52 Plums and Plum Culture 



Regarding the first point, it should be said that 

 the astringency of the skin has often been magnified 

 by persons unaccustomed to these plums and who 

 have eaten them too green. In many varieties, when 

 thoroughly ripe, the skin is neither thick nor un- 

 pleasantly astringent. The faintest suggestion of this 

 characteristic plum taste is altogether pleasant and 

 adds a richness of flavor to the fruit which the best 

 horticultural epicure might well patronize. Professor 

 Goff says, "When divested of the skin, the flesh of the 

 finer sorts is scarcely surpassed in richness by that of 

 any of the stone fruits. In some varieties, as the 

 Mankato and Gaylord, the skin separates very readily 

 from the ripe fruit. The skin of the Cheney and 

 Ocheeda practically dissolves in cooking, and that of 

 the Aitken and a few other sorts is so thin and delicate 

 when the fruit is ripe that the skin is no more objec- 

 tionable than that of the finest European or Japan 

 sorts " I have said elsewhere that, in my opinion, the 

 finest quality known among plums, — that is to say, in 

 the whole kingdom of fruits, — is to be found in some 

 of the fine Americanas, when they are "just right." 

 Other plums are more meaty, some are sweeter, many 

 are better for eating out of hand, but the fine 

 "bouquet" of flavors presented by the Americanas 

 cannot be surpassed. 



Most of the varieties are clingstones, and the few 

 freestones seem to me not to be the varieties of highest 

 flavor. There are, however, several respectable varie- 

 ties in which the stones are as free as could be desired. 



Are the Americanas salable? They are. The 

 large, highly-colored Domesticas and Japanese varie- 

 ties are preferred at the fruit stands, and doubtless will 

 long continue to be. There are, too, many cooks who 

 prefer the old-fashioned plums like Lombards and 

 Damsons, largely because they are used to them. 



