Chapter III: Leading Varieties of Plums (10)

=1.= Burbank _Cat._ 5. 1898. =2.= _Am. Gard._ =21=:36. 1900.
=3.= _Waugh Plum Cult._ 118. 1901.

One can grow seedlings of some plums with considerable certainty of getting respectable offspring—plums worth having in an orchard—but the chances of growing a variety of superior qualities are small indeed. It is a piece of good luck, a matter almost wholly of luck, when, as in this case, but one parent is known, to secure as fine a fruit as the Pearl plum. The variety now under notice is one to be pleased with if it came as a chance out of thousands; its rich, golden color, large size, fine form, melting flesh and sweet, luscious flavor, place it among the best dessert plums. In the mind of the writer and of those who have assisted in describing the varieties for _The Plums of New York_, it is unsurpassed in quality by any other plum. The tree-characters, however, do not correspond in desirability with those of the fruits. The trees, while of medium size and seemingly as vigorous and healthy as any, are unproductive. In none of the several years they have been fruiting at this Station have they borne a large crop. If elsewhere this defect does not show, the variety becomes at once one of great value. The fruits of Pearl are said to cure into delicious prunes—to be readily believed by one who has eaten the fresh fruits. This variety ought to be very generally tried by commercial plum-growers and is recommended to all who grow fruit for pleasure.

Pearl is a recent addition to the list of plums and though its history is well known its parentage is in doubt. In 1898, Luther Burbank introduced the variety as a new prune grown from the seed of the well-known Agen. The male parent is not known but from the fruit and tree, one at once surmises that it was some variety of the Reine Claude group, its characters being so like those of the plum named that no one could suspect that it came from the seed of a plum so far removed from the Reine Claude as the Agen.

Tree of medium size, vigorous, vasiform, dense-topped, hardy,
unproductive; branches ash-gray, with numerous, small,
raised lenticels; branchlets twiggy, thick, long, with long
internodes, greenish-red changing to brownish-red, very
pubescent early in the season becoming less so at maturity,
with numerous, small, raised lenticels; leaf-buds large, above
medium in length, conical, appressed; leaf-scars prominent.

Leaves broadly oval, one and seven-eighths inches wide, three
and one-half inches long, thick, leathery; upper surface dark
green, rugose, covered with fine hairs, with a grooved midrib;
lower surface pale green, pubescent; apex abruptly pointed,
base abrupt, margin serrate or crenate, with small, black
glands; petiole seven-eighths inch long, thick, pubescent,
tinged red, glandless or with from one to three small, globose,
brownish glands on the stalk.

Blooming season intermediate in time and length; flowers
appearing after the leaves, showy on account of their size,
averaging one and five-eighths inches across, white, with a
tinge of yellow at the apex of the petals; borne on lateral
spurs and buds, usually singly; pedicels one-half inch long,
thick, strongly pubescent, greenish; calyx-tube green,
campanulate, pubescent; calyx-lobes broad, obtuse, pubescent
on both surfaces, glandular-serrate and with marginal hairs,
strongly reflexed; petals obovate or oblong, entire, tapering
to short, broad claws; anthers yellow; filaments nearly
one-half inch long; pistil glabrous, shorter than the stamens.

Fruit intermediate in time and length of ripening season;
one and three-quarters inches by one and one-half inches
in size, roundish-oval, compressed, halves unequal; cavity
shallow, narrow, abrupt; suture a line; apex depressed; color
golden-yellow, obscurely striped and splashed with dull green,
mottled, overspread with thin bloom; dots numerous, small,
whitish, inconspicuous, clustered about the apex; stem thick,
three-quarters inch long, thickly pubescent, adhering well to
the fruit; skin tough, separating readily; flesh deep yellow,
juicy, a little coarse and fibrous, firm but tender, very
sweet, with a pleasant, mild flavor, aromatic; very good to
best; stone clinging, one inch by five-eighths inch in size,
long-oval, slightly necked at the base, bluntly acute at the
apex, with rough surfaces; ventral suture broad, blunt; dorsal
suture with a wide, shallow groove.

PETERS

_Prunus domestica_

=1.= Prince _Pom. Man._ 27. 1828. =2.= _Lond. Hort. Soc. Cat._
151. 1831. =3.= _Cultivator_ =8=:52 fig. 1860. =4.= Thomas Am.
_Fruit Cult._ 375 fig. 392. 1867. =5.= Downing _Fr. Trees Am._
937. 1869. =6.= _Mich. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 289. 1889. =7.= _Mich.
Sta. Bul._ =103=:35. 1894. =8.= _Cornell Sta. Bul._ =131=:190 fig.
45, 194. 1897. =9.= Waugh _Plum Cult._ 118 fig. 1901. =10.=
Budd-Hansen _Am. Hort. Man._ 321, 322 fig. 1903.

Peter’s Large Yellow 1, 2. _Peter’s Yellow Gage_ 10. Peters’
Yellow Gage 3, 4, 6, 7. Peter’s Yellow Gage 5, 8. _Peters
Yellow Gage_ 9.

Peters is an excellent old plum probably ranking in quality with the best varieties in the group to which it belongs—a sufficient recommendation to make it desirable in any home collection of fruit. This variety, however, is not equal in appearance to any one of several other sorts in its group, lacking size and color. The trees are large, hardy, robust and healthy, surpassing in these respects most of the other Reine Claude sorts. The tree-characters have made this variety a prime favorite in western New York for two generations, one pomologist after another recommending it for this section. The fruits are not sufficiently attractive to sell well, however, and the variety is now going out of cultivation except for the amateur. While a very good plum it does not appear to be worth growing in competition with Hand, Washington, McLaughlin, Jefferson, Spaulding and the latest comer among these high-quality plums, Pearl.

Of the origin of this old plum we have no certain information. William Prince, the first pomologist to mention it, gave a brief description of the variety in his “A Short Treatise on Horticulture” published in 1828 but says nothing in regard to its history. In 1831 the London Horticultural Society listed it in its fruit catalog but otherwise the variety is not mentioned in the European pomologies.

Tree very large, vigorous, round and dense-topped, hardy,
productive; branches thick, ash-gray, smooth except for the
numerous, rather large, raised lenticels; branchlets thick,
short, with short internodes, greenish-red changing to dark
brownish-drab, dull, pubescent throughout the season, with
numerous, inconspicuous, small lenticels; leaf-buds medium in
size and length, pointed, free.

Leaves flattened, obovate or oval, two inches wide, four
inches long; upper surface covered with numerous hairs, with
a shallow groove on the midrib; lower surface silvery-green,
heavily pubescent; apex abruptly pointed or acute, base rather
abrupt, margin slightly crenate, eglandular or with few, small,
dark glands; petiole three-eighths inch long, thick, tinged
red, pubescent, glandless or with one or two small, globose or
reniform, greenish-brown glands usually on the stalk.

Blooming season intermediate in time and length; flowers
appearing with the leaves, one and one-eighth inches wide,
white, creamy at the apex; borne on lateral spurs or buds,
singly or in pairs; pedicels about one inch long, below
medium in thickness, pubescent, greenish; calyx-tube green,
obconic, pubescent; calyx-lobes broad, obtuse, pubescent on
both surfaces, glandular-serrate and with fine marginal hairs,
reflexed; petals roundish-oval or obovate, dentate to slightly
crenate; anthers yellow, with a slight trace of red; filaments
three-eighths inch long; pistil glabrous, longer than the
stamens.

