Chapter III: Leading Varieties of Plums (9)

Tree vigorous, round-topped, productive; leaves large, oval;
branches glabrous. Fruit early; large, roundish, flattened at
the ends, dark purple with thin bloom; flesh greenish-yellow,
tinged red at maturity, rather coarse, sprightly; fair to good;
stone of medium size, compressed, oval, semi-clinging.

NEWARK

_Prunus domestica_

This fruit has little to recommend it to the commercial plum-grower; it is small in size and unattractive in color; the quality, however, is very good and the variety is worth planting for home use. Newark originated in Newark, New York, and in 1895 was bought by E. Smith & Sons of Geneva, New York, who disseminated it two years later.

Tree medium in size and vigor, upright-spreading, rather
open, very productive; branches rough; branchlets marked by
scarf-skin, leaf-scars prominent; leaves flattened, somewhat
drooping, oval or obovate, one and three-quarters inches wide,
three and one-half inches long, thick, rugose; margin coarsely
serrate, with small, dark glands; petiole thick, pubescent,
glandless or with one or two smallish glands usually on the
stalk; blooming season intermediate in time and length; flowers
appearing after the leaves, one inch or more across, white
with yellowish tinge at the apex of the petals; borne singly or
in pairs; anthers yellow with a trace of red.

Fruit early, season short; one and one-half inches by one and
three-eighths inches in size, oval, dull yellow mottled with
red at full maturity, covered with thin bloom; dots numerous,
conspicuous; flesh light greenish-yellow, rather dry, firm,
sweet, mild; good to very good; stone free, three-quarters inch
by one-half inch in size, irregular-oval, flat, with finely
pitted surfaces; ventral suture usually winged; dorsal suture
with a shallow, narrow, indistinct groove.

NEWMAN

_Prunus munsoniana_

=1.= _Horticulturist_ =22=:271. 1867. =2.= Downing _Fr. Trees
Am._ 934. 1869. =3.= _Am. Jour. Hort._ =5=:142. 1869. =4.=
_Mich. Pom. Soc. Rpt._ 39. 1874. =5.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 36.
1875. =6.= Barry _Fr. Garden_ 418. 1883. =7.= _Ia. Hort. Soc.
Rpt._ 286. 1887. =8.= _Cornell Sta. Bul._ =38=:63, 86. 1892.
=9.= _Mich. Sta. Bul._ =123=:20. 1895. =10.= _Wis. Sta. Bul._
=63=:49. 1897. =11.= _Me. Sta. An. Rpt._ =12=:66. 1896. =12.=
Bailey _Ev. Nat. Fruits_ 200 fig., 201. 1898. =13.= _Rural N.
Y._ =59=:450. 1900. =14.= _Ia. Sta. Bul._ =46=:282. 1900. =15.=
_Ohio Sta. Bul._ =162=:256, 257. 1905.

_Warren?_ 8.

Newman is one of the oldest but still one of the standard varieties of its species. Its fruits are characterized by a firm, meaty flesh, which fits it well for shipping and storing; the plums are also attractive in shape and color but are too small and too low in quality to make the variety a first-rate one. The trees are large and vigorous and in all respects very satisfactory orchard plants. Both fruits and trees are usually reported as fairly free from diseases and insects. While the variety is gradually going out it still has some value for its crops and ought to make a good parent from which to breed a race of vigorous, firm-fleshed Munsonianas.

The origin of this plum is uncertain. In 1867 a Mr. Elliott of Cleveland, Ohio, reported in the _Horticulturist_ that he had received samples of the “Newman Plum” from D. L. Adair, Esq., of Hawesville, Kentucky, and gave a brief description of the fruit which seems to tally with that of the variety under discussion. The American Pomological Society added this plum to its fruit catalog list in 1875 and removed it in 1891.

Tree large, vigorous, spreading, low and flat, dense-topped,
hardy at Geneva, productive, subject to attacks of shot-hole
fungus, the trunk shaggy; branches dark ash-gray, rough and
shaggy, thorny, zigzag, with numerous, rather inconspicuous,
large, elongated lenticels; branchlets very slender, twiggy,
with internodes of average length, greenish-red, changing to
dark brown, glabrous, with few, conspicuous, large, raised
lenticels; leaf-buds small, short, obtuse, plump, nearly free.

Leaves lanceolate, peach-like, one and one-quarter inches
wide, four inches long, thin; upper surface smooth, glabrous,
with a grooved midrib; lower surface glabrous except along
the midrib and larger veins; apex taper-pointed, base acute,
margin finely crenate, with small, amber glands; petiole
slender, seven-eighths inch long, lightly pubescent along one
side, reddish, glandless or with from one to four very small,
globose, yellowish-red glands on the stalk.

Blooming season late and long; flowers appearing after the
leaves, three-quarters inch across, in the buds tinged yellow,
changing to white on expanding, odor disagreeable; borne in
clusters on lateral spurs and buds, in twos or in threes;
pedicels eleven-sixteenths inch long, slender, glabrous,
greenish; calyx-tube green, campanulate, glabrous; calyx-lobes
small, narrow, slightly obtuse, pubescent on the inner surface,
glandular-serrate and with marginal hairs, erect; petals ovate
or oval, crenate, tapering at the base into long, narrow claws;
anthers yellow, tinged with red; filaments five-sixteenths inch
long; pistil slender, glabrous, equal to the stamens in length.

Fruit mid-season, ripening period very long; one inch by
seven-eighths inch in size, strongly oval, not compressed,
halves equal; cavity shallow, narrow, flaring; suture
a distinct dark red line; apex depressed; color bright
currant-red, with thin bloom; dots grayish, rather conspicuous,
clustered near the apex; stem very slender, seven-eighths inch
long, glabrous, adhering well to the fruit; skin thin, very
tough, astringent, separating readily; flesh deep yellow,
juicy, tender and melting, sweetish next to the skin, but tart
at the center; fair in quality; stone clinging, five-eighths
inch by three-eighths inch in size, long-oval, turgid, necked
at the base, blunt-pointed at the apex, with finely pitted
surfaces; ventral suture narrow, inconspicuous; dorsal suture
with a narrow, shallow groove.

NEW ULM

_Prunus americana_

=1.= _Minn. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 126. 1890. =2.= _Wis. Sta. Bul._
=63=:49 fig., 50. 1897. =3.= _Ia. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 111. 1899.
=4.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 37. 1899. =5.= _Ia. Sta. Bul._
=46=:282 fig. 1900. =6.= _Waugh Plum Cult._ 158. 1901. =7.=
_Ont. Fr. Gr. Assoc._ 143. 1901. =8.= _S. Dak. Sta. Bul._
=93=:26. 1905. =9.= _Ill. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 422. 1905. =10.=
_Ia. Sta. Bul._ =114=:141. 1910.

Snooks 10.

New Ulm is worthy of attention because of its large, handsome, well-formed fruits. The plums are further distinguished by a peculiar flavor, somewhat suggesting that of the mandrake, pleasant to some but disagreeable to others. The flesh is a little too juicy for pleasant eating but the fruits ship well, the tough, thick skin firmly holding its contents. The fruits, however, do not keep well, for, despite the thick skin, the spores of the brown-rot find entrance and thrive so that the variety rots badly. The trees are hardy and productive but ill-shaped and hard to manage in either the orchard or the nursery for which reason the culture of the variety is discouraged by nurserymen and it is now almost impossible to buy New Ulm trees. The illustration of this variety shows well the characters of the western type of _Prunus americana_ in leaf, fruit and stone.

