Chapter III: Leading Varieties of Plums (5)

Fruit late; one and one-half inches by one and one-eighth
inches in diameter, ovate, halves equal; cavity very shallow,
narrow, flaring; suture a line; apex roundish; color dull
black, overspread with thick bloom; dots numerous, small,
brownish, inconspicuous; stem slender, three-quarters inch
long, sparingly pubescent, adhering well to the fruit; skin
thin, tough, separating readily; flesh greenish, juicy,
fibrous, tender, sweet, pleasant and sprightly; good; stone
variable in adhesion, seven-eighths inch by one-half inch in
size, oval, roughened, acute at the base, blunt at the apex;
ventral suture rather narrow, heavily furrowed and somewhat
winged; dorsal suture with a shallow groove of medium width.

FROGMORE

_Prunus insititia_

=1.= _Flor. & Pom._ 265, Pl. 1876. =2.= _Mich. Hort. Soc. Rpt._
289. 1889. =3.= _Can. Exp. Farm Bul._ 2nd Ser. =3=:51. 1900.
=4.= Waugh _Plum Cult._ 130. 1901.

Frogmore Damson 1, 2. Frogmore Prolific Damson 3.

Frogmore may be considered among the best of the Damsons in quality for the culinary purposes to which this fruit is commonly put. The flesh is tender, sweet and good, but adheres rather too tightly to the stone. The tree of Frogmore is all that could be desired in productiveness and quite equals most other Damsons in general and probably surpasses them all, at least on the grounds at this Station, in length of time that the fruit hangs on the tree. The habit of growth of this variety varies from that of _Prunus insititia_ as commonly found, the leaves being larger, the tops more spreading and the branches less thorny. The variety has hardly been tried enough in New York to warrant either recommending or condemning it. According to the _Florist and Pomologist_, published in 1876, this variety originated a few years previous to the date of publication in the Royal Gardens at Frogmore, England.

Tree inferior in size and vigor, round-topped, open, hardy,
very productive; branches thorny, the bark on the older
branches splitting transversely to the direction of growth,
making grooves or rings about three inches apart and two
inches or more in length; branchlets slender, almost glabrous
throughout the season, covered with light bloom; leaves bright
red on first opening, somewhat folded backward, obovate, one
and three-eighths inches wide, three and one-half inches long;
upper surface dark green, rugose; lower surface silvery-green,
pubescent, margin eglandular; petiole five-eighths inch
long, slender, greenish, glandless or with one or two small,
globose, yellowish-green glands usually at the base of the
leaf; blooming season intermediate in time and length; flowers
appearing after the leaves, one inch across, white, in
scattered clusters on lateral spurs; borne singly or in pairs;
anthers yellow with tinge of red; filaments five-sixteenths
inch long; pistil glabrous, equal to the stamens in length.

Fruit late, season of medium length; one and one-eighth inches
by one inch in size, roundish-oval, compressed, purplish-black,
overspread with thick bloom; flesh golden-yellow, juicy,
tender, sweet; good; stone clinging, three-quarters inch by
one-half inch in size, oval, smooth, somewhat acute at the base
and apex; ventral suture blunt or with a short, narrow wing;
dorsal suture with a narrow, shallow groove.

FROST GAGE

_Prunus domestica_

=1.= Prince _Pom. Man._ =2=:52. 1832. =2.= _Mag. Hort._ =4=:45.
1838. =3.= Hoffy _Orch. Comp._ =2=:1842, =4.= Downing _Fr.
Trees Am._ 300. 1845. =5.= _Horticulturist_ =3=:446. 1848. =6.=
Cole _Am. Fr. Book_ 219. 1849. =7.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Rpt._ 54.
1852. =8.= Hogg _Fruit Mun._ 362. 1866.

_American Damson_ 8. _Frost Plum_ 4, 6, 8. _October Gage_ 3.

Frost Gage is too small for market purposes and moreover the fruit withers rather quickly after picking; the quality is above the average. The plum is not a Gage, only green fruits being entitled to this name. At one time this was one of the most popular commercial varieties in the Hudson Valley, but because of its susceptibility to black-knot it has lost favor with growers. Downing in 1838 traced the history of this variety to a tree standing on the farm of a Mr. Duboise, Dutchess County, New York, Mr. Duboise stating that the original had been planted by his father. It is doubtful if this is the first tree, however, for in 1849 Charles Hamilton of Canterbury, Orange County, reported trees of Frost Gage thirty to forty years old on his place.

Tree of medium size, upright, very productive; branchlets
thick; leaves flattened, oval or obovate, one and one-half
inches wide, two and three-quarters inches long; margin crenate
or serrate, with few, small, black glands; petiole short,
usually with one or two glands; blooming season intermediate,
short; flowers appearing after the leaves, white, with a little
yellowish tinge; borne on lateral buds and spurs, singly or in
twos.

Fruit late; about one and one-eighth inches in diameter,
roundish, dark purplish-black, covered with thick bloom; stem
slender, persistent; skin tough, sour; flesh greenish-yellow,
juicy, firm, sweet, mild; fair to good; stone clinging, small,
irregular-ovate, somewhat oblique.

FURST

_Prunus domestica_

=1.= Mas _Le Verger_ =6=:45. 1873. =2.= Lange _Allgem. Garten._
=2=:421. 1879. =3.= Oberdieck _Deut. Obst. Sort._ 413. 1881.
=4.= Lauche _Deut. Pom._ 8, Pl. 1882. =5.= _Guide Prat._ 159,
363. 1895.

_Eugen Fürsts Frühzwetsche_ 4, 5. Fürst’s Frühzwetsche 2, 3, 4.
_Fürst’s Frühzwetsche_ 1, 4, 5. Quetsche Précoce de Fürst 1, 5.

Furst would undoubtedly be well worthy of very general cultivation in plum orchards were it not for the fact that it is very similar to the Italian Prune. The two fruits differ only in season, the Furst being a few days earlier, and in the tendency of the variety under discussion to shrivel about the neck. It may be that Furst will succeed in some localities where the Italian Prune is not a success.

Furst was propagated by the Baron of Trauttenberg, Prague, Bohemia, who had received it from Professor Pater Hackl, Leitmeritz, Bohemia, under the name Furst, given in honor of Eugene Furst, son of the founder of the School of Horticulture of Frauendorf, Bavaria. Furst Damson has been confused with this variety, but it is a different plum. Its fruits are distinctly necked and much inferior in quality, and its shoots are glabrous, while in this variety they are not. The United States Department of Agriculture introduced Furst in 1901 and through them this Station received cions for testing.

Tree of medium size, round-topped, productive; branchlets
thick, marked with slight scarf-skin; leaf-scars very
prominent; leaves folded upward, obovate, two and one-half
inches wide, four and one-half inches long; margin doubly
serrate or almost crenate, eglandular or with small dark
glands; petiole thick, pubescent, glandless or with from one
to three globose glands usually on the stalk; blooming season
late; flowers one and one-eighth inches across, white, the
opening buds tipped with yellow; borne on lateral buds and
spurs, singly or in twos.

