The record-union., 1898-12-17

B. NJ. Lelong, Secretary of the State
Board Of Horticulture, read the follow
ing paper on New Fruit Creations, y
which should interest fruit-growers
everywhere:
In the past two years a large number
| of specimens of new varieties of fruits
have been submitted to me for exam
ination as to their worth for propaga-
ton. The greater portion of them
| originated by chance, and while many
| possess some merit they are lacking
| in distinctive features.
The following is a partial list of the
new prune and plum creations, which
bid fair to eventually supersede their
parent or mother types:
| Sugar Prune.-An extremely early
prune; ripens August 1st; cures superb
! ly rich, with a yellow flesh, tender and
rich in sugar juice. Skin very tender;
at first of a light purple, tinted with
green, changing at maturity to dark
| purple, covered with a thick white
bloom. Form ovoid, slightly flattened,
measuring 5X61a inches in circumfer-
| ence. Average size, fifteen to the
| pound, which is two or three times
| larger than the Petite or ordinary
| French prune, SO-called. Fruit stalk
short, sewers very easily from the stem
as the fruit reaches maturity. Pit
medium size, f1attened, slightly Wrink-
| led and most often separated from the
| flesh. The skin is so thin or porous
that the fruit begins to shrink on the
| tree fully as soon as ripe Tree an
unusually vigorous grower and very
productive. One pound fresh fruit
| make seven and one-half ounces when
| rafting dry. BY the usual mode of
curing, one pound fresh fruit would
| probably make one-half pound when
| cured. Analysis at the State Uni
versity Of the fresh fruit disclosed the
fact that it is nearly one-fourth sugar,
the exact amount being 1892 per cent,
| the average of sugar Of the Petite
prune being 1858 per cent, and of all
prunes 1888. A Seeding of Petite and
bids fair to revolutionize the prune in
| dustry of the world. Originated by
| Luther Burbank of Santa Rosa.
Highland.-A Seeding of Petite. A
| large handsome prune; skin deep pur-
plish crimson. Flesh dark yellow, very
sweet, quite firm, excellent flavor; ri
pens August 10th, about ten days be-
fore the Petite or French prune. Pit
Tree vigorous and productive. Fruit
averages about twice the size of the
| French prune. Originated by Luther
| Burbank of Santa Rosa.
Splendor.-Raised from seed of the
| French prune, crossed with Ponds
| Seeding Fruit averages about twice
as large as the Petite or French prune !;
| trees even more productive bearing
Ia fy-yJi 1nI1y ho
| branches, thus avoiding breakage.
Fruit a handsome f1attened ovoid, dark
purple, with heavy blue bloom. Flesh
| yellow, rich and sweet, though not as
firm as Petite prune. The only objec-
ton to this prune is that it clings to
| the tree instead of falling when ripe
like the Petite or French prune; also,
it ripens altogether. This would be a
serious objection if planted largely, as
it would be difficult to handle the fruit
all at once. Originated in 1886 by
| Luther Burbank of Santa Rosa
! Giant.-Parentage same as Splendor.
| One Of the largest of all known plums
or prunes, wellgroWn fruits averag-
| ing nearly or quite three inches long
by two inches in shortest diameter.
Skin light crimson, with numerous yell
| low dots, flesh yellowish rather firm,
rich, sweet, delicious to eat fresh Pit
| medium or small for so large a prune +:
| fiat, nearly smooth Freestone when
fully ripe. Not recommended for dry
ing, as it is too large and shrinks
! heavily. Tree very strong grower and
constant bearer. Specially valuable for
shipping and for growing in the warm
er parts of the State. Originated in
1886 by Luther Burbank of Santa
Rosa.
Imperial Epineuse.-This is one of
the largest plums of this so-called
''prune" type. 1t was imported from
France by Felix Gillet of Nevada City
1t is a handsome, snowy prune, grows
! Of extraordinary large size, under fa-
vorable conditions weighing when
! fresh as high as eight to the pound.
Fruit large, ovoid, with the cheeks
convex, sprinkled with large and we'll
defined white specks, borne we'll into
the large or main limbs, the foliage
| protecting 1t from sunburn. Skin thin,
tender and firm light reddish purple
at first tinged with green; at ma
turity becomes quite dark with a red
dish cast, covered with a light white
bloom. Pit medium large, fattened,
! quite Wrinkled and grooved with
| denticulated edges and sharp toward
| the end. Flesh dark yellow, fine,
tender but not rich in sugar juice
| Tree vigorous, branches strong, grow
upright deep brown, splashed with
green and ashy gray, smooth, with
! large thorny-like spurs. Leaves large,
oval-elliptic, slightly wavy in their out
line, bordered with teeth deeply cut,
| rounded or deeply crenated, we'll sup
ported on strong petioles. Fruit buds
large, ovoid, quite sharp, short and
gathered on rather thick Flowers
large, with rounded petals. General
hue of the foliage a deep dark green
stiffness of all the leaves, strong up
right growth of the shoots are the
striking characteristics of the tree
In the past two years many expert
| ments have been made to determine
the bearing and drying qualities of this
prune. Many at first reported having
| met with great success in drying it
especially in portions of the San Joa-
quin and Santa Clara Valleys. This
| was, however, with a limited amount
of fruit, in many cases only a few
pounds, which in manipulating gave
! different results from larger amounts
| as conducted this year
For two years it has been exhibited
in the cured state at the State Fair.
o. these l obtained several boxes and
put them away to determine its keeping
qualities. The ones packed in 50-pound
boxes moulded very soon after being
stored away, owing to having been
poorly cured. Those packed in five
pound boxes We're all extra large size
fruit, especially selected and we'll cured.
These kept for nearly a year without