New Ulm was raised from seed of a wild variety that grew in the neighborhood of the originator and introducer, C. W. H. Heideman, New Ulm, Minnesota. The fruit was exhibited at the Minnesota State Fair in 1890 where it attracted much attention, being the largest plum of fifty varieties exhibited. In 1899 the American Pomological Society placed the variety on its fruit catalog list. The Minnesota State Horticultural Society, in spite of the fact that this plum has gained a good reputation for its size and productiveness, removed it from its recommended fruit list in 1904 because of the difficulty of growing the trees in the nursery.

Tree of medium size, spreading and drooping, irregular, low and
dense-topped, undesirable in habit of growth, hardy, usually
productive, subject to attacks of shot-hole fungus; branches
very rough and shaggy, zigzag, thorny, dark ash-gray, with
large lenticels; branchlets thick, long, willowy, with long
internodes, green, with a faint yellow tinge, changing to
light and dark, dull reddish-brown, glabrous, with numerous,
conspicuous, large, raised lenticels; leaf-buds small, pointed,
strongly appressed.

Leaves drooping, folded upward, oval or ovate, two inches wide,
four and three-eighths inches long, thin; upper surface dark
green, changing to reddish-yellow late in the season, glabrous,
with a grooved midrib; lower surface silvery green, lightly
pubescent; apex taper-pointed, base abrupt, margin coarsely
and doubly serrate, eglandular; petiole slender, five-eighths
inch long, pubescent, tinged with red which deepens in color
at the base, glandless or with from one to three globose,
greenish-brown glands usually on the stalk.

Flowers intermediate in time and length of blooming season,
appearing after the leaves, showy on account of the numerous
pure white petals, one and one-sixteenth inches across, white;
borne in dense clusters on lateral spurs and buds, usually in
threes; pedicels seven-sixteenths inch long, thick, glabrous,
greenish; calyx-tube red, campanulate, glabrous; calyx-lobes
long, narrowly obtuse, lightly pubescent on the inner surface,
thickly pubescent along the glandular-serrate margin, erect;
petals oval, entire or incised, tapering below to narrow
claws of medium length and with reddish base; anthers yellow;
filaments seven-sixteenths inch in length; pistil glabrous,
much shorter than the stamens.

Fruit mid-season, intermediate in length of ripening period;
about one and three-eighths inches in diameter, roundish-ovate,
halves equal; cavity markedly shallow, very narrow; suture a
line; apex roundish or slightly pointed; color carmine over a
yellow ground, overspread with thin bloom; dots very numerous,
russet; stem five-eighths inch long, glabrous, adhering
somewhat to the fruit; skin thick and tough, astringent,
adhering strongly; flesh golden-yellow, very juicy and
fibrous, granular, tender and melting, sweet with a strong
aromatic flavor; good; stone adhering, seven-eighths inch by
nine-sixteenths inch in size, oval, slightly flattened, blunt
at the base, pointed at the apex, with smooth surfaces; ventral
suture distinctly winged; dorsal suture narrow, shallow,
grooved.

NICHOLAS

_Prunus domestica_

=1.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Rpt._ 61. 1887. =2.= _Kan. Sta. Bul._
=101=:121, 124 fig. 1901. =3.= Budd-Hansen _Am. Hort. Man._
327. 1903.

_Arab No. 2 Bielaya Nicholskaya_ 1. White Nicolas 1. White
Nicholas 2, 3.

Although a fairly good early dessert plum it is doubtful if Nicholas has any commercial value as it is inferior in most characters of fruit and tree to standard varieties; in particular it drops badly as it begins to ripen. “White,” as formerly and usually now put in the name, is a misnomer, as the fruit is red; how it came to be applied to this fruit does not appear. Nicholas was imported from Dr. Regel of St. Petersburg, Russia, by Professor J. L. Budd of the Iowa Experiment Station in the winter of 1881-82 and in 1888 was sent out for testing under the name Arab No. 2.

Tree of medium size, round-topped, productive; trunk
rough; branches smooth except for the raised lenticels and
longitudinal cracks in the bark; branchlets slender; leaves
falling early, folded upward, obovate or oval, one and
five-eighths inches wide, three and three-eighths inches long,
rugose; margin serrate, with few, small, dark glands; petiole
pubescent, tinged red, sometimes with several small glands;
blooming season intermediate in time, short; flowers appearing
after the leaves, one inch or more across, white, tinged with
yellow near the apex of the petals; borne on lateral buds and
spurs, in scattering clusters, singly or in pairs.

Fruit early, one and three-eighths inches by one inch in size,
long-oval, dark red, covered with thick bloom; stem adhering
poorly to the fruit; flesh light yellow, juicy, fibrous,
tender, sweet, mild; good; stone free, one inch by five-eighths
inch in size, flattened, oval, somewhat obliquely acute at the
base, with granular surfaces; ventral suture prominent, rather
narrow, blunt; dorsal suture with a narrow, shallow groove.

OCCIDENT

_Prunus triflora_

=1.= _Rural N. Y._ =57=:653. 1898. =2.= _Am. Gard._ =19=:826.
1898. =3.= Burbank _Cat._ 1899. =4.= _Vt. Sta. An. Rpt._
=12=:229. 1899. =5.= _Rural N. Y._ =60=:658 fig., 662. 1901.
=6.= Budd-Hansen _Am. Hort. Man._ 320. 1903. =7.= _Ga. Sta.
Bul._ =68=:11, 37. 1905. =8.= _Rural N. Y._ =65=:730. 1906.

_Burbank’s Sultan_ 6. Garnet 1. _Garnet_ 2. _Occident_ 8. Oval
Blood (unpublished). Sultan 2, 3, 5, 8. _Sultan_ 4, 7.

Occident differs little from Apple in horticultural characters and need not be discussed at length as the reader can readily turn to the color-plate and description of the last named variety. At best this sort can hardly be called more than a curiosity, though an interesting one, of use, if at all, only for cooking and as a long-keeping, rot-resistant plum. It will add novelty to any amateur’s collection because of the size, shape, color, flavor and red flesh of the fruits.

This variety was grown by Burbank and introduced by him in 1899 under the name Sultan. H. E. Van Deman, in the _Rural New Yorker_ (References, 1), says that Occident is a cross between Wickson and Satsuma and that the name Garnet which he suggested, owing to the color of its flesh and skin, had been accepted by Mr. Burbank. About two months later the Division of Pomology of the United States Department of Agriculture called attention to the fact that “Garnet” had been previously given to another variety and the name was changed to Sultan. Waugh in 1899 substituted “Occident” for Sultan as the latter is the name of a European plum; Waugh’s name has been accepted by all recent writers. Occident undoubtedly contains Satsuma blood but it has but few characters that suggest Wickson, and if a cross, which is likely, the other parent is undeterminable. The following description is compiled:

Tree vigorous, slow of growth, straggling, somewhat variable
in habit, late in coming into bearing, productive; leaves
numerous, large.

