THE PLUMS OF NEW YORK. 233 



Fruit mid-season; resembles Burbank in size and shape; skin toughish; color 

 bright red, sometimes striped and splashed with dark red; flesh yellow, tinged red, 

 firm, sweet; good; stone of medium size, oval, clinging. 



GRAND DUKE 



Prunus domestica 



i. Hogg Fruit Man. 703. 1884. 2. Mathieu Norn. Pom. 432, 434. 1889. 3. W. N. Y. Hon. 

 Soc. Rpt. 39:100. 1894. 4. Can. Hort. 18:117, PI. 1895. 5. Cornell Sta. Bui. 131:186, fig. 40 IV. 

 1896. 6. W. N. Y. Hort. Soc. Rpt. 42:83. 1897. 7. Am. Pom. Soc. Cat. 25. 1897. 8. Mich. 

 Sta. Bui. 169:245. 1899. 9. Ohio Sta. Bid. 113:159, PI. XVI. 1899. 10. Can. Exp. Farm Bui. 

 2nd Ser. 3:52. 1900. n. Waugh Plum Cult. 106 fig. 1901. 12. Ohio Sta. Bui. 162:243 fig., 244, 



= 54. 2S5- 'goS- 



Grossherzog's Pflaume 2. Grand-Due 2. Grand Duke 2. 



Grand Duke, now probably the favorite late shipping plum in this 

 region, is, as stated in the history given below, a comparatively new plum 

 in America. Its great popularity, gained in less than a quarter of a century, 

 is due to much advertising by nurserymen coupled with such intrinsic 

 qualities as large size, the true prune shape which seems most pleasing 

 in some markets, handsome plum-purple and more than all else a firm, 

 meaty flesh which fits the variety excellently for shipping. The flavor, 

 as seems most often to be the case with these large blue plums, is not 

 pleasant and the plum is not more than a second rate dessert fruit though 

 it is very good in whatever way cooked for the table. The trees grow poorly 

 in the nursery and even in the orchard are seldom large and vigorous 

 enough to be called first class, though usually hardy. Some years ago 

 plum-growers were advised to top-work this and other weak-growing plums 

 on stronger stocks, but those who have tried such top-working usually 

 condemn it because it is expensive and ineffective and because it so often 

 gives a malformed tree. The trees come in bearing slowly but bear regu- 

 larly and abundantly and hold the crop well, the plums being unusually 

 free from rot and hanging in good condition a long time. Grand Duke 

 deserves its popularity as a market plum and probably no better variety 

 can be selected in New York for the last of the season. 



Grand Duke is another of the many valuable plums produced by 

 Thomas Rivers, of Sawbridge worth, England. It was grown from an 

 Autumn Compote stone and was sent out in 1876. When it was first intro- 

 duced into America is not known, but in 1888 cions of it were distributed by 

 Ellwanger and Barry 1 of Rochester, New York. In 1897, the American 



1 Can. Hort. 18:117. 1895. 



