340 



THE I'LUMS OF NliW YORK. 



only the first and last are identical, the Agen being quite distinct. It 

 would seem that the French should know their own plums and that their 

 nomenclature should be accepted but the Sergeant is now so widely dis- 

 tributed in America as distinct that we give a brief description of the 

 plum. There may be more than one type of the Agen in France or Amer- 

 ican nurserymen may have received wrongly named varieties. 



Tree upright, with branches and branchlets thickish, more robust than Agen; 

 foliage large, lancet-shaped, glossy, much broader and more shiny than Agen; fruit 

 mid-season; of medium size, roundish-oval, enlarged on one side; skin deep purple 

 to blackish with a thick bloom; flesh greenish-yellow, juicier than Agen, sweet, high 

 flavored; quality good; stone partially clinging; valuable for preserving and drying. 



SHARP 



Pruniis domestica 



I. Land. Hart. Soc. Cat. 153. 1831. 2. Downing Fr. Trees Am. 315. 1845. 3- Ann. Pom. 

 Beige 63, PI. 1859. 4. Cultivator 8:25 fig. i860. 5. Downing Fr. Trees Am. 948. i860. 6. 

 Guide Prat. 160, 358. 1895. 7. Jour. Roy. Hort. Soc. 21: Pt. 2, 222. 1897. 8. Waugh Plum 

 Cult. 122, 123 fig. I go I. 



Aldcrton 5. Dolphin 5. Dauphin 5. Dcnycr's Victoria ?2, 5, 7. Empereur de Sharp 3, 6. 

 Imperial de Sharp 5. Imperiale de Sharp 6. Prune Imperiale de Sharp 3. Queen Victoria ?2. 

 Royal Dauphine 5. Sliarp 8 incor. Sharp's Emperor i, 2 incor., 4, 5 incor. Sharp's Emperor 

 3, 6, 8 incor. Sharpe's Emperor 7. Sharps Kaiserpflaume 6. Victoria 3, 8 incor. 



Sharp was briefly described in the London Horticultural Society 

 catalog in 1831. Later, in 1845, A- J- Downing described the variety 

 but thought it identical with the Victoria, as did other writers, as will be 

 seen by referring to the Victoria. H. A. Pearson in the Journal of the 

 Royal Horticultural Society, comparing these two sorts says, " Sharp's 

 Emperor is a second rate plum, resembling Victoria, in appearance, but 

 very inferior in point of cropping and quality, a decided clingstone, often 

 gumming at the stone, and ripening a fortnight later than its supposed 

 synonym, not worthy of cultivation." August Royer in the Annals de 

 Pomologie Beige et Etrangere also separated the two varieties but describes 

 them both as freestones. While there is a lack of imiformity in the 

 descriptions yet the total evidence weighs in favor of two types which are 

 very similar. The Victoria is probably the better plum of the two. 



SHELDRAKE 



Primus domestica 



Although extremely vigorous and productive this variety is so inferior 

 in quality as to be of doubtful value. Sheldrake originated as a chance 



