56 



PLUMS. 



of very fine flavour, and the fruit has been pronounced the 

 first in rank among plums ^ It seems doubtful which will 

 attain to the greatest dimensions, this or the Washington 

 plum ; it is certain, however, that these two and the Prince's 

 Imperial Gage, are the largest and most delicious varieties of 

 the Gage or Reine Claude class, which are known either in 

 Europe or our own country. This tree grows with great 

 vigour, and the leaves are extremely large, broad, and luxu- 

 riant ; the young shoots are very strong, and the buds are par- 

 ticularly large and prominent. It was raised from the seed 

 by Mr. Keyser, of Pennsylvania, but was brought into par- 

 ticular notice by Dr. Wm. E. Hulings of that State, a gen- 

 tleman distinguished as much for his zeal and perspicuity in 

 the introduction of new and valuable fruits to proper notice, 

 as for his extreme liberality evinced in their dissemination to 

 others. 



PRINCE'S IMPERIAL GAGE. Pr. cat. 



Prince's White Gage. Pr. cat. 26th ed. 

 Prince'' s Gage. Pr. Hort. 



By way of distinguishing the present variety from the other 

 Gage plums, which are now so numerous, I have adopted the 

 title which heads this article. This tree was originated at the 

 Flushing Nursery, from a seed of the Green Gage. It is of 

 more rapid and vigorous growth than any other of its class 

 with which I am acquainted, and often forms shoots of seven 

 to eight feet in height, the first season, from the graft. It 

 may be readily distinguished from the Washington, by the 

 growth of the young shoots, which attain to more than twice 

 the length in a season that they do on that variety ; the buds 

 are also of much smaller size, and the shoulder of the bud 

 does not project in that striking and peculiar manner which 

 distinguishes the Washington and Huling's Superb. The tree 

 appears to be the most productive in point of quantity of any 

 of the large Gage varieties; the fruit is one of the largest of 

 its class, and second only in size to the Washington and Hu- 

 lings' Superb ; the skin is a pale green previous to its ripen- 