Fruit late; one and seven-eighths inches by one and one-half
inches in size, oval, slightly necked, purplish-black, covered
with thick bloom; dots numerous, reddish, conspicuous; stem
thick; flesh greenish-yellow, juicy, very fibrous, firm,
sweet, mild, with pleasant aroma; good to very good; stone one
and one-eighths inches by five-eighths inch in size, free,
irregular-oval, with rather long, tapering, oblique apex,
the surfaces heavily pitted; ventral suture prominent, often
winged; dorsal suture wide.

GEORGESON

_Prunus triflora_

=1.= _Ga. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 52, 99. 1889. =2.= _Am. Gard._
=12=:308, 501, 574. 1891. =3.= _Ibid._ =13=:700. 1892. =4.=
_Cornell Sta. Bul._ =62=:23, 27. 1894. =5.= _Tex. Sta. Bul._
=32=:488, 489. 1894. =6.= _Ga. Hart. Soc. Rpt._ 94. 1895. =7.=
_Cornell Sta. Bul._ =106=:51, 58. 1896. =8.= _Ibid._ =139=:40,
44. 1897. =9.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 26. 1897. =10.= _Cornell
Sta. Bul._ =175=:145. 1899. =11.= Waugh _Plum Cult._ 136. 1901.
=12.= _Ga. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 13. 1904. =13.= _Mass. Sta. An.
Rpt._ =17=:160. 1905. =14.= _Ohio Sta. Bul._ =162=:250, 254,
255, 256, 257. 1905. =15.= _Ga. Sta. Bul._ =68=:10, 30, 32, 35.
1905.

_Hattonkin No. 1._ 3, 4, 7. _Hattankin No. 1._ 5. _Hattonkin_
7, 11. _Hattankio_ 7. Hattankio ?1. _Hattankio No. 1._ 6, 9,
12, 15. Hattonkin No. 1. 2. _Mikado_ 10, 11, 12, 15. Normand 4,
5, 7, 8, 14. Normand Yellow 2, 3. Normand Japan 3. _Normand’s
Japan_ 4, 5. _Normand Yellow_ 4, 5, 7. _Normand_ ?15. _White
Kelsey_ 10, 11, 15. _Yeddo_ 10, 11, 15.

Georgeson is not worth the trouble it has caused pomologists in straightening out its nomenclature; and Professor Georgeson deserves to have his name attached to a far better plum. The rich yellow color of the fruit makes this a particularly handsome plum, but here praises end. The flesh is so astringent and clings so tenaciously to the stone as to unfit the variety for either dessert or culinary use. Moreover, the fruits are exceedingly variable in color, size and shape, in the last character ranging from flattish to round, with sometimes round and sometimes pointed apex. The tree has too much of the sprawling habit of Burbank to make it a good orchard plant. This plum, and those that have been confused with it, can be spared without great loss to American pomology.

Georgeson was imported by H. H. Berger & Company, San Francisco, California, and brought to notice chiefly by J. L. Normand, Marksville, Louisiana, who named it for Professor C. C. Georgeson, then of Manhattan, Kansas, a student of Japanese fruits. In the Georgia Horticultural Society Report for 1889, L. A. Berckmans mentions two types of Hattankio, one of which may be this variety. Normand, in 1891, said that he received two varieties of Hattonkin from different sources and in order to separate them he numbered the earlier, No. 1, the later No. 2. Bailey and Kerr, however, in 1894, published Hattonkin No. 1 as a synonym of Georgeson and Hattonkin No. 2, the later, as a synonym of the Kerr. The Georgia Horticultural Society accepted this latter nomenclature in their report published in 1895. The Mikado, White Kelsey and Yeddo as tested by this Station have proved to be identical with Georgeson, but as tested by Kerr,[212] the Mikado alone is the same. Normand, which is said to have been imported and introduced in 1891 by J. L. Normand, is also indistinguishable from this variety. In 1897, Georgeson was placed on the American Pomological Society fruit catalog list.

Tree medium in size and vigor, upright-spreading or
broad-vasiform, not always hardy, productive; branches
roughish, slightly thorny, often with bark cracked
longitudinally, zigzag, dark ash-gray; branchlets glabrous,
with characteristic raised lenticels; leaf-scars enlarged;
leaves folded upward, broadly oblanceolate or obovate, one and
three-eighths inches wide, three and three-quarters inches
long, thin; margin crenate or serrate, with small, amber
glands; petiole five-eighths inch long, reddish, with from
one to ten brownish-red glands usually on the stalk; blooming
season early to medium, of average length; flowers appearing
before the leaves; borne in clusters on lateral spurs, in pairs
or in threes; petals pinkish at the base; anthers reddish;
pistil longer than the stamens.

Fruit early, ripening period short; one and five-eighths inches
in diameter, roundish-cordate; cavity deep, wide, usually
with concentric, russet lines; color greenish-yellow changing
to deep yellow as the fruit reaches full maturity, with thin
bloom; flesh golden-yellow, fibrous, firm, sweetish except near
the center; fair to good; stone clinging, five-eighths inch
by one-half inch in size, oval, turgid, with pitted surfaces;
ventral suture broad, slightly ribbed; dorsal suture acute.

GERMAN PRUNE

_Prunus domestica_

=1.= Knoop _Fructologie_ =2=:53, 61. 1771. 2. Coxe _Cult. Fr.
Trees_ 235, fig. 7. 1817. =3.= _Lond. Hort. Soc. Cat._ 152.
1831. =4.= Prince _Pom. Man._ =2=:77, 78. 1832. =5.= Downing
_Fr. Trees Am._ 310. 1845. =6.= Floy-Lindley _Guide Orch.
Gard._ 286, 383. 1846. =7.= Poiteau _Pom. Franc._ =1=:1846.
=8.= Thomas _Am. Fruit Cult._ 335. 1849. =9.= _Am. Pom. Soc.
Cat._ 214. 1856. =10.= Hooper _W. Fr. Book_ 245. 1857. =11.=
Thompson _Gard. Ass’t_ 519. 1859. =12.= Hogg _Fruit Man._ 378.
1866. =13.= _Pom. France_ =7=: No. 17. 1871. =14.= Mas _Pom.
Gen._ =2=:171. 1873. =15.= Lange _Allgem. Garten._ =2=:418.
1879. =16.= Lauche _Deut. Pom._ =1=:1882. =17.= Mathieu _Nom.
Pom._ 434. 1889. =18.= Wickson _Cal. Fruits_ 355. 1891. =19.=
_Guide Prat._ 155, 362. 1895. =20.= _Cornell Sta. Bul._
=131=:185, fig. 43. 1897. =21.= _Oregon Sta. Bul._ =45=:29 fig.
1897. =22.= Waugh _Plum Cult._ 102. 1901. =23.= _Ohio Sta.
Bul._ =162=: 254, 255. 1905.

