Gifford’s Lafayette 1, 4, 6. Gifford’s La Fayette 2, 3.
Lafayette originated in New York sometime in the first quarter of the last century with a Mr. Gifford from a stone of the Orleans. It did not become popular and was rejected by the American Pomological Society in 1858, but just why it failed is not apparent, judging either from the descriptions given in the above references or by its behavior in the orchard at this Station. The fruit is good, though not remarkable for the richness of its flavor, its size is large and the color attractive. Moreover it is so late as to stand almost alone in its season. A retrial of this old sort commercially might be worth while. The tree is interesting because of a marked tendency in the flowers to develop petals from the stamens.
Tree of medium size, round-topped, productive; branchlets stocky, with long internodes; leaf-scars large; leaves folded upward, oval or obovate, two inches wide, four inches long, rugose; margin crenate, with small, dark glands; petiole pubescent, tinged red, having at the most three small glands usually on the stalk; blooming season intermediate in time and length; flowers appearing after the leaves, one and one-quarter inches wide, creamy-white; borne in pairs; calyx-lobes long and slender.
Fruit very late, season long; one and one-half inches by one and three-eighths inches in size, oval, purplish-black, overspread with very thick bloom; flesh greenish-yellow, medium juicy, tender, sweet, mild and pleasant; of good quality; stone free or nearly so, one inch by five-eighths inch in size, irregular-oval, flattened, with an acute and slightly oblique apex.
LAIRE
Prunus orthosepala?
Laire is cultivated locally in Rooks and neighboring counties in Kansas and is highly spoken of by those who grow it. The description of the variety is made from information sent from the United States Department of Agriculture. For a further account of this plum the reader is referred to the discussion of Prunus orthosepala, page 97. The name is derived from that of the man who first brought the plums under cultivation some twenty or twenty-five years ago.
Tree dwarfish, dense-topped, not very productive; branches spiny, zigzag; branchlets thick, reddish-brown changing to dark brown; leaves oblong-ovate, light green, acuminate, with margins closely serrate and seldom with glandular teeth; petiole slender, one-half inch long, with two glands at the apex; flowers white or tinged with pink, appearing after the leaves; borne in threes or in fours; pedicels thick, one-half inch long; petals narrowly clawed; stamens orange.
Fruit mid-season; one and one-eighth inches in diameter, roundish, greenish-yellow overlaid with deep red, covered with thick bloom; skin thick; flesh yellow, meaty, juicy, mild subacid; good to very good; stone clinging, five-eighths inch by nine-sixteenths inch in size, flattened, oval, with rugose surfaces; grooved on the dorsal and ridged on the ventral suture.