Chapter III: Leading Varieties of Plums (7)

_Altesse Double_ 8, 9, 10, 15, 18. _August Zwetsche_ 16.
_Auguste Zwetsche_ 10, 18. _Blaue Riesenzwetsche_ 16, 18.
_Bleue d’Italie_ 15. _Couetsche d’Italie_ 18. _Couetsche
Fellenberg_ 10, 18. _D’Italie_ 18. _Double Blackpruim_ 16, 18.
_Fausse Altesse_ 16, 18. Fellemberg 14. _Fellemberg_ 8, 16,
18. _Fellenberg_ 5, 9, 11, 16, 18, 19, 20, 23. _Fellenburg_
22. Fellenberg 5, 6, 7, 9, 17. Fellenburg 25. _Feltemberg_ 10,
18. _Fellenberg Quetsche_ 16, 18. _Fellenberger Zwetsche_ 12,
13, 16, 18. _Grosse Früh Zwetsche?_ 16. _German Prune_ 19,
22. _Italienische Blaue Zwetsche_ 11, 16. _Italianische blaue
zwetsche_ 18. _Italian Guetsche_ 10, 18. _Italian Prune_ 6,
7, 10, 11, 16, 17, 18, 25. _Italian Quetsche_ 8, 9, 15, 16.
_Italianische Zwetsche_ 18. _Italienische Pflaumen Zwetsche_
16. _Italienische Zwetsche_ 11, 13. _Italianische Zwetsche_
10. _Italianische blanc Zwetsche_ 10. Italienische Zwetsche
12, 13, 16. _Large German Prune_ 17. _Prune d’Italie_ 8, 9,
10, 16. _Pflaume mit dem Pfirschenblatt_ 18. _Pflaume Mit dem
Pfirsichblatt_ 16. _Prune Suisse_ 6. _Quetsche_ 18. _Quetsche
Bleue d’Italie_ 10, 11, 16, 18. Quetsche d’Italie 1, 10,
11, 15, 18. _Quetsche d’Italie_ 3, 8, 9, 11, 16. _Schweizer
Zwetsche_ 12, 13, 16. _Schweizerzwetsche_ 18. _Swiss Prune_ 17,
19, 22. _Semiana_ 8, 10, 16, 18. _Turkish Prune_ 22. _Zwetsche
von Dätlikon_ 16, 18.

The Italian Prune is one of the most widely grown of all plums. Its home is Italy and it is grown in all of the plum regions of continental Europe; is well known in England; is third or fourth in popularity in the Atlantic States of America; is by long odds the leading plum in the Pacific Northwest where it is chiefly used in prune-making and is grown somewhat for prunes and for shipping green in California. There are several reasons why this plum is so popular. To begin with, it is finely flavored whether eaten out of hand, stewed or otherwise prepared for the table or cured as a prune. The fruit is a little too tart to be ranked as a first-rate dessert plum and yet it is one of the best of the prunes for this purpose, though it must be fully ripe to be fit for dessert; in cooking it changes to a dark, wine color, very attractive in appearance, with a most pleasant, sprightly flavor; as a cured prune the flesh is firm and meaty, yet elastic, of good color and a perfect freestone, making when cooked the same attractive looking, fine-flavored, sprightly sauce to be had from the green fruits; the prunes from this variety, too, are noted for long-keeping. In the uncured state the variety keeps and ships well. The trees are usually large, hardy, productive, well formed and bear regularly; yet they are not ideal and the variety fails chiefly in tree-characters. The trees are often capricious to soil and climate, do not always bear well, seem to be susceptible to diseases, are preyed upon by insects and suffer in particular from dry or hot weather. Were all of these troubles of the tree to befall the variety at one time it would of necessity give way to better sorts, but happily they are to be found for most part in illy-adapted conditions or in certain seasons; the Italian Prune well cared for in locations to which it is suited must long remain one of the leading plums despite the faults of the trees.

The Italian Prune originated in Italy at least a century ago and has long been common in northern Italy, especially in the vicinity of Milan. The London Horticultural Society catalog for 1831 first mentions it in England and the following year it was described in America by Prince as an excellent prune recently introduced from Europe. The American Pomological Society recommended it in 1856 as worthy of further testing and in 1862 it was added to the fruit catalog list of this society. The origin of the name Fellenberg, a very common synonym, is explained by Lauche[218] who says: “It came to Germany through a Mr. Fellenberg and is therefore spread under his name and also under the names Schweizerzwetsche and Fellenberger Zwetsche.” He further adds that the variety “is still not known in Germany as it deserves, considering its quality, size and productiveness.”

Tree of medium size, rather vigorous, spreading or upright,
low-topped, hardy, usually productive; branches ash-gray,
smooth, with small, raised lenticels; branchlets short,
with internodes of medium length, greenish-red changing to
brownish-drab, pubescent, with small lenticels; leaf-buds of
medium size and length, conical, appressed; leaf-scars large.

Leaves folded upward, obovate or oval, two inches wide, four
and one-half inches long; upper surface dark green, pubescent;
lower surface silvery-green, heavily pubescent; apex and base
acute, margin doubly crenate, with small, dark glands; petiole
five-eighths inch long, above medium thickness, pubescent,
tinged red, with from one to three globose, greenish-brown
glands usually on the stalk.

Season of bloom intermediate and short; flowers appearing
after the leaves, one and three-sixteenths inches across,
in the buds tinged yellow, changing to white when expanded;
borne on lateral spurs, rarely on lateral buds, singly or in
pairs; pedicels three-quarters inch long, thick, pubescent,
greenish; calyx-tube green, campanulate, pubescent at the
base; calyx-lobes long and narrow, acute or narrowly obtuse,
pubescent on both surfaces and along the glandular-serrate
margin, reflexed, inclined to curl at the tips; petals oval or
obovate, dentate, tapering to broad claws of medium length;
anthers yellowish; filaments seven-sixteenths inch long; pistil
pubescent at the base, equal to the stamens in length.

Fruit late, season short; one and seven-eighths inches by one
and one-half inches in size, long-oval, enlarged on the suture
side, slightly compressed, halves unequal; cavity very shallow
and narrow, abrupt; suture shallow to medium; apex bluntly
pointed; color purplish-black, overspread with very thick
bloom; dots numerous, small, light brown, somewhat conspicuous;
stem inserted at one side of the base, one inch in length,
pubescent, adhering well to the fruit; skin thin, somewhat
tough, separating readily; flesh greenish-yellow changing to
yellow, juicy, firm, subacid, slightly aromatic; very good
to best; stone free, smaller than the cavity, one inch by
five-eighths inch in size, irregular-oval, flattened, roughened
and pitted, necked at the base, abruptly tipped at the apex;
ventral suture prominent, heavily ridged, sometimes strongly
winged; dorsal suture widely and deeply grooved.

JAPEX

_Triflora_ ×

=1.= _N. Y. Exp. Sta. Rpt._ =12=:611. 1893.

Japanese Seedling X. 1.

This plum, parentage unknown, was received from Burbank by the New York Experiment Station in 1893 for testing, under the name Japanese Seedling X. While in no way wonderfully remarkable, its earliness, attractive color, good quality and productiveness have been such that it has been retained, the cumbersome name having been changed to Japex. The majority of the characters of the variety are plainly those of Triflora, yet the fruits in appearance would lead one to call it a Domestica.

