Peters is an excellent old plum probably ranking in quality with the best varieties in the group to which it belongs—a sufficient recommendation to make it desirable in any home collection of fruit. This variety, however, is not equal in appearance to any one of several other sorts in its group, lacking size and color. The trees are large, hardy, robust and healthy, surpassing in these respects most of the other Reine Claude sorts. The tree-characters have made this variety a prime favorite in western New York for two generations, one pomologist after another recommending it for this section. The fruits are not sufficiently attractive to sell well, however, and the variety is now going out of cultivation except for the amateur. While a very good plum it does not appear to be worth growing in competition with Hand, Washington, McLaughlin, Jefferson, Spaulding and the latest comer among these high-quality plums, Pearl.
Of the origin of this old plum we have no certain information. William Prince, the first pomologist to mention it, gave a brief description of the variety in his “A Short Treatise on Horticulture” published in 1828 but says nothing in regard to its history. In 1831 the London Horticultural Society listed it in its fruit catalog but otherwise the variety is not mentioned in the European pomologies.
Tree very large, vigorous, round and dense-topped, hardy, productive; branches thick, ash-gray, smooth except for the numerous, rather large, raised lenticels; branchlets thick, short, with short internodes, greenish-red changing to dark brownish-drab, dull, pubescent throughout the season, with numerous, inconspicuous, small lenticels; leaf-buds medium in size and length, pointed, free.
Leaves flattened, obovate or oval, two inches wide, four inches long; upper surface covered with numerous hairs, with a shallow groove on the midrib; lower surface silvery-green, heavily pubescent; apex abruptly pointed or acute, base rather abrupt, margin slightly crenate, eglandular or with few, small, dark glands; petiole three-eighths inch long, thick, tinged red, pubescent, glandless or with one or two small, globose or reniform, greenish-brown glands usually on the stalk.
Blooming season intermediate in time and length; flowers appearing with the leaves, one and one-eighth inches wide, white, creamy at the apex; borne on lateral spurs or buds, singly or in pairs; pedicels about one inch long, below medium in thickness, pubescent, greenish; calyx-tube green, obconic, pubescent; calyx-lobes broad, obtuse, pubescent on both surfaces, glandular-serrate and with fine marginal hairs, reflexed; petals roundish-oval or obovate, dentate to slightly crenate; anthers yellow, with a slight trace of red; filaments three-eighths inch long; pistil glabrous, longer than the stamens.
Fruit late, season rather short; about one and one-half inches in diameter, roundish, compressed, halves equal; cavity very shallow, narrow, abrupt; suture shallow; apex flattened or depressed; color dull yellowish-green, often blushed or mottled on the sunny side, covered with thick bloom; dots numerous, large, whitish, conspicuous; stem one and one-eighth inches long, pubescent, adhering well to the fruit; skin thin, tough, separating readily; flesh golden-yellow, juicy, somewhat fibrous, firm but tender, sweet next the skin but sour near the center, with pleasant flavor; very good; stone clinging, one inch by three-quarters inch in size, oval, turgid, somewhat acute at the base and apex, with pitted surfaces; ventral suture wide, indistinctly furrowed, often with a short wing; dorsal suture widely and deeply grooved.
POND
POND
Prunus domestica