Fruit late, season rather short; about one and one-half inches
in diameter, roundish, compressed, halves equal; cavity very
shallow, narrow, abrupt; suture shallow; apex flattened or
depressed; color dull yellowish-green, often blushed or mottled
on the sunny side, covered with thick bloom; dots numerous,
large, whitish, conspicuous; stem one and one-eighth inches
long, pubescent, adhering well to the fruit; skin thin, tough,
separating readily; flesh golden-yellow, juicy, somewhat
fibrous, firm but tender, sweet next the skin but sour near the
center, with pleasant flavor; very good; stone clinging, one
inch by three-quarters inch in size, oval, turgid, somewhat
acute at the base and apex, with pitted surfaces; ventral
suture wide, indistinctly furrowed, often with a short wing;
dorsal suture widely and deeply grooved.

POND

_Prunus domestica_

=1.= _Lond. Hort. Soc. Cat._ 151. 1831. =2.= _Mag. Hort._
=9=:165. 1843. =3.= _Horticulturist_ =6=:560 fig. 1851. =4.=
_Gard. Chron._ =13=:228. 1853. =5.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 214.
1856. =6.= _Ann. Pom. Belge_ 9, fig. 1857. =7.= _Cultivator_
=8=:52 fig. 1860. =8.= Thomas _Am. Fruit Cult._ 343. 1867.
=9.= Downing _Fr. Trees Am._ 937 fig. 1869. =10.= _Pom.
France_ =7=: No. 2. 1871. =11.= Mas _Le Verger_ =6=:5, fig. 3.
1886-73. =12.= _Mich. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 466. 1883. =13.= Hogg
_Fruit Man._ 717. 1884. =14.= _Cal. State Bd. Hort. Rpt._ 292.
1885-86. =15.= Mathieu _Nom. Pom._ 442. 1889. =16.= _Mich.
Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 465. 1893. =17.= _Guide Prat._ 155, 366. 1895.
=18.= _Oregon Sta. Bul._ =45=:29 fig. 1897. =19.= _Cornell
Sta. Bul._ =131=:190. 1897. =20.= _W. N. Y. Hort. Soc. Rpt._
92. 1899. =21.= _Ohio Sta. Bul._ =113=:160, Pl. XVI fig. 1899.
=22.= _Va. Sta. Bul._ =134=:44. 1902. =23.= Budd-Hansen _Am.
Hort. Man._ 322. 1903.

_Chili_ (Kerr unpublished). _Diamant_ 15 incor.
_Diamantpflaume_ 17 incor. _Dorr’s Favorite_ 12. English Pond’s
Seedling 3. _Farleigh Castle_ 13, 15. _Fonthill_ 4, 9, 10, 12,
13, 15, 17, 23. _Gros Prune_ 14. _Grosse Prune d’Agen_ 18,
20. Hungarian 18. _Hungarian_ 20. _Hungarian Prune_ 16, 19.
Hungarian Prune 14. _Oswego_ 20. Oswego 19. Plum de l’Inde ?3.
_Plum de l’Inde_ 9, 15. _Pond’s Purple_ 9, 10, 13, 15, 17.
_Pond’s Seedling_ (English) 11, 14, 17. Pond’s Seedling 1,
2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 16, 21. Pond’s Seedling 14,
15, 17, 18, 19, 23. Pond Seedling 20. Pond’s Samling 15, 17.
_Pourprée de Pond_ 10, 15, 17. _Pride of Waterloo_ 20. _Semis
de Pond_ 10, 15. Semis de Pond 17.

Pond is preeminent among plums for its large size. It is distinguished also by its form and its color, both being pleasing as well as distinctive. The three characters, size, form and color make this one of the handsomest of all plums. Despite the efforts of the color-plate makers, the peculiar red of this plum is not well shown in the illustration—to the disparagement of the fruit. At one time Pond was very largely grown in New York but the fruits are not as perfect, grown here, as on the Pacific Coast and the trees are not regular in bearing. The eye is pleased with Pond but the palate is sadly disappointed; at best it is not even second-rate. The fruits, however, ship and keep well, as is demonstrated by the large quantities of this variety annually sent from California to the East for sale on fruit-stands where its showiness perennially beguiles the uninformed fruit-buyer. There is a fine opportunity for some one to cross this splendid-appearing plum with one of good quality in the hope of getting an offspring as handsome but of better quality.

This variety was obtained from seed by Mr. Pond, an English amateur grower of fruits, concerning whom there seems to be no further information. The London Horticultural Society mentioned the variety as long ago as in 1831. Another Mr. Pond, a nurseryman in Massachusetts, grew a variety very similar in appearance to the English plum and permitted his name to be given it to the great confusion of the nomenclature of the two. The Hungarian prune of the Pacific Coast is Pond, why so-called does not appear; with this as with several other plums the Pacific Coast fruit-growers persist in using a name known to have been wrongly applied to an old and well-known variety elsewhere called rightly. Oswego, a supposed seedling grown in Oswego, New York, is identical with the Pond as tested by this Experiment Station and by local growers. The American Pomological Society placed this fruit on its catalog list in 1856.

Tree of medium size, vigorous, upright, hardy, variable in
productiveness; branches light gray, smooth, with small,
raised lenticels; branchlets of medium thickness and length,
with internodes of average length, greenish-red changing to
brownish-drab, dull, sparingly pubescent, with inconspicuous
small lenticels; leaf-buds large, long, conical, free;
leaf-scars plump, often much enlarged at the apex of the twigs.

Leaves somewhat folded backward, oval, two and one-quarter
inches wide, four inches long, thick, leathery; upper surface
dark green, finely pubescent, rugose, with a grooved midrib;
lower surface silvery-green, pubescent; apex abruptly pointed
or acute, base abrupt, margin crenate or serrate, with small
dark glands; petiole five-eighths inch long, thick, pubescent,
tinged red, with one or two globose, yellowish glands variable
in size, usually on the stalk.

Season of bloom intermediate in time and length; flowers
appearing after the leaves, one and five-sixteenths inches
across, white; borne in thin clusters on lateral spurs and
buds, singly or in pairs; pedicels thirteen-sixteenths inch
long, pubescent, greenish; calyx-tube green, campanulate,
pubescent; calyx-lobes broad, obtuse, lightly pubescent on both
surfaces, margins with few glands and hairs, reflexed; petals
roundish, crenate, tapering to short, broad claws; filaments
seven-sixteenths inch long; pistil glabrous, equal to or
shorter than the stamens.

Fruit late, season short; two inches by one and three-quarters
inches in size, obovate or oval, frequently with a slight
neck, halves equal; cavity shallow, narrow, abrupt; suture
very shallow, often a line; apex roundish; color varies from
reddish-purple to purplish-red, overspread with thick bloom;
dots numerous, small, reddish-brown, obscure, larger in size
but fewer in number towards the base; stem thick, seven-eighths
inch long, heavily pubescent, adhering well to the fruit; skin
tough, separating readily; flesh attractive golden-yellow, not
very juicy, fibrous, firm, of average sweetness, mild, not
highly flavored; fair in quality; stone semi-free to free, one
and one-sixteenths inches by nine-sixteenths inch in size,
long-oval, flattened, the surfaces roughened and deeply pitted,
tapering towards the base and apex; ventral suture heavily
furrowed, with a distinct but not prominent wing; dorsal suture
usually widely and deeply grooved.

