flowers appearing with
the leaves, white; borne in clusters on lateral spurs in pairs
or in threes; pedicels three-eighths inch long, pubescent,
greenish; calyx-tube green, obconic, pubescent at the base;
calyx-lobes obtuse, glandular, somewhat serrate, pubescent at
the base, erect; petals broadly oval, entire, with narrow,
long claws; anthers shrivelled; filaments nearly sessile or
one-eighth inch long; pistil glabrous, longer than the stamens;
stigma small.

Fruit mid-season, ripening period long; one and five-eighths
inches in diameter, cordate or roundish, halves equal; cavity
deep, flaring, with concentric, russet rings; suture distinct;
apex roundish or pointed; color light and dark shades of red
over yellow, mottled, with occasional splashes of russet and
with a thick but delicate bloom; dots numerous, small, russet
or yellow, conspicuous unless obscured by the bloom, clustered
around the apex; stem thick, one-half inch long, adhering to
the fruit; skin medium in thickness, tender, bitter, separating
easily; flesh golden-yellow, very juicy, coarse and fibrous,
tender, somewhat melting when fully ripe, sweet, although
somewhat tart at the center, sprightly, with characteristic
Triflora flavor; good; stone clinging, three-quarters inch by
one-half inch in size, oval, turgid, slightly necked, with
pitted surfaces; ventral suture wide; dorsal suture unfurrowed.

CHALCO

_Prunus simonii_ × _Prunus triflora_

=1.= Burbank _Cat._ 4. 1898. =2.= _Rural N. Y._ =57=:184, 653.
1898. =3.= _Vt. Sta. Bul._ =67=:8. 1898. =4.= _Vt. Sta. An.
Rpt._ =14=:273. 1901. =5.= _Ga. Sta. Bul._ =68=:12, 35. 1905.

Chalco has been extensively advertised by several nurseries but, from the reports received, it is doubtful if it will ever be grown commercially. The trees, in the East at least, are slow in coming into bearing; the fruits are small; and the flavor such that consumers will have to learn to like it although it is much better in quality than the Simon plum, one of its parents, being quite free from the bitterness of this parent. The tree is rather better than that of the Simon plum or of the Wickson, the two plums with which it must be compared. The amateur may care to plant Chalco but here its usefulness ends. Burbank in introducing this plum in 1898, stated that it was the first fruit offered after twelve years’ work in crossing _Prunus simonii_ with _Prunus triflora_ and American species. The parentage of Chalco is given as a Simon-Burbank cross. The following description is compiled:

Tree vigorous, upright or somewhat vasiform, very productive;
leaves large, dark green. Fruit matures shortly before Burbank;
large when well grown, oblate, dark red; flesh yellowish, firm,
very juicy, aromatic, sweet; good; stone small, oval, slightly
flattened, semi-free.

CHAMBOURCY

_Prunus domestica_

=1.= _Rev. Hort._ 39. 1898. =2.= _Soc. Nat. Hort. France Pom._
560, fig. 1904. =3.= _Can. Exp. Farms Rpt._ 433. 1905. =4.=
_Cat. Cong. Pom. France_ 473 fig. 1906.

_Reine-Claude Tardive De Chambourcy_ 2. _Reine-Claude
Tardive Latinois_ 1. Reine-Claude Tardive de Chambourcy 1.
_Reine-Claude Latinois_ 2, 4. _Reine-Claude tardive_ 1.
_Reine-Claude Verte_ 4. Reine-Claude Tardive 2, 4. Reine-Claude
de Chambourcy 3. _Tardive de Chambourcy_ 4.

This fruit was found at the beginning of the Nineteenth Century at Chambourcy, France, in the garden of M. Bourgeois; no record of its parents seems to have been made. M. Latinois introduced it into commerce in 1885-1886 and consequently his name became attached to the variety. The plum is not well known in America, there being only one published American reference. This Station received the variety for testing in 1899 from the United States Department of Agriculture. It has value on account of its high quality and its lateness, and is worthy of extensive testing.

Tree small, upright-spreading, dense-topped, productive;
branchlets develop fruit-spurs near the base; leaf-buds
strongly appressed; leaves folded upward, long-oval or obovate,
one and five-eighths inches wide, three and three-quarters
inches long, somewhat leathery; margin doubly serrate or
crenate, with small dark glands; blooming season intermediate
in time and length; flowers appearing after the leaves, over
one inch across; borne in thin clusters on lateral buds and
spurs, singly or in pairs.

Fruit very late, season of medium length; nearly one and
one-half inches in diameter, roundish, slightly truncate,
yellowish-green, with a delicate bloom and a pink blush on the
exposed cheek; flesh greenish-yellow, very juicy, firm but
tender, sweet, aromatic, of high flavor; very good to best;
stone semi-free or free, three-quarters inch, by one-half inch
in size, irregular-oval, flattened, rather blunt at the base
and apex, with roughened surfaces; ventral suture strongly
furrowed, often with a distinct wing.

CHAMPION

_Prunus domestica_

=1.= Wickson _Cal. Fruits_ 360. 1891. =2.= _Oregon Hort. Soc.
Rpt._ 147. 1893. =3.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Rpt._ 150. 1895. =4.=
_Oregon Sta. Bul._ =45=:30. 1897.

Champion Prune, 1, 2, 3.

The Champion was introduced with the expectation that it would be a valuable fruit for curing into prunes. It has not proved to be a good plum for prune-making, as it is too juicy, about three-fourths of its bulk evaporating, but the western plum-growers have found it a very good plum for shipping in the fresh state. It is very attractive in appearance, firm, free of stone, sweet and pleasant and withal of rather high quality. The tree-characters, as the plums grow in Geneva, are in the main very good, falling short, if at all, in productiveness. They are such as to lead to the recommendation of a trial for this plum by plum-growers in general in New York.

This variety is a seedling of the Italian Prune produced by Jesse Bullock, Oswego, Oregon, about 1876, and introduced by C. E. Hoskins, Springbrook, Oregon. Since the Italian Prune comes nearly true to seed it is very doubtful if this variety is a pure-bred seedling judging from the characters of the fruit as given below:

Tree of medium size and vigor, upright-spreading, open-topped,
hardy, productive, an early bearer, subject to sun-scald;
branches ash-gray, rather smooth, with few, small lenticels;
branchlets short, with very short internodes, greenish-red
changing to brownish-red, dull, sparingly pubescent throughout
the season, with few inconspicuous, small lenticels; leaf-buds
below medium in size, short, obtuse, free, plump.

Leaves folded upward, oval, one and five-eighths inches wide,
three inches long; upper surface somewhat rugose, covered with
numerous, fine hairs, with a shallow groove on the midrib;
lower surface silvery-green, pubescent: apex abruptly pointed
or acute, base acute, margin crenate, with small black glands;
petiole one-half inch long, green, pubescent, with from one to
three medium to large, globose, brownish glands mostly at the
base of the leaf.

Blooming season intermediate in time and length; flowers
appearing after the leaves, one inch across, white with a
yellowish tinge at the apex of the petals; borne on lateral
spurs, singly or in pairs; pedicels five-eighths inch long,
with a few scattering hairs, green; calyx-tube greenish,
campanulate, sparingly pubescent; calyx-lobes obtuse, pubescent
on both surfaces, glandular-serrate, somewhat reflexed; petals
roundish, crenate, tapering to short, broad claws: anthers
yellow; filaments three-eighths inch long; pistil glabrous,
slightly shorter or equal to the stamens in length.