220 



WILD GOOSE 



WOLF 



tender in tree and bud, hardy only where the 

 peach can be grown; it blooms too early to be 

 safe from frost; it is susceptible to brown-rot; 



211. Wickson. 



the trees are L:te in coming in bearing and are 

 not reliable in fruiting; the fruits ripen un- 

 evenly; and the trees are not of good form for 

 heavy crops. IP California, however, Wickson 

 is one of the leading Japanese sorts, and is 

 apparently growing in favor. Wickson is the 

 best known of Burbank's many plums. It was 

 first described in 1892. 



Tree medium to large, vigorous, with narrow, upright 

 head, dense-topped, tender to cold, an uncertain bearer. 

 Leaves oblanceolate, 1 inch wide, 3 inches long, thin ; 

 apex taper-pointed ; base cuneate ; margin finely serrate, 

 with reddish glands ; petiole % inch long, faintly 

 tinged red, glandless or with 1-9 small, reniform, 

 greenish or yellow glands. Flowers appearing after 

 the leaves, intermediate in size, white. Fruit early 

 midseason ; 2% inches in diameter, obliquely cordate, 

 halves unequal ; cavity deep, abrupt, with concentric 

 rings ; suture prominent and deep, with a prolonged tip 

 at the apex ; color dark red over a yellow ground, in- 

 distinctly splashed with darker red, mottled with thin 

 bloom ; dots numerous, small, yellow, densely clustered 

 about the apex ; stem thick, {J inch long, glabrous ; 

 skin thin, tender, separating easily ; flesh amber-yellow, 

 juicy, coarse, fibrous, firm, sweet, pleasant but not high 

 in flavor ; good ; stone clinging, oval or ovate, pointed, 

 with pitted surfaces. 



WILD GOOSE. Fig. 212. P. Munsoniana. 

 Wild Goose was the first of the native plums 

 to be generally grown as a distinct variety. 

 It is probably a parent of more sorts than any 

 other variety of the several cultivated native 

 species; most of its offspring so strongly re- 

 semble it that its name has been given to a 

 group of closely related sorts. In spite of the 

 great number of native plums that have been 

 introduced in recent years, Wild Goose is still 

 a favorite. Good qualities of the plum are: 

 bright attractive color; tender and melting 

 flesh with a sprightly and refreshing flavor; a 

 tough skin which fits it well for shipment and 



long-keeping; comparative freedom from 

 brown-rot and curculio. The trees are large, 

 hardy, healthy, and, when cross-pollinated, 

 very productive. Wherever planted, there 

 should be some 

 other native sort 

 blooming at the 

 same time for 

 cross - pollination. 

 About 1820, M. E. 

 McCrance, Nash- 

 ville, Tennessee, 

 shot a wild goose; 

 his wife, in dress- 

 ing the goose, found 

 a plum seed in its 

 craw, which, plant- 

 ed, produced the 

 Wild Goose tree. 



Tree very large and 

 vigorous, wide spread- 

 ing, flat-topped, hardy. 

 Leaves lanceolate, 

 peach-like, 4 % inches 

 long, 1% inches wide, 

 thin; apex taper- 

 pointed ; base abrupt ; 

 margin finely serrate, 

 with small, reddish- 

 black glands ; petiole 

 % inch long, slender, 

 pubescent along one 

 side, tinged red, gland- 

 less or with 1-6 globose, yellow or reddish-brown 

 glands. Flowers % inch across, white, with disagree- 

 able odor. Fruit very early; 1% by 1-fg inches 

 in size, oval, halves equal ; cavity small, narrow, shal- 

 low, abrupt ; suture an indistinct line ; apex round or 

 pointed ; color bright red, with thin bloom ; dots few, 

 light russet, conspicuous, clustered about the apex ; the 

 stem attached to a stem-like growth from the fruit-spurs 

 gives the appearance on the tree of a jointed stem, very 

 slender, % inch long, glabrous, not adhering to the 

 fruit ; skin tough, astringent, separating readily ; flesh 

 yellowish, juicy and fibrous, tender and melting, sweet 

 next the skin but sour at the center, sprightly ; fair 

 to good ; stone adhering, long and narrow-oval, flattened, 

 slightly necked at the base, acute at the apex, rough- 

 ened. 



WOLF. P. americana mollis. Wolf is noted 

 for great hardiness, reliability in bearing, at- 

 tractive and well-flavored fruits, and for being 

 one of the few freestones of its kind. This 

 plum is remarkably well adapted for the north- 

 ern part of the Mississippi Valley, and there, 

 only, it is worth planting extensively. This 

 variety was raised from a pit of a wild plum 

 planted on the farm of D. B. Wolf, Wapello 

 County, Iowa, about 1852. 



Tree large, vigorous, spreading, low, and open-topped, 

 hardy, productive, healthy. Leaves falling early, oval, 

 1% inches wide, 3% inches long, thin; apex taper- 

 pointed ; margin coarsely and doubly serrate, eglandu- 

 lar ; petiole % inch long, velvety, tinged red, glandless 

 or with 1 or 2 small, globose glands. Flowers 1 inch 

 across, the buds tinged yellow, changing to white as 

 the flowers expand. Fruit midseason, 1 inch in diam- 

 eter, round-oval, compressed, halves equal ; cavity shal- 

 low, narrow, abrupt ; suture an indistinct line ; apex 

 roundish or flattened ; color dull crimson, thickly mot- 

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

 stem slender, glabrous, adhering poorly to the fruit ; 

 skin thick, tough, roughened, astringent, adhering ; flesh 

 golden-yellow, very juicy, fibrous, tender and melting, 

 sweet next the skin ; astrirtgent toward the center ; fair 

 to good ; stone semi-free to free, roundish-obovate, 

 tapering at the base, blunt at the apex, with smooth 

 surfaces. 



