ITALIAN PRUNE 



JEFFERSON 



205 



on heavy clays. The trees are nearly perfect 

 in habits of growth vigorous, hardy, healthy, 

 and bear large crops of plums. The product 

 is adapted alike for dessert, canning, home, 



197. Imperial Gage. (XD 



and market. In selected locations, Imperial 

 Gage is a most valuable fruit. The Princes in 

 their nursery at Flushing, Long Island, about 

 the year 1790, planted the pits of twenty-five 

 quarts of the Green Gage plum, and from one 

 of these produced Imperial Gage. 



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

 hardy, very productive. Leaves obovate, 2 inches wide, 

 3 inches long, thick ; apex pointed ; base acute ; margin 

 crenate, with small dark glands ; petiole % inch long, 

 thick, glandless or with 1 or 2 small, globose, yellowish- 

 green glands. Flowers 1 inch across, white. Fruit 

 midseason ; 1 tyj inches in diameter, ovate, compressed, 

 halves equal ; cavity shallow, narrow, abrupt ; suture 

 a line ; apex depressed ; color dull greenish-yellow, with 

 obscure green streaks, mottled and faintly tinged red 

 on the sunny side, with thick bloom ; dots numerous, 

 small, grayish, obscure ; stem % inch long, pubescent ; 

 skin thin, tender, separating readily ; flesh golden- 

 yellow, juicy, firm, tender, sweet, mild ; good to very 

 good ; stone free, oval, flattened, with pitted surfaces, 

 blunt at the base, very blunt at the apex. 



ITALIAN PRUNE. Fig. 198. P. domes- 

 tica. Fellenberg. Italian Prune is grown in 

 all of the plum regions of continental Europe; 

 is well known in England; is third or fourth 

 in popularity in the Atlantic states of America; 

 is the leading plum in the Pacific Northwest, 

 where it is chiefly used in prune-making; and 

 is grown somewhat for prunes and for shipping 

 green in California. The fruit is finely fla- 

 vored, whether eaten out of hand, prepared 

 for the table, or cured as a prune. While a 

 little too tart to be ranked as a first-rate 

 dessert plum, it is one of the best of the 

 prunes for this purpose, though it must be 

 fully ripe to be fit for dessert. In cooking, 

 the yellow flesh changes to a dark wine color, 

 very attractive in appearance, with a most 

 pleasant, sprightly flavor; as a cured prune, 

 the flesh is firm and meaty, yet elastic, of 



good color and a perfect freestone, making 

 when cooked the same attractive-looking, 

 finely-flavored, sprightly sauce as is to be had 

 from the green fruits. The prunes from this 

 variety, also, are noted for long-keeping. In 

 the uncured state, the product keeps and ships 

 well. The trees are large, hardy, productive, 

 well-formed, and bear regularly; yet they are 

 not ideal, and the variety fails chiefly in tree- 

 characters. The trees are often capricious to 

 soil and climate, do not always bear well, 

 seem to be susceptible to diseases, are preyed 

 upon by insects, and suffer in particular from 

 dry or hot weather. Italian Prune originated 

 in Italy at least a century ago, and has long 

 been common in northern Italy, especially in 

 the vicinity of Milan. 



198. Italian Prune. (XD 



Tree vigorous, upright, low-topped, hardy, productive. 

 Leaves oval, 2 inches wide, 1% inches long; apex and 

 base acute ; margin doubly crenate, with small, dark 

 glands ; petiole % inch long, thick, pubescent, tinged 

 red, with 1-3 globose, greenish-brown glands. Flowers 

 1 ^4 inches across, white. Fruit late ; 2 by 1 % inches 

 in size, long-oval, enlarged on the suture side, com- 

 pressed, halves unequal ; cavity very shallow and nar- 

 row, abrupt ; suture shallow ; apex bluntly pointed ; 

 color purplish-black, with very thick bloom ; dots nu- 

 merous, small, light brown, conspicuous ; stem inserted 

 at one side of the base, 1 inch in length, pubescent ; 

 skin thin, tough ; flesh yellow, juicy, firm, subacid, 

 aromatic ; very good to best ; stone free, irregular-oval, 

 flattened, roughened and pitted, necked at the base, 

 abruptly tipped at the apex. 



JEFFERSON. Fig. 199. P. domestica. 

 Jefferson has long been popular in America. 

 Its popularity is waning, however, chiefly be- 

 cause it is lacking in the essentials demanded 

 of a market fruit. There can be no question 

 of the standing of Jefferson as to quality of 

 fruit it is one of the best of all dessert plums. 

 Grown under favorable conditions and when 

 fully ripe, the plum is golden-yellow with a 