_Altesse ordinaire_ 13, 17, 19. _Backpflaume_ 17, 19.
_Bauernpflaume_ 17, 19. _Common Quetsche_ 3, 5, 11, 17, 18,
19. _Couetsche_ 4, 19. _Couetche_ 17. _Couetch_ 13, 19.
_Couetsche Ordinaire_ 17, 19. _Covetche_ 5. _Covetsche_
17. _Damas Gros_ 3, 5, 11, 17, 19. _Damask_ 3, 5, 11, 17,
19. _Damas Long_ 1. _Damas Violet_ of some 3, 11, 17, 19.
_Damas Violet Gros_ of some 3, 5, 11, 17, 19. _Deutsche Blaue
Herbstzwetsche_ 17, 19. _Die Hauszwetsche_ 19. _D’Allemagne_
19. Die Hauszwetsche 16. _Dutch Prune_ 10. _Early Russian_ 11,
12, 13, 17, 19. _Enkelde Backspruim_ 17. _Enkelde Blackpruim_
19. _Fellemberg_ 13, 17 incor., 19. _Gemeine Zwetsche_ 13, 14,
17, 19. _Gemeine Hauszwetsche_ 14. German Plum 4, 14. _German
Prune_ 3, 5, 11, 12, 13, 14, 17, 19. _German Quetsche_ 12,
13, 17, 19. _Grosse German Prune_ 3. _Grosse Hauspflaume_ 17,
19. Hauszwetsche 15. _Hauszwetsche_ 13, 14, 16. _Hauspflaume_
14, 17. _Imperatrice Violette Grosse_ of some 3, 5, 11, 17,
19. _Imperatrice Violette_ of some 3, 5, 11, 13, 17, 19.
_Koetsche_ 13, 17, 19. _Large German Prune_ 4, 17. _Leipzig_ 3,
12, 13, 17, 19. _Leipzic_ 5. _Leipziger Zwetsche_ 16, 17, 19.
Monsieur tardif? 19. _Monsieur Tardif_ 17. _Prune d’Allemagne
la commune_ 4. _Prune d’Allemagne_ 3, 5, 11, 12, 13, 16, 17.
_Prune d’Altesse_ 1. Prune Imperatrice Violette 7. Prune Plum?
2. _Prune Allemand_ 4. _Prunier Allemand_ 4. _Prune Plum_ 4.
Prune Quetsch 7. _Prunus Oeconomica_ 17. _Prune Zwetschen_ 14.
_Quastche_ 7. _Quetsch_ 7, 13, 19. _Quetsche_ 4, 6, 8, 14,
17, 19. Quetsche? 1, 3, 5, 6, 11, 12. _Quetsch Allemande_ 1.
_Quetsch Hongroise_ 1. _Quetschen_ 4. _Quetsche Commune_ 4, 13,
14, 16, 17. Quetsch Longue? 1. _Quetsche d’Allemagne Grosse_
3, 5, 11, 17, 19. Quetsche Commune 19. _Quetsche d’Allemagne_
3, 17, 19. Quetsche D’Allemagne 13. _Quetsche des Allemands_ 7.
_Quetsche Grosse_ 3, 5, 17, 19. _Quetsche de Lorraine_ 13, 14,
17, 19. _Quetsche de Metz_ 13, 16, 17, 19. Quetsche Domestique
14. _Quetsche de Malogne_ 13, 17, 19. Quetzen 6, 17. _Sweet
Prune_ 5, 11, 12, 13, 17, 19. _Teutsche blaue Zwetsche_ 16, 17,
19. _Wahre Zwetsche_ 16. _Wetschen_ 13, 17, 19. _True Large
German Prune_ 4, 5, 17, 19. _Turkish Quetsche_ 5, 11, 12, 13,
17, 19. _Zwespe_ 17, 19. _Zwetsche_ 3, 5, 7, 11, 12, 13, 14,
17, 19. _Zwetschen_ 4. _Zwetschke_ 3, 11, 17, 19.

Although one of the oldest plums under cultivation, probably the oldest of the prune type, the German Prune is still as largely grown, the world over, as any; and is seemingly more widely disseminated than any other plum. It is a little difficult, in America at least, to see why this fruit holds its popularity so long, for it is surpassed by other plums in many horticultural characters, and when all of its characters, most of which are very good, are combined there are still plums which it does not excel. In most of the attributes which gratify the senses, color, size, shape, taste and smell, it falls below expectations for a plum so universally planted. Undoubtedly the wide distribution of this plum is due somewhat to its many variations. The fruit comes almost true to seed and is often propagated by planting pits, a practice which has given many slightly different strains of this variety, each with somewhat different adaptations.

In the Old World the number of strains of this plum, especially in Germany, is legion, so many that it is probably impossible to segregate them at this late date. In America, while there are a number of these more or less distinct strains it is yet possible to distinguish the chief ones. In New York, the most commonly grown German Prune is the Rochester strain and since it agrees most closely with the fruit described in the best works on pomology, it is the strain described and illustrated in this work. The trees from which this description was made came from Ellwanger and Barry, Rochester, New York, who have long maintained a stock tree of this strain. Another German Prune, fruit of which we have not been able to obtain, is the Dansville strain grown in the nurseries of Dansville, New York. Still another of these plums is the Weedsport German Prune[213] so like the Rochester type as to be hardly worth distinguishing. The Latz German Prune is a very distinct strain; it is larger, thicker and broader than the type here described and is more of a clingstone. In some respects this is the best of the German Prunes. All accounts agree that this plum was introduced into America from Prussia by a Mr. Latz about 1850.

All of these German Prunes are characterized by large, hardy, vigorous, healthy, productive trees, characters so marked that one can say at once that it is the tree that gives the German Prune its great value. The fruit is excellent for all culinary purposes, especially for canning, and cures into a small but very good, tart, meaty, freestone, elastic prune. The chief objection to the plum for these purposes is that the fruits run small. The plums are too tart to have much value as dessert fruits. This variety is likely to remain a standard for some time in New York but will eventually be superseded by a larger fruit.

The origin of this plum is uncertain. German writers very generally hold that it came from Asia whence it was carried during the Crusades to Europe. Lauche, a German authority, says, “In the Sixteenth Century, the first dried prunes were introduced into Italy, Switzerland and Germany from Hungary. The tree on the contrary is said not to have been introduced by us until the end of the Seventeenth Century.” A Prune Plum was noted in America by Coxe in 1817, but it is impossible to say whether he meant the German Prune. Prince, however, in 1832, described the variety under its present name. In 1856, the American Pomological Society placed the German Prune on the list of the varieties promising well and six years later added it to its fruit catalog. The German Prune is used only in the fresh state in New York, but on the Pacific Coast, in some one of its several types, it is one of the half-dozen leading sorts for curing.

Tree medium to large, vigorous, round and dense-topped,
hardy, usually very productive; branches ash-gray, somewhat
rough, with lenticels variable in size; branchlets slender,
short, with internodes of medium length, green changing to
brownish-red, dull, glabrous, with numerous, small, obscure
lenticels; leaf-buds intermediate in size and length, conical,
free.

Leaves falling early, oval or obovate, one and one-half inches
wide, three inches long, thinnish, velvety; upper surface
pubescent, slightly rugose, with a shallow groove on the
midrib; lower surface yellowish-green, heavily pubescent; apex
abruptly pointed or acute, base acute, margin finely serrate,
with small glands; petiole one-half inch long, pubescent,
tinged with red, glandless or with one or two small, globose
glands usually at the base of the leaf.

Blooming season intermediate in time and length; flowers
appearing after the leaves, nearly one inch across,
inconspicuous on account of their greenish-yellow color, which
characterizes the variety; borne on lateral spurs, singly or
in pairs; pedicels five-eighths inch long; below medium in
thickness, pubescent, greenish; calyx-tube green, campanulate,
lightly pubescent at the base; calyx-lobes long, narrow,
acute, thinly pubescent on both surfaces, glandular-serrate,
erect; petals narrow, long-oval or obovate, erose, tapering
to broad claws of medium length; anthers yellowish; filaments
seven-sixteenths inch long; pistil very pubescent at the base,
equal to the stamens in length.