POOLE PRIDE

_Prunus munsoniana_

=1.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Rpt._ 108. 1885. =2.= _Cornell Sta. Bul._
=38=:50. 1892. =3.= _Ia. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 334. 1894. =4.= _Wis.
Sta. Bul._ =63=:24, 53. 1897. =5.= _Ibid._ =87=:15. 1901. =6.=
Waugh _Plum Cult._ 186. 1901. =7.= Budd-Hansen _Am. Hort. Man._
299. 1903. =8.= _Ohio Sta. Bul._ =162=:245 fig., 256, 257. 1905.

Kroh 1, 6. _Kroh_ 3, 7. Poole 2, 7. _Poole_ 6. Poole’s Pride 3,
4, 5. _Poole’s Pride_ 2, 6, 7.

As compared with other native plums growing on the grounds at this Station, Poole Pride has considerable merit. It is very attractive in appearance, it seems to have all the characters of a long-keeping and a good-shipping sort of its species and the trees are large, vigorous, hardy, healthy and productive. It is, however, lacking in the very important character of flavor though the texture of the flesh is all that could be desired. Its very peculiar flavor, incomparable with any other plum or fruit, while disagreeable to the writer, might be liked by some. The flesh of this plum is so transparent that the pit can be readily seen when the skin is removed. To those growing native plums, Poole Pride is recommended for trial.

This variety was raised by P. H. Kroh, Anna, Illinois, and was exhibited by him under the name Kroh at the American Pomological Society meeting in 1885. Three years later the same plum was introduced by Stark Brothers, Louisiana, Missouri, under the name of Poole’s Pride. The latter name has been so much more widely used that it has been retained even though the former is correct according to the rule of priority.

Tree large, vigorous, open and round-topped, hardy, productive,
healthy; branches rough, zigzag, with few thorns, dark
ash-gray, with numerous, small lenticels; branchlets twiggy,
slender, above medium in length, with short internodes,
greenish-red changing to light chestnut-red, glabrous, with
numerous, very conspicuous, large, raised lenticels; leaf-buds
small, short, obtuse, plump, appressed.

Leaves folded upward, ovate or obovate, peach-like, one and
three-eighths inches wide, three and one-half inches long,
thin and leathery; upper surface dull red late in the season,
smooth, glossy, with a narrow groove on the midrib; lower
surface lightly pubescent; apex taper-pointed, base rather
abrupt, margin finely crenate, with small dark glands; petiole
seven-eighths inch long, slender, hairy, light purplish-red,
with from one to four small, globose, reddish-brown glands on
the stalk.

Blooming season late and long; flowers appearing after the
leaves, five-eighths inch across, white; borne in clusters on
short lateral spurs and buds; pedicels nine-sixteenths inch
long, very slender, glabrous, green; calyx-tube greenish,
campanulate, glabrous; calyx-lobes narrow, obtuse, heavily
pubescent within and along the margin which is serrate and
covered with reddish glands, erect; petals small, ovate
or roundish, crenate, tapering into long pubescent claws;
anthers yellowish; filaments five-sixteenths inch long; pistil
glabrous, shorter than the stamens.

Fruit early, season very long; one inch in diameter,
roundish-oval, not compressed, halves equal; cavity very
shallow and narrow; suture a distinct line; apex roundish;
color clear, dark, currant-red, with thin bloom; dots few,
large, light russet, conspicuous, clustered about the apex;
stem slender, five-eighths inch long, glabrous, but overspread
with a grayish bloom, adhering to the fruit; skin thin,
tough, separating from the pulp; flesh semi-transparent, dark
amber-yellow, very juicy, fibrous, tender and melting, sweet,
with a strong, peculiar flavor not pleasant; of fair quality;
stone adhering, five-eighths inch by three-eighths inch in
size, long-oval, slightly flattened, compressed at the base,
pointed at the apex, roughish; ventral suture blunt, faintly
ridged; dorsal suture acute, entire.

POTTAWATTAMIE

_Prunus munsoniana_

=1.= _Ia. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 287. 1887. =2.= _Pop. Gard._ =3=:27
fig. 1887. =3.= _Cornell Sta. Bul._ =38=:64. 86. 1892. =4.=
_Mich Sta. Bul._ =123=:20. 1895. =5.= _Ia. Sta. Bul._ =31=:346.
1895. =6.= _Wis. Sta. Bul._ =63=:53. 1897. =7.= _Am. Pom. Soc.
Cat._ 25. 1897. =8.= _Ohio Sta. Bul._ =113=:156. 1899. =9.=
_Ia. Sta. Bul._ =46=:287. 1900. =10.= Waugh _Plum Cult._ 199
fig. 1901. =11.= _Ga. Sta. Bul._ =67=:279. 1904.

The plum under notice is possibly of greater cultural value than any other of its species especially for northern latitudes. It is of high quality for a native plum, the texture of the fruit being especially pleasing in eating, and though melting and juicy it keeps and ships very well because of a tough skin. It escapes both the curculio and the brown-rot to a higher degree than most of its kind. The trees, though dwarfish at maturity, are vigorous, productive and among the hardiest of the Munsoniana plums, growing without danger of winter injury to tree or bud as far north as the forty-fourth parallel. Pottawattamie is deservedly one of the best known of the native plums and if varieties of its species are to be grown in New York, is as desirable as any.

Pottawattamie, according to the most authoritative accounts, was taken from Tennessee to Iowa with a lot of Miner trees. It came under the notice of J. B. Rice, Council Bluffs, Iowa, in 1875, and was introduced by him and named after one of the counties of his State.

Tree medium in size, strong and vigorous when young becoming
spreading and somewhat dwarfish when older, round-topped, hardy
at Geneva, usually productive; branches dark brown, zigzag,
thorny, roughened by the numerous, raised lenticels of various
sizes which are often narrow and much elongated; branchlets
slender, long, with internodes of medium length, greenish-red
changing to dark chestnut-red, glabrous, with numerous,
conspicuous, large, raised lenticels; leaf-buds small, short,
obtuse, free.

Leaves flat or folded upward, lanceolate, peach-like, one and
one-eighth inches wide, three and one-quarter inches long,
thin; upper surface light green, reddish late in the season,
smooth, glossy, with a grooved midrib; lower surface pale
green, lightly pubescent along the midrib and larger veins;
apex taper-pointed, base abrupt, margin finely serrate or
crenate, with small, reddish glands; petiole one inch long,
slender, tinged red, thinly pubescent, glandless or with from
one to five very small, globose, reddish-yellow glands usually
on the stalk.

Blooming season late and long; flowers appearing after the
leaves, five-eighths inch across, creamy-white as the buds
unfold changing to whitish, with a disagreeable odor; borne
in clusters from lateral buds, in threes, fours or fives;
pedicels five-eighths inch long, very slender, glabrous,
greenish; calyx-tube green, broadly obconic, glabrous,
calyx-lobes narrow, somewhat acute, pubescent on the inner
surface, serrate, with reddish glands and hairy margin, erect;
petals small, oval, slightly toothed, narrowly clawed; anthers
yellowish; filaments one-quarter inch long; pistil glabrous,
shorter than the stamens.

