PLUMS. 



53 



and is covered with a thin white bloom ; the flesh is pale yel- 

 low and firm, with sweet and sprightly juice, and separates 

 from the stone. This plum is ranked in England among their 

 best white varieties ; it ripens in September, and the tree is 

 productive. 



WASHINGTON. Pu. cat. Pk. iiokt. Pom. mao. 



LOND. IIOKT. CAT. 



Bolmer^s Washington. Bolmore's Washington. 



Washington, or Bohner. New Washington. 



FranJilin. Washington Gage. 



Superior Gage, > of the Flushing Nurseries lor 



Superior Green Gage, ^ about twenty years past. 



Double Imperial Gage, ) p * i. 



Imperial Gage, ^ ' ^ * 



This tree is remarkable for the size and vigour of its shoots 

 and for the great dimensions, luxuriance, and beauty of its 

 foliage, which presents a striking contrast to that of most other 

 plum trees ; the buds are also large and the shoulder particu- 

 larly prominent : the fruit is of enormous size, and its form 

 rather more round than oval ; it is not surpassed by any other 

 variety in richness, beauty, or exquisite flavour, and in its ex- 

 cellent qualities assimilates more nearly to those of the Green 

 Gage than to any other plum. The origin of this fruit is in- 

 volved in some obscurity ; the title here adopted is of but 

 recent application. The following details, from the pen of 

 Wm. Prince, senior proprietor of the Linneean Botanic Gar- 

 den, may prove interesting: 



"Some few years ago, Mr. Bolmer, a merchant of New 

 York, finding a tree of this kind in his garden, and deeming 

 it a new variety, presented some scions of it to a number of 

 his acquaintances, from one of whom it received the appella- 

 tion of Bolmer's Washington. Its extraordinary size and fine 

 Gage flavour, caused it to attract much notice, and supposing 

 it to be a novelty, I procured a tree myself, for which I paid 

 three dollars, a price at which they were readiU' selling at the 

 time ; but to my great surprise, when its foliage and fruit were 

 developed, I found it an old and familiar acquaintance, which 

 had been cultivated iu the Nurseries at Flushing during a long 