Fruit late, ripening period very long; one and five-eighths
inches by one inch in size, oval, slightly swollen on
the ventral side, halves unequal; cavity very shallow,
narrow, flaring; suture a faint line; apex pointed; color
purplish-black, overspread with thick bloom; dots numerous,
small, brown, inconspicuous, clustered about the base; stem
below medium in thickness, five-eighths inch long, adhering
well to the fruit; skin tough, separating readily; flesh
yellowish-green, medium juicy, firm, sweetish, mild, pleasant
flavor; good to very good; stone free, seven-eighths inch
by one-half inch in size, the cavity larger than the pit,
flattened, obliquely long-oval, pointed at the apex and
base, with rough and pitted surfaces; ventral suture narrow,
conspicuously winged; dorsal suture narrowly and shallowly
grooved.

GIANT

_Prunus domestica_

=1.= _Gard. & For._ =7=:420. 1894. =2.= Burbank _Cat._ 5, fig.
1895. =3.= _Cal. State Board Hort._ 47. 1897-98. =4.= _Cornell
Sta. Bul._ =131=:185. 1897. =5.= _Mich. Sta. Bul._ =169=:245.
1899. =6.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 39. 1899. =7.= _Am. Gard._
=21=:36. 1900. =8.= _Mich. Sta. Bul._ =187=:77, 78. 1901.

Giant Prune 4, 7, 8. _Giant Prune_ 5, 6.

Giant is distinguished for its large size and attractive color. The accompanying color-plate shows the color and shape very well, but the fruit is a little too small. Unfortunately Giant is somewhat inferior in quality, a disappointment to all, as with Agen for a parent high quality was to be expected. In quality, as in all fruit-characters, the variety resembles the male parent, Pond. The flesh is coarse, fibrous, lacking in juice, clings more or less to the stone and rots quickly under unfavorable conditions. The trees, too, lack somewhat in both vigor and productiveness. Introduced as a prune, it was supposed that this variety would prove a great boon to prune-makers, but it does not cure well and is now hardly used for drying. Giant is proving to be one of the very best shipping plums, as would be expected because of its firm, dry flesh. It is unfortunate that so attractive a plum cannot be unqualifiedly recommended, but it is doubtful if it is worth planting on a commercial scale in New York.

Giant was grown by Luther Burbank, Santa Rosa, California, from a seed of Agen fertilized by Pond, the Hungarian Prune of the Pacific Coast. The stock of this variety was offered for sale to nurserymen in 1893 and 1894, but not to fruit-growers until 1895, and then by the originator. The American Pomological Society placed it on their fruit catalog list in 1899 as a promising variety for this region and southern California.

Tree medium in size and vigor, round and dense-topped, hardy,
usually productive; branches short, stocky, dark ash-gray, with
large lenticels; branchlets short, with internodes of medium
length, greenish-red changing to dark brownish-red, dull,
thinly pubescent, heavily marked with scarf-skin and with few,
small, inconspicuous lenticels; leaf-buds small to medium,
short, conical, appressed.

Leaves folded backward, obovate or oval, two and one-quarter
inches wide, three and three-quarters inches long; upper
surface pubescent only along the midrib; lower surface pale
green, lightly pubescent on the midrib and larger veins; apex
abruptly pointed or acute, margin serrate or crenate, usually
with small, dark glands; petiole three-quarters inch long,
tinged red along one side, sparingly pubescent, glandless or
with from one to four greenish-brown glands usually on the
stalk.

Blooming season intermediate in time and length; flowers
appearing after the leaves, one and three-sixteenths inches
across, creamy in the buds, changing to white on opening,
borne in scattering clusters on short, lateral buds and spurs,
singly or in pairs; pedicels three-eighths inch long, thick,
glabrous, greenish; calyx-tube green, campanulate, glabrous or
lightly pubescent; calyx-lobes broad, obtuse, pubescent on both
surfaces, glandular-serrate, reflexed; petals oval, somewhat
erose, with short, broad claws; anthers yellowish; filaments
five-sixteenths inch long; pistil glabrous, longer than the
stamens.

Fruit mid-season, period of ripening short; two inches by
one and one-half inches in size, obovate, slightly necked,
compressed, halves unequal; cavity shallow, narrow, abrupt;
suture shallow; apex roundish or depressed; color light to dark
purplish-red, overspread with bloom of medium thickness; dots
numerous, smallish, russet, inconspicuous; stem seven-eighths
inch long, thinly pubescent, adhering well to the fruit; skin
of medium thickness and toughness, adhering but slightly to the
pulp; flesh light golden-yellow, variable in juiciness, coarse,
somewhat fibrous, firm, rather sweet, mild fair in quality;
stone semi-clinging or clinging, one and one-eighth inches by
five-eighths inch in size, long-oval, flattened, with rough
and pitted surfaces; ventral suture strongly furrowed; dorsal
suture with a shallow groove.

GLASS

_Prunus domestica_

=1.= Downing _Fr. Trees Am._ 3rd App. 181. 1881. =2.= _Am. Pom.
Soc. Cat._ 39. 1899. =3.= _Mich. Sta. Bul._ =169=:245. 1899.
=4.= Waugh _Plum Cult._ 104. 1901. =5.= _Can. Exp. Farm Bul._
=43=:34. 1903. =6.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Rpt._ 57. 1907.

Glass Seedling 2. _Glass Seedling_ 4, 5, 6.

Although found in some collections in the United States, Glass has never attained commercial importance in this country, probably because its place is taken by the Quackenboss, which it very closely resembles. The fruit is large and attractive in color and shape, but it is not high in quality and it must be rated among Domestica plums as only a mediocre fruit. The tree is said generally to give better satisfaction than the fruit. This variety originated with Alexander Glass, Guelph, Ontario, and has been cultivated extensively by Canadian growers to whom its productivity and hardiness recommend it.

Tree large, vigorous, upright-spreading, open, productive,
hardy; branches rough, stocky; branchlets rather slender,
pubescent; leaves folded backward, obovate or oval, one and
three-quarters inches wide, three and one-half inches long;
margin finely serrate; petiole reddish, pubescent, with from
one to three smallish, globose glands usually at the base of
the leaf.

Fruit mid-season; one and one-half inches by one and
three-eighths inches in size, oblong-oval, purplish-black,
overspread with thick bloom; stem adhering firmly to the fruit;
skin thin, tender, rather sour; flesh light yellow, juicy,
firm, sweet, mild; of fair quality; stone clinging, one inch by
five-eighths inch in size, irregular-oval, with oblique apex,
the surfaces rough and pitted; ventral suture prominent, winged.

GOLDEN

_Prunus munsoniana × Prunus triflora_

=1.= _U. S. D. A. Rpt._ 263. 1892. =2.= Burbank _Cat._ 17.
1893. =3.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Rpt._ 74. 1895. =4.= _Am. Gard._
=18=:715. 1897. =5.= _Cal. State Board Hort._ 53. 1897-98. =6.=
_Vt. Sta. Bul._ =67=:12. 1898. =7.= _Ohio Sta. Bul._ =113=:161.
1899. =8.= _Am. Gard._ =21=:36. 1900. =9.= _Vt. Sta. An. Rpt._
=14=:274. 1901. =10.= _Mich. Sta. Sp. Bul._ =30=:18 1905. =11.=
_Mass. Sta. An. Rpt._ =17=:161. 1905. =12.= _Ga. Sta. Bul._
=68=:8, 36. 1905. =13.= _U. S. D. A. Yearbook_ 500. 1905.

