.CLASSIFICATION. 63 



preserving. The trees are dwarf, inclined to be thorny, with 

 wood short jointed and leaves small and very dark colored. 



II. The Green Gages; fruit snia;ll or medium, roundish, 

 green or greenish yellow; flesh firm, greenish and of very su- 

 perior quality. The best representatives are Green Gage, Keine 

 Claude and Jefferson. 



III. The Yellow Egg plums; fruit large, yellow, oval, 

 necked ; flesh yellow and of medium quality. The group is best 

 represented by Yellow Egg and Golden Drop. 



IV. The Blue Plums ; comprising sorts of blue color, heavy 

 bloom; large size, and oval shape ; flesh mostly yellow, clinging 

 and very firm. Here belong such standard varieties as Quacken- 

 boss, Gueii and Diamond. 



V. The Red Plums; fruits large, obovate, reddish; flesh 

 yellow, juicy, soft and of high quality. In this group are the 

 Bradshaw, Pond Seedling and their like. 



VI. The Purple Plums ; having much the same shape as the 

 Red Plums but a distinct purple color, medium size, fair quality. 

 Lombard is the type variety. 



Another group is frequently proposed of which the German 

 Prune is the type under the group name Prunes. The above 

 classification according to color is quite too loose to be satis- 

 factory but to ascribe similar characters to the plums used in 

 making, prunes, if that be the reason for so grouping, is far from 

 satisfactory. A prune is any plum with flesh solid .enough to 

 be successfully cured, without removing the pit, into a firm 

 long-keeping product. Many plums from several of the above 

 groups will make first-class prunes. 



