Fifteen Varieties of Early Plums. 103 



pomological works which I have had an opportunity to con- 

 sult, the Black Damask is given as a synonyme of the Mo- 

 rocco, but the kind now described is certainly distinct. It 

 was received from England by my father about ten years 

 since, but, from what nursery, I cannot now ascertain. The 

 leaf is darker, more glossy, and narrower than in the Mo- 

 rocco, and the buds are more prominent, but the greatest dif- 

 ference is in the time of ripening, which is invariably from 

 one to two weeks later, under equally favorable circumstances 

 of soil and exposure. 



5. English Wheat. — (Wheat, of the London Catalogue ; 

 English, to distinguish it from the American wheat.) — Size, 

 medium, often large ; form, oval, a little flattened at the stem 

 end, pointed at the other, frequently somewhat one-sided, 

 suture broad but not deep ; stem three quarters of an inch in 

 length, pretty stout, set in a deep cavity ; color on the sunny 

 side bright red, speckled and clouded with golden brown, the 

 shaded side often retains a shade of green when fully mature. 

 Bloom thin, light blue ; flesh bright yellow, very sweet, rich 

 and juicy, adhering firmly to the stone, which is quite large. 

 Ripe from the 15th to the 25tli of August. 



6. Drap d'Or. — While our attention is every year called to 

 many new plums, which we are told are " equal to the Green 

 Gage," but few of which fulfil the promises of those whose 

 partiality recommends them, here is one which comes as near 

 that standard of flavor as any other, new or old, and which, 

 though long known, is not one half as much cultivated as it 

 deserves to be. The form and flavor are, as much as pos- 

 sible, like the Green Gage, in size somewhat less, and one or two 

 weeks earlier ; skin thin and delicate, of a golden yellow color, 

 mottled, like the Green Gage, with red and russet, and cov- 

 ered with a thin bloom. Downing says, it is " sometimes a 

 little dry." but I have never found it at all deficient in juice. 

 Of vigorous growth, branches downy. 



I have fruited the Grosse Mirabelle, and find it quite dis- 

 tinct from the above, though made synonymous by the Lon- 

 don Catalogue, and those who follow it. Though resembling 

 the Drap d'Or in many respects, it is not ripe before the mid- 

 dle of September. Branches slender, perfectly smooth. 



