Chapter III: Leading Varieties of Plums (14)

The characters of Yellow Egg were given in the discussion of the group which bears its name and but little more needs to be said of the variety. As the largest and handsomest of the yellow plums it is worth consideration by either the amateur or the commercial fruit-grower in New York. At best, however, it is fit only for cooking and is none too good for culinary purposes. The trees are very satisfactory on all but very light soils. As has been suggested before, this plum ought to be crossed with varieties of better quality with the hope of getting as handsome a fruit but one which could be used for dessert purposes.

The references and synonyms show that Yellow Egg is a plum with an interesting history, but unfortunately the accounts of its origin and subsequent history have been but poorly preserved. Rea, in 1676, described the Yellow Egg as the Bonum Magnum or Dutch Plum; we may infer from this that the English obtained the variety from Holland. Knoop of Holland, in 1771, described the variety under the name Prune d’Oeuf Blanche, indicating a French origin. Knoop describes the Prune De Monsieur as similar and this plum has ever since been held as doubtfully identical. Duhamel, in _Traite des Arbres Fruitiers_, 1768, described Yellow Egg as the Dame Aubert. Kraft in _Pomona Austriaca_, 1796, gave it as the Die Grosse Weisse Glanzende, oder Die Albertus Damenpflaume. These references show that Yellow Egg was well known at an early date. Because of its close resemblance to many varieties, probably due to the propagation of seedlings from it, much confusion exists in the nomenclature of Yellow Egg. White Imperial was separated by Duhamel and Prince; but Miller, Thompson and most of the subsequent writers give it as the same. Duhamel believed the Imperial Blanche (White Imperial) to be the Grosse Datte. So, too, the Wentworth was at first separated but, later, was recorded as identical. Koch calls Yellow Egg one of the Datterpflaumen (Date Plums) though he states that there is another Date Plum known by Tragus more than three hundred years ago as Prunidactyla. De Candolle seems to hold to the names Dame d’Aubert and Aubertina for this plum. Professor Budd in exploring southwest Russia and Poland found a Dame Aubert differing from our Yellow Egg only in minor characters which he was told came from central Asia.

The exact date of the importation of Yellow Egg to this country is unknown. Coxe, in 1817, described it as the Mogul and later Prince gave it the name Yellow Egg. Owing to this change in name, we find America now and then given as its place of origin by both American and English writers. In 1862, the American Pomological Society added it to its fruit catalog list under the name White Magnum Bonum but in 1871, the name was changed to Yellow Egg. The Darwin Peach, sent out by Fell, a nurseryman in England, has proved to be identical at this Station and its distributor, in a recent letter, states that this plum, which has been growing on his place thirty years, “is apparently identical to the White Magnum Bonum” which is of course Yellow Egg.

Tree, large, vigorous, round-topped, open, hardy, very
productive; trunk roughish; branches numerous, ash-gray, nearly
smooth, with rather large lenticels; branchlets slender,
short, with long intemodes, greenish-red changing to dull
brownish-red, dull, lightly pubescent throughout the season,
covered with thin bloom, with few, inconspicuous, small
lenticels; leaf-buds above medium in size, long, pointed, free.

Leaves flattened or somewhat folded backward, oval, two and
one-half inches wide, four and one-quarter inches long,
leathery; upper surface dark green, pubescent, slightly rugose,
with grooved midrib; lower surface medium green, thickly
pubescent; apex abruptly pointed or acute, base acute, margin
doubly serrate, with few dark glands; petiole five-eighths inch
long, thick, reddish-purple, pubescent, glandless or with one
or two globose, yellowish-green glands variable in position.

Blooming season short; flowers appearing after the leaves, one
inch across, white, with a yellowish tinge at the tip of the
petals; borne on lateral buds and spurs, singly or in pairs;
pedicels one-half inch long, covered with thick pubescence,
greenish; calyx-tube green, campanulate, pubescent; calyx-lobes
broad, obtuse, pubescent, glandular-serrate, reflexed; petals
roundish-oval, crenate or sometimes slightly notched, tapering
to short, broad claws; anthers yellow; filaments three-eighths
inch long; pistil pubescent, longer than the stamens; stigma
oblique.

Fruit late, season short; two inches by one and five-eighths
inches in size, long-oval, compressed, halves nearly equal;
cavity of medium depth, narrow, abrupt; suture shallow, often
a line; apex roundish; color golden-yellow, covered with
thick bloom; dots numerous, small, white, inconspicuous; stem
slender, one and one-quarter inches long, pubescent, adhering
well to the fruit, surrounded at the cavity by a fleshy
collar; skin thin, slightly astringent, separating readily;
flesh golden-yellow, rather juicy, moderately coarse, firm, of
average sweetness, mild; good; stone semi-free or free, one and
one-quarter inches by three-quarters inch in size, oval, rather
flat, acute at the base and apex, with roughened and pitted
surfaces; ventral suture wide, heavily ridged, often distinctly
winged; dorsal suture widely and deeply grooved.

