368 



SYSTEMATIC POMOLOGY 



565. Jefferson 



{Fig. 196) is one of the l)est of all dessert 

 plums. Grown under favorable conditions 

 and when fully ripe, the fruit is golden- 

 yellow with a delicate blush and bloom, and 

 is large for the Reine Claude group. It fails 

 as a market variety because the trees are late 

 in coming in bearing, a little particular as to 

 soils, and not quite hard3^ Jefferson was 

 raised by Judge Buel, Albany, New York, 

 about 1825. 



Tree medium to large, vigorous, spreading, open- 

 topped, hardy, productive. Fruit midseason; IV2 

 inches in diameter, round-oval, halves equal; cavity 

 Fig. 196. Jefferson. shallow, narrow, abrupt; suture very shallow, indis- 

 tinct; apex round; color bronze-yellow, sometimes 

 with faint pink blush on the exposed cheek; dots numerous, very small, gray 

 or reddish ; stem 1 inch long, thinly pubescent ; skin thin, tough, adhering ; 

 flesh deep yellow, juicy, firm but tender, sweet, pleasant; very good; stone 

 semi-free, flattened, broadly oval, abruptly tipped, with a short neck at the 

 base, blunt at the apex, with rough and pitted surfaces. 



566. Reine Claude. Green Gage. — For the qualities that 

 gratify the sense of taste, — richness of flavor, consistency and 

 texture of flesh, abundance of juice, and pleasant aroma, the 

 fruits of Reine Claude are unsurpassed. When grown on thrifty 

 trees, the crop thinned, foliage and fruit kept free from pests, 

 and the fruit sufficiently exposed to the sun to color well, the 

 plums are beautiful. The trees are only of moderate size in the 

 orchard ; although small, they are productive and bear regularly, 

 the chief defect being susceptibility to sun-scald. Reine Claude 

 is still one of the most profitable plums grown, and, whether for 

 the commercial or home plantation, deserves a place in the 

 orchard. The variety is an old one from Europe. 



Tree of medium size and vigor, round-topped, hardy, productive. Fruit 

 midseason; 1% by 1% inches in size, round-oval, halves equal; cavity 

 narrow, regular, abrupt ; suture shallow, broad ; apex pubescent, slightly 

 depressed; color yellowish-green, indistinctly streaked with green, becoming 

 golden-yellow at full maturity, overspread with thin bloom; dots very 

 numerous, small, grayish, conspicuous, clustered about the apex; stem 

 thick, % inch long, pubescent; skin tough, adhering to the pulp; flesh 

 greenish-yellow or golden-yellow, juicy, firm, sweet, mild; very good; 