Fruit early, season of medium length; variable in size ranging
from seven-eighths inch to one and one-eighth inches in
diameter, roundish-oval, slightly compressed, halves equal;
cavity very shallow and narrow, abrupt; suture indistinct;
apex roundish or depressed; color clear currant-red, with
thin bloom; dots few, medium to large, whitish, somewhat
conspicuous, clustered about the apex; stem very slender,
three-quarters inch long, glabrous, adhering poorly to the
fruit; skin tough, cracking under unfavorable conditions,
separating readily; flesh deep yellow, juicy, fibrous, tender
and melting, sweet next the skin but sour at the center, of
pleasant flavor; fair to good in quality; stone clinging
closely, five-eighths inch by three-eighths inch in size,
narrow, long-oval, turgid, smooth, flattened and necked at the
base, abruptly sharp-tipped at the apex; ventral suture acute,
inconspicuous; dorsal suture blunt, faintly grooved.

PURPLE GAGE

_Prunus domestica_

=1.= _Pom. Mag._ =3=:129, Pl. 1830. =2.= _Lond. Hort. Soc.
Cat._ 152, 153. 1831. =3.= Downing _Fr. Trees Am._ 308 fig.
127. 1845. =4.= Poiteau _Pom. Franc._ =1.= 1846. =5.= Thomas
_Am. Fruit Cult._ 339. 1849. =6.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 54.
1852. =7.= _Ann. Pom. Belge_ =3=:71, Pl. 1855. =8.= Thompson
_Gard. Ass’t_ 519, Pl. 1. 1859. =9.= Hogg _Fruit Man._ 377.
1866. =10.= _Pom. France_ =7=: No. 9. 1871. =11.= Mas _Le
Verger_ =6=:3 fig. 2. 1866-73. =12.= _Cat. Cong. Pom. France_
367. 1887. =13.= Mathieu _Nom. Pom._ 452. 1889. =14.= _Guide
Prat._ 155, 364. 1895.

_Blaue Reine-Claude_ 10, 11, 13 incor., 14. _Die Violette
Königin Claudia_ 13. _Die Violette Königin Claudie_ 1. _Die
Violette Köning Claudie_ 3. _Die Violette oder blaue Renoclode_
10, 14. _Die Violette oder Blaue Reneclode_ 11, 13. _Purple
Gage_ 2, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14. Prune Reine Claude Violette
4, 10. _Reine-Claude Alex. Dumas_ 14. Reine-Claude Violette
2, 7, 8, 11, 12, 14. _Reine-Claude Violette_ 1, 3, 5, 9, 13.
_Violet Queen Claude_ 3, 5. _Violet Gage_ 8, 9, 10, 12, 13,
14. Violette Reine-Claude 13. Violet Gage 2. _Violette Queen
Claude_ 13. _Violet oder Blaue Reneclode_ 13.

Purple Gage is worthy of attention as one of the best flavored of all purple plums. In all but color of fruit it is a true Gage, to say which is a sufficient characterization as to quality. In size it averages larger than most of the Gages or Reine Claude plums, and in color is a rich dark purple as attractive as any of the purple plums. Another good quality of the fruit is that of hanging to the tree until it shrivels at which time it is richest in flavor. Unfortunately the trees, while averaging very well in other respects, are not productive and the variety cannot be recommended for money-making though it well deserves a place in home orchards.

Purple Gage is a European variety of unknown origin, though in the _Catalogue descriptif des fruits adoptes par le Congres pomologique_ for 1887, it is said to have been raised by M. Galopin of Liege, Belgium. As it was not mentioned by Duhamel in his _Traite des Arbres Fruitiers_ in 1768, it is thought to have been unknown at that date. English and American authors generally apply the name Purple Gage to this variety but in continental countries the name Reine Claude Violette is most common. It was imported into America early in the last century and in 1852 was added to the recommended list of fruits in the American Pomological Society catalog.

Tree large, vigorous, round-topped, hardy, not very productive;
branches numerous, light ash-gray, with few, small, raised
lenticels; branchlets thick, above medium in length, with
rather short internodes, greenish-red changing to brownish-red,
marked with much scarf-skin, glabrous throughout the season,
with few, small, slightly-raised lenticels; leaf-buds of
medium size and length, conical, appressed; leaf-scars greatly
enlarged.

Leaves folded upward, oval, one and three-quarters inches
wide, three and one-half inches long, thick, stiff; upper
surface dark green, distinctly rugose, lightly pubescent, with
a shallow groove on the midrib; lower surface silvery-green,
covered with thick pubescence; apex abruptly pointed or acute,
base rather abrupt, margin serrate or crenate, eglandular or
with small dark glands; petiole three-quarters inch long,
thick, greenish, pubescent, glandless or with one or two rather
large, globose, yellowish-green glands variable in position.

Blooming season late, of medium length; flowers appearing with
the leaves, nearly one and one-quarter inches across, white;
borne from lateral buds, usually singly; pedicels five-eighths
inch long, thick, pubescent, greenish; calyx-tube green,
campanulate, glabrous; calyx-lobes narrow, obtuse, lightly
pubescent on both surfaces, glandular-serrate, reflexed;
petals obovate or oval, crenate, short-clawed; anthers yellow;
filaments nearly one-half inch long; pistil glabrous except at
the base, shorter than the stamens.

Fruit intermediate in time and length of ripening season; one
and one-half inches by one and three-eighths inches in size,
roundish or ovate, slightly compressed, halves equal; cavity
shallow, narrow, abrupt; suture very shallow, often a line;
apex variable in shape; color dark purple or purplish-black,
overspread with thick bloom; dots numerous, russet, conspicuous
when the bloom is removed, clustered about the apex; stem
five-eighths inch long, thinly pubescent, adhering well to
the fruit; skin thin, separating readily; flesh dull yellow,
juicy, somewhat fibrous, firm but tender, sweet, of pleasant
flavor; very good; stone semi-clinging, seven-eighths inch
by five-eighths inch in size, irregular-oval, flat, often
contracted at the base into a long narrow neck, blunt at
the apex, with markedly rough and pitted surfaces; ventral
suture swollen, rather wide, distinctly furrowed, often with a
prominent wing; dorsal suture with a wide and deep groove.

QUACKENBOSS

_Prunus domestica_

=1.= Downing _Fr. Trees Am._ 393. 1857. =2.= _Cultivator_
=6=:269 fig. 1858. =3.= Thomas _Am. Fruit Cult._ 345. 1867.
=4.= Downing _Fr. Trees Am._ 941. 1869. =5.= _Am. Pom. Soc.
Cat._ 24. 1871. =6.= Mas. _Pom. Gen._ =2=:151, fig. 76. 1873.
=7.= Barry _Fr. Garden_ 415. 1883. =8.= _Mich. Sta. Bul._
=103=:34, fig. 6. 1894. =9.= _Ont. Fr. Exp. Sta. Rpt._ 52.
1895. =10.= _Cornell Sta. Bul._ =131=:191, fig. 40 II. 1897.
=11.= Waugh _Plum Cult._ 119. 1901. =12.= _Va. Sta. Bul._
=134=:44. 1902.

Quackenbos 9, 12.

Though not a leading variety, Quackenboss is a prominent one in the list of commercial sorts for New York. Its fruits possess to a high degree the characters which make a good market plum; they are of large size, averaging nearly an inch and a half in diameter; round-oval, a better shape for the markets than the prune shapes; very prepossessing in color—a handsome, dark purple with heavy bloom; the flesh is tender and juicy with a sweet, pleasant flavor making it one of the good purple plums, though not one of the best in quality. The tree is large, vigorous, hardy, with a round and spreading top. This gives it great bearing capacity but though productive in the Station orchard, the variety does not have the reputation of being fruitful and fails chiefly as a commercial sort for this reason. It is a late-maturing variety and comes on the market at a time when plums are wanted for home canning, the demand for this purpose, for which it is most suitable, helping greatly its sale. The variety has two peculiarities; the petals are comparatively distinct from each other giving the flower, or a tree in flower, an odd appearance; and the leaves are remarkably variable in size.