Tree very large, vigorous, vasiform, very productive; branches
slender, sparingly thorny; leaf-scars thick; leaf-buds
unusually short; leaves obovate or ovate, two and one-quarter
inches wide, four inches long; margin finely serrate varying to
crenate, with few dark glands; blooming season short; flowers
appearing before the leaves; borne in clusters on lateral buds
and spurs, singly or in pairs.

Fruit very early, season short; one and one-eighth inches
in diameter, roundish, dark purplish-red or purplish-black,
covered with medium thick bloom; flesh light yellow, very
juicy, somewhat melting, sweet next to the skin, but tart near
the pit, aromatic; good; stone clinging, three-quarters inch by
one-half inch in size, oval.

JEFFERSON

_Prunus domestica_

=1.= Downing _Fr. Trees Am._ 279, 280 fig. 108. 1845, =2.=
_Horticulturist_ =1=:11, 93. 1846. =3.= Floy-Lindley _Guide
Orch. Gard._ 420. 1846. =4.= Thomas _Am. Fruit Cult._ 325, 326,
fig. 251. 1849. =5.= _Mag. Hort._ =16=:453 fig. 25. 1850. =6.=
Hovey _Fr. Am._ =2=:1, Pl. 1851. =7.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 54.
1852. =8.= Elliott _Fr. Book_ 411. 1854. =9.= Thompson _Gard.
Ass’t_ 518, Pl. 1. 1859. =10.= Mas _Le Verger_ =6=:17, Pl.
9. 1866-73. =11.= _Pom. France_ =7=: No. 28. 1871. =12.= Hogg
_Fruit Man._ 707. 1884. =13.= Gaucher _Pom. Prak. Obst._ No.
95, Col. Pl. 1894. =14.= _Cornell Sta. Bul._ =131=:188. 1897.

_Bingham_ incor. 2, 8. Prune Jefferson 11.

Jefferson has long been popular in America and is highly spoken of by English, French and German pomologists as well, possibly ranking highest in the Old World of all Domesticas which have had their origin in America. The popularity of the variety is waning, however, chiefly because it is lacking in the essentials demanded in a market fruit. There can be no question as to the standing of Jefferson as to quality—it is one of the best of all dessert plums. Grown under favorable conditions and when fully ripe, it is a golden-yellow with a delicate blush and bloom, large for a plum in the Reine Claude group, a well-turned oval in shape, withal one of the handsomest plums. The color-plate maker did not do it justice. It fails as a market variety because the trees are late in coming in bearing, not always certain in bearing, a little particular as to soils and not quite hardy though one of the hardiest of all Reine Claudes. Both tree and fruit are too delicate for the market-grower and the market-men. As to its value for private places and fruit connoisseurs there can be no doubt—it is one of the choicest. It would seem that there should be a place for Jefferson for the fancy trade in the markets, as it would grace the show-window of any delicatessen store; but unfortunately there are few fruit-growers in America to cater to such a trade.

Jefferson was raised by a Judge Buel, Albany, New York, about 1825. The originator presented a tree of this variety to the Massachusetts Horticultural Society in 1829, and in 1841 trees were given to the London Horticultural Society which fruited in 1845. The parentage of the variety is unknown; Floy thought it was a seedling of Washington; Elliott suggested that it was “from a seed of Coe’s Golden Drop, which in growth and wood, it closely resembles.” In 1852, the American Pomological Society placed this variety on its catalog list of fruits worthy of general cultivation.

Tree medium to large, vigorous, spreading, open-topped,
hardy at Geneva, productive; branches ash-gray, smooth, with
small, numerous, lenticels; branchlets slender, short, with
long internodes, greenish-red changing to dark brownish-red,
dull, lightly pubescent, with inconspicuous, small lenticels;
leaf-buds large, long, pointed, appressed.

Leaves folded upward, obovate, one and three-quarters inches
wide, three and three-quarters inches long, thick; upper
surface sparingly pubescent, with a grooved midrib; lower
surface yellowish-green, pubescent; apex and base acute, margin
serrate, with small, dark glands; petiole three-quarters inch
long, tinged purplish-red along one side, glandless or with
from one to three small, globose, yellowish glands usually on
the stalk.

Season of bloom medium, short; flowers appearing after the
leaves, one and one-eighth inches across, white; borne on
lateral spurs, singly or in pairs; pedicels three-quarters
inch long, pubescent, greenish; calyx-tube green, campanulate,
glabrous, with a swollen ring at the base; calyx-lobes obtuse,
pubescent on both surfaces, glandular-serrate and with fine
marginal hairs, erect; petals roundish or obovate, dentate,
tapering to very short and broad claws; anthers yellowish;
filaments five-sixteenths inch long; pistil pubescent at the
base, equal to the stamens in length.

Fruit mid-season, ripening period long; one and five-eighths
inches by one and one-half inches in size, roundish-oval, not
compressed, halves equal; cavity shallow, narrow, abrupt;
suture very shallow, indistinct; apex roundish; color
greenish-yellow, changing to bronze-yellow, sometimes with
faint pink blush on the exposed cheek, often indistinctly
streaked and mottled with green before full maturity; dots
numerous, very small, gray or reddish, inconspicuous; stem
seven-eighths inch long, thinly pubescent, adhering well to the
fruit; skin thin, tough, slightly adhering; flesh deep yellow,
juicy, firm but tender, sweet, mild, pleasant; very good; stone
semi-free, one inch by three-quarters inch in size, flattened,
broadly oval, abruptly tipped, with a short neck at the base,
blunt at the apex, with rough and pitted surfaces; ventral
suture heavily furrowed, winged; dorsal suture with a wide,
deep groove.

JUICY

_Prunus munsoniana_ × _Prunus triflora_

=1.= Burbank _Cat._ 20. 1893. =2.= _Cal. State Bd. Hort._ 53.
1897. =3.= _Vt. Sta. Bul._ =67=:15. 1898. =4.= _Ohio Sta. Bul._
=113=:161. 1899. =5.= _Conn. Pom. Soc. Rpt._ 155. 1900. =6.=
_Ohio Sta. Bul._ =162=:256. 257. 1905. =7.= _Mass. Sta. An.
Rpt._ =17=:161. 1905.

Juicy has been widely tested and in general is considered of very little cultural importance, failing chiefly because of the inferior quality of the plums. The variety is an interesting cross, however, and has given a tree so much more vigorous and so much better adapted to orchard purposes than its native parent, quite equalling the Triflora parent in tree-characters, as to suggest the value of this cross for improving the trees of our native plums. This plum, like Golden, was grown by Luther Burbank from a seed of Robinson fertilized by pollen of Abundance. In 1893 the originator sold the new variety to John Lewis Childs, Floral Park, New York, who introduced it the following year. The variety has not escaped without some confusion as to its origin for its parentage has been published as a cross between Robinson and Kelsey.[219]

Tree very large, vigorous, spreading, open-topped, productive;
branches sparingly thorny; leaves broadly oblanceolate or oval,
one and one-quarter inches wide, three inches long; margin
finely serrate or sometimes crenate, with dark reddish-glands;
petiole short, slender, with from two to five globose glands on
the stalk; blooming season of medium length; flowers appearing
after the leaves, three-quarters inch across; borne in dense
clusters on lateral buds and spurs, in threes or fours; anthers
so numerous as to give a yellowish color to the flower-clusters.