Gold 3, 4, 7, 8, 10, 11. _Gold_ 6, 9, 13. _Late Klondike_ 5.

It would be hard to name another plum as showy as Golden. Large for its group, beautifully turned, it presents a most striking appearance long before it is ripe, with its bright yellow skin and crimson cheek, the whole plum turning to a brilliant currant-red with a delicate bloom at maturity. But the plum is little more than showy. The flavor is not good, the flesh is fibrous, excessively juicy and adheres to the stone, the skin is tough and astringent. In spite of the juiciness the plum ships well, owing to the tough skin, but the fruits are much attacked by brown-rot and the skin cracks badly under unfavorable conditions. The trees are rather small, uncertain in bearing, often enormously productive but do not hold the crop well, and the plums ripen unevenly. Strange to say, considering the parentage, the variety is hardy, according to Waugh standing the winters at Burlington, Vermont, almost perfectly. In tree and fruit the variety is more like its American parent than the Asiatic one. Golden can never be a money-maker in New York, but it is worth having in a home orchard for its handsome appearance.

The original tree of this variety was grown in 1887 or 1888 by Luther Burbank, Santa Rosa, California, from a seed of Robinson fertilized by pollen of Abundance. In 1892, the variety was erroneously described in the United States Department of Agriculture Report as a seedling of Kelsey fertilized by Burbank. The same year it was named Golden by Burbank and in 1893 it was offered for sale in his catalog, _New Creations in Fruits and Flowers_. Soon after, the original tree and the right of introduction were purchased by Stark Brothers Nurseries and Orchards Company, Louisiana, Missouri, and in 1894 the variety was catalogued and disseminated under the name Gold. This name was registered as a trade-mark in the United States Patent Office in 1905, but as the prior application and publication of Golden entitles it to precedence according to the nomenclature of the American Pomological Society, the name Gold has generally been dropped by pomologists. The confusion as to the origin and nomenclature of this variety has been increased by its parentage being published[214] as a cross of Robinson and Kelsey and by the California shippers labeling it Late Klondike.

Tree variable in size and vigor, usually small, somewhat
vasiform, medium dense, hardy in all but the coldest
localities, an uncertain bearer unless grown under favorable
conditions, when it becomes very productive, susceptible
to attacks of shot-hole fungus; trunk shaggy, sometimes
gnarly; branches strong, unusually rough, grayish-brown,
with longitudinal cracks in the bark, with very numerous,
small, raised lenticels; branchlets willowy, numerous, long,
with short internodes, green changing to dull reddish-brown,
marked with gray scarf-skin, glossy, glabrous, with numerous,
conspicuous, large, raised lenticels; leaf-buds small, short,
conical, free.

Leaves usually flattened, broadly lanceolate, peach-like, one
inch wide by three and one-half inches long, thin, somewhat
rigid; upper surface light green, smooth, glabrous, with deeply
grooved midrib; lower surface pale green, thinly pubescent;
apex taper-pointed, base acute, margin serrate or crenate,
with numerous, small, dark red glands; petiole slender,
three-eighths inch in length, tinged red, sparingly pubescent
along one side, glandless or with from one to seven small,
globose, yellowish-green glands usually on the stalk.

Blooming season long; flowers appearing after the leaves,
three-quarters inch across, white; borne in clusters on short
lateral spurs and buds, in pairs or in threes; pedicels
seven-sixteenths inch long, slender, glabrous, green;
calyx-tube greenish, campanulate, glabrous; calyx-lobes
narrow, acute, sparingly glandular-serrate and pubescent, with
scattering marginal hairs, erect; petals oval, entire, clawed;
anthers yellowish; filaments one-quarter inch long; pistil
glabrous, longer than the stamens.

Fruit mid-season, ripening period very long; medium to
sometimes large, roundish-oblate, halves equal; cavity deep,
flaring, regular; suture a line; apex roundish or pointed;
color golden-yellow blushed or overspread with bright red, with
thin bloom; dots numerous, very small, whitish, inconspicuous,
thickly sprinkled around the apex; stem five-eighths inch long,
glabrous, adhering fairly well to the fruit; skin rather tough,
astringent, inclined to crack under unfavorable conditions,
separating readily; flesh golden-yellow, unusually juicy and
fibrous, tender and melting, sprightly, sweet next the skin
but tart near the center; fair in quality; stone adhering,
three-quarters inch by one-half inch in size, oval, turgid,
flattened at the base, abruptly sharp-pointed at the apex, with
pitted surfaces; ventral suture slightly winged; dorsal suture
broadly grooved.

GOLDEN BEAUTY

_Prunus hortulana_

=1.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Rpt._ 162. 1881. =2.= _Rural N. Y._
=43=:53. 1884. =3.= _Popular Gard._ =4=:38. 1888. =4.= _Am.
Gard._ =10=:175. 1889. =5.= _Cornell Sta. Bul._ =38=:48, 49,
86. 1892. =6.= Kerr _Cat._ 3. 1894. =7.= _Mich. Sta. Bul._
=118=:53. 1895. =8.= _W. N. Y. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ =41=:55. 1896.
=9.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 26. 1897. =10.= _Wis. Sta. Bul._
=63=:39, 42, 48. 1897. =11.= _Vt. Sta. An. Rpt._ =11=:284.
1898. =12.= _Colo. Sta. Bul._ =50=:42. 1898. =13.= _Ohio Sta.
Bul._ =113=:155. 1899. =14.= _Ibid._ =162=:247, 254, 255. 1905.

Honey Drop 8, 10, 14. _Honey Drop_ 5, 11. Missouri Apricot 5,
6, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13.

From the fruit-grower’s standpoint, Golden Beauty is of little interest. The plums are so small and the quality so poor that the variety is not worth planting either for the home or for money-making. It is true that the firm, juicy fruits are very good for table use, in jellies in particular, and that they may be shipped long distances, but these characters cannot offset the handicap of small size and poor quality. The variety is of interest to botanists because it seems to be a wanderer out of the range of the species to which it belongs. As the history which follows seems to show, Golden Beauty was found in a part of Texas where _Prunus hortulana_ does not grow (see the discussion of this species) and quite as remarkable if it really comes from so warm a part of Texas is the fact that it should be perfectly hardy here and even farther north. There is a mystery yet to be cleared up about this plum. The variety is very ornamental in flower, foliage and fruit.

According to current account, Golden Beauty was found wild by a German on the Colorado River in western Texas during the Civil War. After the war, the German planted his new plum in a yard in Victoria County, Texas, where it attracted the attention of Gilbert Onderdonk, Mission Valley, southern Texas. Onderdonk, noting its merits, propagated and introduced it in 1874. In 1886, Stark Brothers, of Missouri, introduced the Missouri Apricot, the Honey Drop of some, which they claimed was found wild in Missouri. Several pomologists have noted the close similarity of this variety to Golden Beauty and as tested at this Station they are identical in all respects and are therefore placed under the older name. In 1897 the American Pomological Society placed this plum on its fruit catalog list.