It is not quite certain when or where this variety first came to notice. C. Reagles, a competent authority, of Schenectady, New York, in describing the Quackenboss for _The Cultivator_ in 1858, says “There is a seedling tree of this identical sort in the garden of Mr. S. C. Groot of this city, which is about thirty years old.” If true, this puts its origin in Schenectady at about 1828. But beyond question a Mr. Quackenboss of Greenbush, New York, introduced the variety, though some years later, and it has taken his name. In 1871, the American Pomological Society placed the Quackenboss on its recommended fruit list.

Tree very large and vigorous, round-topped, hardy, productive;
branches numerous, ash-gray, the trunk rough but the limbs
smooth, with smallish raised lenticels; branchlets thick, with
long internodes, greenish-red changing to brownish-drab over
red, dull, pubescent, with numerous, small lenticels; leaf-buds
of medium size and length, pointed, free.

Leaves flattened, obovate or oval, variable in size averaging
one and seven-eighths inches wide by three and five-eighths
inches long; upper surface very dark green, nearly glabrous,
with a grooved midrib; lower surface pale green, pubescent;
apex obtuse, base tapering, margin finely serrate, with small
black glands; petiole five-eighths inch long, pubescent,
faintly tinged red, glandless or with from one to four small,
globose, greenish-yellow glands usually on the stalk.

Blooming season intermediate in time and length; flowers
appearing after the leaves, one and one-eighth inches across,
white, with a yellow tinge at the tips of the opening buds;
scattered on lateral spurs, singly or in pairs; pedicels
three-quarters inch long, above medium in thickness, finely
pubescent, greenish; calyx-tube green, campanulate, glabrous;
calyx-lobes obtuse, lightly pubescent, glandular-serrate,
reflexed; petals obovate, crenate, with broad claws of medium
length; anthers yellow with a reddish tinge; filaments
seven-sixteenths inch long; pistil glabrous except on the
ovary, shorter than the stamens.

Fruit late, season short; one and five-eighths inches by one
and three-eighths inches in size, roundish-oval, compressed
slightly, halves equal; cavity narrow, abrupt; suture shallow,
often lacking; apex roundish or depressed; color bluish-black,
with thick bloom; dots numerous, small, yellowish-brown,
inconspicuous; stem three-quarters inch long, pubescent,
adhering well to the fruit; skin tender, somewhat astringent;
flesh deep yellow, juicy, tender, sweet, of pleasant, mild
flavor; good; stone semi-free, one inch by five-eighths inch
in size, flattened, irregular-oval, tapering to a long, narrow
neck at the base, bluntly acute at the apex, with rough and
pitted surfaces; ventral suture prominent, heavily furrowed,
distinctly ridged; dorsal suture acute, often with a narrow,
indistinct, shallow groove.

RED APRICOT

_Prunus domestica_

=1.= Knoop _Fructologie_ =2=:52, 54. 1771. =2.= Kraft _Pom.
Aust._ =2=:27, Tab. 172 fig. 1. 1796. =3.= Prince _Pom. Man._
=2=:72. 1832. =4.= Poiteau _Pom. Franc._ =1.= 1846. =5.=
Goodrich _N. Fr. Cult._ 83. 1849. =6.= Mas _Pom. Gen._ =2=:127,
fig. 64. 1873. =7.= Hogg _Fruit Man._ 720. 1884. =8.= Mathieu
_Nom. Pom._ 447. 1889. =9.= Lucas _Vollst. Hand. Obst._ 474.
1894.

Abricot Rouge 1. _Abricote Rouge_ 3. Apricot Plum 5. Abricotée
Rouge 6. _Abricot Rouge_ 6, 7, 8. _Abricotée Rouge_ 7, 8. Die
Aprikosenpflaume 2. _Fürstenzeller Pflaume_ 8. _Fürstenzeller
Reine-Claude_ 6. _Prune d’Abricot Rouge_ 1, 8. _Prune
d’Abricos_ 2. Prune d’Abricot rouge 1. Prune Abricotée Rouge 4.
Red Apricot Plum 3. _Rothe Aprikosenpflaume_ 6. _Red Apricot_
6, 8. Rote Aprikosenpflaume 8. Rote Aprikosenzwetsche 9.

This plum, well known in Europe, is probably not now grown in America and it may not deserve recognition here except for its historical interest. Red Apricot is probably an inferior off-shoot of the Apricot plum although no definite record of its lineage is obtainable. It does not seem to have been known until nearly one hundred and fifty years after the Apricot was brought to notice. Kraft figured and described a long prune-like red plum under this name but because of its shape his plum was undoubtedly spurious. The variety was rejected by the American Pomological Society in 1856. It is described as follows:

Tree vigorous, shoots glabrous; fruit mid-season, large,
roundish; color red over yellow; suture shallow; cavity small;
stem an inch long, stout; flesh yellow, dryish, inferior in
flavor; poor; freestone.

RED DATE

_Prunus domestica_

=1.= Parkinson _Par. Ter._ 576. 1629. =2.= Rea _Flora_ 208.
1676. =3.= Ray _Hist. Plant._ =2=:1529. 1688. =4.= Kraft _Pom.
Aust._ =2=:43, Tab. 196 fig. 2. 1796. =5.= _Lond. Hort. Soc.
Cat._ 147. 1831. =6.= Mathieu _Nom. Pom._ 447. 1889.

_A Fleur Double_ 5. _Dattel Pflaume_ 6. _Dattel Zwetsche_
6. Die grosse rothe Feigenpflaume 4. Figue Grose Rouge 5.
_Figue Grosse Rouge_ 6. _Früh Zwetsche_ 6. _Grosse Rote
Feigen Pflaume_ 6. _Lange Violette Dattel Zwetsche_ 6. _Lange
Violette Dattel Pflaume_ 6. _Prune figue grosse rouge_ 4.
_Prune d’Autriche_ 6. _Prune Figue_ 6. _Prune Datte_ 6.
_Purpur Pflaume_ 6. Red Date-plum 3. Rote. Dattelzwetsche 6.
_Rote Feigen Pflaume_ 6. _Turkische Zwetsche_ 6. _Ungarische
Zwetsche_ 6. _Wilmot’s Russian_ 5. _Zucker Zwetsche_ 6.

Red Date is an interesting variety because of its very peculiar shape which is that of an elongated curved date. Its flavor is agreeable and all of the characters of fruit and tree are as good as in the average variety; yet it can probably be counted as nothing more than an interesting curiosity. Parkinson described the Red Date as long ago as 1629 and it seems to have maintained a place in horticulture since then. The variety was imported from France in 1901 by the United States Department of Agriculture from which source trees were obtained by this Station.

Tree of medium size, upright-spreading, dense-topped,
productive; branches thorny; branchlets developing many
laterals on the new wood at right angles to the direction
of growth, thickly pubescent; leaf-buds free; leaves folded
backward, obovate, one and one-half inches by three and
one-quarter inches long; margin crenate, with small dark
glands; petiole pubescent, rather long, glandless or with from
one to three small glands; blooming season intermediate in time
and length; flowers appearing after the leaves, seven-eighths
inch across; borne in scattering clusters on lateral buds and
spurs, singly or in pairs.

