70 



PLUMS. 



seven in breadth. This^plum ripens at the end of August or 

 beginning of September ; it is used for making prunes which 

 are far superior to the fruit in its natural state. It is rarely 

 met with in our American collections, and in some cases a 

 different sort is cultivated under the same name. I obtained 

 from one of the nurseries a tree for this kind, that proved to 

 be the Little Reine Claude, which is a small green plum. 



VIOLET DIAPER. Pr. cat. 



Diapre violet. Diapree violette. Duh. 

 Diapr^e violette. Lond. Hort. cat. 



This plum is perfectly oval, seventeen lines in length, 

 eleven and a half in its greatest diameter, and six in its smallest 

 section ; the peduncle is at most six lines long, and inserted in 

 a cavity scarcely apparent ; the suture, which is parallel with 

 the edge of the stone, is only distinguished by a line of a 

 darker colour ; the skin is a dark violet covered with bloom, 

 and marked with very small dots of a lighter shade ; the flesh 

 is yellowish green, rather firm, without much juice, but of a 

 sweet and pleasant flavour; it does not adhere to the stone, 

 which is much compressed, and terminated by a very acute 

 point. This fruit ripens during the first days in August, and 

 may be ranked in the class of fine plums for the table ; it also 

 makes excellent prunes. The tree produces annually a mul- 

 titude of blossoms, and almost invariably an abundance of 

 fruit. 



EARLY APRICOT PLUM. Auth. 



Abricote hatif. Abricoiee hative, N. Duh. 



This is a very beautiful fruit, but its quality does not re- 

 spond to its appearance ; it is twenty-one to twenty-two lines 

 in length, and the same in diameter ; the suture is shallow, 

 but rather broad ; the peduncle is six lines long, and inserted 

 in a distinct cavity ; the skin, where shaded, is a very pale red, 

 almost greenish, but next to the sun it is of a rather darker 

 hue, and marked all over with small dots, which do not vary 

 much from the colour of the rest of the skin, but are never- 