Tree above medium in size, vigorous, somewhat irregular in
habit, usually spreading, low, dense and flat-topped, hardy,
variable in productiveness, somewhat subject to attacks of
shot-hole fungus; trunk rough, shaggy; branches roughish,
thorny, zigzag, dark ash-gray, with numerous lenticels of
medium size; branchlets long, slender, twiggy, with short
internodes, green changing to greenish-brown, shining,
glabrous, with numerous, conspicuous, large, raised lenticels;
leaf-buds small, very short, obtuse, plump, appressed.

Leaves folded upward, narrowly oval, one and seven-eighths
inches wide, four inches long, thin; upper surface smooth,
glabrous, with a grooved midrib; lower surface light green,
sparingly pubescent along the midrib and larger veins; apex
acuminate, base abrupt, margin irregularly and doubly crenate,
with small, dark brown glands; petiole seven-eighths inch long,
slender, green, thinly pubescent along one side, glandless or
with from one to eight very small, globose, blackish glands
scattered mostly below the base of the leaf.

Blooming season late and of medium length; flowers appearing
after the leaves, seven-eighths inch across, white; borne
in clusters on lateral buds and spurs, with from four to
six flowers in each umbel; pedicels nine-sixteenths inch
in length, slender, glabrous, greenish; calyx-tube green,
obconic, glabrous; calyx-lobes acute, erect, thinly pubescent
within, glandular-serrate, the glands reddish; petals
ovate or roundish-oval, erose, tapering below into long,
narrow, pubescent claws; anthers light yellow; filaments
five-sixteenths inch in length; pistil glabrous, shorter than
the stamens.

Fruit very late, season of medium length; one inch in diameter,
roundish to roundish-oval, somewhat compressed, halves equal;
cavity shallow, narrow, slightly flaring; suture very shallow
or a line; apex roundish or pointed; color orange-yellow,
mottled, overspread with thin bloom; dots characteristic,
numerous, large and small, yellowish, decidedly conspicuous
producing a somewhat mottled appearance, clustered about the
apex; stem very slender, five-eighths inch in length, glabrous,
adhering poorly to the fruit; skin thick, tough, adhering to
the pulp; flesh golden-yellow, juicy, coarse, fibrous, tender,
mildly sweet, with a faint apricot flavor, somewhat acid when
cooked; fair in quality; stone adhering, five-eighths inch by
one-half inch in size, turgid, oval, abruptly pointed at the
base and apex, smooth and with a coating of yellowish-brown,
cottony substance; ventral suture broad, lightly furrowed;
dorsal suture acute or with a shallow furrow.

GOLDEN CHERRY

_Prunus cerasifera_

=1.= Hoffy _Orch. Com._ =2=:1842. =2.= Downing _Fr. Trees Am._
295. 1845. =3.= _N. Y. Sta. Rpt._ =15=:293. 1896. =4.= Bailey
_Ev. Nat. Fruits_ 212. 1898. =5.= _Can. Exp. Farms Rpt._ 401.
1898.

Golden Cherry Plum 2. Market Plum 1. Youngken Golden 3.
_Youngken’s Golden Cherry_ 4. Yunkin Golden 5.

This plum is one of the few cultivated representatives of _Prunus cerasifera_. It offers some attractions because of real merit and because it adds variety to the list of plums for fruit-growers. Some of its qualities are strongly marked and the variety might prove of value in plant-breeding. Golden Cherry originated with Samuel Reeves, Salem, New Jersey, as a seedling of Myrobalan, in the early part of the last century.

Tree large, vigorous, spreading, dense-topped, unproductive;
branches slender, sparingly thorny; branchlets twiggy; leaves
oval, one inch wide, one and seven-eighths inches long; margin
finely serrate, with few small glands; petiole reddish,
eglandular; blooming season early, of medium length; flowers
appearing before the leaves, well distributed on lateral buds
and spurs.

Fruit very early; one and one-quarter inches in diameter,
greenish-yellow changing to pale yellow with a tinge of red,
overspread with thin bloom; flesh pale yellow, very juicy,
melting, sweet next to the skin but rather tart at the pit,
aromatic; good; stone clinging, five-eighths inch by one-half
inch in size, oval, with a nearly smooth surface.

GOLDEN DROP

_Prunus domestica_

=1.= _Pom. Mag._ =2=:57, Pl. 1829. =2.= _Lond. Hort. Soc. Cat._
144. 1831. =3.= Kenrick _Am. Orch._ 256. 1832. =4.= Downing
_Fr. Trees Am._ 273. 1845. =5.= Floy-Lindley _Guide Orch.
Gard._ 295, 383. 1846. =6.= Thomas _Am. Fruit Cult._ 332, fig.
258. 1849. =7.= _Mag. Hort._ =15=:486, 487 fig. 42. 1849. =8.=
Hovey _Fr. Am._ =1=:81. 1851. =9.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 54.
1852. =10.= Elliott _Fr. Book_ 410. 1854. =11.= _Ann. Pom.
Belge_ 43, Pl. 1855. =12.= Thompson _Gard. Ass’t_ 515. 1859.
=13.= Mas _Le Verger_ =6=:29, fig. 15. 1866-73. =14.= Hogg
_Fruit Man._ 691, 729. 1884. =15.= Mathieu _Nom. Pom._ 425.
1889. =16.= _Guide Prat._ 155, 357. 1895. =17.= _Oregon Sta.
Bul._ =45=:26 fig. 1897. =18.= _Colo. Sta. Bul._ =50=:34. 1898.
=19.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Rpt._ 211. 1899. =20.= _Ohio Sta. Bul._
=113=:158, Pl. XV. 1899. =21.= _Mich. Sta. Bul._ =169=:242,
244. 1899. =22.= Waugh _Plum Cult._ 104 fig. 1901. =23.= _Va.
Sta. Bul._ =134=:42. 1902. =24.= _Ohio Sta. Bul._ =162=:242,
254, 255. 1905.

_Bury Seedling_ 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16.
Coe 16, 21. _Coe’s_ 1, 2, 7, 8, 14, 15, 16. _Coe Golden Drop_
16, 23. Coe Golden Drop 21. Coe’s Golden Drop Plum 1, 5, 11.
_Coe’s Golden Drop_ 5, 8, 13, 15, 16, 17, 22, 24. Coe’s Golden
Drop 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 14, 18, 20. _Coe’s Golden
Drop Plum_ 13. _Coe’s Plum_ 12, 13, 16. _Coe_ (_Pride_) 15.
_Coe’s Imperial_ 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16.
_Coe’s Rothgefleckte Pflaume_ 13, 16. Coe’s Rotgefleckte
Pflaume 15. Coe’s Plum 5. _Cooper’s Large_ 15, 16 incor. _Coe’s
Seedling_ 3. _De Coe_ 16. _Fair’s Golden_ 15, 16. _Fair’s
Golden Drop_ 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11, 14, 15, 16. _Golden Drop_
1, 2, 7, 8, 12, 14, 15, 16. _Golden Drop Plum_ 16. _Golden
Gage_ 2, 4, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16. _Goutte d’Or_ 13.
Goutte d’Or 13, 16. _Goutte d’Or de Coe_ 15, 16. _King of
Plums_ 8. _New Golden Drop_ 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 15
16. _Nouvelle Goutte d’Or_ 15, 16. _Parmentier?_ 15, 16. _Prune
Goutte d’Or De Coé_ 11. _Semis de Bury_ 15, 16. Silver Prune
17, 19. _Silver Prune_ 22. The Coe’s Plum 1. Waterloo of some
7, 8,? 14, 15.