YELLOW GAGE

_Prunus domestica_

=1.= Prince _Treat. Hort._ 25. 1828. =2.= Prince _Pom. Man._
=2=:108. 1832. =3.= Downing _Fr. Trees Am._ 287, 288 fig. 115.
1845. =4.= Thomas _Am. Fruit Cult._ 329. 1849. =5.= Cole _Am.
Fr. Book_ 208 fig. 1849. =6.= _Horticulturist_ =7=:403. 1852.
=7.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Rpt._ 36, 55. 1852. =8.= Elliott _Fr. Book_
414. 1854. =9.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Rpt._ 210. 1856. =10.= Bridgeman
_Gard. Ass’t_ =3=:126. 1857. =11.= _U. S. Pat. Off. Rpt._ 190,
Pl. XIII. 1865. =12.= Mas _Pom. Gen._ =2=:163, fig. 82. 1873.
=13.= Barry _Fr. Garden_ 417. 1883. =14.= Mathieu _Nom. Pom._
443. 1889. =15.= Waugh _Plum Cult._ 126. 1901.

_American Wheat_ 10. _American Yellow Gage_ of some 3, 4,
8, 11, 14. American Yellow Gage 10. _Auserlesene Gelhe
Reine-Claude_ 14. _Harvest Gage_ 6, 8, 11, 14. Prince’s Gage
1. Prince’s Gelbe Reine-Claude 14. Prince’s Yellow Gage 2, 3,
4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11. _Prince’s Yellow Gage_ 5, 12, 13, 14, 15.
Reine-Claude Jaune De Prince 12. _White Gage_ of some 3, 8, 11,
14.

Yellow Gage belongs to the Reine Claude, or as it is so often called, the Green Gage group of plums. There are now a great number of these plums under cultivation in America, most of which have originated in this country and nearly all of which, as we have said before, are better than similar kinds from Europe. It is difficult to select from the numerous first-rate plums of this group the best varieties to retain in home or commercial orchards. Among these, however, Yellow Gage should be kept for the home orchard at least. It is a rather large fruit, with a beautiful color—golden-yellow often with a faint blush, with a firm and juicy yet tender flesh and a most refreshing admixture of sweet and sour together with the richness which characterizes the Reine Claude plums. The fruits come, too, at a time when the market is not overstocked with these fine plums and the season is particularly long. A review of the tree-characters in the description which follows shows that in the main they are good though some complain that the variety is not productive. This precariousness in bearing, together with the tender skin which keeps Yellow Gage from standing shipment well, probably precludes the variety from a high place in a commercial list but does not prevent its being a most desirable plum for home planting.

This excellent old variety was probably one of the first plums to originate in America. It came from a Reine Claude pit planted, with many others, by William Prince[226] in 1783 in the celebrated Prince nurseries at Flushing, Long Island. Despite its early origin and fine qualities it has never had much recognition from pomologists. Downing described it in 1845 but neither Manning nor Kenrick in their excellent books on fruits mention this plum. The American Pomological Society in 1852 listed it with the varieties of plums promising well and in 1856 placed it on the list of those worthy of general cultivation.

Tree very large and vigorous, spreading, dense-topped, hardy,
productive; trunk roughish; branches dark ash-gray, smooth
except for the numerous, raised lenticels of various sizes;
branchlets medium to below in thickness, short, with internodes
of average length, greenish-red changing to brownish-red,
dull, lightly pubescent, with inconspicuous, small lenticels;
leaf-buds large, long, conical, free; leaf-scars prominent.

Leaves long-oval or obovate, two inches wide, four and
one-quarter inches long, thick, somewhat leathery; upper
surface dark green, covered with fine hairs, the midrib
grooved; lower surface silvery-green, sparingly pubescent; apex
and base acute, margin serrate, with few small, dark glands;
petiole five-eighths inch long, pubescent, tinged red, with
from one to three smallish, globose, greenish-yellow glands
variable in position.

Blooming season intermediate in time and length; flowers
appearing after the leaves, one and one-eighth inches wide,
white, fragrant; borne on lateral spurs, singly or in pairs;
pedicels seven-eighths inch long, with short, thin pubescence,
greenish; calyx-tube green, enlarged at the base, campanulate,
lightly pubescent; calyx-lobes narrow, obtuse, lightly
pubescent on both surfaces, glandular-serrate, reflexed; petals
oval, entire, tapering to short, broad claws; anthers yellow;
filaments one-quarter inch long; pistil glabrous, longer than
the stamens.

Fruit mid-season, ripening period of medium length; one and
one-half inches by one and three-eighths inches in size, oval,
slightly compressed, halves nearly equal; cavity shallow,
narrow, abrupt; suture shallow; apex roundish or depressed;
dull yellow, faintly splashed and streaked with green,
sometimes tinged on the sunny side with light red, overspread
with thin bloom; dots numerous, small, white, inconspicuous,
clustered about the base; stem three-quarters inch long, thinly
pubescent, adhering well to the fruit; skin thin, rather sour,
separating readily; flesh golden-yellow, juicy, firm but
tender, sweet, mild, of pleasant flavor; very good; stone free,
the cavity larger than the pit, one inch by five-eighths inch
in size, oval, turgid, roundish, abruptly contracted at the
base, blunt at the apex; ventral suture broad, blunt, faintly
ridged; dorsal suture widely and deeply grooved.