Fruit mid-season, period of ripening long; one and
three-quarters inches by one and three-eighths inches in size,
nearly round, dark golden-yellow with bright red blush, covered
with thin bloom; flesh golden-yellow, very juicy, melting,
sweet next to the skin, but tart at the pit, aromatic; of fair
quality; stone clinging, five-eighths inch by one-half inch in
size, oval, turgid, with slightly pitted surfaces.

KELSEY

_Prunus triflora_

=1.= _Gard. Mon._ =24=:339. 1882. =2.= _U. S. D. A. Rpt._ 272.
1886. =3.= _Gard. Mon._ =29=:305, 335-367. 1887. =4.= _U. S.
D. A. Rpt._ 635, 652. 1887. =5.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Rpt._ 95, 126.
1887. =6.= _Ga. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 35. 1888. =7.= _Ibid._ 51,
99. 1889. =8.= _Rev. Hort._ 502, 542. 1890. =9.= _Am. Pom.
Soc. Rpt._ 105, 106, 125. 1891. =10.= _Am. Gard._ =13=:700.
1892. =11.= _Cornell Sta. Bul._ =62=:3, 24. 1894. =12.= _Tex.
Sta. Bul._ =32=:488 fig., 489. 1894. =13.= _Cornell Sta. Bul._
=106=:53. 1896. =14.= _Ala. Col. Sta. Bul._ =85=:447. 1897.
=15.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 41. 1899. =16.= Waugh _Plum Cult._
137. 1901. =17.= _N. C. Sta. Bul._ =184=:120. 1903. =18.= _Ga.
Sta. Bul._ =68=:15, 31. 1905.

_Botankin_ 7. Botankin 3. _Hattankio_ 7. Kelsey’s Japan 2, 3,
5. _Sinomo_ 7. _Togari_ 7.

Kelsey is distinguished as the largest, the latest and the tenderest to cold of all Triflora plums in America. The variety is not much hardier than the fig and cannot be safely planted north of Washington and Baltimore. The tree is vigorous, well formed and productive, having for its worst fault susceptibility to shot-hole fungus. The plums are large, very attractive in color and the flesh is firm, the plums being well fitted for shipping, with a rich, pleasant, aromatic flavor making the fruit very good in quality. In the South both curculio and brown-rot attack the fruits rather badly. It is unfortunate that this plum cannot be grown in this latitude.

Kelsey, the first of the Triflora plums introduced into America, was brought into the country by a Mr. Hough of Vacaville, California, in 1870, through the United States consul in Japan. John Kelsey of Berkeley, California, obtained trees from Hough and propagated it in his nursery to a limited extent. The first fruit was shown by Kelsey in 1877, though fruit is said to have been produced in 1876. In 1883, W. P. Hammon and Company, Oakland, California, secured stock of this plum from the heirs of Mr. Kelsey and the following year extensive sales were made. The plum was named in honor of the man who did most to bring it before the public. The American Pomological Society added the Kelsey to its fruit catalog list in 1889. The following description is compiled.

Tree vigorous, upright, vasiform, tender, productive, an early
and regular bearer; leaves somewhat scant, small, lanceolate,
narrow; blooming season early; fruit very late, season long;
keeps and ships unusually well; large, cordate, conical, halves
unequal; suture variable in depth; apex pointed; color rather
unattractive yellow, tinged and splashed with red, often
overspread with purple, with attractive bloom, more or less
marked with conspicuous dots; stem sometimes adhering poorly
to the fruit; skin tender; flesh delicate yellow, juicy, firm
and meaty, rich, pleasant, aromatic; good to very good; stone
clinging unless well ripened, small, in an irregular cavity
larger than the pit.

KERR

_Prunus triflora_

=1.= _Ga. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 52. 1889. =2.= _Am. Gard._ =12=:307,
501. 1891. =3.= _Ibid._ =13=:700. 1892. =4.= Kerr _Cat._ 1894.
=5.= _Cornell Sta. Bul._ =62=:25. 1894. =6.= _Ga. Hort. Soc.
Rpt._ 95. 1895. =7.= _Ala. Sta. Bul._ =85=:443. 1897. =8.= _Am.
Pom. Soc. Cat._ 41. 1899. =9.= _Cornell Sta. Bul._ =175=:136.
1899. =10.= Waugh _Plum Cult._ 137. 1901. =11.= _Ga. Hort. Soc.
Rpt._ XIII. 1904. =12.= _Ohio Sta. Bul._ =162=:256, 257. 1905.

Hattankio 1. _Hattankio_ 7. Hattankin No. 2. 2, 3. _Hattonkin
No._ 2. 4, 5, 10. _Hattonkin_ 9. _Hattankio No._ 2. 6, 11.
_Hattankio Oblong_ 9, 11. Hattankio 10. _Hattan_ 10. _Hytankio_
10. _Hytan-Kayo_ 10.

Kerr is about the best of the yellow Trifloras and is one of the best of all early plums of its species. It is very productive, sometimes over-bearing, and should always be thinned. The quality of the plums is good and the fruits are attractive in appearance. The faults of the variety are that the fruits drop as they ripen, though they color if picked green, and in some localities the tree-characters are poor. This variety was imported from Japan by Frost and Burgess, Riverside, California, and was distributed under the group name Hattankio No. 2 or Hattonkin No. 2. As Georgeson was also distributed under the same name, though under a different number, confusion resulted. To better distinguish between the two, L. H. Bailey, in 1894, named Hattonkin No. 2 Kerr, in honor of J. W. Kerr, the noted plum specialist, of Denton, Maryland. In 1899 the variety was placed on the fruit catalog list of the American Pomological Society. The following description is compiled.

Tree large, vigorous, upright, very productive; leaves large,
thick; blooming season late. Fruit early; of medium size unless
thinned, when it becomes large, variable in form, but usually
heart-shaped, yellow with thin bloom; skin thick; flesh yellow,
firm, subacid, sweet; fair to good; stone clinging, of medium
size, oval, turgid.

KING DAMSON

_Prunus insititia_

=1.= Watkins _Nur. Cat._ 48. 1892?. =2.= _Am. Gard._ =14=:146,
147. 1893. =3.= _Garden_ =53=:265. 1898. =4.= _Can. Exp. Farm
Bul._ 2nd Ser. =3=:51. 1900. =5.= Thompson _Gard. Ass’t_
=4=:161. 1901.

Bradley’s King 5. Bradley’s King of Damsons 3. King of Damsons
1, 2.

The fruit of King Damson runs large for a Damson and the flavor is agreeable, so agreeable that the variety is really a very good dessert fruit late in the season. This Damson is little grown in America and deserves much wider cultivation. A peculiarity of the plum is that there is always more or less doubling of the petals. Very little is known regarding the history of this excellent variety, but it seems probable that it originated in Kent, England, where it is much grown.

Tree small, lacking in vigor, upright-spreading, dense-topped,
usually productive; branchlets slender, pubescent; leaves
folded upward, oval or slightly obovate, one inch wide, two
and three-quarters inches long; margin serrate, usually with
small dark glands; petiole with one or two glands on the
stalk; blooming season intermediate, short; flowers appearing
after the leaves, usually with more than five petals, one inch
across, white with a yellow tinge at the apex; borne on lateral
spurs or from lateral buds, singly or in pairs.