Fruit ripens with Burbank, keeps and ships unusually well,
resistant to rot; large, roundish; cavity of medium depth;
suture shallow, distinct; color dark red over a greenish
ground; dots many, yellowish; stem thick, short, adhering to
the fruit; skin somewhat thin, tough, slightly astringent;
flesh dark red, firm, sweet, rather acid, changing to subacid
as maturity advances, sprightly; good to very good; stone free
or semi-clinging, of medium size, roundish, turgid, winged,
rough.

OCHEEDA

_Prunus americana_

=1.= _Cornell Sta. Bul._ =38=:41. 1892. =2.= _Wis. Sta. An.
Rpt._ =11=:344. 1894. =3.= _Ia. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ =34=:112.
1899. =4.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 37. 1899. =5.= Waugh _Plum
Cult._ 159. 1901. =6.= _Can. Exp. Farm Bul._ =43=:31. 1903.
=7.= _Ill. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 420. 1905. =8.= _S. Dak. Sta. Bul._
=93=:28. 1905.

Ocheda 7.

This variety is generally regarded as one of the valuable native plums but in New York it is surpassed by a number of other plums of its species in size of fruit and color though the quality is very good. We must rank it in this State as second rate among Americanas. Ocheeda was found by P. L. Hardow in 1872 growing wild on the banks of Ocheeda Lake, Minnesota, and in 1892 was introduced by H. J. Ludlow of Worthington, Minnesota.

Tree large, vigorous, spreading, open-topped, unproductive;
branches shaggy, thorny, with large lenticels; branchlets
willowy, pubescent; leaves folded upward, oval, nearly
two inches wide, three and one quarter inches long; margin
coarsely and doubly serrate; petiole densely covered with
short hairs; blooming season intermediate in time and length;
flowers appearing after the leaves, seven-eighths inch across,
dull white; borne in scattering clusters almost entirely on
one-year-old wood, many lateral buds remaining undeveloped, the
bare limbs carrying tufts or clusters of blossoms, in threes or
fours; petals long-obovate, nearly three times as long as wide,
tapering to long claws, reddish at the base; stigma distinctly
reddish when the flowers first open.

Fruit mid-season, ripening period long; one inch by
seven-eighths inch in size, ovate or roundish-ovate, slightly
oblique, dull light to dark carmine over a yellow ground,
somewhat mottled, overspread with thick bloom; skin slightly
astringent; flesh dark golden-yellow, tender, melting, sweet,
aromatic, pleasant in flavor; fair to good; stone dark colored,
nearly free, three quarters inch by one-half inch in size,
roundish-oval, turgid with smooth surfaces; ventral suture
markedly winged.

OCTOBER

_Prunus triflora_

=1.= _Cornell Sta. Bul._ =106=:58. 1896. =2.= _Cal. State Bd.
Hort._ 52. 1897-98. =3.= _Am. Gard._ =20=:162 fig. 1899. =4.=
_Rural N. Y._ =59=:104, 690. 1900. =5.= _Am. Gard._ =21=:36,
660. 1900. =6.= _Nat. Nur._ =8=:109, 123. 1900. =7.= Waugh
_Plum Cult._ 139. 1901. =8.= _Rural N. Y._ =62=:756. 1903. =9.=
_Ohio Sta. Bul._ =162=:250 fig., 256, 257. 1905. =10.= _Mass.
Sta. An. Rp._ =17=:160. 1905.

October Purple 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10. _October Purple_ 7.

There are but few late plums in _Prunus triflora_ worth cultivating and one of the needs of horticulture is a late plum of superior quality in this species. At present October is the nearest approach to the plum desired but because of several faults it falls considerably short of filling the need. The fruits are large, attractive-looking, fairly suitable for dessert, very good for culinary purposes, hang well to the tree and keep and ship much better than the average Triflora variety; but still they are not far enough from mediocrity to make the variety especially desirable. The trees are well shaped, usually robust and healthy and the fruit is well borne on lateral spurs distributed over the old wood; but in New York, at least, the trees are very tardy in coming in bearing and cannot be depended upon to bear satisfactory crops regularly—a fatal fault in a Triflora plum. October might be sparingly planted in New York to the pleasure of the amateur and possibly to the profit of the commercial fruit-grower who has a good local market.

October is said to be a cross of Satsuma and a seedling Triflora plum; it was first fruited by Luther Burbank in 1892 and was introduced by Stephen Hoyt’s Sons, New Canaan, Connecticut, in 1897. The variety was named October Purple by Burbank but “Purple” has been dropped in accordance with the rules of the American Pomological Society.

Tree variable in size and vigor, upright-spreading,
open-topped, hardy for a Triflora, not uniform in
productiveness, healthy; branches rough, dark, dull ash-gray,
with numerous, small lenticels; branchlets slender, long, with
internodes of average length, greenish-red changing to dull
reddish-brown, often with a green tinge on the winter shoots,
glabrous; lenticels numerous, small; leaf-buds small, short,
obtuse, free.

Leaves falling early, sparse, folded upward, oval or obovate,
one and three-eighths inches wide, three and one-quarter inches
long, thin and leathery; upper surface slightly rugose, with
a broad groove on the lightly pubescent midrib; lower surface
very thinly pubescent; apex and base acute, margin glandular,
doubly serrate or crenate; petiole one-half inch long, hairy
along the upper side, green, with from one to three small,
globose, yellowish glands variable in position.

Blooming season early to medium, of average length; flowers
appearing before the leaves, thirteen-sixteenths inch across,
white; borne in dense clusters on lateral spurs and buds,
in pairs; pedicels one-half inch long, slender, glabrous,
greenish; calyx-tube green, campanulate, glabrous; calyx-lobes
obtuse, glandular-serrate, with numerous hairs along the edge,
pubescent, somewhat erect; petals broadly ovate, entire,
tapering to short, blunt claws; anthers yellow; filaments
three-sixteenths inch long; pistil glabrous, longer than the
stamens.

Fruit mid-season or later, ripening period long; one and
seven-eighths inches in diameter, roundish-cordate or slightly
oblate, halves unequal; cavity deep, wide, flaring, with
streaks radiating from the cavity; suture shallow or a line;
apex roundish to slightly pointed; color dark red over a
yellowish-green ground, with bloom of medium thickness; dots
numerous, large, russet, conspicuous, clustered about the
apex; stem somewhat slender, five-eighths inch long, glabrous,
adhering well to the fruit; skin thin, tough, sour, separating
readily; flesh light yellow frequently tinged with red, very
juicy, slightly fibrous, variable in firmness, sweet, mild,
lacking the strong characteristic Triflora flavor; good; stone
clinging, seven-eighths inch by five-eighths inch in size,
roundish-oval, blunt but with a small tip, somewhat rough,
ridged along the ventral, grooved on the dorsal suture.