Unfortunately this fine old plum, the largest, handsomest and best of the yellow plums, is fit only for the amateur in New York and in the hands even of the most careful of amateurs it does not reach the perfection in either appearance or quality that is expected of it in Europe or on the Pacific Coast of America. In spite of special efforts to obtain specimens for illustration which would do this variety justice, the color-plate of Golden Drop is far from satisfactory as regards either size or color of the fruit. In this region trees of Golden Drop lack constitution and while hardy in tree, the fruit-buds are often caught by the cold. From lack of vigor and from injury by freezing, the variety is not productive. The trees, too, are slow in growth and the fruit needs a long season to reach perfect maturity, often failing to ripen in parts of New York where other plums mature well. Again, the trees are subject to nearly all the ills to which plums are heir and have a somewhat precarious existence because of insects and diseases though the fruit is not as subject to brown-rot as is that of the Yellow Egg with which this variety is usually compared. Golden Drop is seemingly fit for all purposes to which plums are put—for dessert, cooking, canning, preserving and prune-making. For the last named purpose it is unsurpassed for a light colored prune of large size, readily selling at a fancy price in delicatessen stores. The fruit when carefully picked and handled keeps for a month or more, shrivelling somewhat but retaining its flavor and pleasing flesh-characters. A task for the plant-breeder is to breed a plum, of which one of the parents should be Golden Drop, which will give to this region a plum as good as the Golden Drop in regions where it is at its best. With all of its defects in the North and East, it is yet worth growing for the home and often for the late market.

Jervaise Coe, a market gardener, at Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, England, raised Golden Drop from a seed about 1809. Lindley (References, 5) says, “He [the originator] informed me it was from the stone of Green Gage, the blossom of which, he supposed, had been fertilized by the White Magnum Bonum, the two trees of which grew nearly in contact with each other in his garden.” From a study of the fruit-characters this supposition is very probable. C. M. Hovey in discussing the synonyms of this variety writes, “The French have disseminated it considerably under the name of Waterloo; trees received under that name have fruited in our collection this year, and proved to be the Golden Drop.” Robert Hogg, in his _Fruit Manual_, published in 1884, described Waterloo as a separate variety, found at Waterloo, Belgium, and introduced by Dr. Van Mons; the descriptions of the two are practically identical. The Silver Prune, well known on the Pacific Coast, at one time supposed to be a new variety, turned out upon investigation to be Golden Drop, though the growers there continue to call it by the new name they have given it. The variety under discussion came to America in 1823, when Knight, of England, sent a tree of it to John Lowell of Massachusetts. In 1852, the American Pomological Society valued it sufficiently to place it on the list of the fruits worthy of general cultivation.

Tree medium to large, vigorous, spreading or roundish,
open-topped, hardy, productive; branches ash-gray, roughish,
with few, large lenticels; branchlets short, stout, with
internodes variable in length, greenish-red changing to dull
brownish-red becoming drab on the older wood, glabrous early in
the season but becoming pubescent at maturity, with numerous,
small lenticels; leaf-buds large, long, pointed, free.

Leaves folded upward, oval or obovate, one and three-eighths
inches wide, two and three-quarters inches long, thickish;
upper surface dark green, slightly rugose, pubescent, with
the midrib but faintly grooved; lower surface silvery-green,
pubescent; apex abruptly pointed or acute, base acute, margin
serrate, eglandular or with small, dark glands; petiole
one-half inch long, pubescent, tinged red, with from two to
three globose, greenish-yellow glands usually at the base of
the leaf.

Season of bloom medium, short; flowers appearing after the
leaves, one inch across, white, borne in clusters on lateral
spurs, singly or in pairs; pedicels five-eighths inch long,
lightly pubescent, greenish; calyx-tube green, narrowly
campanulate, pubescent; calyx-lobes obtuse, sparingly pubescent
on both surfaces, glandular-serrate, reflexed; petals oval,
dentate, tapering to short, broad claws; anthers yellowish;
filaments five-sixteenths inch long; pistil glabrous, equal to
the stamens in length.

Fruit very late, season of average length; two inches by one
and one-half inches in size, oval, tapering at the base to a
short neck, slightly compressed, halves equal; cavity very
shallow and narrow, abrupt; suture shallow and wide; apex
depressed; color golden-yellow, occasionally with a faint
bronze blush, showing greenish streaks and splashes before full
maturity, overspread with thin bloom; dots numerous, small,
russet, conspicuous; stem three-quarters inch long, thinly
pubescent, adhering well to the fruit; skin tough, rather
adherent; flesh light golden-yellow, juicy, intermediate in
firmness and tenderness, rather sweet, mild, pleasant flavor;
good to very good; stone free, one and three-eighths inches by
three-quarters inch in size, oval or ovate, slightly flattened,
irregularly ridged and roughened, acute at the base and apex;
ventral suture wide, often conspicuously winged; dorsal suture
widely and deeply grooved.

GOLIATH

_Prunus domestica_

=1.= Prince _Treat. Hort._ 26. 1828. =2.= _Lond. Hort. Soc.
Cat._ 147, 153. 1831. =3.= Kenrick _Am. Orch._ 260. 1832. =4.=
_Mag. Hort._ =9=:164. 1843. =5.= Downing _Fr. Trees Am._ 300.
1845. =6.= Floy-Lindley _Guide Orch. Gard._ 287, 383. 1846.
=7.= Thomas _Am. Fruit Cult._ 343. 1849. =8.= McIntosh _Bk.
Gard._ =2=:531. 1855. =9.= Hooper _W. Fr. Book_ 245. 1857.
=10.= _Cultivator_ =8=:25 fig. 1860. =11.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._
86. 1862. =12.= Hogg _Fruit Man._ 363. 1866. =13.= Mas _Pom.
Gen._ =2=:15, fig. 8. 1873. =14.= Mathieu _Nom. Pom._ 432.
1889. =15.= Waugh _Plum Cult._ 105 fig. 1901.

_Caledonian_ 1, 2, of some 5 & 8, 11, 12, 13, 14. Emperor
9. Goliath 1, 3. _Goliath_ 9, 13. _Nectarine_ 1, of some 2
& 8, 11 & 14 incor. _Pfirschenpflaume_ 14. Prune-Pêche? 14.
_Saint Cloud_ 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 12, 13, 14. Steer’s Emperor 2.
_Steers’ Emperor_ 4, 5, 8, 12, 13, 14. _Wahre Caledonian_ 13,
14. _Wilmot’s Late Orleans_ 2, 5, 8, 12, 13, 14.

This old English plum has never been popular in America and is now scarcely known on this continent. It is a large, handsome, purple plum, as the illustration well shows, but seldom fit for dessert. “Seldom fit” because it is quite variable in quality in some seasons and under some conditions. It is an excellent culinary plum and its firm, thick, meaty flesh fits it well for shipping. On the grounds of this Station the trees behave very well in all respects and usually bear very full crops of plums that would tempt purchasers in any market. It has all of the characters usually ascribed to a money-maker variety of any fruit and why not more grown in commercial orchards cannot be said.

