The Domestica Plums 25 



medium to large, always oval or ellipsoid, usually with 

 one side of the oval straighter than the other; com- 

 pressed; color, blue or purple; flesh, mostly greenish- 

 yellow, rather firm; stone, usually free in a large cavity. 



It will be seen that the group, as thus charac- 

 terized, corresponds fairly well to the popular western 

 conception of what is a prune. The prune type is one 

 of the most striking and perhaps, commercially, the 

 most important, of any of our cultivated plums. 



The Perdrigons. — The so-called Perdrigons have 

 always been recognized by European writers as a 

 group of considerable importance. Downing describes 

 White Perdrigon, Blue Perdrigon and Red Perdrigon, 

 and some other varieties which a study of the bibliog- 

 raphy would refer to this group. Still, the name Per- 

 drigon is now practically unknown in America, and 

 the type itself is hardly more common. The only one 

 of the old original European varieties which I have 

 found in this country is Royal Tours, and this is very 

 rare. The best known variety is probably Goliath. 

 The Late Black Orleans, cultivated by Ellwanger & 

 Barry, I would also refer to this type. I have recently 

 met the old French Red Perdrigon in Canada. 



The group may be roughly characterized as fol- 

 lows: Fruit, medium to large, spherical or oblate, 

 sometimes distinctly depressed at the apex, usually 

 with a deep suture, blue or purple; flesh, greenish- 

 yellow, rather firm. 



The Diamond type. — The uninformed public 

 knows three varieties of plums, — "blue plums, red 

 plums and yellow plums." It is often amusing to 

 hear the confident tone in which the benighted cow 

 farmer or hog grower decides to plant one tree of "blue 

 plums" and one tree of "yellow plums" to supply his 

 family. "The blue plum is the best kind to eat," he 

 says, "but the yellow variety is best to can." 



