The following are well known but not so good in some respects: Bryanston Gage, Oullin's Golden Gage, Golden Transparent. Coe's Golden Drop has been described. Angelina Burdett is sometimes classed with the gages. It is "dark red, shaded with purple, a good cropper, habit bushy and compact, a delicious dessert variety that hangs well in the trees for some time after it is ripe." R. August 22.
Market Plums
If a planter prefers to grow gages, he must protect his trees from bullfinches and other birds. The former often carry off the buds in winter, and ruin all hopes of a crop. Such a plantation near a wood would usually be a failure. If the trees are washed in early winter with No. II. mixture, the buds will have some protection. Lime should be thrown over the branches on a damp day. The gun in many cases must be at work from dawn to dusk. The gardener must learn to distinguish between friend and foe. Mr Lea's list in "Small Farms in the Midlands" is as follows: Early Prolific, Victoria, Black Diamond ("the wood is remarkably tough"), Pond's Seedling ("tolerably tough"), Pershore Egg Plum, i.e. Gisborne ("hardiest of all plums, surest cropper, comes early into bearing, the wood tough, and though the price is low, pays well"). He also mentions Prince Englebert and Jemmy Moore ("alias Cox's Emperor, alias Denbigh"), but wisely adds, these come in about the same time as Victoria, when there is a glut. Early or late varieties usually sell best. A new variety, Bittern, raised (as so many varieties have been) at Sawbridgeworth, by the late Francis Rivers, seems well worth trying: "Fruit rather large, deep purple, very heavy crop, habit bushy, compact, vigorous, excellent early free-bearing variety. R. August 2."
Curlew is another "early free-cropping purple plum, habit erect, vigorous," also raised by Francis Rivers. Monarch is a late, good, and very saleable plum. It is said that 75 per cent. or more of the plums planted in recent years have been Victorias. Planters should avoid the Victoria glut. Pond's Seedling, red and very large, coming in after Victoria, often sells well. Put up in a small basket it is inviting, and sells for an eating though properly a cooking plum. Early Prolific is also largely planted, but does not suit all soils. The white Magnum Bonum or egg plum (very large), good for cooking and preserving, sells well in London, but needs a strong soil. It is an early September fruit. Wyedale is popular in Yorkshire, valuable for its lateness, and for keeping sound on the trees when ripe; its habit is diffuse, size rather small, a good cropper. Mr Pearson names Goliath, a large reddish purple plum, "a good cropper, habit diffuse and vigorous, a very useful cooking plum. R. September 7."
At the Plum Congress held at Edinburgh in September 1889 an election of sorts was made with the following result:—
| Dessert Plums | |
| Votes. | |
| Jefferson | 72 |
| Coe's Golden Drop | 69 |
| Green Gage | 57 |
| Kirke's | 57 |
| Early Transparent | 25 |
| Oullin's Golden Gage | 16 |
| Reine Claude de Bavay | 14 |
| Culinary | |
| Votes. | |
| Victoria | 74 |
| Pond's Seedling | 54 |
| White Magnum Bonum | 52 |
| Early Prolific | 40 |
| Goliath | 31 |
| Early Orleans | 27 |
The friend who sent me this list remarks: "Newer plums supersede some of these. Czar does not crack with the wet as Orleans does. I prefer Diamond to Goliath." Kirke's is better on a wall than in the open. The same may be said of Oullin's; neither are grand croppers. Reine Claude de Bavay is a late gage, richly flavoured, but not a good cropper.
Gathering, Packing, Marketing
A step ladder or a Heathman's combined ladder is best for gathering as plum wood is often brittle. Look over the trees several times and gather gradually. Fruit for home use should not be gathered until it is ripe, but for market it should not be quite ripe. Early morning when the fruit is cool is the best time. Dessert fruits generally should be handled as little as possible, otherwise the bloom on them and the appearance are spoilt. Plums are often sent away in round baskets, or oblong flat baskets. The former in the London markets are termed sieves or half-sieves. A sieve holds seven imperial gallons; the diameter is 15 inches, the depth 8 inches. Flat baskets with lids protect the fruit from injury. Stout and strong paper, above, below and around, assist in saving it. Oblong baskets with handles and without a lid are used in the Midlands and the N. They are called "pots," and local inquiry as to weight should be made. Strong brown paper is useful on the top. The cost per ream is from 10s. to 20s. But non-returnable boxes are better. The baskets are often missing or lost. The sizes of unplaned boxes with lids to be nailed on are usually as follows:—[10]
| Gross. | Doz. | ||||
| lbs. | Length. | Width. | Depth. | s. d. | s. d. |
| 14 | 10¾ in. | 10½ in. | 6¼ in. | 26 6 | 2 6 |
| 28 | 22 in. | 10¾ in. | 6¼ in. | 46 0 | 4 2 |
| 42 | 27 in. | 15 in. | 8 in. | 84 0 | 7 6 |
| —Glover. |