OGON

_Prunus triflora_

=1.= _Ga. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 29. 1886. =2.= _Ibid._ 35, 58.
1888. =3.= _Ibid_. 53, 99. 1889. =4.= _Col., O., Hort. Soc.
Rpt._ 81. 1892. =5.= _Cornell Sta. Bul._ =62=:27, 28 fig. 1894.
=6.= _Ga. Hort. Soc. Rpt_. 95. 1895. =7.= _Cornell Sta. Bul._
=106=:59. 1896. =8.= _Ibid._ =131=:194. 1897. =9.= _Ibid_. =139=:45.
1897. =10.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 26. 1897. =11.= _Rural N.
Y._ =57=:562. 1898. =12.= _Colo. Sta. Bul._ =50=:43. 1898. =13.=
_Mich. Sta. Bul._ =169=:242, 249. 1899. =14.= _Cornell Sta. Bul._
=175=:138 fig. 1899. =15.= _Ohio Sta. Bul._ =113=:157. 1899. =16.=
Waugh _Plum Cult._ 139. 1901. =17.= _Ga. Sta. Bul._ =68=:6 32.
1905. =18.= _Miss. Sta. Bul._ =93=:15. 1905.

_Ogan_ 5. Ogden 1. _Ogon_ 5. _Shiro Smomo_ 6. _Yellow Nagate_ 2.

Ogon, the Japanese for gold, is the name for one of the comparatively few varieties of _Prunus triflora_ having a yellow color. This variety is further distinguished by being the only freestone sort of its species under cultivation in America. Ogon also has a flavor quite distinct, resembling somewhat that of the apricot, which is agreeable to some and not so to others; as the variety grows on the grounds of this Station it cannot be considered of high quality even for an early plum. The fruits crack rather badly on the tree and seem to be unusually susceptible to the attacks of curculio. In some of the references given, it is reported as making a poor tree and as having a weak constitution, and practically all agree that the variety is unproductive. These faults preclude its use in commercial plantations. The variety is distinct and interesting not only in its fruits but in its flowers which bear comparatively few stamens, many of which are abortive and show all degrees between perfect stamens and perfect petals.

Ogon was imported from Japan by H. H. Berger and Company, San Francisco, California. It was first mentioned as the Ogden in the Georgia Horticultural Society Report for 1886 and in the 1888 report of the same Society it was described as a new fruit. In 1897, the American Pomological Society added Ogon to its fruit catalog list.

Tree medium to large, vigorous, vasiform, dense-topped, hardy
at Geneva, unproductive; branches slender, roughened by
numerous spurs, sparingly thorny, dark gray, with numerous,
small lenticels; branchlets sometimes swollen at the tips, of
medium thickness and length, with internodes of average length,
dark brown often with some green, partly overspread with gray
scarf-skin, glossy, glabrous; lenticels medium in number and
size, raised; leaf-buds small, short, obtuse, plump, free.

Leaves few, oblanceolate, peach-like, variable in size,
averaging one and one-eighth inches wide, four inches long,
thin; upper surface light green, shining, glabrous, narrowly
grooved along the midrib; lower surface light yellowish-green,
glabrous except at the base of the veins; margin finely
crenate, with small, dark amber glands; petiole one-half inch
long, glandless or with from one to four globose, greenish
glands on the stalk.

Blooming season early and of medium length; flowers appearing
after the leaves, thirteen-sixteenths inch across, white;
borne in clusters on lateral spurs and buds, in threes or in
fours; pedicels five-sixteenths inch long, glabrous, greenish;
calyx-tube green, obconic, glabrous; calyx-lobes narrow, acute,
slightly glandular-serrate, faintly pubescent, erect; petals
broadly ovate, entire, tapering below to short claws; anthers
yellowish, with a little pink; filaments three-sixteenths inch
long; pistil glabrous, equal to the stamens in length.

Fruit early, season short; one and one-quarter inches by one
and three-quarters inches in size, roundish-oblate, oblique,
halves equal; cavity narrow, regular, flaring; suture variable
in depth, prominent; apex roundish or slightly flattened; color
lemon-yellow, with thin bloom; dots numerous, small, whitish,
inconspicuous; stem slender, one-half inch long, glabrous,
separating readily; skin thin, tough, astringent, inclined to
crack, slightly adhering; flesh pale or amber-yellow, not as
juicy as many of the Trifloras, firm and meaty, sweet, mild; of
fair quality; stone free, five-eighths inch by one-half inch in
size, roundish-oval, turgid, blunt but with a small short tip,
oblique, slightly pitted; ventral suture faintly ridged and
furrowed; dorsal suture not grooved.

ORANGE

_Prunus domestica_

=1.= _Lond. Hort. Soc. Cat._ 150. 1831. =2.= Downing _Fr. Trees
Am._ 282. 1845. =3.= Cole _Am. Fr. Book_ 214. 1849. =4.= Mas
_Le Verger_ =6=:25. 1866-73. =5.= Mathieu _Nom. Pom._ 442.
1889. =6.= Budd-Hansen _Am. Hort. Man._ 320. 1903.

_Orange_ 5. _Orange Gage_ 2, 5, 6. Pomeranzen Zwetsche 5. Wager
5, 6.

Orange belongs to the Reine Claude group. Taking its characters all in all it cannot compete with even the average varieties of the plums with which it should be compared. This variety was introduced by A. J. Downing who secured it from a Mr. Teller of Rhinebeck, Dutchess County, New York. Although Rhinebeck is probably its place of origin, it is not likely that Teller first grew the variety since it was quite generally disseminated in that vicinity at the time of its introduction. It is fast passing from cultivation.

Tree large, vigorous, upright, productive; branches roughened
by the raised lenticels; branchlets numerous, pubescent; leaves
oval or slightly obovate, two inches wide, four inches long,
thick; margin crenate or serrate, with small grands; petiole
tinged red, pubescent, with from two to three globose glands.

Fruit matures in mid-season; about one and one-half inches in
diameter roundish-truncate, light amber-yellow with a blush,
overspread with thin bloom; stem slender, adhering strongly to
the fruit; flesh pale yellow, firm, sweet; of good quality;
stone free or nearly so, one inch by five-eighths inch in
size, obovate, acute at the apex, blunt at the base, with
thickly pitted surfaces; ventral suture wide, usually blunt but
sometimes distinctly winged; dorsal suture with a deep groove.

OREN

_Prunus americana_

=1.= _Ia. Sta. Bul._ =46=:285 fig. 1900. =2.= Waugh _Plum
Cult._ 174. 1901. =3.= Budd-Hansen _Am. Hort. Man._ 299. 1903.

_Bartlett_ 1. _Bingaman_ 1.

Waugh places Oren with the “Miner-like” plums but as the variety grows here it is a typical western Americana—the characters of this species in leaf, fruit and stone being well shown in the accompanying plate. It is one of the best of the Americanas in both fruit and tree. The fruits are large and of good shape, perhaps a little dull in color and not quite as good in quality as a few other Americanas but still averaging very well in all fruit-characters. The flesh is very nearly free from the stone. The trees are typical of the species, shaggy of trunk and limb, straggling and unkempt in growth of top, but hardy, robust, healthy and reliable in bearing. It would seem as if this variety is rather too good to be allowed to pass out of cultivation until there are more Americanas that are better.

Oren was taken from the wild in Black Hawk County, Iowa, about 1878, by J. K. Oren. Mr. Oren grew trees of this plum on his farm and permitted all who came to take sprouts, cions and seed until the variety was very generally disseminated locally. Who introduced it to the trade and when is not known.

