PLUMS. 



61 



It requires to be cultivated (in England) on an east or west 

 wall, when it is a great and certain bearer. Some doubt has 

 been expressed of the identity of the English Imperatrice and 

 that of Duhamel, but we see no reason to believe they are 

 different; branches long and slender, with blunt, flattened 

 eyes, and very smooth bark ; the lateral shoots are produced 

 at nearly right angles with the main shoots ; leaves middle- 

 sized, pointed at each end, finely toothed, closely downy; 

 flowers small ; fruit oblong, blunt at each end, but tapering 

 rather more to the base than to the apex ; foot-stalks rather 

 less than three-fourths of an inch long ; skin rich deep purple, 

 covered over with a thick bloom, which is more copious than 

 on any plum in Covent Garden Market ; flesh firm, yellowish 

 green, rather dry, but exceedingly sweet and rich." 



Coxe appears to refer to this fruit in his description under 

 the head of Red Magnum Bonum, or Red Imperial. 



WHITE IMPERATRICE. Pom. mag. For. Lond. hort. cat. 



Imperatrice blanche. Duh. 



Die Weisse Kaiserpjiaume. Kraft. Pom. Aust. 



This plum is eighteen lines in length, and sixteen in diame- 

 ter ; the peduncle is four to six lines long, and inserted in a 

 shallow but quite distinct depression ; the side which is divided 

 by the suture is somewhat flattened, as well as the extremity 

 of the fruit, upon which a slight cavity is observable ; the 

 flesh, which is a pale yellow as well as the skin, is of a rather 

 firm consistence, and of a sweet, perfumed, and agreeable 

 flavour ; it does not adhere to the stone, which has a somewhat 

 rough surface. The fruit ripens at the end of August or 

 beginning of September. 



The following additional details I extract from the Pomo- 

 logical Magazine : 



"A handsome and useful plum, but very different from the 

 Blue Imperatrice, to the name of which it has little title. It 

 does not shrivel, or keep well. Leaves rather larger than 

 those of the common Imperatrice, and more shining ; flowers 

 somewhat smaller ; fruit middle-sized, oval, with an indistinct 



