222 



THE PLUMS OF NEW YORK. 



five-eighths inch long; below medium in thickness, pubescent, greenish; calyx-tube 

 green, campanulate, lightly pubescent at the base; calyx-lobes long, narrow, acute, 

 thinly pubescent on both surfaces, glandular-serrate, erect; petals narrow, long-oval 

 or obovate, erose, tapering to broad claws of medium length; anthers yellowish; fila- 

 ments seven-sixteenths inch long; pistil very pubescent at the base, equal to the stamens 

 in length. 



Fruit late, ripening period very long; one and five-eighths inches by one inch 

 in size, oval, slightly swollen on the ventral side, halves unequal; cavity very shallow, 

 narrow, flaring; suture a faint line; apex pointed; color purplish-black, overspread 

 with thick bloom; dots numerous, small, brown, inconspicuous, clustered about the 

 base; stem below medium in thickness, five-eighths inch long, adhering well to the fruit; 

 skin tough, separating readily; flesh yellowish-green, medium juicy, firm, sweetish, 

 mild, pleasant flavor; good to very good; stone free, seven-eighths inch by one-half 

 inch in size, the cavity larger than the pit, flattened, obliquely long-oval, pointed at the 

 apex and base, with rough and pitted surfaces; ventral suture narrow, conspicuously 

 winged; dorsal suture narrowly and shallowly grooved. 



GIANT 



Prunus domestica 



I. Card. & For. 7:420. 1894. 2. Burbank Cat. 5, fig- iSpS- 3- Cal. State Board Hort. 47- 

 1897-98. 4. Cornell Sta. Bui. 131:185. 1897. 5- Mich. Sta. Bui. 169:245- i899- 6. Am. Pom. 

 Soc. Cat. 39. 1899. 7. Am. Card. 21:36. 1900. 8. Mich. Sta. Bui. 187:77. 78- i9°i- 



Giant Prune 4, 7, 8. Giant Prune 5, 6. 



Giant is distinguished for its large size and attractive color. The 

 accompanying color-plate shows the color and shape very well, but the 

 fruit is a little too small. Unfortunately Giant is somewhat inferior in 

 quality, a disappointment to all, as with Agen for a parent high quality 

 was to be expected. In quality, as in all fruit -characters, the variety re- 

 sembles the male parent, Pond. The flesh is coarse, fibrous, lacking in 

 juice, clings more or less to the stone and rots quickly under unfavorable 

 conditions. The trees, too, lack somewhat in both vigor and productiveness. 

 Introduced as a prune, it was supposed that this variety would prove a 

 great boon to prune-makers, but it does not cure well and is now hardly 

 used for drying. Giant is proving to be one of the very best shipping plums, 

 as would be expected because of its firm, dry flesh. It is unfortunate that 

 so attractive a plum cannot be unqualifiedly recommended, but it is doubt- 

 ful if it is worth planting on a commercial scale in New York. 



Giant was grown by Luther Burbank, Santa Rosa, California, from 

 a seed of Agen fertilized by Pond, the Hungarian Prune of the Pacific 

 Coast. The stock of this variety was offered for sale to nurserymen in 