Fruit mid-season; one and five-eighths inches by one inch in
size, long irregular-oval, enlarged on the suture side, dark
purplish-red, with thick bloom; flesh golden-yellow, rather
dry, firm, sweet, mild; of fair quality; stone free, one and
one-eighth inches by one-half inch in size, very long and
narrow, somewhat oblique, acute and oblique at both base and
apex; ventral suture blunt; dorsal suture with a long, narrow,
deep groove.

RED DIAPER

_Prunus domestica_

=1.= Quintinye _Com. Gard._ 67, 68, 69. 1699. =2.= Miller
_Gard. Kal._ 184. 1734. =3.= Knoop _Fructologie_ =2=:57. 1761.
=4.= Duhamel _Trait. Arb. Fr._ =2=:102, Pl. XX fig. 12. 1768.
=5.= Kraft _Pom. Aust._ =2=:36, Tab. 185 fig. 2. 1796. =6.=
Willichs _Dom. Enc._ 300. 1803. =7.= _Pom. Mag._ =1=:6, Pl.
1828. =8.= Prince _Pom. Man._ =2=:69, 90. 1832. =9.= Downing
_Fr. Trees Am._ 298. 1845. =10.= Floy-Lindley _Guide Orch.
Gard._ 285, 287, 288, 383. 1846. =11.= Poiteau _Pom. Franc._
=1=:1846. =12.= _Horticulturist_ =3=:29. 1848. =13.= Thomas
_Am. Fruit Cult._ 335, fig. 261. 1849. =14.= _Horticulturist_
=4=:195. 1849. =15.= _Ann. Pom. Belge_ 75 Pl. 1853. =16.=
Bridgeman _Gard. Ass’t_ 128, 129, 130. 1857. =17.= _Pom.
France_ =7=: No. 10. 1871. =18.= Mas _Pom. Gen._ =2=:135, fig.
68. 1873. =19.= _Le Bon Jard._ 339. 1882. =20.= Hogg _Fruit
Man._ 697. 1884. =21.= _Cat. Cong. Pom. France_ 345. 1887.
=22.= Mathieu _Nom. Pom._ 447. 1889. =23.= _Guide Prat._ 158,
365. 1895.

_Amalia Pflaume_ 22, 23. _Bunte Herzformige Pflaume_ 17, 22.
_Cyprische Pflaume_ 22, 23. _Diaprée de Roche Corbon_ 22. _Dame
Aubert Rouge_ 22, 23. _Diademe Imperial_ 22. _De Chypre_ 23.
_Diademe Imperiale_ 23. Diaper 1, 10. Die Blutfarbige Pflaume
5. Diaprée Rouge 3, 4, 9, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21. _Diaprée Rouge_
5, 8, 10, 13, 16, 18, 22. _Diapre Rouge_ 8, 22, 23. Die Rothe
Eierpflaume 14. _Diaper Rouge_ 16. _Diaper_ 17, 20, 22. _Die
Blutfarbege Pflaume_ 17. _Diaprea rubra_ 17. _Diademe_ 19. _De
Briancon_ 21. _Gluhende Kohle_ 22. _Hoheits Pflaume_ 22, 23.
_Imperial Diadem_ 8, 9, 13, 20, 22. Imperial Diadem 10, 16.
_Imperial Diademe_ 17, 21. _Imperatrice_ 19. _La Roche-Corbon_
22. _La Courbon_ 17. Mimms 10, 16. _Mimms_ 9, 13, 17, 20.
_Mimms Plum_ 10, 16, 22. Mimms Plum 7, 8. _Mimms Pflaume_ 22.
_Matchless_ 22. Prune Diaprée Rouge 11. Prune Imperatrice 15.
_Prune Diademe_ 15. _Prune de Briancon_ 17. _Prune de Chypre_
22. _Prinzessin Pflaume_ 22, 23. _Roche-Carbon_ 22. Rote
Diaprée 22. _Rouge Corbon_ 22. Rote Eier Pflaume 22. _Rote
Cyprische Pflaume_ 22. _Rote Marunke_ 22. _Rote Osterei_ 22.
_Rote Masche_ 22. _Rote Ross Pflaume_ 22. Rothe Eierpflaume 23.
_Rothe Marunke_ 23. Roche Corbon 1. Roche Courbon 2. _Roche
Corbon_ 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, 16, 17, 18, 20, 21, 22. Roch-courbon 6.
_Red Diaper_ 6, 10, 16, 17, 20, 21, 22. _Roche Courbon_ 8. _Red
Egg Plum_ 14. _Reine de Chypre_ 14. _Red Imperial_ 16. _Rothe
Diaprée_ 17. _Rothe Violen Pflaume_ 17. _Red Diaper Plum_
17. _Rothe Eierpflaume_ 17. _Rothe Süsse Pflaume_ 17. _Rothe
Diapre_ 18. _Virginische Pflaume_ 17.

Red Diaper is of historical value only, as it is now rarely found. It does not seem to have been known as long as Violet Diaper and may be an off-shoot of the older variety. It probably originated in France, one of its synonyms, Roche Corbon, having been derived from a small village near Tours. The Mimms plum said to have been raised from a stone of the Blue Perdrigon about 1800 by Henry Browne, North Mimms Place, Hertfordshire, England, and the Imperial Diadem said to be a seedling of about the same date raised at Duckenfield, near Manchester, England, are identical with Red Diaper in spite of their supposed separate origin. The Chypre, or Prune de Chypre, thought by some to be a synonym of this variety, is undoubtedly distinct, as it is a clingstone and is earlier. The following description is compiled.

Tree of slow growth in the nursery, hardy, vigorous and
productive in the orchard. Fruit mid-season; large, obovate;
cavity slight; stem one-half inch in length; skin brownish-red;
bloom thin; dots very numerous, brownish, conspicuous; flesh
greenish-yellow, firm, fine-grained, sweet; good; stone small,
free.

RED JUNE

_Prunus triflora_

=1.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Rpt._ 106. 1891. =2.= _Cornell Sta. Bul._
=62=:28. 1894. =3.= _Ga. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 95. 1895. =4.=
_Cornell Sta. Bul._ =106=:60. 1896. =5.= _Ala. Col. Sta. Bul._
=85=:444. 1897. =6.= _Cornell Sta. Bul._ =139=:45. 1897. =7.=
_Rural N. Y._ =56=:615. 1897. =8.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 26.
1897. =9.= _Mich. Sta. Bul._ =169=:242, 243, 249, 250. 1899.
=10.= _Cornell Sta. Bul._ =175=:136. 1899. =11.= _U. S. D. A.
Rpt._ 386. 1901. =12.= Waugh _Plum Cult._ 140. 1901. =13.=
Budd-Hansen _Am. Hort. Man._ 324. 1903. =14.= _Can. Exp. Farm
Bul._ =43=:37. 1903. =15.= _Mass. Sta. Ann. Rpt._ =17=:160.
1905. =16.= _Md. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 85. 1905. =17.= _Ga. Sta.
Bul._ =68=:5, 32. 1905.

_Botan_ 14. _Hytankayo_ 11. _Long Fruit_ 3. _Nagate no
Botankyo_ 10, 11, 17. Red Nagate 1, 2, 3, 6, 9. _Red Nagate_ 4,
5, 11, 12, 13, 17. _Red June_ 2, 3. _Shiro Smomo_ 2, 4, 7, 11,
12, 14. Shiro Smomo 9.

