54 OUR COMMON FBT7ITS. 



red, or occasionally quite red ; and, a matter of more im- 

 portance, it is much less austere, forming very fair pies 

 and other culinary preparations. When uncooked they 

 are not very attractive, as may be judged by their having 

 earned in Provence the name of Prunes sibarelles, because 

 from their sourness it is impossible to whistle just after 

 having eaten them. 



From the Bullace we rise to the Primus domestica, the 

 spineless species, including all the numerous varieties 

 which furnish our autumnal feasts, none of which are 

 found truly wild in Britain. There is, however, little 

 record of their introduction, except a mention by Hak- 

 bergh, in 1582, of the plum called the Perdigwend (now 

 Perdrigone) being " brought from Italy, with two kinds 

 more, by Lord Cromwell after his travel;" but Tusser, 

 in 1573, had already enumerated 10 sorts ; and Johnson, 

 in 163f3, says, "To write of plums particularly would 

 require a peculiar volume, and yet the end not to be 

 attained unto nor the stocke or kindred perfectly known, 

 neither to be distinguished! apart. The number of the 

 sorts are not known to any one country ; every climate 

 hath his own fruit far different from that of other coun- 

 tries. Myself have three score sorts in my garden, and 

 all strange and rare : there be in other places many more 

 common, and yet yearely cometh to our hands others not 

 before known." The multiplication of new sorts having 

 begun so early, it is not surprising to find that the third 

 edition of the Horticultural Society's fruit catalogue con- 

 tained 127 varieties, to which about 20 more may now 

 be added, besides fresh American originations. The tree 

 will grow in almost any soil, though it thrives best in a 

 strong rich one ; for in sand it is specially liable to be- 

 come a prey to insects, and in clay the fruit is insipid ; 

 its shade is considered rather favourable than other- 

 wise to grass growing beneath it. It begins to bear in 

 its sixth or seventh year, increasing in productiveness 

 till the 12th year, after which it continues to bear good 

 crops in favourable seasons until decrepitude comes on 

 a period which varies much in different varieties and 

 according to soil and circumstances though it is very 