Fruit late, season long; one and one-eighth inches by
seven-eighths inch in size, oval, slightly necked, black, with
thick bloom; flesh greenish-yellow, juicy, firm, sprightly,
becoming sweet late in the season; of good quality; stone
clinging, five-eighths inch by three-eighths inch in size,
irregular-ovate, slightly necked.

KIRKE

_Prunus domestica_

=1.= _Pom. Mag._ =3=:111, Pl. 1830. =2.= _Lond. Hort. Soc.
Cat._ 149. 1831. =3.= Kenrick _Am. Orch._ 263. 1832. =4.=
Downing _Fr. Trees Am._ 306. 1845. =5.= Floy-Lindley _Guide
Orch. Gard._ 281, 382. 1846. =6.= _Mag. Hort._ =15=:488 fig.
43. 1849. =7.= Thompson _Gard. Ass’t_ 518, Pl. 1. 1859. =8.=
Mas _Le Verger_ =6=:15, fig. 8. 1866-73. =9.= _Am. Pom. Soc.
Cat._ 36. 1875. =10.= _Pom. France_ =7=: No. 26. 1871. =11.=
_Flor. & Pom._ 47. 1876. =12.= Oberdieck _Deut. Obst. Sort._
430. 1881. =13.= Lauche _Deut. Pom._ 16, Pl. IV. 1882. =14.=
Hogg _Fruit Man._ 708. 1884. =15.= _Guide Prat._ 154, 358.
1895. =16.= _Gard. Chron._ =24=:19. 1898. =17.= Gaucher _Pom.
Prak. Obst._ No. 96, Col. Pl. 1894. =18.= _Rev. Hort._ 500.
1898. =19.= _Soc. Nat. Hort. France Pom._ 536. 1904.

_De Kirke_ 15. Kirke’s 2, 4, 6, 7, 9, 14, 17. _Kirke’s_ 8,
10, 15, 17. Kirke’s Pflaume 12, 13. _Kirke’s Pflaume_ 8, 10,
15, 17. Kirke’s Plum 1, 5, 8, 10, 11, 16, 18. Kirk’s Plum 3,
5. _Kirke_ 17. _Kirke’s Plum_ 15, 17, 19. Prune de Kirke 18.
_Prune de Kirke_ 8, 10, 17. _Prune Kirke_ 19.

All English descriptions of this variety rank it very high both as a dessert and a culinary plum. The variety stands well among the purple plums growing on the grounds of this Station, but since it has been grown in America eighty years, attaining a reputation only of being mediocre in most characters, it is probably not worth planting largely. It has many more worthy competitors in its class and season. Hogg, in the reference given, says the variety was introduced by Joseph Kirke, a nurseryman at Brompton, near London, who, he says, “told me he first saw it on a fruit stall near the Royal Exchange, and that he afterwards found the trees producing the fruit were in Norfolk, whence he obtained grafts and propagated it. But its true origin was in the grounds of Mr. Poupart, a market gardener at Brompton, on the spot now occupied by the lower end of Queen’s Gate and where it sprung up as a sucker from a tree which had been planted to screen an outbuilding. It was given to Mr. Kirke to be propagated and he sold it under the name it now bears.” The variety was introduced into America between 1830 and 1840. The American Pomological Society placed Kirke upon its list of rejected fruits in 1858, added it to the recommended list in 1875, and displaced it in 1899.

Tree large, vigorous, upright-spreading, hardy, productive;
branchlets with long internodes, dull, marked with
yellowish-brown scarf-skin; leaf-buds large, long, pointed,
free; leaves flattened, obovate or oval, one and three-quarters
inches wide, three and five-eighths inches long, thick, dark
green; margin crenate, eglandular or with small, dark glands;
petiole one inch long, tinged red, glandless or with from
one to four small, yellowish-green glands; blooming season
intermediate, short; flowers appearing after the leaves, one
inch across; borne on lateral spurs, singly or in pairs;
filaments seven-sixteenths inch long; pistil glabrous, shorter
than the stamens.

Fruit mid-season, ripening period long; about one and
five-eighths inches in diameter, roundish-ovate, dark
purplish-black, overspread with thick bloom; flesh
greenish-yellow, fibrous, firm, sweet, mild and pleasant; good
to very good; stone nearly free, one inch by three-quarters
inch in size, ovate or oval, flattened, roughened and deeply
pitted, tapering abruptly to a short, pointed apex; ventral
suture narrow, with a short but distinct wing; dorsal suture
with a wide groove.

LAFAYETTE

_Prunus domestica_

=1.= Prince _Pom. Man._ =2=:96. 1832. =2.= Tucker’s _Gen.
Farmer_ =3=:153. 1839. =3.= Elliott _Fr. Book_ 427. 1854. =4.=
_Am. Pom. Soc. Rpt._ 222, 244. 1858. =5.= Hogg _Fruit Man._
368. 1866. =6.= Downing _Fr. Trees Am._ 916. 1869. =7.= _Guide
Prat._ 160, 359. 1895.

Gifford’s Lafayette 1, 4, 6. Gifford’s La Fayette 2, 3.

Lafayette originated in New York sometime in the first quarter of the last century with a Mr. Gifford from a stone of the Orleans. It did not become popular and was rejected by the American Pomological Society in 1858, but just why it failed is not apparent, judging either from the descriptions given in the above references or by its behavior in the orchard at this Station. The fruit is good, though not remarkable for the richness of its flavor, its size is large and the color attractive. Moreover it is so late as to stand almost alone in its season. A retrial of this old sort commercially might be worth while. The tree is interesting because of a marked tendency in the flowers to develop petals from the stamens.

Tree of medium size, round-topped, productive; branchlets
stocky, with long internodes; leaf-scars large; leaves folded
upward, oval or obovate, two inches wide, four inches long,
rugose; margin crenate, with small, dark glands; petiole
pubescent, tinged red, having at the most three small glands
usually on the stalk; blooming season intermediate in time and
length; flowers appearing after the leaves, one and one-quarter
inches wide, creamy-white; borne in pairs; calyx-lobes long and
slender.

Fruit very late, season long; one and one-half inches by
one and three-eighths inches in size, oval, purplish-black,
overspread with very thick bloom; flesh greenish-yellow, medium
juicy, tender, sweet, mild and pleasant; of good quality; stone
free or nearly so, one inch by five-eighths inch in size,
irregular-oval, flattened, with an acute and slightly oblique
apex.

LAIRE

_Prunus orthosepala?_

Laire is cultivated locally in Rooks and neighboring counties in Kansas and is highly spoken of by those who grow it. The description of the variety is made from information sent from the United States Department of Agriculture. For a further account of this plum the reader is referred to the discussion of _Prunus orthosepala_, page 97. The name is derived from that of the man who first brought the plums under cultivation some twenty or twenty-five years ago.

Tree dwarfish, dense-topped, not very productive; branches
spiny, zigzag; branchlets thick, reddish-brown changing to
dark brown; leaves oblong-ovate, light green, acuminate, with
margins closely serrate and seldom with glandular teeth;
petiole slender, one-half inch long, with two glands at the
apex; flowers white or tinged with pink, appearing after the
leaves; borne in threes or in fours; pedicels thick, one-half
inch long; petals narrowly clawed; stamens orange.