Tree small, spreading, low, dense-topped, hardy, often
unproductive; branches roughish, slightly zigzag, thorny, dark
ash-brown, with small lenticels; branchlets slender, long,
twiggy, with internodes of average length, green changing to
dark chestnut-brown, glabrous, with large, conspicuous, raised
lenticels; leaf-buds small, short, obtuse, free.

Leaves falling early, oval or obovate, two inches wide,
three and three-quarters inches long; upper surface dark
green changing to golden-yellow late in the season, smooth
and shining, with a narrow, grooved midrib; lower surface
silvery-green, lightly pubescent; apex taper-pointed, base
abrupt, margin coarsely serrate, the serrations ending in sharp
points, eglandular; petiole five-eighths inch long, thick,
tinged red, thinly pubescent, glandless or with one or two
prominent, greenish-brown glands.

Blooming season late and of medium length; flowers appearing
after the leaves, one and one-eighth inches across, white;
borne in clusters on lateral spurs and buds, in pairs or in
threes; pedicels five-eighths inch long, slender, glabrous,
green, tinged with red; calyx-tube red, campanulate, enlarged
at the base, glabrous; calyx-lobes narrow, somewhat obtuse,
pubescent on both surfaces and on the margin, reflexed; petals
ovate, somewhat crenate or fringed, tapering below to long,
narrow claws, sparingly hairy along the edge of the base;
anthers yellow; filaments three-eighths inch long; pistil
glabrous, shorter than the stamens.

Fruit intermediate in time and length of ripening season; one
and three-sixteenths inches in diameter, roundish, usually
truncate and slightly oblique, compressed, halves equal;
cavity very shallow, flaring; suture a line; apex roundish
or flattened; color dull light or dark red over a yellow
ground, mottled, with thick bloom; dots numerous, very small,
light russet, inconspicuous; stem slender, five-eighths inch
long, glabrous; skin tough, astringent, adhering; flesh dark
golden-yellow, juicy, fibrous, soft and melting, sweet; fair to
good; stone semi-free, seven-eighths inch by five-eighths inch
in size, irregularly roundish or ovate, flattened, blunt at the
base and apex, with smooth surfaces; ventral suture strongly
winged; dorsal suture acute, with a narrow and shallow groove.

ORLEANS

_Prunus domestica_

=1.= Quintinye _Com. Gard._ 68. 1699. =2.= Langley _Pomona_
91, Pl. XX fig. 4. 1729. =3.= Miller _Gard. Dict._ =3=:1754.
=4.= Duhamel _Trait. Arb._ Fr. =2=:78, Pl. VII. 1768. =5.= Knoop
_Fructologie_ =2=:52, 55, 56, 57. 1771. =6.= Forsyth _Treat.
Fr. Trees_ 19. 1803. =7.= Kraft _Pom. Aust._ =2=:32, Tab. 179
fig. 1. 1796. =8.= Brookshaw _Pom. Brit._ Pl. XI. 1817. =9.=
_Lond. Hort. Soc. Cat._ 145, 150. 1831. =10.= Prince _Pom.
Man._ =2=:62, 67, 85. 1832. =11.= Poiteau _Pom. Franc._ =1=:1846.
=12.= Floy-Lindley _Guide Orch. Gard._ 289, 290, 383. 1846.
=13.= Thomas _Am. Fruit Cult._ 339. 1849. =14.= _Elliott Fr.
Book_ 428. 1854. =15.= Thompson _Gard. Ass’t_ 519. 1859. =16.=
Downing _Fr Trees Am._ 935. 1869. =17.= Mas _Pom. Gen._ =2=:37,
fig. 19. 1873. =18.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 36. 1875. =19.=
Oberdieck _Deut. Obst. Sort._ 414. 1881. =20.= Mathieu _Nom.
Pom._ 435. 1882. =21.= Hogg _Fruit Man._ 715. 1884. =22.=
_Guide Prat._ 156, 360. 1895.

_Anglaise Noire_ 16, 17, 20, 21, 22. _Angloise Noire_ 5.
Brignole? 1. Brugnole? 1. _Brignole Violette_ 17, 20, 22.
Brignole Violette? 5. _Common Orleans_ 10, 16, 17, 20. _Damas
Rouge_ 10. Damas Rouge 5, 9. _Damas Violet?_ 5. _De Monsieur_
17, 22. Die Herrnpflaume 7. _English Orleans_ 10, 16, 17,
20. _French Orleans_ 8. _Hernnpflaume_ 17. Herrnpflaume 19.
_Herrnpflaume_ 22. _Herzog von Orleans_ 20, 22. _Italian
Damask_ of some 14. _Large Red Orleans_ 10. _Late Monsieur_
10, 16, 17, 20. Monsieur 4, 9, 10, 12, 17, 22. _Monsieur_ 10,
13, 14, 15, 16, 20, 21. _Monsieur Ordinaire_ 9, 10, 14, 15,
16, 17, 20, 21, 22. _Old Orleans_ 10, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 20,
22. _Orleans_ 17, 20, 22. _Orleans Red Damask_ 20. _Prune de
Monsieur_ 10, 16, 20. Prune de Monsieur 11. _Prune d’Orleans_
16, 17, 20, 21. _Prunelle?_ 5. _Prune Monsieur_ 7. Red Damask
10. _Red Damask_ 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 20, 21, 22.
_Red Orleans_ 10, 16, 17, 20. Red Orleans Plum 6.

In Europe Orleans is one of the most renowned of the plums cultivated. A proof of its popularity is the great number of names, as shown in the synonymy given above, under which it passes in England and on the continent. This variety, however, is almost unknown in America though described by all of the older American pomologists and probably introduced time and again during the last hundred years in our orchards. The French fruit books say that the variety thrives better in southern than northern France and nearly all of the European writers state that it does best in high, dry, light, warm soils. It is likely that our climate, and the soils in which plums are generally grown in America, are not suited to this sort. Unfortunately this Station has no trees of this variety and the brief description given is a compilation.

The Orleans has been cultivated for more than two hundred years. Langley said of it in 1729 “The Orleans Plumb tho a common, is yet a very valuable Plumb, as well for its fine firm juicy Pulp when well ripened, as its being a constant and plentiful bearer.” The Red Damask and the Brugnole mentioned by Quintinye in 1699 are probably the Orleans; but the Prune de Monsieur of Knoop and the Monsieur of Tournefort, which are yellow, are distinct. The variety is evidently of French origin. Mas in his _Pomologie Generale_, 1873, states that it first bore the name Brignole Violette, but later was given the name it now bears in honor of Monsieur, Duke of Orleans, brother of Louis XIV. Damas Rouge is an old synonym, though Duhamel described it as a distinct variety. Herrnpflaume is the common name of the Orleans in Germany and Austria, while in France, it is often called the Monsieur. It has never been common in America, yet it was entered on the American Pomological Society catalog list in 1875.

Tree large, vigorous, hardy, productive, bearing annually;
branches grayish, pubescent; leaves large, ovate, with crenate
margins; flowers large, blooming early; petals roundish,
imbricated.

