378 SYSTEMATIC POMOLOGY 



The season is a little after that of the more commonly ^rown 

 Shropshire, in most years an advantajife. The origin is unknown, 

 but it is probably an old variety renamed. 



Tree large, vigorous, spreading, dense-topped, hardy, productive. Fruit 

 late; 1^2 by IVs inches in diameter, ovate, halves equal; cavity very shallow, 

 flaring; suture a line; apex roundish; color dull black; bloom thick; dots 

 numerous, small, inconspicuous; stem slender, % inch long, pubescent, ad- 

 hering well to the fruit ; flesh greenish, juicy, fibrous, tender, sweet, pleas- 

 ant, sprightly; good; stone variable in adhesion, oval, roughened, acute at 

 the base, blunt at the apex. 



583. Shropshire (Fig. 212) is the best known of the Damsons. 

 The qualities which make it a favorite are for the most part those 



of the tree, which is not surpassed by any 

 other Insititia in size, vigor, hardiness, and 

 health. The tree is enormously productive 

 and has but one defect, — unless sprayed the 

 foliage falls prej^ to fungi and drops early. 

 The fruit is of medium size, and, while in no 

 sense a dessert plum, may be eaten out 

 of hand with relish wiien fully ripe or 

 after a light frost. Shropshire originated 

 in England sometime in the seventeenth 

 century. 



Tree vigorous, vasiform, hardy, productive. Fruit 

 late, season long; IV2 inches by 1 inch in size, oval, 

 compressed, halves equal; cavity shallow, narrow, 

 flaring; suture an indistinct line; apex roundish; 

 Fig. -V2. Shrop- color purplish-black, overspread with thick bloom; 

 shire. dots numerous, small, russet ; stem slender, V2 inch 



long, glabrous, adhering to the fruit ; skin thin, ten- 

 der, adhering; flesh golden-yellow, juicy, firm but tender, agreeably tart, 

 pleasant; stone clinging, oval, acute at the base, blunt at the apex, with 

 nearly smooth surfaces. 



Group 5. Yellow Insititias 



584. Mirabelle. — In Europe, Mirabelle is one of the favorite 

 varieties, and its fruits are in great demand for canning, pre- 

 serves, compotes, tarts, and prunes. The trees grow very well, 

 producing fine crops of fruit wherever the Damsons can be 

 raised. The small, round, yellow fruits are attractive in appear- 



