THE PLUMS OF NEW YORK. 333 



Tree strong, vigorous; branches thick, short, smooth; fruit early mid-season; 

 of medium size, irregularly roundish, swollen on one side, dark reddish-purple covered 

 with thick bloom; cavity deep; suture prominent; stem short, thick; skin thick, 

 firm; dots conspicuous; flesh greenish-yellow, firm, sweet; very good; stone large, 

 oblong, rough, clinging. 



RUTLAND PLUMCOT 



Prunus triflora X Prunus armeniaca 



i. Burbank Cat. 13 fig. 1901. 2. De Vries PL Br. 218. 1907. 3. Fancher Creek Nur. Cat. 

 10 fig. 1909. 



Plumcot i, a. 



One of the interesting novelties of recent plum-breeding is the Plum- 

 cot grown by Luther Burbank ' from a cross between the plum and the 

 apricot. Not having seen the fruit of this remarkable cross we are unable 

 to judge of its value to the plum-grower. Out of a large number of ex- 

 tremely variable seedlings of this cross Burbank selected this, the Rut- 

 land Plumcot, named in honor of an Australian admirer of the fruit. The 

 variety was introduced by the Fancher Creek Nursery in 1906 and 1907. 

 The following description is partly compiled. 



Tree vigorous, spreading, open, not a heavy bearer; branches thorny; branchlets 

 rather slender, with short internodes, dull red; leaves folded upward, oval, one and 

 five-eighths inches wide, two and seven-eighths inches long, rather stiff; margin finely 

 and doubly crenate, glandular; petiole greenish-red, with from one to four globose 

 glands. 



The fruit in California attains a large size; suture and cavity deep; skin fuzzy 

 like an apricot, purple; flesh deep red, subacid; quality fair; stone large, broad-oval. 



Of this fruit Burbank writes to this Station under date of December 6, 1909, as follows: 

 " I have this season also about 65,000 or 75,000 Plumcot seedlings, a wholly new fruit which 

 promises great things for localities where it can be grown. These Plumcots vary more astonish- 

 ingly from seed than anything which I have ever produced. No pure Apricots or pure Plums are 

 produced, but every possible variety and every possible combination and all qualities are brought 

 out strongly. The range of colors is astonishing, some new combinations of colors never before 

 seen in fruits have been produced. The best California judges of fruits the great growers and 

 shippers have pronounced some of these varieties the best fruit ever produced on this earth. 

 Most of these fruits have a beautiful downy skin many of them smooth flesh orange, yellow, 

 white, crimson or green; pits peculiar. The fruits vary from about the size of a medium peach 

 down to the size of Green Gage plums, though the various ones are of every possible size, form, 

 flavor, color, time of ripening, etc. The trees, in some cases, grow faster than any other fruit tree. 

 Sometimes branches grow on even quite young trees twelve feet in length and an inch in diameter 

 in a single season. Others are quite slow growers or even dwarfs." 