Red June is variously estimated by fruit-growers and pomologists. A concensus of the opinions of those who have had actual experience with the variety shows that it closely follows Abundance and Burbank in popularity among the Trifloras. The variety is distinguished from all other plums by its fruit-characters; the plums are distinctly cordate in shape with a deep cavity and a very pointed apex; the color is a mottled garnet-red overlaid with thin but very distinct and delicate bloom; the flesh is a light yellow, firm enough to endure transportation well, peculiarly aromatized, sweetish and not wholly agreeable in flavor and ranking rather low in quality; the stone adheres tightly to the flesh. The trees are large, vigorous, spreading, hardy, healthy and productive—very good for the species to which the variety belongs. Other good qualities of the variety are that it blooms late for a Triflora, and that the fruits are comparatively immune to curculio and brown-rot and hang to the trees exceptionally well for an early plum. This is one of the Trifloras that varies in season of ripening, a peculiarity of several of the varieties of this species, but usually the fruits ripen a week or more before Abundance. Red June is reported to be somewhat self-sterile and in need of cross-pollination. This variety ought to have value as an early market plum in New York.

Red June was imported from Japan by H. H. Berger and Company, San Francisco, California, under the name Shiro Smomo, about 1887. Stark Brothers, Louisiana, Missouri, obtained the variety in 1892 and introduced it as the Red June in 1893. In 1897 it was added to the fruit catalog list of the American Pomological Society. The nomenclature of this variety is much confused. The true Japanese Red Nagate (Red Nagate is one of the synonyms of Red June) has red flesh while this one has not; this variety, to which the name Shiro Smomo is most often applied, is not a Smomo plum nor is it white, (Shiro is the Japanese for white) affording another instance of the confusion in the American application of the Japanese names of the Triflora plums.

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

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

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

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

RED MAGNUM BONUM

_Prunus domestica_

=1.= Parkinson _Par. Ter._ 576, 577. 1629. =2.= Rea _Flora_
208. 1676. =3.= Langley _Pomona_ 92, Pl. XX fig. V. 1729. =4.=
Duhamel _Trait. Arb. Fr._ =2=:98, Pl. XV. 1768. =5.= Kraft
_Pom. Aust._ =2=:31, Tab. 178 fig. 1. 1796. =6.= Willichs _Dom.
Enc._ =4=:300. 1803. =7.= Prince _Pom. Man._ =2=:59. 1832. =8.=
Hoffy _Orch. Com._ fig. 1841. =9.= Floy-Lindley _Guide Orch.
Gard._ 292. 1846. =10.= _Horticulturist_ =4=:194. 1849. =11.=
_Ann. Pom. Belge_ 99, Pl. 1853. =12.= Elliott _Fr. Book_ 428,
429. 1854. =13.= Noisette _Man. Comp. Jard._ =2=:499. 1860.
=14.= Downing _Fr. Trees Am._ 943. 1869. =15.= Mas _Pom. Gen._
=2=:139, fig. 70. 1873. =16.= Hogg _Fruit Man._ 721. 1884.
=17.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Rpt._ 61. 1887. =18.= Mathieu _Nom. Pom._
445, 448. 1889. =19.= _Ia. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 87. 1890. =20.=
_Guide Prat._ 158, 358. 1895.

_Askew’s Purple Egg_ 12, 14, 16, 18. _Blaue Kaiserpflaume_ 15,
18, 20 incor. _Blaue Eier Pflaume_ 18 incor. _Bockshoden_ 18,
20. _Bocksdutten_ 18, 20. _Bonum Magnum_ 18 incor., 20. _Blue
Imperatrice_ 7 incor., 8. _Copper Plum_ 8. Die Kaiserliche
veilchenfarbige Pflaume 5. Die Rothe Kaiserpflaume 10. Dame
Aubert 13. _Dame Aubert Violette_ 14, 16, 18, 20. _Die Rothe
Eierpflaume_ 14. _Dame Aubert Rouge_ 17. Dame Aubert Rouge 19.
_D’Oeuf Violette_ 20. _Early Forcing_ 12. _Florence_ 12, 14,
16, 18, 20. _Frühe Treib Zwetsche_ 18. _Frühe Treibzwetsche_
20. _Great Imperial Plum_ 18, 20. _Grosse Früh Zwetsche_ 18
incor. _Grosse Ungarische Zwetsche_ 18 incor. Imperiall 1.
Imperial 3, 6. _Impériale Violette_ 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 14, 16,
18, 20. Impériale Violette 4, 15, 20. Imperial Violet 7.
_Impériale_ 7, 14, 16, 18, 20. _Imperiall_ 9. _Imperial_ 9, 14,
18. _Impériale Rouge_ 10, 14, 16, 18. _Imperial Rouge_ 12, 18.
_Imperial Violet_ 14, 18. _Impériale Hâtive_ 18, 20. Impériale
rouge 20. _Large Orlean_ 7. _Mogul Rouge_ 16, 18. _Oeuf Rouge_
16, 18. _Prune d’Oeuf Violette_ 18. _Prinzessinpflaume_ 15.
_Prune-figue_ 13. Prune Impériale Violette 11. _Prune d’oeuf_
7, 14, 18. _Purple Egg_ 7, 12, 14, 16, 18. _Prune-oeuf_ 7.
_Purple Magnum Bonum_ 12, 14, 18. _Red Magnum Bonum_ 8, 12, 20.
_Red Magnum_ 6. _Red Imperiale_ 7, 8, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20. _Red
Bonum Magnum_ 3, 7, 18, 20. _Red Egg Plum_ 10. Red Egg 12. Red
Imperial 12. _Red Egg_ 14, 16, 18. Red Aubert 17. _Rote Eier
Pflaume_ 18. Rote Kaiserpflaume 18. _Rote Kaiser Zwetsche_ 18.
116 _Riga_ 19. _Rothe Kaiserpflaume_ 20. _Rothe Kaiserzwetsche_
20. _Shepler_ ?14, ?18. _Sainte-Catherine_ (Belgien) 18, 20.
The Imperial Plum 2. _Violette oder Blaue Kaiserpflaume_ 15.

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

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

REINE CLAUDE

_Prunus domestica_

=1.= Quintinye _Com. Gard._ 67, 68, 69. 1699. =2.= Langley
_Pomona_ 93, Pl. XXIII fig. 7. 1729. =3.= Duhamel _Trait. Arb.
Fr._ =2=:89, Pl. XI. 1768. =4.= Knoop _Fructologie_ =2=:62.
1771. =5.= Kraft _Pom. Aust._ 28, Tab. 173 fig. 2, 41, Tab.
193 fig. 2. 1796. =6.= Forsyth _Treat. Fr. Trees_ 20. 1803.
=7.= Miller _Gard. Dict._ =3.= 1807. =8.= Coxe _Cult. Fr.
Trees_ 237, fig. 14. 1817. =9.= Phillips _Com. Orch._ 306.
1831. =10.= _Lond. Hort. Soc. Cat._ 147, 148. 1831. =11.=
Prince _Pom. Man._ =2=:48. 1832. =12.= Gallesio _Pom. Ital._,
Pl. 1839. =13.= Downing _Fr. Trees Am._ 276 fig. 106. 1845.
=14.= Floy-Lindley _Guide Orch. Gard._ 283, 382, 419. 1846.
=15.= Poiteau _Pom. Franc._ =1=:1846. =16.= _Horticulturist_
=2=:178, 179, fig. 30, 291. 1847. =17.= Thomas _Am. Fruit
Cult._ 326 fig. 253, 329. 1849. =18.= Hovey _Fr. Am._ =2=:69,
Pl. 1851. =19.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 54. 1852. =20.= Elliott
_Fr. Book_ 410. 1854. =21.= Thompson _Gard. Ass’t_ 517. 1859.
=22.= Downing _Fr. Trees Am._ 917. 1869. =23.= Mas _Le Verger_
=6=:55, fig. 28. 1866-73. =24.= _Pom. France_ =7=: No. 5. 1871.
=25.= Oberdieck _Deut. Obst. Sort._ 434. 1881. =26.= Lauche
_Deut. Pom._ 20, Pl. IV 20. 1882. =27.= Hogg _Fruit Man._ 703.
1884. =28.= Mathieu _Nom. Pom._ 433. 1889. =29.= _Guide Prat._
154, 363. 1895. =30.= Bailey _Sur. Unlike_ 176, 243. 1896.
=31.= _Cornell Sta. Bul._ =131=:186. 1897. =32.= _Botanical
Gazette_ =26=:423. 1898. =33.= _Gard. Chron._ 3rd Ser.
=24=:465. 1898. =34.= Waugh _Plum Cult._ 22, 106, 107 fig. 1901.

