THE 



Canadian Horticuuurist 



MAY, 1903 



Volume XXVI 



Number 5 



GEEEN GAGE 



THE Green Gage is a good representa- 

 tive of a very importai* group of 

 domestic plums, which is both very 

 ancient and very desirable. Other well 

 known varieties of the Green Gage group 

 are Reine Claude, Imperial Gage, McLaugh- 

 lin, Jefferson, Washington, General Hand, 

 Peter's Gage, Golden Gage, etc. 



In Ontario the most popular variety of the 

 Green Gage group of plums, especially for 

 cooking purposes, is the Reine Claude de 

 Bavay, commonly known among us as Reine 

 Claude; but in the catalogue of the Ameri- 

 can Pomological Society called Bavay. The 

 fruit of this plum is larger than that of the 

 Green Gage ; the tree is a stronger grower 

 and hence perhaps better suited to the com- 

 mercial orchard, but in quality no one of the 

 group excels this old topical kind, the Green 

 Gage. 



Dr. Robert Hogg, author of the " Fruit 

 Manual " of Great Britain, gives the follow- 

 ing history of the origin of this plum : 



This universally known and highly esteemed 

 fruit has been longer in this country (England) 

 than has been generally supposed. It is said 

 to hare been introduced at the beginning of the 

 last century by Sir Thomas Gage, of Hengrave 

 Hall, near Bury St. Edmunds, who procured it 

 from his brother, the Rev. John Gage, a Roman 

 Catholic priest, then resident In Paris. In 



course of time it became known as the Green 

 Gage plum. In France, although it has many 

 names, that by which it is best known is GroaSe 

 Reine Claude to distinguish it from a smaller 

 and much inferior plum called Reine Claude 

 Petite. The Green Gage is supposed to be a 

 native of Greece, and to have been introduced 

 at an early period from Italy, where it is called 

 Verdochia. From Italy it has passed into 

 France,' during the reign of Francis I., and was 

 named in honor of his consort. Queen Claude. 

 Shortly afterwards it found its way into Eng- 

 land under its original Italian name, Ver- 

 dochia, from which we may infer that it was 

 brought direct from -taly. It is mentioned by 

 Parkinson in 1629 under the name of Verdoch, 

 and from the way in which he speaks of it, it 

 seems to have been not at all rare, nor even 

 new. Even so late as the middle of the last 

 century, after it had been reintroduced and ex- 

 tensively grown under the name or Green Gage, 

 it continued to bear its original title, and to be 

 regarded as a distinct sort from the Green 

 Gage. 



If any of our readers is making a selec- 

 tion of plums for his home garden, we would 

 advise him not to omit a tree of the 

 Green Gage for kitchen uses ; or, if he 

 wishes to combine both kitchen and market 

 purposes, then let him plant the Reine 

 Claude. 



The Green Gage tree is not a rapid grow- 

 er, but it is healthy and fairly productive. The 

 fruit is smaller than Reine Claude, and must 

 be thinned to make it reack a proper size. 

 The skin is greenish, yellowing toward ma- 



