136 



Plums and Plum Culture 



Like many other Japanese plums this is greatly confused. 

 The original stock was probably imported by H. H. Berger & 

 Co. of California. It has no value aside from its earliness. 

 Stark Brothers' name, Earliest of All, is used here, following 

 Bailey, though it is objectionable in form. 



Engre. — "About one-third larger than Earliest of All, not 

 round, but somewhat flattened endwise, the suture usually 

 rather prominent ; color a very little darker than Earliest of 

 All ; flesh soft and yellow, cling, sour, but with almost no 

 almond flavor, and the skin tough. Engre is practically of 

 the same season as Earliest of All, although this year it was 

 about one day later. It is a distinctly better plum. We rec- 

 ommend it for being very early. With us it has been a pro- 

 lific bearer, and the fruits are attractive. Its quality is not 

 as good as that of Burbank and Abundance, but its great 

 earliness commends it." — Bailey, Cornell Experiment Station 

 Bulletin 175:131, 1899- 



Georgeson (Hattonkin, Mikado, White Kelsey, Yeddo). — 

 Fruit globular or somewhat heart-shaped ; size medium to 

 large ; cavity deep, abrupt ; stem medium ; suture faint ; 

 apex rounded or pointed ; color rich yellow ; bloom whitish ; 

 skin tough, sour ; flesh firm, hard, yellow ; stone medium 

 large, cling; quality fair; season late. 



Imported by H. H. Berger of San Francisco. Distributed 

 under various labels. Not a favorite. 



Hale (Prolific, of Burbank). — "Fruit medium to large, 

 globular or somewhat globular-oblong, not pointed, the suture 

 usually distinctly marked ; color deep yellow or orange, thinly 

 overlaid with mottled and speckled red, giving the appearance 

 of a yellow-red fruit, bearing a thin bloom and having many 

 yellow specks; flesh soft and juicy, yellow, cling, of good 

 quality, but the skin sour ; ripened with us this year on the 

 24th of August. The fruit has a very slender stem and drops 

 easily from the tree. The tree is a moderately spreading 

 grower, being intermediate in habit between the Georgeson 

 and Abundance. The fruit is of good quality, but for the last 

 two seasons it has failed to color well and has dropped pre- 

 maturely. The trees have not been very productive, although 

 they have borne for three consecutive years. From its be- 

 havior thus far, we are of the opinion that the Hale should 

 not be put in the first or leading list of Japanese plums for 

 western New York. It follows the Georgeson, being in con- 

 dition for eating when the last specimens of the Georgeson 

 are passing." — Bailey, Cornell Bulletin 175:147, 1899. 



Imported by Luther Burbank in 1885. Named for the 

 introducer, J. H. Hale, of Connecticut. Has been rather 

 largely planted in the last four or five years, but is not yet 

 sufficiently tested in the orchard. 



