A .4 

 *5C^ 



274 YEARBOOK OF THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



slope and depth; suture shallow except at apex, which is minute, 

 rarely projecting beyond the suture; skin rather thick and tenacious, 

 slightly acid; stone small to medium, plump, oval, free; flesh light 

 yellow", quite firm, yet melting and juicy; flavor sprightly subacid and 

 vinous; quality good to very good, specially adapted to shipment and 

 canning; season moderately late, a few days after Chili, about Septem- 

 ber 20 to 30 in Allegan County, Mich. 



Tree a vigorous though rather slender, upright grower, rooting 

 more deeply than Chili, and therefore enduring drought better, hardy 

 and regularly productive; leaf glands large, numerous, reniform; 

 flowers small. 



The specimens illustrated on PL XXXV were grown by the late 

 Mr. James F. Taylor, Douglas, Mich., in 1903. 



SPLENDOR PRUNE. 



[PLATE XXXVI.] 



Among the prune growers of the Pacific coast the desirability- of an 

 earlier and larger variety of plum than the Agen (synonyms, Petite, 

 French; etc.) suitable for curing into prunes has long been recognized. 

 The prune-growing sections of the Old World, especially those of 

 France, have been canvassed, and several more or less promising sorts 

 now under commercial test have been secured within the past ten 

 years. Meanwhile Mr. Luther Burbank has been at work upon the 

 problem from the plant breeder's standpoint, and has produced at 

 least two very promising varieties, "Splendor" and " Sugar," which 

 are illustrated in PI. XXXVI. 



Splendor is stated by^ Mr. Burbank to have been grown from seed 

 of the Agen, or common " French " prune of California, which was 

 first introduced to California from France in the form of scions 

 brought to San Jose in December, 1856, by Louis and Pierre Pellier. 

 It was the result of a cross by Pond (synon} T ms, Pond Seedling, 

 Hungarian Prune, Grosse Prune cTAgen, etc.), an English variety of 

 large size .that has long been grown throughout the plum-growing 

 districts of the Northern and Eastern States. Splendor was first 

 described and offered for sale by Mr. Burbank in his catalogue of 

 "New creations in fruits and flowers" for 1893. where it was pro- 

 visionally listed under the designation "Crossbred Prune A. P.-318." 

 The original tree and the right to propagate and introduce the 

 variety were purchased of Mr. Burbank soon thereafter by the Stark 

 Brothers Nurseries and Orchards Company, who introduced it under 

 the name "Splendor" in 1894. It is now under test in commercial 

 orchards throughout the Domestica plum districts of the United 

 States and Canada, and promises well as a shipping, dessert, and curing 

 plum. 



