132 



BONGOUME 



HEMSKIRKE 



pressed ; suture well marked, deep at cavity ; apex 

 rounded ; color golden-orange with a deep red blush ; 

 pubescence short, fine, obscure ; stem very short ; skin 

 thin, tender, free; flesh deep yellow or orange, juicy, 

 mild, sweet but not rich ; stone of medium size, flat, 

 ovate, free or clinging somewhat ; pervious channel ; 

 kernel bitter. 



BONGOUME. This is one of the few Jap- 

 anese apricots grown in America for its fruits, 

 but because of small size and poor flavor the 

 fruits are hardly worth having. Its only merit 

 is to add variety. It is more tender to cold 

 than the peach or other apricots. The variety 

 is recommended for the Gulf states. 



Tree small, vigorous, productive, tender to cold. 

 Fruit early ; small or medium in size, round-oblong with 

 a distinct point at the apex ; cavity irregular, narrow, 

 deep ; suture distinct, halves unequal ; skin greenish- 

 yellow with a blush, finely pubescent or nearly smooth ; 

 flesh light yellow, melting, juicy, strongly subacid, sour 

 at the pit and skin ; fair in quality ; stone large, cling- 

 ing, thick, round-ovate, with point at the apex. 



BREDA. The name has been used to desig- 

 nate several apricots during the last two cen- 

 turies. The one here described is the variety 

 now listed by English nurserymen, distin- 

 guished as an early sort of excellent quality. 

 It is to be found in eastern American orchards, 

 but seems not to be known on the Pacific 

 slope. The origin of Breda does not appear 

 in any available pomology. 



Tree very vigorous, with strong-growing shoots, pro- 

 ductive. Flowers early, large, white. Fruit early ; 1 % 

 inches in diameter ; round-oblate, compressed, halves 

 equal ; cavity deep, flaring ; suture shallow, becoming 

 deep at cavity ; apex small, flattened ; color light 

 orange-yellow with a handsome blush deepening about 

 the cavity ; pubescence obscure ; many red dots ; skin 

 thick, tough, free ; flesh rich orange, juicy, coarse, 

 stringy, sweet ; good ; stone free, small, round-ovate, 

 winged, smooth ; kernel sweet. 



BUDD. Budd has the doubtful recom- 

 mendation of producing the best fruits of all 

 the Russian apricots. The crop ripens very 

 early, and the fruits have a sweet peach-like 

 flavor that recommends them to those who 

 are looking for variety. Budd is grown only 

 in the Middle West, where it was introduced 

 a generation ago by J. L. Budd, the noted 

 authority on Russian fruits. The variety is not 

 gaining in popularity. 



Tree vigorous, upright, hardy, productive. Leaves 

 glandular. Fruit very early ; small, oval, flattened ; 

 suture deep ; halves unequal ; skin golden-yellow, tinged 

 with red on exposed sides ; flesh bright orange, coarse, 

 stringy, juicy, firm, sweet, peach-like in flavor ; good ; 

 stone cling or half-cling, rather large. 



EARLY GOLDEN. Wickson reports on 

 this variety in California as follows: 



"Origin unknown ; small, roundish oval, with suture 

 well marked and extending half way round ; skin smooth, 

 pale orange ; flesh yellow, moderately juicy and sweet, 

 with very good flavor ; separates from the stone. This 

 variety is reported favorably from some counties, but 

 .generally otherwise, and is not largely grown. Ripens 

 oefore Royal." 



EARLY MOORPARK. Fig. 106. Early 

 Moorpark is one of the standard early apricots 

 East and West, and is very popular with the 

 apricot-growers in southern California. The 

 fruits resemble those of Moorpark, best known 

 of all apricots, in shape, color, and quality, but 



are smaller and appear three weeks earlier; 

 they are choicely good in quality but are a 

 little too small for the market. The crop 

 ripens soon after the middle of July at Geneva, 



106. Early Moorpark. (X%) 



New York. The trees are very productive, but 

 are tender to cold, and the crop ripens un- 

 evenly in some situations. This is a good 

 variety to try in the East because of extreme 

 earliness. Early Moorpark is an old English 

 variety. 



Tree vigorous, hardy, healthy, productive, with strong, 

 luxuriant shoots. Fruit very early ; small, round-oval, 

 with a well-marked or deep suture extending from base 

 to apex ; skin lemon-yellow flushed and dotted with 

 bright reddish-orange ; very juicy, sweet and rich ; of 

 best quality ; stone free from the flesh, round-oblong, 

 rough ; kernel bitter. 



GIBB. Gibb is another of the compara- 

 tively worthless Russian sorts, but may be of 

 value in the Middle West. The fruit is some- 

 what larger than that of other Russians, ripens 

 about the latest of the Russians, and is fair 

 in quality. But few nurserymen offer the 

 variety, and it is likely soon to be a fruit of 

 the past. Gibb has been grown for a genera- 

 tion, but when, where, and by whom originated 

 does not appear, although it was evidently 

 named after the great Canadian authority on 

 Russian fruits. 



Tree large, vigorous, upright, hardy, productive. 

 Leaves very large with a long gland-bearing stem. 

 Fruit ripening August 1st at Geneva, New York ; small, 

 round ; apex acute ; suture well-marked but not deep ; 

 skin light yellow, with a trace of color in the cheek 

 to the sun ; flesh yellow, juicy, subacid ; rather poor ; 

 stone medium to large, free, oval. 



107. Hemskirke. 



HEMSKIRKE. Fig. 107. This variety is a 

 strain of Moorpark, which it surpasses in hardi- 

 ness of tree. The tree resembles that of Moor- 

 park in wood and foliage, but is a more regular 