_Abricot Verd_ 5, 9. _Abricot Vert_ 3, 7, 10, 11, 13, 14, 21,
22, 23, 24, 27, 28, 29. Abricotée Sageret ?22, 28. _Aloise’s
Green Gage_ 22, 24, 27, ?28, 29. _Blanche Grosse Espece_ 10.
_Bonne Verte_ 5. _Bradford Gage_ 13, 20, 21, 22, 28, 29.
_Bradford Green Gage_ 27, 28. _Bradford Queen Gage_ 24, ?29.
_Brugnon Green Gage_ 10, 18, 21, 22, 24, 27, 28, 29. _Brugnon
Gage_ 20, 22, 28, 29. _Bruyn Gage_ 13, 17, 18 incor., 20, 22,
28, 29. _Burgnon Gage_ 13, 24. _Cant’s Late Green Gage_ 22, 28.
Claudia 12. _Damas Gris_ 24, 28, 29. _Damas Verd_ 9. _Damas
Vert_ 7, 10, 13, 18, 21, 22, 24, 27, 28, 29. _Dauphine_ 5, 7,
10, 11, 13, 14, 18, 21, 22, 23, 24, 27, 28, 29. Die grosse
Königin Claudiapflaume, die grüne Abrikose 5. Die Königin
Klaudia 5. Dauphine 3. _Dauphiny_ 6. _Drap d’Or_ of some 10,
18, 28, 29. _Echte Grosse Reine-Claude_ 28, 29. _Gage Verte_
28, 29. _Great Green Damask_ 22, 27, 28. _Great Green Damaski_
24, 29. _Great Queen Claudia_ 11. Green Gage 2, 6, 8, 10, 11,
13, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 27, 30, 31, 33, 34. _Green
Spanish_ 14, 18. _Gros Damas Vert_ 11, 22, 28, 29. Grosse
Königin Claudiapflaume 5. _Green Gage_ 7, 9, 23, 24, 28, 29,
32, 34. _Goring’s Golden Gage_ 22, 24, 27, 28, 29. _Grosse
Reine_ 10, 13, 18, 20, 21, 22, 24, 27, 28, 29. _Grosse Grüne
Reine-Claude_ 25, 28. Grosse Reine-Claude 7, 25, 26, 28.
_Grosse Reine-Claude_ 3, 5, 10, 11, 13, 14, 18, 20, 21, 22, 23,
24, 25, 29. Gros Reine-Claude 14. _Grüne Aprikose_ 5, 28, 29.
_Grüne Abrikose_ 5. _Grüne Reineclaude_ 25. _Gute Grüne_ 28,
29. _Huling’s Reine-Claudia_ 22, 28. _Huling’s Reine Claude_
11. _Ida Gage_ 22. Ida Green Gage 16. _Ida Green Gage_ 20,
22, 24, 27, 28, 29. _Isleworth Green Gage_ 13, 18, 20, 21,
22, 24, 27, 28, 29. Isleworth Green Gage 10. _King of Plums_
20. _Königin Claudia_ 28, 29. Königin Klaudia 5. _Large Queen
Claude_ 11. _La Grosse Reine-Claude_ 11. Large Queen Claudia
6. _Large green claudia_ 11. _Livingston Manor_ 22, 28. Louis
Brun ?22, ?28. _Mammola_ 12. _Mirabelle Vert Double_ 22, 24,
27, 28, 29. _Murray’s Reine Claudia_ 22, 28. _Murray’s Reine
Claude_ 11, 14, 22, 27. Prune de Reine Claude 15. Prunus
Domestica Cereola 32. _Prunus Domestica var. cereola_ 33.
_Prunus Domestica var. Claudiana_ 32. _Queen Claude_ 2. _Queen
Claudia_ 11, 22, 24, 27, 28, 29. _Reine-Claude Ancienne_
23, 24, 28, 27. _Reine-Claude Blanche Grosse Espece_ 10.
_Reineclaude d’oree_ 29. _Reine-Claude Blanche La Grosse_ 11,
22. _Reine-Claude_ 8, 10, 11, 13, 17, 18, 20, 21, 22, 27, 28,
33. Reine Claud 1. Reine-Claudia 2. _Reine-Claude Blanche_ 10.
_Reine-Claude Dorée_ 22, 23, 24, 25, 28, 29. _Reine-Claude
Dore_ 18, 22. _Reine-Claude Grosse_ 27, 28. _Reine-Claude
Verde Perdrigon_ 5. _Reine-Claude Verte_ 23, 29. _Rensselaer
Gage_ 20, 22. _Rensselvar Gage_ 24, 29. _Rensselaar Gage_
27, 28. _Reine-Claude Verte Tiquetée_ 28, 29. _Reine-Claudia
Blanche La Grosso_ 22, 28. _Royal Green Gage_ 28, 29. _Schuyler
Gage_ 20, incor. 22, 24, 27. _Schuyler’s Gage_ ?13, 20, 28,
29. _Sucrin Vert_ 10, 11, 13, 18, 21, 22, 24, 27, 28, 29.
_Sultaneck Erik_ ?28, 29. _Susina Regina_ 12. _Triomphe Garcon_
24, 28, 29. _Triomphe Valet_ 24, 28, 29. _Trompe Garcon_ 22,
27, 28, 29. _Tromp-Valet_ 7. _Trompe Valet_ 22, 27, 28, 29.
_Verdacia_ 27, 28. _Verdacchia rotonda_ 12. _Verdoch_ 27, 32,
34. _Verdochia_ 32. _Verdochio_ 22, 24, 27, 28, 29. _Verducia_
22. _Verte Bonne_ 3, 7, 9, 10, 11, 14, 18, 21, 22, 23, 24, 28,
29. _Vert Bonne_ 13, 22, 27. _Verte d’Espagne_ 23, 28, 29.
_Verte Tiquetée_ 22, 24, 27, 28, 29. _Vilmot’s Green Gage_ 29.
_Vilmot’s Late Green Gage_ 29. _Wilmot’s Green Gage_ 10, 11,
18, 20, 21, 22, 24, 27, 28. Wilmot’s Late Green Gage 11, 18,
20, 21, 22. _Wilmot’s Late Green Gage_ 10, 13, 18, 20, 21, 22,
28, 29. _Wilmot’s New Green Gage_ 10, 11, 13, 18, 20, 22, 28,
29. _Waterloo_ 20.

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