Nothing is known of the origin of this plum except that it is English. William Prince, in 1828, wrote: “This plum is of very large size, and has attracted much notice in England; but it is only recently introduced to this country, where it has not yet produced fruit that I am aware of.” The Nectarine plum was confused with the Goliath in the early part of the Nineteenth Century, but Robert Thompson,[215] the English horticulturist, separated them so satisfactorily that they have ever since remained distinct in plum literature. He found that this variety had pubescent shoots and fruit-stalks, while the same parts of the Nectarine were glabrous, and that the season of Goliath is considerably later. The American Pomological Society placed Goliath on its fruit list in 1862, but dropped it in 1871.

Tree large, vigorous, round-topped, dense, hardy, very
productive; branches stocky, with fruit-spurs numerous,
ash-gray, smooth except for the large, raised lenticels;
branchlets somewhat thick, short, with internodes of medium
length, green changing to dull brownish-drab, heavily pubescent
throughout the season, with few, inconspicuous, small
lenticels; leaf-buds of average size and length, conical, free.

Leaves somewhat flattened, obovate, two inches wide, three and
five-eighths inches long; upper surface dark green, nearly
glabrous, with a grooved midrib; lower surface heavily
pubescent; apex obtuse or acute, base acute, margin finely
serrate, eglandular or with few, small dark glands; petiole
one-half inch long, thick, heavily pubescent, with a faint red
tinge, glandless or with from one to three large, globose,
greenish-yellow glands usually at the base of the leaf.

Blooming season early to medium, short; flowers appearing
after the leaves, one inch across, white; borne on lateral
spurs, singly or in pairs; pedicels nine-sixteenths inch long,
pubescent, greenish; calyx-tube green, campanulate, lightly
pubescent; calyx-lobes, broad, obtuse, somewhat pubescent,
glandular-serrate, erect; petals unusually large, roundish,
finely crenate, not clawed; anthers yellowish; filaments
five-sixteenths inch long; pistil glabrous, longer than the
stamens, with a large style and stigma.

Fruit mid-season, ripening period short; one and five-eighths
inches by one and one-half inches in size, roundish-oblong,
somewhat oblique, truncate, compressed, halves unequal; cavity
narrow, abrupt, usually russeted; suture a line; apex flattened
or depressed; color dark purplish-red, lighter colored on the
shaded side, overspread with thick bloom; dots characteristic,
numerous, large, russet, conspicuous, clustered about the
apex; stem thick, three-quarters inch long, thickly pubescent,
adhering well to the fruit; skin thin, sour, separating
readily; flesh golden-yellow, rather dry, firm, sweet, of
mild, pleasant flavor; fair to good; stone free, seven-eighths
inch by three-quarters inch in size, roundish-oval, somewhat
flattened, blunt at the base and apex, roughened and
irregularly furrowed; ventral suture wide, winged, heavily
furrowed; dorsal suture with a wide groove variable in depth.

GONZALES

_Prunus triflora_ ×

=1.= Kerr _Cat._ 1899-1900. =2.= _Vt. Sta. Bul._ =67=:13. 1898.
=3.= _Ohio Sta. Bul._ =162=:252. 1905. =4.= _Penin. Hort. Soc.
Rpt._ 36. 1905. =5.= Stark Bros. _Cat._ 1906.

_Gonzales_ 5. _Red Gold_ 4. Red Gold 5.

Judging from the several published descriptions, Gonzales is a very promising plum, for the South at least. The writers have not seen the variety in the North, but there appear to be no reasons why it should not succeed in some northern soils and climates. It is a chance seedling found in Gonzales, Texas, about 1894, and was introduced by F. T. Ramsey, Austin, Texas, in 1897. About all that can be determined regarding its parentage is that it is the product of some Japanese variety pollinated by a native. In 1901, Waugh used this variety to typify a new species, _Prunus hortulana robusta_, composed of a number of hybrids between _Prunus triflora_ and native species. The following description is compiled:

Tree vigorous, upright-spreading, open; leaves narrow, oval,
tapering at both ends; upper surface glabrous; margin minutely
glandular, finely crenulate; petiole short and slender, with
two glands.

Fruit mid-season; resembles Burbank in size and shape; skin
toughish; color bright red, sometimes striped and splashed with
dark red; flesh yellow, tinged red, firm, sweet; good; stone of
medium size, oval, clinging.

GRAND DUKE

_Prunus domestica_

=1.= Hogg _Fruit Man._ 703. 1884. =2.= Mathieu _Nom. Pom._ 432,
434. 1889. =3.= _W. N. Y. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ =39=:100. 1894.
=4.= _Can. Hort._ =18=:117, Pl. 1895. =5.= _Cornell Sta. Bul._
=131=:186, fig. 40 IV. 1896. =6.= _W. N. Y. Hort. Soc. Rpt._
=42=:83. 1897. =7.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 25. 1897. =8.= _Mich.
Sta. Bul._ =169=:245. 1899. =9.= _Ohio Sta. Bul._ =113=:159,
Pl. XVI. 1899. =10.= _Can. Exp. Farm Bul._ 2nd Ser. =3=:52.
1900. =11.= _Waugh Plum Cult._ 106 fig. 1901. _12._ _Ohio Sta.
Bul._ =162=:243 fig., 244, 254, 255. 1905.

Grossherzog’s Pflaume 2. _Grand-Duc_ 2. _Grand Duke_ 2.

Grand Duke, now probably the favorite late shipping plum in this region, is, as stated in the history given below, a comparatively new plum in America. Its great popularity, gained in less than a quarter of a century, is due to much advertising by nurserymen coupled with such intrinsic qualities as large size, the true prune shape which seems most pleasing in some markets, handsome plum-purple and more than all else a firm, meaty flesh which fits the variety excellently for shipping. The flavor, as seems most often to be the case with these large blue plums, is not pleasant and the plum is not more than a second rate dessert fruit though it is very good in whatever way cooked for the table. The trees grow poorly in the nursery and even in the orchard are seldom large and vigorous enough to be called first class, though usually hardy. Some years ago plum-growers were advised to top-work this and other weak-growing plums on stronger stocks, but those who have tried such top-working usually condemn it because it is expensive and ineffective and because it so often gives a malformed tree. The trees come in bearing slowly but bear regularly and abundantly and hold the crop well, the plums being unusually free from rot and hanging in good condition a long time. Grand Duke deserves its popularity as a market plum and probably no better variety can be selected in New York for the last of the season.

Grand Duke is another of the many valuable plums produced by Thomas Rivers, of Sawbridgeworth, England. It was grown from an Autumn Compote stone and was sent out in 1876. When it was first introduced into America is not known, but in 1888 cions of it were distributed by Ellwanger and Barry[216] of Rochester, New York. In 1897, the American Pomological Society added this variety to its fruit catalog list and recommended it for this State and neighboring regions with similar climatic conditions.

Tree above medium in size, moderately vigorous, upright to
slightly spreading, usually hardy, productive; branches
ash-gray, with small, numerous lenticels; branchlets slender,
short, with internodes of medium length, greenish-red changing
to brownish-red, many twigs retaining a tinge of green,
shining, glabrous, with numerous, small lenticels; leaf-buds
large, long, pointed, strongly appressed; leaf-scars large.