Tree of medium size and vigor, upright-spreading, vasiform, hardy, not always productive; branches dark ash-gray, thorny; leaves folded upward, oval, one and one-quarter inches wide, two and one-quarter inches long; upper surface dark green, rugose; lower surface silvery-green, pubescent; margin finely serrate, eglandular or with small, brownish glands; petiole five-eighths inch long, glandless or with one or two small glands; blooming season late and of medium length; flowers appearing after the leaves, seven-eighths inch across, the buds creamy, changing to white when expanded; borne in clusters on lateral buds and spurs, usually in pairs; anthers reddish; filaments five-sixteenths inch long; pistil shorter than the stamens. Fruit late, season long; seven-eighths inch in diameter, roundish-oval; cavity very shallow and narrow; flesh yellowish-green, juicy, tender, sweet, mild; fair in quality; stone free, tinged red, five-eighths inch by one-half inch in size, oval, turgid, with roughened surfaces, acute at the base, blunt at the apex; ventral suture broad, blunt; dorsal suture with a broad, shallow groove. FRENCH [Illustration: FRENCH] _Prunus insititia_ =1.= _Mich. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 289. 1889. =2.= _Ibid._ 64. 1891. =3.= _Cornell Sta. Bul._ =131=:184 fig. 40 I. 1897. =4.= _Mich. Sta. Bul._ =169=:245. 1899. =5.= _Waugh Plum Cult._ 129. 1901. _French Damson_ 4. French Damson 1, 2, 3. Far better than the Freestone just discussed is the French Damson, which in some respects surpasses all other plums in its group. Thus it is the largest of the Damsons, so large, indeed, as to lead many to believe that it may be a hybrid with some Domestica plum, the size of the trees, blossoms and foliage also leading to such a supposition. This excellent Damson is largely grown for the market in western New York, good quality as well as size and appearance aiding in selling the product. The fruits have but one defect, the pit is large for the amount of flesh. Curiously enough in some seasons the stone clings and in others is perfectly free. It is in tree-characters that the French plum best shows its superiority over other Damsons. The trees are large, the largest of the Damsons in New York, hardy, bear abundantly and annually and carry their foliage so well that fruit and wood usually ripen perfectly even when the trees are not sprayed. The season is a little after that of the more commonly grown Shropshire, which in most years is an advantage. French, while becoming popular, is still too little known in New York, where its behavior warrants quite general planting.