I40 THE PLUMS OF NEW YORK. 



base acute, margin doubly serrate; petiole one inch long, slender, pubescent, tinged 

 red, with two or three small, globose, greenish-brown glands usually on the stalk. 



Season of bloom intermediate in time and length; flowers appearing after the 

 leaves, one and one-eighth inches across, white; borne on lateral spurs, singly or in 

 pairs; pedicels five-eighths inch long, thick, glabrous except for a few short hairs, 

 greenish; calyx-tube green, campanulate, pubescent; calyx-lobes obtuse, somewhat 

 pubescent within, with glandular margin, reflexed; petals broadly oval or obovate, 

 entire, tapering to short, broad claws; anthers yellowish; filaments five-sixteenths 

 inch long; pistil glabrous, equal to the stamens in length. 



Fruit late, season short; one and one-half inches by one and one-eighth inches 

 in size, obovate, the base necked, halves equal; cavity shallow, narrow, flaring; suture 

 very shallow, indistinct; apex roundish or flattened; color reddish or violet-purple, 

 overspread with thin bloom; dots numerous, small, brown, obscure, clustered about 

 the apex and interspersed between russet flecks; stem thick, seven-eighths inch long, 

 glabrous, adhering well to the fruit; skin thin, tough; flesh greenish-yellow, tender, 

 sweet, aromatic; very good to best; stone semi-free or free, seven-eighths inch by 

 one-half inch in size, oval, flattened, with pitted surfaces, rather abrupt at the base 

 and apex; ventral suture somewhat narrow, furrowed, with distinct wing; dorsal suture 

 widely grooved. 



AITKIN 



Prunus nigra 



I. Minn. Hort. Soc. Rpt. 426. 1896. 2. Wis. Sta. Bui. 63:24, 27, 28 fig. 11, 43. 1897. 3. 

 Jewell Nur. Cat. 1899-1906. 4. Waugh Plum Cult. 169. 1901. 5. Can. Exp. Farm Bui. 43:29. 

 1903. 6. la. Hort. Soc. Rpt. 227. 1904. 



Aitken 4. Beatty 6 incor.. Itasca i incor.. 



Aitkin is very favorably mentioned in the references given above 

 and undoubtedly has value for the Northwest. It was listed in the cat- 

 alog of the American Pomological Society in 1899. The variety was found 

 growing wild in Aitkin County, Minnesota, by D. C. Hazelton on land 

 adjoining his farm. It seemed to possess merit and was introduced in 

 1896 by the Jewell Nursery Company of Lake City, Minnesota. Because 

 of having originated near Itasca Lake, it has been confused with the Itasca 

 plum, which preceded it by nearly ten years. The following description 

 is a compilation: 



Tree vigorous, productive, ripening its wood very early; fruit earliest in season 

 of its group; large for its class, oval, deep red, with no bloom; skin thin, not astringent; 

 flesh yellow, juicy, sweet and rich; good; stone large, oval, flattened, clinging. 



