THE BURBANK PLUM. 



273 



DESCRIPTION. 



Origin. — Imported from Japan in 1885, by 

 Luther Burbank of Santa Rosa, California, 

 and introduced to the trade in 1890. 

 Named after the introducer, by H. E. Van 

 Deman. 



Tree. — Hardy ; a very vigorous wayward 

 grower, making a very badly shaped tree, 

 unless severely headed back and kept within 

 bounds ; an early and most abundant bearer ; 

 the fruit needs thinning to secure a good 

 size ; class, Prunus triflora. 



Fruit, two inches in diameter, nearly 

 round, but slightly conical ; skin, orange 

 yellow ground, shaded with red, and almost 

 purple on side exposed to the sun ; very 

 smooth, with a slight bloom ; peels easily 

 when ripe ; suture traceable ; apex a small 

 point ; stem half to five-eighths of an inch 

 long, stout ; cavity deep, abrupt, with leather 

 crack marks. 



Flesh. — Color amber, texture juicy, tender 

 when fully ripe ; flavor sweet, fairly agree- 

 able ; stone, medium, pointed, cling. 



Quality, good for cooking, fair for dessert. 

 Value, first-rate for market. Season, end of 

 August. Adaptation, general. 



The following notes on this plum have 

 been given us by some prominent fruit 

 growers : 



G. E. Fisher, Freeman, Ont. : — "I have 

 not a large number of trees of this variety, 

 but they have cropped well from the first, 

 and the trees seem healthy notwithstanding 

 the large annual yield. They are not loaded 

 heavily this year. My crop of plums is light 

 outside of Reine Claude, which have enongh 

 for two crops. This is, I think, an excep- 

 tion as so far as I have observed the crop of 

 Reine Claude will be light. My Burbanks, 

 when the trees were not over-loaded, were 

 good size but ripened unevenly. It is a 

 good shipper. The tree is a spreading grow- 

 er and requires to be heavily cut back to 

 keep it in anything like a decent shape. 



Japan plums are all of an indifferent quality, 

 but my trees have been hardy and the truit 

 profitable." 



W. H. Dempsey, Trenton: — "Have found 

 it hardy here as to wood, none has been held 

 back. The blossoms have been injured once 

 with a late frost. A very rapid grower. 

 Then the branches come down making ill- 

 shaped trees very productive. Three trees 

 planted in 1896 produced 25 baskets of fruit 

 last year, which sold well. I consider it one 

 of the best commercial plums I have." 



Mr. Harold Jones, Maitland: — "The Bur- 

 bank plum is one of the best of the Japanese 

 for this section, though it has the defect of 

 all of its class in being tender in the fruit 

 bud. In my experience the tree is a strong 

 grower with hardy wood and will bear frui^ 

 with me on years that the Lombard bears, 

 and is free from black knot and shohole 

 fungus so troublesome on many of the Euro- 

 pean varieties." 



Frank Metcalf, Blyth : — "I planted a 

 number of Burbank plum trees five years 

 ago. They are all doing well. They are 

 very vigorous growers and perfectly hardy. 

 They are heavy bearers. The fourth year 

 some of my trees yielded over four baskets 

 per tree. The fruit has a splendid appear- 

 ance and is a ready seller, although the 

 quality is only fair. Everything considered 

 I can recommend it as decidedly above the 

 average." 



W. H. Bunting, St. Catharines :— " The 

 Burbank is probably the most valuable of 

 the Japan plums yet tested, and is the most 

 largely planted. It is an annual and enor- 

 mous bearer. To obtain a good sample it 

 must be thinned severely ; owing to the ab- 

 normal and erratic growth of the tree it must 

 be carefully pruned in order to keep it with- 

 in bounds." 



A. M. Smith, St. Catharines : — I consider 

 it the best of all of the Japan type I have yet 

 tested, and I have a dozen or more of them, 



