202 THE PLUMS OF NEW YORK. 



EARLY TOURS 



Prunus domestica 



I. Duhamel Trait. Arb. Fr. 2:67, 69. 1768. 2. Kraft Pom. Aust. 2:31, Tab. 177 fig. 2. 1796. 

 3. Land. Hort. Soc. Cat. 151. 1831. 4. Prince Pom. Man. 2:64. 1832. 5. Kenrick Am. Orch. 

 265. 1832. 6. Poiteau Pom. Franc. 1:1846. 7. Floy-Lindley Guide Orch. Card. 282, 283. 1846. 

 8. Hogg Fruit Man. 376. 1866. 9. Downing Fr. Trees Am. 937. 1869. 10. Mas Le Verger 6:143. 

 1866-73. " Mathieu Nom. Pom. 443. 1889. 12. Guide Prat. 156, 361. 1895. 



Blue Perdrigon of some 3, 9, n, 12. Die frtihe Pflaume von Tours 2. De Monsieur 12 incor. 

 Damas de Tows 8, 9, u. Early de Tours 5. Early Tours 7, 9, n. Early Violet 3, 7, 9, n, 12. 

 Gros Damas de Tours i. Native de Tours 12. Madeleine n, ?i2. Monsieur n incor. Noire 

 H&tive 3, 8, 9, n, 12. Perdrigon Violet of some 3, 9, n, 12. Precoce de Tours i, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 

 10, ii, 12. Precoce de Tours 2, 4. Prune de la Madeleine 4, 9, n. Prune noire H&tive 4. Prune 

 de Gaillon 8, 9, n. Prune de Monsieur n incor. Saint Jean ?n, 12. Violette de Tours 8, u. 

 Violette H&tive 9, u. Ftoto de 70Mrs 9, u, 12. Violette H&tive 7. Vtofe* 7. 



Duhamel described this variety, Gros Damas de Tours and Gros Noire 

 Hative in the same publication, his descriptions of the three varieties being 

 nearly identical. Following Duhamel many horticultural authorities con- 

 tinued to separate the varieties, but Downing, Floy-Lindley and Mathieu 

 give Damas de Tours as a synonym of Early Tours, and Thompson, Hogg, 

 Downing, Mathieu and the Guide Pratique give Noire Hative as a synonym, 

 while Prince holds Prune Noire Hative to be synonymous. 



With this great similarity in the names and descriptions, it seems 

 doubtful if these are separate varieties, but not having the fruit of the 

 three to compare.it has been thought best in The Plums of New York to 

 follow the nomenclature of the oldest authorities. Several writers have 

 also named the Blue Perdrigon and the Perdrigon Violet as identical 

 with Early Tours but neither can be, as all descriptions indicate that 

 both are at least a month later in ripening than the variety under discussion. 



Early Tours is considered in continental Europe one of the best early 

 plums for dessert. It is said when fully ripened to be a veritable sweet- 

 meat. As the variety grows in the Station collection it can hardly be 

 lauded as highly as in Europe. Yet it is at least worthy of a place in a 

 home orchard as a delicious early plum. 



Tree intermediate in size, upright-spreading, rather open-topped, productive; 

 branchlets thickish, pubescent; leaves falling early, folded upward, obovate or oval, 

 one and seven-eighths inches wide, three and one-quarter inches long; margin crenate; 

 petiole pubescent, glandless or with from one to three glands usually on the stalk; 

 blooming season intermediate in time and length; flowers appearing after the leaves, 

 one and one-eighth inches across; borne on lateral spurs or from lateral buds. 