Fruit mid-season; one and one-eighth inches in diameter,
roundish, greenish-yellow overlaid with deep red, covered with
thick bloom; skin thick; flesh yellow, meaty, juicy, mild
subacid; good to very good; stone clinging, five-eighths inch
by nine-sixteenths inch in size, flattened, oval, with rugose
surfaces; grooved on the dorsal and ridged on the ventral
suture.

LARGE ENGLISH

_Prunus domestica_

=1.= Oberdieck _Deut. Obst. Sort._ 443. 1881. =2.= Mathieu
_Nom. Pom._ 429, 433. 1889.

Englische Zwetsche 2. _Grosse Englische Zwetsche_ 2. Grosse
Englische Zwetsche 1, 2. _Grosse Englische Pflaumen Zwetsche_
2. _Grosse Zwetsche?_ 2. _Schweizer Zwetsche_ 2 incor.

This appears to be a most excellent plum closely resembling the Italian Prune and surpassing that well-known variety in some respects. As compared with Italian Prune, the fruit of Large English runs larger, is slightly more conical, having the ventral swelling near the base, thus giving it more of a shoulder. The flavor is sweeter and richer than that of the Italian Prune. There appear to be practically no differences between the trees, the foliage and the flowers of the two kinds. Wherever the Italian is successfully grown it may be well worth while to try the Large English. The relation the word English has to this prune is unknown. Oberdieck, in 1881, wrote that this variety resembled the Italian Prune in fruit, but differed in that it had a noticeably broader leaf; he adds “it has been incorrectly called the Swiss Prune and is much spread in Germany under the name of Italian Prune.” E. R. Lake, of the United States Department of Agriculture, brought it to America, in 1901, from the Pomological Institute, Reutlingen, Wurtemburg, Germany. Lake’s stock was tested at this Station and the variety agrees with Oberdieck’s description.

Tree of average size, vigorous, upright-spreading,
dense-topped, productive; branchlets with, long internodes;
leaf-scars enlarged; leaves folded upward, oval or obovate,
nearly one and three-quarters inches wide, three and one-half
inches long, thick, rugose; margin crenate or almost serrate,
eglandular or with small dark glands; petiole pubescent, tinged
red, with from two to four globose glands; blooming season
intermediate in time, short; flowers appearing after the
leaves, one inch across; petals long, narrow, white, in the
buds tipped with yellow; borne singly or in pairs; stamens tend
to become petals.

Fruit late, season of medium length; one and three-quarters
inches by one and one-half inches in size, long-ovate,
purplish-black, with thick bloom; dots numerous, conspicuous;
flesh yellowish with a trace of red at full maturity at both
skin and stone, juicy, very sweet, aromatic, with a pleasant
flavor; very good to best; stone free, the cavity larger than
the pit, often brownish-red, one inch by five-eighths inch in
size, irregular-oval, flattened, with an oblique apex; ventral
suture prominent, usually with a distinct wing; dorsal suture
with a wide, deep groove.

LATE MIRABELLE

_Prunus insititia_

=1.= _Lond. Hort. Soc. Cat._ 150. 1831. =2.= Barry _Fr. Garden_
339. 1851. =3.= Downing _Fr. Trees Am._ 388. 1857. =4.= Hogg
_Fruit Man._ 353. 1866. =5.= Downing _Fr. Trees. Am._ 901.
1869. =6.= _Pom. France_ =7=: No. 20. 1871. =7.= Mas _Le
Verger_ =6=:7. 1866-73. =8.= _Cat. Cong. Pom. France_ 352.
1887. =9.= Mathieu _Nom. Pom._ 442, 449. 1889. =10.= _Guide
Prat._ 162, 360. 1895. =11.= Baltet _Cult. Fr._ 493. 1908.

_Bricette_ 9. Bricetta 5. _Bricet_ 5, 9. _Bricette_ 6, 8, 10.
_Brisette_ 6, 7, 10. Bricette 4. _Die Brisette_ 9. _Kleine
Brisette_ 9. _La Bricette_ 9. Mirabelle Tardive 1, 3, 6, 7, 8,
10, 11. _Mirabelle Tardive_ 4, 5, 6, 9. Mirabelle d’Octobre
2. _Mirabelle d’Octobre_ 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10. October Mirabelle
9. _Petit Bricette_ 5, 9. _Petite Bricette_ 4, 6, 10. Runde
Brisette 9. _Späte Mirabelle_ 6, 8, 9, 10.

In France, where all of the Mirabelles are highly esteemed, the Late Mirabelle is much grown because of its season. The variety is practically unknown in America, but, judging from its behavior at Geneva, well deserves widespread trial, as do all the Mirabelles. The history of this variety is unknown other than that it is an old sort, having been mentioned in the London Horticultural Society catalog as long ago as 1831. In 1851, Barry, of Rochester, New York, described the Mirabelle d’Octobre, which is identical with Late Mirabelle, and said that it had been recently introduced from France.

Tree medium in size and vigor, very hardy, productive; branches
smooth; leaves small, oval, one and one-quarter inches wide,
two inches long; margin finely serrate, with few, dark glands;
petiole slender, glandless or with one or two glands at the
base of the leaf.

Fruit late; small, roundish-oval, greenish-yellow, often with
a light blush on the sunny side, covered with thin bloom; stem
short, slender; flesh yellow, very juicy, aromatic, sweet;
good; stone semi-free.

LATE MUSCATELLE

_Prunus domestica_

=1.= Lucas _Vollst. Hand. Obst._ 470. 1894. =2.= _Can. Exp.
Farm Bul._ 2nd Ser. =3=:53. 1900. =3.= _U. S. D. A. Div. Pom.
Bul._ =10=:22. 1901.

Late Muscatel 2. Späte Muskateller 3. Späte Muskatellerpflaume
1.

This variety was obtained by the United States Department of Agriculture from the Pomological Institute at Reutlingen, Germany, in 1900, and was soon after sent to this Station to test. In some respects, in fruit-characters in particular, the variety is promising, but not sufficiently so to recommend it to fruit-growers, even for trial.

Tree of medium size and vigor, upright-spreading, productive;
branchlets thick; with short internodes, pubescent; leaf-scars
prominent; leaves drooping, folded upward, obovate, one and
five-eighths inches wide, three and three-eighths inches long,
leathery; margin crenate, eglandular or with few, small, dark
glands; petiole thick, pubescent, glandless or with from one
to three glands; blooming season intermediate in time; and
length; flowers appearing after the leaves, one inch across;
borne in scattering clusters, singly or in pairs; petals white,
creamy-white as they open; anthers tinged red.

Fruit late, season short; medium in size, roundish, slightly
truncate, purplish-brown, splashed and mottled with
russet about the base, overspread with thick bloom; flesh
greenish-yellow, sweet; good to very good; stone often reddish,
clinging, three-quarters inch by one-half inch in size,
somewhat flat, irregular-oval, with slightly pitted surfaces.

LATE ORLEANS

_Prunus domestica_

=1.= _Lond. Hort. Soc. Cat._ 151. 1831. =2.= _Mag. Hort._ 164.
1843. =3.= _Jour. Hort._ N. S. =15=:301. 1868. =4.= Downing
_Fr. Trees Am._ 927. 1869. =5.= _Guide Prat._ 161, 360. 1895.
=6.= _Garden_ =49=:268. 1896. =7.= Rivers _Cat._ 33. 1898.

