The plums of New York

by U. P. Hedrick

The Insititia plums do not seem to hybridize freely with other species—at least there are no recorded offspring of such hybrids, though Koch believes the Reine Claudes to be a hybrid group between this species and the Domesticas and there is much evidence in the fruit to show that the French Damson is part Domestica. The tree-characters of the Insititia plums are such, especially as regards vigor, hardiness, productiveness and freedom from disease, as to seemingly make hybrids with them very desirable. That this species can be hybridized with Domestica, at least, is certain from work done at this Station where we have made a number of crosses between them.

Four groups of plums, the Damsons, Bullaces, Mirabelles and St. Juliens, in all eighty-six varieties mentioned in The Plums of New York, may be referred to this species. There are so few real differences between these divisions, however, that it is hardly possible, logically, to sub-divide Insititia plums into more than two groups. But since the groups of plums given above are so often referred to in pomological works it is necessary to discuss them.

The Damsons.—The description given the species fits this division of it closely, the differentiating character for the fruit, if any, being oval fruits, while the Bullaces, most nearly like these, are round. The origin of the Damsons, as we have seen, was in Syria and near the ancient city, Damascus, their written history dating back several centuries before Christ. This plum has escaped from cultivation in nearly all the temperate parts of Europe and more or less in the eastern United States, the wild forms often passing under other names, as the Wild, Wheat, Spilling, Donkey, Ass, Hog and Horse plums. The true Damsons have a fine spicy taste, which makes them especially desirable for cooking and preserving, but a very decided astringency of the skin makes most of the varieties of Damsons undesirable to eat out of the hand; this astringency largely disappears with cooking or after a light frost. Nearly all Damsons are sour, though a few sweet Insititias are placed in this group.

Since the seeds grow readily and the sprouts are very manageable, the Damsons, with the other Insititias, are much used as stocks upon which to work other plums, especially the less hardy and less thrifty Domesticas. Although less used now than formerly for stocks it is a question if these plums, or some of their near kin, do not make the best obtainable stocks. There seems to be much difference in the varieties of Insititia in their capacity to send up sprouts. The forms which send up the fewest sprouts are much the best for use as stocks.

Curiously enough, the Damsons are highly esteemed now only by the Americans and English, being grown much less at present in Continental Europe than a century or two ago. Late pomological works and nurserymen’s catalogs from others than the English or Americans barely mention these plums.

The Bullaces.—It is impossible to distinguish between the tree-characters of the Damsons and the Bullaces, and pomologists are far from agreeing as to what differences in the fruit throw a variety into one group or the other. Some writers call a sour variety of Insititia a Damson, and a sweet one a Bullace; others make color the differentiating character, calling the purple plums Damsons and the light colored ones Bullaces; still others call oval Insititias Damsons and round ones Bullaces. If a distinction is to be made, shape seems to be the character upon which it should be based. The name Bullace applies to the round shape of the fruit, but when first used or by whom given it is impossible to say. It is commonly used in the old herbals and pomologies of both England and Continental Europe, there being many variations of the name, of which bullis and bulloes are most common with the word bullum in frequent use for the fruit of the Bullace tree. The varieties of Bullaces are few in number, and are not largely grown, being known for most part only in fruit collections, the Damsons serving all the purposes for which the Bullaces would be worth growing, and to better advantage.

The Mirabelles.—The Mirabelles are round, yellowish or golden, freestone Insititias, ranging from half an inch to an inch in diameter, very slightly sub-acid or sweet. The trees do not differ from the type of the species unless it be in even greater productiveness than the other groups of Insititia, all of which bear very abundant crops. The fruits represent the highest quality to be found in the varieties of this species, approaching the Reine Claudes of Prunus domestica in richness of flavor. Indeed, the Mirabelles may almost be said to be diminutive Reine Claudes, resembling them not only in quality but in color and in shape, and so closely as to lend color to Koch’s[72] supposition that the Reine Claudes are hybrids between Prunus domestica and Prunus insititia.

In France the Mirabelles are accorded second if not first place among plums, being superseded in popularity, if at all, only by the Reine Claudes. They are used in the fresh state and as prunes, and are freely made into conserves, preserves, jellies and jams, being found in the markets in some of these forms the year round. They are much used for pastry, their size being such that one layer of fruit suffices and is none too deep for a good pie or tart. The fermented juice of these plums is somewhat largely used in the making of a distilled liquor, a sort of plum brandy. The dozen or more varieties of Mirabelles differ chiefly in size of fruit and in time of maturity. The range in size is from half an inch to an inch in diameter and in time of ripening in France from the first of August to the first of October.

The Red Mirabelle frequently referred to in pomological works is Prunus cerasifera, and the name is wrongly so used, for if not first applied to the several varieties of Insititia it now by almost universal usage belongs to these plums. The origin of the word, as now commonly used, dates back over two centuries, being found in the pomological treatises of the Seventeenth Century. The assumption is that Mirabelle is derived from mirable meaning wonderful, and the name was first so used by the French.

Unfortunately the Mirabelles are hardly known in America. These plums have so many good qualities of tree and fruit that American pomology would be greatly enriched if the best Mirabelle varieties were grown in both home and commercial orchards. They should be used in cookery much as are the Damsons, which they surpass for some purposes.