360 JOURXAL Of THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY, 
root-hold, aud affords a larger area from which to derive its nourishment 
during its early period of growth. 
The distance at which trees are planted in orchard rows varies from 
18 to 24 ft., 20 ft. being the favourite, and probably, under most conditions, 
the best. 
On very strong soil greater distance would be better, as if at all closely 
planted the limbs of the full-grown trees are in such soils liable to become 
intermingled, which renders pruning and gathering awkward. 
After planting the young maiden trees should be cut back to 18 
inches from the ground, and should be protected during the first season 
from the heat of the sun by a shade on the south side. Three or four 
buds should then be allowed to grow at the top, and the terminal buds 
of the lower shoots should be pinched back after they have grown out a 
little, so that the top buds will put forth leaves and shade the stem the 
first year. 
Varieties. 
The principal varieties are the ' Californian ' (' Petite Prune d'Agen '), 
the ' Bulgarian,' the ' Fellenberg,' the 'German,' the 'Hungarian,' the 
' Himgarian Date Prune,' the ' Robe de Sergent." the ' Silver,' and the 
' Tragedy.' Of these the first-named is by far the most popular, and 
forms the true shipping Prune of California. 
^ Petite Prime cVAgeii' [■^g.l2D). — The branches are of middling strength, 
bent at their very short internodes, of a deep brown on the shady side, 
covered on the simny side with a metallic whitish pellicle, smooth through- 
out their whole length. Wood-buds small, conical, not very sharp, lying in 
a direction somewhat diverging from the branch, borne on salient supports 
whose sides extend considerably ; scales of a deep maroon, the outer ones 
bordered with whitish grey ; shoots flexuous, smooth throughout : leaves 
hardly of medium size, oval-elliptic or sometimes obovate. ending 
abruptly in a short point, concave and often slightly wavy in their out- 
line, bordered with teeth deeply cut and rounded, or rather deeply 
crenated. well supported on wine-coloured petioles of middling length 
and very slightly downy : two small globular, yellow, pedicellate glands 
attached to the base of the hmb of the leaf. Fruit-buds medium size, 
not very sharp, gathered or rather short and tliick. Flowers rather 
large ; petals rounded, somewhat incised or emarginated at their 
extremity ; divisions of the calyx short, rather large and spread out ; 
pedicels rather long, strong, and smooth. General hue of the foliage a 
light green. The stiffness of all the leaves and the petioles of the leaves 
being well spread out and diverging are the striking characteristics of 
the tree. 
Fruit medium size, exactly ovoid, more tapering on the side of the 
stock than on the side of the pistillary point, around which it is very 
obtuse, with the cheeks a little more convex than the faces, one of which 
is traversed by a scarcely appreciable furrow, and the other by a con- 
tinuation of the furrow deep enough to make the fruit appear divided 
into two equal parts. Skin somewhat thick and firm, parting from the 
flesh, at first of a light purple tinged with green ; at maturity the purple 
becomes very dark and covered with a thick bhiish bloom. Pistillary 
