CHAP. XLII. ROSA CEH. PRU‘NUS. 689 
for the dessert, and for making tarts and puddings, is wel] known. In France, 
plums are used principally dried, as an article of commerce. 
Brignoles, Prunes, and French Plums. The kinds of plum usually em- 
ployed for preserving, in France, are the Brignole, the prune d’ Ast, the Perdri- 
gon blanc, the prune d’ Agen, and the Ste. Catherine. The first and second 
are grown principally near the little town of Brignoles, in Provence; and 
the Brignole is used for making the preserved plum sold in London, in 
round boxes divided with cut white paper, as a sort of dry sweetmeat. The 
fruit is large and yellow, with a reddish tinge on the side next the sun; and 
the flesh is rather insipid, and very sweet. The prune d’Ast is a large long 
plum, with a deep violet coriaceous skin, and abundant bloom, and is chiefly 
used for preparing what are called, in England, French plums. The Perdrigon 
blanc is generally used for prunes. The fruit is long, and narrow at the base, 
of a greenish white, tinged with red, with rather a leathery skin, and abundant 
bloom. The flesh is greenish, melting, and so sweet, as to have nearly the 
same flavour when eaten ripe from the tree, as when preserved. The Ste. 
Catherine plum is a large yellowish plum ; the fruit of an ova! shape, tapering 
towards the base; remarkably sweet, and of an agreeable flavour, when ga- 
thered from the tree. The prune d’ Agen is nearly black, fleshy, and rather 
insipid, with a coriaceous skin, and abundant bloom. 
The mode of preparing the Brignole plums is exactly the same now as, ac- 
cording to Olivier De Serres, was practised in the 16th century. The plums, 
which are called, in the country, pistoles, are not gathered till the sun has 
dried them from the dews ; and the trees are slightly shaken, so that only the 
ripest of the plums may fall on table-cloths, laid on the ground under the 
trees, ready to receive them. The plums are spread out in shallow baskets, 
and placed in a dry and cool place. The next day the skin is peeled off them 
by women accustomed to the employment, who use their thumb-nails to raise 
the skin, frequently dipping their hands in water, to. keep them cool. The 
use of any iron or steel instrument is strictly forbidden, as it would spoil the 
delicate colour and transparent appearance of the dried fruit. The plums are 
then placed on wooden sieves, or wicker frames, and exposed to the sun for 
several days; after which they are threaded at the tip on little rods, or wands, 
so as not to touch each other, and hung up to dry in the sun and air; being 
carefully placed under cover every night. When every particle of watery 
matter appears to be evaporated, the stones are taken out of the fruit by 
the hand, and the plums are pressed together in such a manner as to render 
them quite round. They are then again put on the wicker sieves, and ex- 
posed to the sun; and, when perfectly dry, are arranged carefully with white 
paper, cut at the edges, in little round flat boxes made of thin strips of the 
wood of the willow, for sale. 
Preparations of Prunes and French Plums. The best prunes are made near 
Tours, of the Ste. Catherine plum and the pruned’ Agen ; and the best French 
plums are made in Provence, of the Perdrigon blanc, the Brignole, and the 
prune d’Ast; the Provence plums being most fleshy, and having always most 
bloom. Both kinds are, however, made of these, and other kinds of plums, 
in various parts of France. The plums are gathered when just ripe enough 
to fall from the trees on their being slightly shaken. They are then laid se- 
parately on frames, or sieves, made of wicker-work or laths, and exposed for 
several days to the sun, till they become as soft as ripe medlars. When this 
is the case, they are put into a spent-oven, shut quite close, and left there for 
twenty-four hours; they are then taken out, and the oven being slightly re- 
heated, they are put in again when it is rather warmer than it was before. 
The next day they are again taken out, and turned by slightly shaking the 
sieves. The oven is heated again, and they are put in a third time, when the 
oven is one fourth degree hotter than it was the second time. After remain- 
ing twenty-four hours, they are taken out, and left to get quite cold. They 
are then rounded, an operation which is performed by turning the stone in 
the plum, without breaking the skin, and pressing the two ends together be- 
tween thumb and finger. They are then again put upon the sieves, which are 
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