Fruit early mid-season; medium in size, roundish-truncate,
sides unequal; cavity usually shallow, wide; suture distinct;
apex flattened; color dark or purplish-red, overspread with
thin bloom, with a sprinkling of pale reddish dots; stem thick,
short; skin tender; flesh yellowish, juicy, usually melting
when properly matured, sweet near the skin but sprightly toward
the center, pleasant-flavored; good; stone free, small, oval,
flattened, with roughish surfaces.

OULLINS

_Prunus domestica_

=1.= Hogg _Fruit Man._ 374. 1866. =2.= Downing _Fr. Trees Am._
935. 1869. =3.= _Pom. France_ =7=: No. 15. 1871. =4.= _Mas Le
Verger_ =6=:43. 1866-73. =5.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 38. 1877. =6.=
_Cat. Cong. Pom. France_ 366. 1887. =7.= Mathieu _Nom. Pom._
446. 1889. =8.= Waugh _Plum Cult._ 117. 1901. =9.= Thompson
_Gard. Ass’t_ =4=:158. 1901.

_Massot_ 6, 7. _Monstrueuse d’Oullins_ 2, 7. _Ouillin’s Gage_
2, 7. Oullins Golden 1. Oullin’s Golden 2, 9. _Oullin’s Golden_
3, 4, 6, 7. _Oullin’s Golden Gage_ 2, 7. Oullins Golden Gage
5. _Oullin’s Green Gage_ 8. _Prune-Massot_ 3. _Reine-Claude
d’Oullins_ 1, 2, 7, 9. Reine-Claude D’Oullins 3, 4, 6.
_Reine-Claude Prêcoce_ 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 9. Reine-Claude von
Oullins 7. _Roi-Claude_ 3, 7.

Oullins came to America with the best of recommendations from European growers but it has fallen so far short of its reputation in Europe that it was dropped from the fruit list of the American Pomological Society and is gradually disappearing from cultivation. The fault is in the fruit which is but indifferent in quality for a plum of the Reine Claude group. In Europe the variety is rated as one of the best dessert sorts; in America it is hardly second-rate in quality. This difference may be due to differences in climate and soil; more probably, it is due to the greater number of better Reine Claude varieties grown in America with which it must compete. Hand, Jefferson, Washington, McLaughlin, Yellow Gage, Spaulding and Imperial Gage, the cream of the Reine Claude plums, are all Americans similar to Oullins but much better in quality. Oullins is hardly surpassed by any of its group in tree-characters and might well be used for breeding purposes as there are so few sorts of its kind having satisfactory trees.

This variety, probably a Reine Claude seedling, was found at Coligny, France, on the estate of M. Filliaud; it was propagated by M. Corsaint, gardener to the Baron de Toisy, near Cuiseaux (Department of Saone-et-Loire) and was introduced at Oullins (Department of Rhone) by M. Massot, nurseryman. The name is seldom spelled correctly in American fruit books, being either written with an apostrophe and s or with both left off, these spellings coming from the supposition that the name comes from that of a man, a mistake as the history shows. Oullins was placed on the American Pomological Society catalog fruit list in 1875 but was dropped when the catalog was revised in 1897.

Tree large, vigorous, spreading, open-topped, hardy,
productive; branches ash-gray, somewhat rough, with numerous,
large, raised lenticels; branchlets stout, the bark rough,
medium to above in thickness, short, with short internodes,
greenish-red changing to brownish-red, dull, lightly pubescent,
overspread with faint bloom, with numerous, small lenticels;
leaf-buds large, long, pointed, free; leaf-scars swollen.

Leaves oval or obovate, two inches wide, four and one-quarter
inches long, thick; upper surface dark green, covered with fine
hairs, the midrib grooved; lower surface pale green, pubescent;
apex acute or abruptly pointed, base acute, margin serrate
or crenate, with small black glands; petiole three-quarters
inch long, thick, pubescent, tinged red, with from two to four
globose, greenish-brown glands variable in size, usually on the
stalk.

Blooming season medium to late, of average length; flowers
appearing after the leaves, one and one-quarter inches across,
white, with a faint yellowish tinge; arranged on lateral spurs,
singly or in pairs; pedicels eleven-sixteenths inch long,
pubescent, greenish; calyx-tube green, campanulate, pubescent;
calyx-lobes broad, obtuse, pubescent on both surfaces,
glandular-serrate, reflexed; petals broadly obovate, crenate,
tapering to short, broad claws; anthers yellowish; filaments
three-eighths inch long; pistil glabrous, equal to the stamens
in length.

Fruit early, season short; medium to below in size, roundish,
halves equal; cavity shallow, below medium in width, abrupt;
suture an indistinct line; apex flattened or depressed; color
greenish-yellow changing to dull light yellow, overspread with
thin bloom; dots numerous, small, whitish, inconspicuous,
clustered about the apex; stem of medium thickness and length,
adhering well to the fruit; skin thin, slightly astringent,
separating readily; flesh greenish-yellow or pale yellow,
somewhat dry, firm, sweet, not high in flavor; good; stone
half-free or free, three-quarters inch by five-eighths inch in
size, broadly oval, flattened, roughened and pitted, blunt at
the base and apex; ventral suture rather narrow, furrowed, with
a distinct but not prominent wing; dorsal suture broadly and
deeply grooved.

PACIFIC

_Prunus domestica_

=1.= _U. S. D. A. Rpt._ 292. 1893. =2.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Rpt._
150. 1895. =3.= _Oregon Sta. Bul._ =45=:31. 1897. =4.= _Oregon
Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 474. 1898. =5.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 40. 1899.
=6.= Waugh _Plum Cult._ 117. 1901. =7.= _Oregon Agriculturist_
=17=: No. 24, 370. 1908.

_Pacific_ 3. Pacific Prune 2, 3. Willamette 4, 5, 7. Willamette
Prune 3.

No part of America is so well adapted to plum culture as the Pacific Coast and especially the inter-mountain valleys in Oregon. From the last-named State, though fruit-growing is a very recent development, a number of meritorious plums have been added to pomology. One of the best of these, as they grow in New York, is the Pacific, the fruits of which are well shown in the color-plate. Few purple plums are more beautiful than this in color and shape, few equal it in size and very few of its color excel it in quality. The trees are unusually robust, perfectly hardy and productive. In Oregon the Pacific has not proved a good prune-making plum but is reported as standing eastern shipment very well, which, if true, indicates that this plum would succeed as a market fruit in New York. Pacific is well worth trying in New York as a commercial variety.

This plum is hopelessly confused with the Willamette. The following is an abridged account of the two fruits as written us by H. M. Williamson, Secretary of the Oregon State Board of Horticulture, and one of the leading authorities on fruit-growing on the Pacific Coast.

“About 1875 Jesse Bullock of Oswego, Oregon, sent to Germany
for pits of the Italian or Fellenberg prune, and planted the
pits received in a nursery row. When the trees from these
began to bear, Mr. C. E. Hoskins went to Mr. Bullock’s place,
examined the fruit and selected trees which seemed promising,
giving to each tree a number. From at least six of these trees
he took scions, propagated them, and named them Bullock No. 1,
Bullock No. 2, etc. He finally decided that only two of these,
Bullock No. 1 and Bullock No. 6, were of sufficient value to
justify their further propagation. Bullock No. 1 was named
Champion and Bullock No. 6, Willamette. Mr. Hoskins told me
these names were given by the State Horticultural Society, but
I find no record of this action. He propagated and sold a good
many trees of both varieties, but more of the Willamette than
of the Champion.

