of Select Varieties of Plums. 453 



13. Jefferson. Mag. of Hart, Yo\. XI, ip. 23. 



So high a reputation has been given to this fine phim, 

 (fg. 25,) that it has been more generally sought after and 

 planted than any new variety of recent introduction. Mr. 

 Downing first gave an account of it in our Magazine, as 

 above quoted, and eulogized it as follows : — " When fully 

 ripe it is nearly — shall we not 

 say quite — equal in flavor to the 

 Green Gage, that unsurpassable 

 standard in this respect. But 

 when we compare the small and 

 insignificant appearance of the 

 Green Gage, with the unusual 

 size and beauty of this new 

 plum, we must admit that it 

 takes the very first rank." 

 The same account of it ap- 

 peared in the Fruits and Fruit 

 Trees of America, and as a 

 consequence, it was at once 

 inferred that this variety was 

 about to take the place of the Fig. 25. Jefferson. 



old Green Gage ; but as the trees have now come generally 

 into bearing, this expectation has not been realized. The 

 Jefferson proves to be a most excellent plum, but no better 

 than many others of the same season. It possesses, however, 

 great beauty, and in this respect perhaps it equals, if not 

 surpasses, any other variety ; it has the same delicate yellow 

 skin as the Washington, but this is blotched and marbled, in 

 the most beautiful blending of tints, with crimson, lake and 

 rich purple. It also has the excellent characteristic of hang- 

 ing long upon the tree without rotting. Summing up all its 

 qualities, — size, beauty, and fine flavor, — it must be ranked 

 as a fine variety, answering as a very good substitute for the 

 Green Gage when that variety is gone, though falling short 

 of it in excellence. 



