REINE CLAUDE 



hang to the trees exceptionally well. This is 

 one of the plums that varies in season of ripen- 

 ing, but usually the fruits ripen a week or more 

 before those of Abundance. Red June is some- 

 what self-sterile. The variety was imported 

 from Japan by H. H. Berger and Company, 

 San Francisco, California, under the name 

 Shiro Smomo, about 1887. 



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

 ductive, healthy. Leaves oblanceolate, 1 inch wide, 

 2 % inches long, thin ; apex taper-pointed ; base acumi- 

 nate ; margin finely serrate, with small glands ; petiole 

 % inch long, slender, tinged red, hairy along one side, 

 with 1-3 small, brown glands usually at the base of 

 the leaf. Flowers white. Fruit early, 1V 2 inches by 

 1% inches in size, round-cordate, sides unequal ; cavity 

 large, deep, narrow, regular, abrupt ; suture deep, dis- 

 tinct ; apex very pointed ; color garnet-red, mottled ; 

 bloom thin ; dots numerous, small, russet ; stem % inch 

 long, adhering to the fruit ; skin tender, astringent, 

 separating easily ; flesh light yellow, fibrous, meaty, 

 sweet except near the center ; good ; stone clinging, ir- 

 regular-oval, flattened, pointed at both ends, with 

 pitted surfaces. 



REINE CLAUDE. P. domestica. Green 

 Gage. For the qualities that gratify the sense 

 of taste richness of flavor, consistency and 

 texture of flesh, abundance of juice, and pleas- 

 ant aroma, the fruits of Reine Claude are 

 unsurpassed. Under ordinary cultivation, the 

 plum is not remarkably handsome, but when 

 grown on thrifty trees, the crop thinned, foliage 

 and fruit kept free from pests, and the fruit 

 sufficiently exposed to the sun to color well, 

 it is beautiful. The trees are only of moderate 

 size in the orchard, and in the nursery are so 

 small and wayward that nurserymen hesitate 

 to grow them; although small, they are pro- 

 ductive and bear regularly, the chief defect 

 being susceptibility to sun-scald, whereby the 

 bark on the tree is killed and the beginning 

 of the end is marked. Another serious fault is 

 that the fruit cracks badly if showers occur at 

 ripening time. Reine Claude is still one of the 

 most profitable plums grown, and, whether for 

 the commercial or home plantation, deserves a 

 place in the plum orchard. Bavay, a distinct 

 variety, is called the true Reine Claude by 

 many nurserymen and horticultural writers. 

 Green Gage, a synonym of Reine Claude, is 

 preferred by some writers. The variety is an 

 old one from Europe. 



Tree of medium size and vigor, round-topped, hardy, 

 productive. Leaves 4^ inches long, 2 inches wide, 

 oval, thick, leathery ; apex acute ; margin often doubly 

 crenate, glandular ; petiole % inch long, tinged red, 

 glandless or with one or two small, globose, greenish 

 glands. Fruit midseason ; 1% by 1% inches in size, 

 round-oval, halves equal ; cavity narrow, regular, 

 abrupt ; suture shallow, broad ; apex pubescent, slightly 

 depressed ; color yellowish-green, indistinctly streaked 

 with green, becoming golden-yellow at full maturity, 

 sometimes mottled on the sunny side with red, over- 

 spread with thin bloom ; dots very numerous, small, 

 grayish, conspicuous, clustered about the apex ; stem 

 thick, % inch long, pubescent ; skin tough, adhering 

 to the pulp ; flesh greenish-yellow or golden-yellow, 

 juicy, firm, sweet, mild ; very good ; stone semi-clinging, 

 oval, turgid, tapering at the base, blunt at the apex, 

 with thickly pitted surfaces. 



ROBINSON. P. Munsoniana. Robinson 

 has long been one of the best known plums of 

 its species. The plums are attractive in color- 

 ing, but small in size and comparatively low in 



quality. The trees are capricious in growth 

 and not so hardy as some others of the species, 

 but where they can be grown are always pro- 

 ductive. The variety is rated by some among 

 those that need cross-pollination to insure 

 crops. Robinson may be worth growing in the 

 South and in the states of the Plains. This 

 variety is a seedling grown by a Mr. Pickett, 

 Putnam County, Indiana, about 1835. 