_Black Orleans_ 1, 2, 5. Late Black Orleans 3, 4. _Late Black
Orleans_ 5. _Late Orleans_ 5. Monsieur Noir Tardif 5. _Orleans
Late Black_ 5.

This is another variety having only a European reputation to recommend it in America. The fruits of Late Orleans are handsome in color and shape, but are not large enough to enable them to compete in the markets with other late purple plums and are so poor in quality as to be worthless as dessert fruits. In Europe the variety is rated high for culinary purposes and fruit-growers there like it because it hangs well to the tree and keeps and ships well. The trees are very satisfactory in practically all respects. It is doubtful if the variety is worth further trial in America.

Late Orleans was mentioned in the catalog of the Horticultural Society of London in 1831, but was not described. No account seems to have ever been published of its origin, but it is probably related to or descended from the Orleans since they are very similar in tree and shape of fruit, differing only in size and color of fruit.

Tree large, vigorous, round-topped, hardy, very productive;
branches smooth, dark ash-gray, with numerous, small
lenticels; branchlets medium to slender, with long internodes,
greenish-red changing to dull reddish-brown, dull, pubescent,
marked with gray scarf-skin and with small lenticels; leaf-buds
intermediate in size and length, conical, appressed.

Leaves flattened, oval or obovate, one and one-quarter inches
wide, two and one-quarter inches long; upper surface sparingly
pubescent, with a deeply grooved midrib; lower surface heavily
pubescent along the midrib; apex abruptly pointed, base broadly
cuneate, margin finely crenate, with small, dark glands;
petiole one-half inch long, slender, pubescent, faintly tinged
with red, glandless or with from one to four small, globose,
yellowish glands usually on the stalk.

Flowers appearing after the leaves, one inch across, white;
borne on lateral buds and spurs, singly or in pairs;
pedicels one-half inch long, glabrous, greenish; calyx-tube,
green, obconic, glabrous; calyx-lobes obtuse, pubescent,
glandular-serrate and with marginal hairs, erect; petals
roundish or broadly ovate, entire, short-clawed; anthers yellow
with a reddish tinge; filaments five-sixteenths inch long;
pistil glabrous, equal to the stamens in length.

Fruit late, season long; about one and one-half inches in
diameter, roundish, slightly compressed, halves equal; cavity
shallow, narrow, flaring; suture a line; apex roundish;
color dark purple, overspread with thick bloom; dots few,
reddish-brown; stem three-quarters inch long, pubescent at
the base, adhering well to the fruit; skin toughish, slightly
astringent, separating readily; flesh golden-yellow, dry,
tender, sweet, mild; fair in quality; stone clinging, one
inch by five-eighths inch in size, oval, flattened, slightly
roughened, blunt at the base and apex; ventral suture rather
narrow, blunt; dorsal suture widely and deeply grooved.

LAWRENCE

_Prunus domestica_

=1.= _Cultivator_ =10=:167. 1843. =2.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._
54. 1852. =3.= Elliott _Fr. Book_ 412. 1854. =4.= Downing _Fr.
Trees Am._ 928. 1869. =5.= _Pom. France_ =7=: No. 29. 1871.
=6.= Mas _Le Verger_ =6=:75. 1866-73. =7.= Hogg _Fruit Man._
710. 1884. =8.= _Cat. Cong. Pom. France_ 349. 1887. =9.= _Guide
Prat._ 364. 1895. =10.= Waugh _Plum Cult._ 112. 1901.

_Favorite de Lawrence_ 6, 9. _Lawrence Favorite_ 5. _Lawrences
Reine Claude_ 9. Lawrence’s Favorite 1, 2, 3, 4, 7. _Lawrence’s
Gage_ 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9. _Lawrence’s Favorite_ 6, 8, 9, 10.
Lawrence Gage 8. Prune Lawrence Gage 5. Reine-Claude de
Lawrence 6, 9. _Reine-Claude de Lawrence_ 4, 5, 8.

This variety is surpassed in the quality of its fruits by few plums. The trees bear young and abundantly and the fruit hangs well on the tree; unfortunately, the plums do not ship nor keep well and the variety thus fails as a market sort. It is, however, a delicious dessert fruit, deserving to be grown in every plum connoisseur’s garden. Lawrence is a seedling of Reine Claude, and was grown by L. V. Lawrence of Hudson, New York, some time during the second quarter of the last century. As its large size and superior quality became known its popularity increased, until it was cultivated not only in America, but to some extent throughout western Europe. During the last twenty-five years, however, it has waned in popularity, having been superseded by better commercial varieties, though it still ranks high as a dessert plum. The American Pomological Society placed Lawrence in its catalog in 1852, and retained it there until 1899.

Tree large, vigorous, upright-spreading, productive; trunk
and branches rough, with large lenticels; branchlets brash,
dark reddish-brown, pubescent; leaves folded upward, oval,
two inches wide, three and three-quarters inches long, thick,
leathery, rugose; margin doubly serrate, with small glands;
petiole pubescent, usually with two small glands.

Fruit medium early; one and three-eighths inches in diameter,
roundish, greenish-yellow, covered with thin bloom; skin thin,
tender, slightly astringent; flesh yellowish, fibrous, tender,
sweet, aromatic; very good; stone free, seven-eighths inch by
five-eighths inch in size, oval, turgid, nearly smooth.

LINCOLN

_Prunus domestica_

=1.= Lovett _Cat._ fig. 44. 1890-1900. =2.= _Rural N. Y._
=56=:595 fig. 253, 598. 1897. =3.= _Mich. Sta. Bul._ =169=:242,
246. 1899. =4.= _Ohio Sta. Bul._ =113=:159. 1899. =5.= _Can.
Exp. Farm Bul._ 2d Ser. =3=:53. 1900. =6.= Waugh _Plum Cult._
114. 1901. =7.= Budd-Hansen _Am. Hort. Man._ 317, 318 fig.
1903. =8.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Rpt._ 254. 1903. =9.= _Ohio Sta.
Bul._ =162=:236, 238 fig., 256, 257. 1905. =10.= _Mass. Sta.
An. Rpt._ =17=:159. 1905.

Lincoln has never been popular in New York, but in Pennsylvania and New Jersey it is well thought of for home use and the markets. The trees in this State grow slowly and when fully grown are rather inferior. This is one of the sorts recommended to be top-worked on better growing varieties but, as has been said before in these notes, top-working in New York is far more often a failure than a success with plums. The fruit of this variety is unusually attractive in size and color and for quality it may be named among the best of the red plums. Unfortunately, the variety is readily infected by the brown-rot which when epidemic cannot be controlled. Lincoln has been so well tested in New York without becoming popular with plum-growers that it is hardly worth recommending for further trial, though the fruits in particular have much merit.

This plum originated in York County, Pennsylvania, about forty-five years ago, supposedly from seed of the Reine Claude, and was named after Abraham Lincoln. If it be a Reine Claude seedling it comes from a cross with some other variety, since it shows many characters not in Reine Claude. Lincoln was introduced by J. T. Lovett and Company, Little Silver, New Jersey.

Tree of medium size, vigorous, upright-spreading, but somewhat
variable in habit, dense-topped, hardy, productive; branches
ash-gray, rough; branchlets somewhat slender, short, with
long internodes, greenish-red changing to brownish-red, dull,
sparingly pubescent throughout the season, overspread with thin
bloom, with small, inconspicuous lenticels; leaf-buds large,
long, pointed, free; leaf-scars prominent.

