Prunus domestica
1. Cal. State Bd. Hort. 49, 51. 1887. 2. Ibid. 234, 235. 1890. 3. Ibid. 105. 1891. 4. Wickson Cal. Fruits 357. 1891. 5. U. S. D. A. Div. Pom. Bul. 7:316, Pl. IV fig. 2. 1898. 6. Am. Pom. Soc. Cat. 39. 1899. 7. Waugh Plum Cult. 121. 1901.
Prune d’Ente 2. Prunier Datte 1. Robe de Sergent 2, 5, 6. Robe de Sergeant 7. Robe de Sergent 1, 3, 4.
In France, from whence Sergeant was imported to California, Sergeant, Agen and Prunier Datte are held to be identical. But in America only the first and last are identical, the Agen being quite distinct. It would seem that the French should know their own plums and that their nomenclature should be accepted but the Sergeant is now so widely distributed in America as distinct that we give a brief description of the plum. There may be more than one type of the Agen in France or American nurserymen may have received wrongly named varieties.
Tree upright, with branches and branchlets thickish, more robust than Agen; foliage large, lancet-shaped, glossy, much broader and more shiny than Agen; fruit mid-season; of medium size, roundish-oval, enlarged on one side; skin deep purple to blackish with a thick bloom; flesh greenish-yellow, juicier than Agen, sweet, high flavored; quality good; stone partially clinging; valuable for preserving and drying.
SHARP
Prunus domestica
1. Lond. Hort. Soc. Cat. 153. 1831. 2. Downing Fr. Trees Am. 315. 1845. 3. Ann. Pom. Belge 63, Pl. 1859. 4. Cultivator 8:25 fig. 1860. 5. Downing Fr. Trees Am. 948. 1869. 6. Guide Prat. 160, 358. 1895. 7. Jour. Roy. Hort. Soc. 21: Pt. 2, 222. 1897. 8. Waugh Plum Cult. 122, 123 fig. 1901.
Alderton 5. Dolphin 5. Dauphin 5. Denyer’s Victoria ?2, 5, 7. Empereur de Sharp 3, 6. Imperial de Sharp 5. Imperiale de Sharp 6. Prune Imperiale de Sharp 3. Queen Victoria ?2. Royal Dauphine 5. Sharp 8 incor. Sharp’s Emperor 1, 2 incor., 4, 5 incor. Sharp’s Emperor 3, 6, 8 incor. Sharpe’s Emperor 7. Sharps Kaiserpflaume 6. Victoria 5, 8 incor.
Sharp was briefly described in the London Horticultural Society catalog in 1831. Later, in 1845, A. J. Downing described the variety but thought it identical with the Victoria, as did other writers, as will be seen by referring to the Victoria. H. A. Pearson in the Journal of the Royal Horticultural Society, comparing these two sorts says, “Sharp’s Emperor is a second rate plum, resembling Victoria, in appearance, but very inferior in point of cropping and quality, a decided clingstone, often gumming at the stone, and ripening a fortnight later than its supposed synonym, not worthy of cultivation.” August Royer in the Annals de Pomologie Belge et Etrangere also separated the two varieties but describes them both as freestones. While there is a lack of uniformity in the descriptions yet the total evidence weighs in favor of two types which are very similar. The Victoria is probably the better plum of the two.