Tree often large, vigorous, spreading, not uniform 

 in habit. Leaves lanceolate, peach-like, 1-^ B inches 

 wide, 3% inches long, thin; apex taper-pointed; base 

 obtuse ; margin very finely serrate, with small, dark 

 red glands ; petiole slender, % inch long, reddish, 

 lightly pubescent along one side, glandless or with 1-7 

 small, globose, reddish-brown glands. Flowers 1 inch 

 across, whitish, somewhat self-sterile. Fruit early ; 1 

 inch in diameter, round-oval, halves equal ; cavity of 

 medium depth and width, abrupt ; suture a line ; apex 

 roundish ; color clear currant-red, overspread with thick 

 bloom ; dots scattering, large, russet, clustered around 

 the apex ; stem slender, % inch long, glabrous, ad- 

 hering to the fruit ; skin tough, bitter, separating 

 readily ; flesh golden-yellow, very juicy, fibrous, tender 

 and melting, sweet next the skin, with some astringency 

 near the center, of pleasant flavor ; fair in quality ; 

 stone clinging, oval, turgid, very slightly flattened and 

 necked at the base, abrupt-pointed at the apex, roughish. 



ROLLINGSTONE. P. americana. Min- 

 nesota. Rollingstone is an old Americana sort 

 which has been kept in cultivation chiefly 

 because the product is of very good quality. 

 The fruits are dull in color, small, but not un- 

 attractive in appearance, and are little troubled 

 by either brown-rot or curculio. The tree is 

 dwarf with a crooked trunk, shaggy bark, 

 unkempt top, and very twiggy a typical 

 Americana and most difficult to train into a 

 good orchard plant. The variety is character- 

 ized by long, conspicuous stamens, stigmas 

 frequently defective, and very large leaves. 

 Rollingstone was found on the Rollingstone 

 Creek, Minnesota, by Mr. O. M. Lord. 



Tree dwarf, variable in vigor, spreading, flat-topped, 

 hardy, productive, healthy. Leaves falling early, long- 

 ovate, 1% inches wide, 3% inches long, thin; apex 

 taper-pointed ; base rather acute ; margin coarsely and 

 doubly serrate, eglandular ; petiole slender, % inch 

 long, tinged red, sparingly pubescent, with 1 or 2 

 small, globose reddish glands. Flowers % inch across, 

 creamy-white, changing to white as the flowers expand. 

 Fruit midseason or earlier ; 1 inch in diameter, round, 

 halves equal ; cavity shallow, flaring, marked before 

 maturity with light-colored, radiating streaks ; suture 

 a line ; apex roundish ; color dark purplish-red, with 

 thin bloom ; dots numerous, small, light russet, in- 

 conspicuous ; stem slender, T 9 ff inch long, adhering" 

 poorly to the fruit ; skin thick, tough, semi-adherent ; 

 flesh orange-yellow, juicy, fibrous, tender and melting, 

 sweet, strongly aromatic ; good ; stone semi-free, round- 

 oval, flattened, smoothish, blunt at the base and apex. 



RUTLAND PLUMCOT. P. salicinaX 

 P. americana. Plumcot. One of the interesting 

 novelties of recent plum-breeding is the 

 Plumcot, grown by Luther Burbank from a 

 cross between the plum and the apricot. As 

 he has not seen the fruit of this remarkable 

 cross, the author is unable to judge of its value 

 to the plum-grower. The variety was intro- 

 duced by the Fancher Creek Nursery in 1906. 

 The following description is compiled: 



Tree vigorous, spreading, open, not a heavy bearer ; 

 branches thorny ; leaves oval, 1 % inches wide, 2 % inches 

 Ion?, rather stiff ; margin finely and doubly crenate, 

 glandular ; petiole greenish-red, with 1-4 globose glands. 