Leaves somewhat folded backward, oval or obovate, two inches
wide, four inches long, rather stiff; upper surface slightly
rugose, pubescent only in the shallow, grooved midrib; lower
surface silvery-green, pubescent; apex abruptly pointed, base
acute, margin doubly crenate, with small, dark glands; petiole
nearly one inch long, pubescent, reddish, with from one to four
rather large, globose or reniform, yellowish glands variable in
position.

Season of bloom medium; flowers appearing after the leaves,
over one inch across, white; borne on lateral spurs and buds,
singly or in pairs; pedicels about seven-eighths inch long,
slender, pubescent, greenish; calyx-tube green, campanulate,
thinly pubescent; calyx-lobes broad, acute, somewhat pubescent
on both surfaces, glandular-serrate, with marginal hairs,
reflexed; petals oval, crenate, with claws of medium width;
anthers yellow; filaments three-eighths inch or more in length;
pistil glabrous, shorter than the stamens.

Fruit early, season short; somewhat variable but averaging
about two inches by one and five-eighths inches in size,
oblong-oval, slightly necked, halves usually equal; cavity
very shallow, narrow, abrupt; suture shallow; apex roundish
or depressed; color light or dark red over a yellow ground,
overspread with thin bloom; dots numerous, small, light
russet; stem one inch long, lightly pubescent, adhering poorly
to the fruit; skin thick, rather sour, separating readily;
flesh greenish-yellow, juicy, coarse and fibrous, firm but
tender, sweet, mild, pleasant; good to very good; stone nearly
free, one and one-eighth inches by five-eighths inch in size,
long-oval, flattened, necked at the base, blunt at the apex,
with markedly rough and deeply pitted surfaces; ventral suture
narrow, distinctly furrowed, with a short wing; dorsal suture
with a narrow groove of medium depth.

LOMBARD

_Prunus domestica_

=1.= Kenrick _Am. Orch._ 268. 1832. =2.= _Ibid._ 224. 1841.
=3.= Downing _Fr. Trees Am._ 303 fig. 124. 1845. =4.= Thomas
_Am. Fruit Cult._ 345 fig. 265. 1849. =5.= Goodrich _N. Fr.
Cult._ 84. 1849. =6.= Elliott _Fr. Book_ 412. 1854. =7.= _Am.
Pom. Soc. Rpt._ 190, 210. 1856. =8.= Downing _Fr. Trees Am._
929 fig. 1869. =9.= Mas _Le Verger_ =6=:151, fig. 76. 1866-73.
=10.= _Country Gent._ =48=:981. 1883. =11.= Mathieu _Nom.
Pom._ 423. 1889. =12.= _Guide Prat._ 160, 359. 1895. =13.=
_Mich. Sta. Bul._ =169=:242, 246. 1899. =14.= _Ia. Sta. Bul._
=46=:279. 1900. =15.= Waugh _Plum Cult._ 114 fig. 1901. =16.=
_Can. Exp. Farm Bul._ =43=:34. 1903. =17.= _Ohio Sta. Bul._
=162=:240, 256, 257. 1905.

_Beekman’s Scarlet_ 3, 6, 8, 11, 12. _Bleecker’s Scarlet_ 3,
4, 6, 8, 12. _Bleeker’s Scarlet_ 11. Bleeker’s Rotepflaume
11. _Bleekers Rothe Pflaume_ 12. _Bleeckers Rothe Pflaume_
9. _Lombard_ 11. _Lombard Plum_ 1. _Montgomery Prune_ 8,
11. _Prune Rouge De Bleeker_ 9, 11. _Rouge de Bleecker_ 12.
_Spanish King?_ 14, 15. Variegated Plum 1.

The Lombard plum is known by all. It is not as largely planted in New York as a few other varieties, but it is probably more widely grown than any other plum if the whole continent be considered. The preeminently meritorious characters which enable it to take first place in American plum-growing are: The elasticity of its constitution whereby it adapts itself to widely different soils and climates; the robustness, healthiness, productiveness and regularity in bearing of its trees; the fact that the fruits are comparatively free from the scourge of the crescent sign, plum-curculio; and, lastly, its showy fruits tempting to the eye and readily salable. The tree-characters of Lombard are all good, making so superior a tree that it, more than any other variety, is recommended as a stock upon which to graft weak-growing plums. It is a virile variety and from it have come a considerable number of offspring mostly from self-fertilized seeds which have given us several nearly related varieties and strains. There are also a few very good cross-bred plums of which Lombard was one parent. Lombard would be preeminently the plum “for the millions” were it not for a fatal fault—it is very poor in quality. Canned, cooked, preserved or spiced, it does very well, but as a dessert fruit it falls in a category with the Ben Davis apple and Kieffer pear, “good-looking but poor.” The variety ripens so early as to come in direct competition with the peach and this hurts it not a little as a market plum. To be at its best the crop should be thinned and should be allowed to ripen fully on the trees. Lombard is now much used in the canneries in New York and is also planted in home orchards where only hardy plums stand the climate. In the markets it is usually a low-priced plum.

Lombard was raised by Judge Platt, Whitesboro, New York, from seed received from Amsterdam (References, 2). Another writer (References, 10) reports that the trees were brought over from Holland by some of the earliest Dutch settlers of Utica and Whitesboro. The name was given to the plum about 1830 by the Massachusetts Horticultural Society in honor of Daniel Lombard of Springfield, who was the first to propagate the variety in that state. It was previously well known in New York as Bleecker’s Scarlet (References, 3), but was never formally described under that name which must, therefore, though the older, be discarded. In 1856, it was placed on the recommended list by the American Pomological Society. Several varieties, as Communia, Tatge, Spanish King and Odell, are very similar, if not identical to the Lombard and, consequently, have caused much confusion in the nomenclature of the variety. This similarity is probably explained by the fact that the Lombard produces seedlings very nearly true to type. Professor J. L. Budd, in a letter written in 1898 to this Station, says, “The fruit of Communia is much like that of Lombard, but this can be said of a hundred or more east European varieties.” Professor Budd had traveled much in Europe and knew plums very well. His statement, therefore, is entitled to credence and indicates, together with other circumstances, that Lombard is one of an old group of plums the varieties of which are very similar.

Tree of medium size, round-topped, very hardy, productive;
branches stocky, dark ash-gray, smooth, with few, small
lenticels; branchlets thick, medium to long, with long
internodes, greenish-red changing to dull brownish-red,
marked with gray scarf-skin, glabrous early in the season,
becoming pubescent at maturity, with a few, inconspicuous,
small lenticels; leaf-buds of medium size and length, conical,
appressed; leaf-scars prominent.

Leaves long-oval or long-obovate, one and five-eighths inches
wide, three and one-half inches long, medium to thick; upper
surface dark green, thinly pubescent, with a grooved midrib;
lower surface silvery-green, lightly pubescent; apex acute,
base somewhat tapering, margin often doubly serrate, eglandular
or with small, dark glands; petiole one-half inch long, thick,
tinged red, pubescent, glandless or with one or two globose,
yellowish-green glands usually at the base of the leaf.