“Mr. Hoskins was strongly of the opinion that the Pacific is
identical with the Willamette. I am as strongly of the opinion
that they are distinct varieties. I base my opinion, first,
upon the history of the origin of the Pacific given me by Henry
Freeboro, Portland, Oregon, who introduced it; and, second,
upon what appear to me to be marked differences in the two
prunes. A number of years ago I went to Mr. Freeboro’s place
when prunes were ripe and obtained from him a supply of Pacific
prunes grown on trees propagated by him from scions taken from
the original Pacific tree. I took these prunes to Springbrook
and compared them with the Willamette grown on Mr. Hoskins’
place. I was thoroughly convinced that the two were decidedly
different in character, but Mr. Hoskins did not think so. I
noticed first a marked difference in the habits of growth of
the trees. The Pacific trees were of unusually vigorous growth
and had a decided upright tendency. The Willamette trees
were very similar to the Italian in vigor and had the rather
spreading habit of growth of the Italian. The Pacific prunes
are larger in size than the Willamette and vary much more in
size. One of the most decided indications of difference is
the far greater tendency to brown-rot of the fruit of the
Pacific than is the case with the fruit of the Willamette.
This has been observed when scions of the Willamette and of
the Pacific have been grafted on the same tree for the purpose
of comparison. I have never seen a well dried specimen of the
Pacific, but this may have been the fault of the men who dried
the specimens I have seen. The Willamette dries easily for a
prune of its size and gives a larger percentage of dried to
fresh fruit than the Italian, according to Mr. Hoskins.

“I believe the Willamette is well worthy of more attention in
the Willamette Valley, whereas the Pacific, on account of its
extreme susceptibility to the brown-rot, does not appear to be
a safe variety here, although when perfect it is a magnificent
prune for eating fresh, and one of the very largest known. I am
told that in eastern Oregon where climatic conditions keep out
the brown-rot, the Pacific is proving one of the best varieties
for shipping fresh. At the present time the two varieties are
much confused. When the Pacific prune was introduced, Mr.
Hoskins and other recognized authorities, pronounced it the
Willamette, and nurserymen therefore obtained scions from
Willamette trees and sold the propagated trees as Pacifies, and
in a more limited way the reverse was done. The greater part of
the trees supposed to be Pacifics are in fact Willamettes.”

At this Station we have the two plums under discussion, the Pacific having been obtained from Fred E. Young, nurseryman, Rochester, New York, and the Willamette, under the name Pacific, from the Oregon Wholesale Nursery Company, Salem, Oregon. The differences between the two plums in New York are essentially those given by Mr. Williamson as distinguishing characters in Oregon.

Tree of medium size, upright-spreading, open-topped, hardy,
productive; branches ash-gray, smooth, with small, raised
lenticels; branchlets above medium in thickness, short, with
short internodes, greenish-red changing to brownish-red,
covered with heavy bloom and sparingly pubescent, with
indistinct small lenticels; leaf-buds plump, of medium size and
length, obtuse, free.

Leaves obovate, two inches wide, four inches long, the oldest
thick and leathery; upper surface dark green, covered with fine
hairs, with a widely and deeply grooved midrib; lower surface
pale green, pubescent; apex acute or obtuse, base acute, margin
crenate, with small dark glands; petiole seven-eighths inch
long, thick, pubescent, tinged red, with from two to four
large, globose, yellowish-green glands usually on the stalk.

Blooming season of medium length; flowers appearing after
the leaves, one and three-sixteenths inches across, white;
borne on lateral spurs and buds, singly or in pairs; pedicels
five-sixteenths inch long, thick, pubescent; calyx-tube
green, campanulate, pubescent only at the base; calyx-lobes
broad, obtuse, lightly pubescent on both surfaces but heavily
pubescent along the serrate margin, reflexed; petals oval,
dentate, tapering to short, broad claws; stamens inclined to
develop into rudimentary petals; anthers yellow; filaments
seven-sixteenths inch long; pistil glabrous, equal to the
stamens in length.

Fruit intermediate in time and length of ripening season;
two inches by one and five-eighths inches in size, ovate,
halves equal; cavity shallow, narrow, flaring; suture shallow,
indistinct; apex bluntly pointed; color bluish, overspread with
thick bloom; dots small, brown, conspicuous, clustered about
the apex; stem thick, one-half inch long, pubescent, adhering
well to the fruit; skin thin, tough, separating readily;
flesh pale golden-yellow, juicy, firm, sweet, spicy; good;
stone free, one inch by five-eighths inch in size, flattened,
irregularly broad-oval, obliquely contracted at the base, blunt
at the apex, with rough and pitted surfaces; ventral suture
narrow, with numerous deep furrows, usually blunt; dorsal
suture widely and deeply grooved.

PALATINE

_Prunus domestica_

This plum, scarcely known outside of two counties in New York, is of distinctly good quality and if all accounts are true is fairly immune to black-knot. In size and appearance the fruits are superior to many other Reine Claude plums, with which it must be compared, so much so that the variety is probably worth growing outside the region where the following interesting history shows it has been cultivated for nearly a century and a half.

Palatine, according to Mr. Washington Garlock of New York, originated in 1760 when a family of Palatines by the name of Best came from Germany to the United States and settled in Livingston Manor (East Camps) now Columbia County, New York. They brought with them plum pits which they planted and from them secured one tree. In 1762 they moved to Schoharie County, New York, taking with them the seedling tree. In their new home they propagated the variety, which they named Palatine, and disseminated it so industriously that it became thoroughly established throughout Montgomery and Schoharie counties and attained great popularity because of its apparent freedom from black-knot. That this popularity is merited is attested by the fact that after one hundred and fifty years it is still extensively grown in that vicinity.

Tree large, vigorous, spreading, dense-topped, productive;
branches thick; branchlets lightly pubescent; leaves flattened,
slightly drooping, obovate, one and five-eighths inches wide,
three and one-quarter inches long, thick, rugose; margin
coarsely crenate, eglandular or with few, small glands; petiole
pubescent, glandless or with one or two small glands; blooming
season intermediate in time, short; flowers appearing after
the leaves, more than one inch across, white with yellow tinge
at the apex of the petals; borne singly; calyx-lobes thickly
pubescent on both surfaces, strongly reflexed.

Fruit intermediate in time and length of ripening season; about
one and one-half inches in diameter, roundish or roundish-oval,
dull yellowish-green becoming greenish-yellow at full maturity,
mottled and indistinctly blushed on the sunny side, overspread
with thin bloom; skin thin, slightly sour; flesh light
golden-yellow, juicy, fibrous, firm, sweet, pleasant in flavor;
good to very good; stone dark colored, free or nearly so,
seven-eighths inch by one-half inch in size, oval, with thickly
pitted surfaces; ventral suture blunt or with a short, narrow
wing; dorsal suture wide, shallow.

