204 



HULINGS 



IMPERIAL GAGE 



narrow, abrupt, regular ; suture shallow ; color purplish- 

 black, with thick bloom ; dots numerous, small, russet ; 

 stem slender, 1 inch long ; skin thin, tender, separating 

 readily ; flesh golden-yellow, juicy, tender, sweet next 

 the skin, sour towards the center, aromatic ; good ; stone 

 sometimes reddish, ovate, roughened, acute at the base 

 and apex. 



HULINGS. P. domestica. Keysets Plum. 

 Hulings is one of the Reine Claude group, and 

 typical of the remarkably fine varieties of that 

 group in every respect. The plums are par- 

 ticularly agreeable to the taste because of 

 sprightliness, which many plums of its type 

 lack. The trees are satisfactory, so that the 

 variety has much to recommend it for com- 

 mercial plantations. Hulings originated early 

 in the last century with a Mr. Keyser of 

 Pennsylvania, who grew it from seed; W. E. 

 Hulings of the same state brought it to public 

 notice. 



Tree large, vigorous, upright-spreading, dense-topped, 

 productive. Leaves unusually large, obovate, 3 inches 

 wide, 6 % inches long, thick, leathery, rugose ; margin 

 crenate or serrate ; petiole thick, tinged red, pubescent, 

 with 1-3 globose glands. Fruit maturing in midseason ; 

 about 2 inches in diameter, round, dull greenish-yellow, 

 overspread with thin bloom ; skin thin, somewhat sour ; 

 flesh greenish, firm but tender, sprightly ; good to very 

 good ; stone broad-oval, medium turgid, with short, 

 thick, slightly oblique apex. 



HUNGARIAN. P. domestica. Date Plum. 

 Hungarian Prune. This plum may be a de- 

 scendant of a species distinct from P. domes- 

 tica. It differs in habit of growth, the leaves 

 are smaller, distinctly folded, and droop. But 

 it is the fruit that differs most; fruit and stone 

 are more elongated than in other European va- 

 rieties, and the stone is larger, flatter, more 

 pitted, and more pointed at the base and apex. 

 It is doubtful whether Hungarian is worth cul- 

 tivating in America, though the plum is larger 

 than that of the commonly grown German 

 Prune, and is fully equal if not better in 

 quality; but its type is unknown and con- 

 sumers hesitate to buy the unknown. Nothing 

 is known of the history of this plum except 

 that it has been long under cultivation, and 

 that it came from Hungary. 



Tree large, vigorous, upright-spreading, dense-topped, 

 hardy, productive. Leaves drooping, obovate, 1% 

 inches wide, 3 % inches long, thick ; apex and base 

 acute ; margin serrate, with small brown glands ; petiole 

 % inch long, pubescent, tinged red, glandless or with 

 1 or 2 globose, greenish-yellow glands. Flowers 1 inch 

 across, file buds tinged yellow, changing to white on 

 opening. Fruit late ; 1 % by 1 inch in size, oblong, 

 necked, swollen on the suture side, compressed, halves 

 unequal ; cavity very shallow and narrow, abrupt ; 

 suture shallow ; apex pointed ; color dark reddish- 

 purple, with thick bloom ; dots numerous, small, russet ; 

 stem slender, 1 inch long, pubescent ; skin thin, tough, 

 sour, separating readily ; flesh yellowish-green, juicy, 

 firm but tender, sweet, mild ; good to very good ; stone 

 semi-free to free, long-oval, flattened, necked at the 

 base, acute at the apex, with thickly pitted surfaces. 



ICKWORTH. P. domestica. Ickworth 

 Imperatrice. Ickworth is hardly known in 

 America, but in England it is a favorite late 

 plum, noted as being one of the best of all 

 plums for late keeping. The plums are too 

 small for the market, and are not high enough 

 in quality for a home plum; moreover, they 

 do not always ripen in northern latitudes. In 



California, Ickworth has been found to make 

 a very good prune and to ship very well in 

 the green state, but here, also, small size 

 debars it from great commercial value. The 

 tree characters of Ickworth are all good. Knight, 

 the noted English pomologist, raised this plum 

 early in the last century. 



Tree large, vigorous, upright-spreading, hardy, pro- 

 ductive. Leaves oval, 1% inches wide, 3 inches long, 

 thick, leathery ; apex abruptly pointed or acute, base 

 acute ; margin crenate, with small dark glands ; petiole 

 a /fe inch long, thick, greenish, glandless or with 1-4 

 large, reniform or globose, yellowish-brown glands. 

 Flowers 1 inch across, white. Fruit very late; 1* 

 by 1% inches in size, oval, sometimes compressed, 

 halves unequal ; cavity shallow, narrow, abrupt ; suture 

 shallow, wide ; apex one-sided, depressed ; color purplish- 

 black, mottled, with thick bloom, dots numerous, very 

 small ; stem 1 inch long, pubescent ; skin thick, tender, 

 adhering ; flesh dull yellowish, juicy, sweet, mild, pleas- 

 ant ; good ; stone usually clinging, irregularly oval, 

 flattened, faintly pitted, acute at the base, blunt at 

 the apex. 



IMPERIAL EPINEUSE. P. domestica. 

 Clairac Mammoth. The fruits of Imperial 

 Epineuse are not surpassed in quality by those 

 of any other plum; moreover, they are most 

 pleasing in appearance, being large, beautiful 

 in shape, and made further attractive by a 

 handsome reddish-purple color which is lighter 

 or darker according to the exposure to the sun. 

 The tree-characters are exceptionally good; 

 the crop is so borne on the main limbs as to 

 be protected from the sun; and the tree is 

 particularly large and vigorous, its strong 

 growth being a striking characteristic of the 

 variety. The variety is much grown in Cali- 

 fornia, and should be grown in all plum- 

 regions. Wherever tried in the East, fruit and 

 tree are liked, and the variety is certain to 

 grow in popularity in eastern orchards for both 

 home and market plantations. Imperial 

 Epineuse was found about 1870 near Clairac, 

 in the great prune district of France. It was 

 brought to the United States by Felix Gillett, 

 Nevada City, California, in 1883. 



Tree large, vigorous, spreading, productive. Leaves 

 obovate, 1% inches wide, 3% inches long, thick, rugose, 

 glabrous except along the deep and widely grooved 

 midrib ; petiole 1 inch long, tinged red, glandless or 

 with 1-3 globose glands. Flowers 1 inch across. Fruit 

 late ; large, obovate, purplish-red, darker on the sunny 

 side, mottled, overspread with thick bloom ; flesh 

 greenish-yellow, fibrous, tender, sweet, agreeable in 

 flavor ; very good ; stone clinging, irregular-oval, flat- 

 tened, obliquely but bluntly contracted at the base, with 

 pitted surfaces. 



IMPERIAL GAGE. Fig. 197. P. domes- 

 tica. Flushing Gage. Prince's Gage. Superior 

 Green Gage. White Gage. There is much 

 contradictory evidence as to the value of Im- 

 perial Gage. The fruits are said in some of 

 the fruit-books to be the largest of all the 

 Reine Claude plums, and in others to be too 

 small to be desirable; in some, they are said 

 to be of highest quality, and in others quite 

 too insipid to be called a dessert fruit. These 

 contradictions have arisen because the variety 

 grows quite differently in different soils. Im- 

 perial Gage is best adapted to light sandy soils ; 

 the fruits grow largest and best in quality on 

 such soils, and make the poorest show of all 