Blooming season short; flowers appearing after the leaves,
one inch across, the buds creamy-yellow, changing to white on
expanding; borne in clusters on short, lateral spurs, singly or
in pairs; pedicels nine-sixteenths inch long, slender, nearly
glabrous; calyx-tube greenish, campanulate, pubescent only
at the base; calyx-lobes obtuse, pubescent on both surfaces,
glandular-serrate, strongly reflexed; petals oval, entire or
occasionally notched at the apex, short-clawed; anthers yellow;
filaments five-sixteenths inch long; pistil pubescent only on
the ovary, longer than the stamens.

Fruit mid-season, ripening period long; one and three-quarters
inches by one and five-eighths inches in size, oval or
roundish-oval, slightly compressed, halves unequal; cavity
narrow, abrupt, roundish; suture usually a line; apex roundish
or flattened; color light to dark purplish-red, overspread
with thick bloom; dots numerous, small, light russet; stem
slender, three-quarters inch long, adhering well to the fruit;
skin thin, tender, separating readily; flesh yellowish, juicy,
slightly fibrous, firm and sweet, mild; inferior in quality;
stone semi-free to free, one inch by five-eighths inch in size,
dark colored, oval, flattened, roughened; base and apex acute;
ventral suture slightly furrowed, acute; dorsal suture widely
and rather deeply grooved.

LONG FRUIT

_Prunus triflora_

=1.= Wild Bros. _Cat._ 27. 1892. =2.= _Cornell Sta. Bul._
=62=:26. 1894. =3.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 26. 1897-99. =4.=
Waugh _Plum Cult._ 138. 1901.

Long Fruited 1.

Long Fruit is noted among the leading varieties of plums in _The Plums of New York_ chiefly to condemn it. On the grounds of this Station and elsewhere in New York where tested, the trees are unproductive, the crop drops badly and the fruits are small and poor in quality. The variety was imported from Japan in 1885 by Luther Burbank.

Tree large, vigorous, vasiform to spreading, unproductive;
branches roughened by numerous raised lenticels; branchlets
slender, with short internodes, glabrous, marked by scarf-skin;
leaves oblanceolate, somewhat peach-like, one inch wide,
two and one-half inches long, thin; margin finely crenate,
with small, amber glands; petiole slender, tinged with red,
glandless or with from one to five small glands usually on
the stalk; blooming season early; flowers appearing after the
leaves, seven-eighths inch across; borne singly or in pairs;
calyx-tube much swollen at the base.

Fruit early; one inch by one and one-eighth inches in size,
roundish-oblate; cavity deep; color dark red over a yellow
ground, covered with thin bloom; stem slender, adhering
poorly to the fruit; skin thick, somewhat astringent; flesh
greenish-yellow or pale yellow, tender, sweet, mild; poor
in quality; stone semi-clinging, small, one-half inch by
three-eighths inch in size, roundish-oval, turgid, blunt at the
base, the apex terminating abruptly in a small, sharp point,
with smooth surfaces.

LUCOMBE

_Prunus domestica_

=1.= _Pom. Mag._ =3=:99. 1830. =2.= Downing _Fr. Trees Am._
281. 1845. =3.= Floy-Lindley _Guide Orch. Gard._ 284, 383.
1846. =4.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 222. 1858. =5.= Hogg _Fruit
Man._ 711. 1884. =6.= _Guide Prat._ 163, 358. 1895. =7.= Waugh
_Plum Cult._ 117. 1901. =8.= Budd-Hansen _Am. Hort. Man._ 320.
1903.

Incomparable de Lucombe 6. Lucombe’s Nonesuch 2, 3, 5.
Lucombe’s Nonsuch 1, 4. _Lucombe’s Nonsuch_ 6, 7. _Lucombe’s
Unvergleichliche_ 6. _Lucombe’s Nonesuch_ 8. Luccombe’s
Nonesuch 3. Nonsuch 7. Nonesuch 8.

This old plum has a reputation of high excellence and is well entitled to it. Despite the fact that it must compete for favor with such estimable plums as Reine Claude, Washington and Hand, belonging to the same group with these, it is still much grown in England and is well thought of for home use in America. Hardly in accordance with its reputation, it was rejected by the American Pomological Society in 1858 for a place in its list of fruits. Lucombe originated as a seedling about 1825 with a Mr. Lucombe of Lucombe, Prince and Company, nurserymen, at Exeter, England, and was first described by Lindley in 1830 in the _Pomological Magazine_.

Tree large, of medium vigor, upright-spreading, productive;
branches covered with numerous fruit-spurs; twigs very short,
with heavy pubescence; leaves one and three-quarters inches
wide, three and one-quarter inches long, dark green; margin
finely serrate or crenate, with small, dark glands; petiole
pubescent, glandless or with one or two small glands usually
at the base of the leaf; blooming season intermediate, short;
flowers appearing after the leaves; petals with a yellowish
tinge as the buds unfold; borne on long naked spurs with tufts
of leaves and flowers at the ends, singly or in pairs.

Fruit mid-season, period of ripening long; one and
three-eighths inches by one and one-half inches in size,
roundish-oblate or roundish-obovate, greenish-yellow, becoming
golden-yellow, indistinctly splashed and streaked with green,
covered with thin bloom; flesh golden-yellow, firm, sweet,
pleasant, mild; very good; stone free, three-quarters inch by
five-eighths inch in size, roundish, slightly necked, with
pitted surfaces.

MAQUOKETA

_Prunus hortulana mineri_

=1.= _Mich. Pom. Soc. Rpt._ 290. 1889. =2.= _Ia. Hort. Soc.
Rpt._ 55, 85. 1890. =3.= _Cornell Sta. Bul._ =38=:40. 1892.
=4.= _Mich. Sta. Bul._ =118=:53. 1895. =5.= _Ibid._ =123=:20.
1895. =6.= _Ia. Sta. Bul._ =31=:346. 1895. =7.= _Wis. Sta.
Bul._ =63=:46. 1897. =8.= Budd-Hansen _Am. Hort. Man._ 298.
1903. =9.= _Ga. Sta. Bul._ =67=:277. 1904. =10.= _Ohio Sta.
Bul._ =162=:256, 257. 1905.

Maquoketa is distinguished as one of the best of the native plums for culinary purposes. Nearly all of the plums brought in from the wild in America have so much astringency, most of it coming from the skins, that they are impalatable to some. Now and then a variety is nearly free from this disagreeable taste and Maquoketa is one of these. The quality, as a dessert fruit, is very good for a native and the fruits keep and ship well. In the South the plums are subject to both curculio and brown-rot. The trees, like those of nearly all of the Miner-like plums, are rather better formed and more adaptable to orchard conditions than those of other species. After the Americana and Nigra plums, Maquoketa is one of the hardiest of our native varieties, growing even in Minnesota. The variety belongs in the South and Middle West and there are few, if any, places in New York where it is worth growing.

The origin of this plum is uncertain. It is reported in the references given as a native found on the banks of the Maquoketa River in eastern Iowa and also as a Miner seedling grown under cultivation. It has been known to fruit-growers since about 1889.

Tree of medium size and vigor, spreading, low-topped, open,
hardy, variable in productiveness, susceptible to attacks of
shot-hole fungus, the trunk shaggy; branches slender, rough,
zigzag, with few thorns, dark, dull ash-gray, with numerous
lenticels; branchlets slender, long, with internodes of medium
length, green, changing to dull reddish-brown, glabrous, with
numerous, conspicuous, small, slightly raised lenticels;
leaf-buds very small, short, obtuse, appressed.