PAUL EARLY

_Prunus domestica_

=1.= _N. Y. Exp. Sta. Rpt._ =12=:611. 1893. =2.= _W. N. Y.
Hort. Soc. Rpt._ =42=:83. 1897.

_Paul’s Earliest_ 1, 2.

This variety seems to be under test only at this Station where it has fruited for a number of years. It is so similar to Early Rivers, a variety of small account in America, as to be an almost worthless addition to the list of plums. Paul Early originated with and was sent out by J. M. Paul, North Adams, Massachusetts, about 1888.

Tree very large, vigorous, round-topped, dense, very
productive; branches covered with numerous fruit-spurs;
branchlets twiggy, thickly pubescent; leaf-buds strongly
appressed; leaves flattened, obovate or oval, two and
three-eighths inches wide, four inches long; margin crenate,
with few, small, dark glands; petiole reddish, pubescent,
glandless or with one or two large glands; blooming season
intermediate in time, short; flowers appearing before the
leaves, one inch across; borne in scattering clusters, usually
in pairs; pedicels very thick and pubescent; anthers tinged red.

Fruit very early, season short; one and three-eighths inches
by one and one-quarter inches in size, roundish-oval, dark
purplish-black, overspread with thick bloom; skin tender,
slightly sour; flesh greenish-yellow becoming yellowish,
tender, sweet near the surface but sour next the pit, mild;
good; stone clinging, seven-eighths inch by five-eighths inch
in size, irregular-oval, with roughened and thickly pitted
surfaces; ventral suture prominent, seldom winged; dorsal
suture with a narrow, shallow groove.

PEACH

_Prunus domestica_

=1.= _N. E. Farmer Dict._ 266. 1797. =2.= Prince _Treat.
Hort._ 27. 1828. =3.= Prince _Pom. Man_. =2=:106. 1832. =4.=
Downing _Fr. Trees Am._ 307. 1845. =5.= _Horticulturist_ =1=:113,
114 fig. 34, 147. 1846. =6.= Poiteau _Pom. Franc._ =1=:1846.
=7.= Thomas _Am. Fruit Cult._ 335, 336 fig. 262. 1849. =8.=
_Horticulturist_ =6=:132. 1851. =9.= Elliott _Fr. Book_ 422.
1854. =10.= Downing _Fr. Trees Am._ 367. 1857. =11.= Hooper
_W. Fr. Book_ 250. 1857. =12.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 86. 1862.
=13.= Hogg _Fruit Man._ 375. 1866. =14.= Mas _Le Verger_
=6=:73. Pl. XXXVII. 1866-73. =15.= _Pom. France_ =7=: No.
7. 1871. =16.= _Gard. Chron._ N. S. =17=:144. 1882. =17.=
_Mich. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 466. 1883. =18.= Wickson _Cal. Fruits_
353. 1891. =19.= _Wash. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 136. 1893. 20.
_Guide Prat._ 156, 361. 1895. =21.= _Cat. Cong. Pom. France_
462 fig. 1906.

_Apricot Plum_ 5 incor. _Caledonian_ 15, 20. _Calvels
Pfirschenpflaume_ 14, 20. _D’Abricot (of Streets of Paris)_
20. _Duane’s Purple_ 5 incor, 6, 11. _Howells Large_ 15, 20,
21. _Jenkin’s Imperial_ 15, 20. _Large Peach_ 16. Large Peach
Plum 3. _Nectarine_ 15, 20. _Nectarine Rouge_ 21. _Peach_ 15,
20. _Peach Plum_ 3, 5, 14, 20. Peach Plum 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12,
17. Pêche 14, 15, 20, 21. _Pêche de Calvel_ 20. _Prune Pêche_
3, 7, 9, 10, 14, 18. Prune Pêche 4, 5, 6, 20. _Prune-Pêche De
Calvel_ 14. _Reine-Claude De Berger_ 13, 16. _Rothe Nektarine_
15, ?20.

Peach, the largest early plum, is not high in quality but is justly esteemed where it can be grown for its earliness, large size and handsome appearance. Unfortunately this variety is capricious beyond most other plums as to climate and soils and refuses to thrive unless its needs are very well supplied in the matter of environment. In America it seems to find congenial soil and climate only on the Pacific Coast, and even then refuses to bear well except on strong, rich soils. In New York, even when grown upon soils similar to those upon which it does well elsewhere, the fruits are few and lacking in quality, though the trees are large, vigorous and about all that could be desired in a good plum tree. It may be possible to grow Peach in favorable locations in the East; in which case, a plum of its appearance and quality, coming as early in the season as it ripens, would make a most desirable addition to the list of plums. From its behavior elsewhere the situation that would suit it best in New York is a sunny exposure with a warm, rich, clay loam.

The origin of the Peach is unknown. Poiteau was unable to find any reference to it in the Eighteenth Century European literature and thought, therefore, that it must have been unknown to this period. Samuel Deane mentions a Peach plum in New England in 1797. It is doubtful, however, whether it is the Peach of this discussion, the name having been applied indiscriminately to several varieties, the Goliath, Nectarine and Apricot in particular. Prince, in 1832, described a Large Peach Plum which he said “had been introduced a few years since” but as his variety is oval and a clingstone, it is not the same as the Peach of Poiteau, the one discussed here, this plum being nearly round and a freestone. Judge James C. Duane of Schenectady, New York, seems to have first imported the Peach plum, with several others, from France, in 1820. The name of this variety was lost during the shipment and as the invoice called for an Apricot Plum, the names Apricot and Duane’s Plum became locally applied to what afterwards turned out to be the Peach. C. H. Tomlinson of Schenectady and A. J. Downing in 1846 made a careful study of these imported plums and showed conclusively that this Apricot or Duane’s Plum was the Peach of the French. In 1862, the American Pomological Society added Peach to the fruit catalog list and recommended it for the eastern and western sections of New York.

Tree large, very vigorous, spreading, round or flat-topped,
hardy, medium in productiveness; branches stocky, smooth, dark
ash-brown, with lenticels of medium number and size; branchlets
thick, with internodes one inch long, light brown, covered with
short, heavy pubescence; leaf-buds large, of medium length,
conical.

Leaves large, oval, of average thickness; upper surface dark
green; lower surface pale green, pubescent; apex obtuse, margin
doubly crenate, with small glands; petiole three-quarters inch
long, thick, pubescent, with a trace of red, usually with two,
small, globose, greenish glands at the base of the leaf.

Fruit early; thick-set, without a neck, one and seven-eighths
inches in diameter, roundish, slightly angular, halves equal;
cavity deep, wide, compressed; suture shallow, distinct; apex
flattened or depressed; color dark purplish-red, overspread
with thin bloom; dots numerous, large, conspicuous; stem
eleven-sixteenths inch long, glabrous, adhering well to the
fruit; skin tough, adhering; flesh golden-yellow, medium
juicy, firm, subacid, mild; good; stone free, one inch by
three-quarters inch in size, roundish-oval, flattened, with
rough and pitted surfaces, blunt at the base and apex; ventral
suture wide, prominent, often distinctly winged; dorsal suture
with a wide, deep groove.

PEARL

_Prunus domestica_