Plants in the Hortus

Many of the plants described here were listed in the catalogues of plants published by Sir William Macarthur in 1843, 1845, 1850 and 1857 and in an unpublished catalogue dated 1861. A large number of additional plants were identified from correspondence, gardening notebooks and other documents surviving in the archives. The Hortus attempts to describe all the plants grown in the gardens at Camden Park and those grown in horticultural enterprises such as orchards and vineyards and includes plants grown outside the gardens in the park-like environs of the Camden Park estate. The Hortus plants served a wide range of purposes in the 19th century household; as ornament, living fences, fibre, dyestuffs, medicines, food and drink from the garden, orchard and vineyard and many others.

Prunus domestica ‘Ickworth Imperatrice’

A Prunus domestica L. cultivar. ‘Fruit large, obovate. Skin purple, marked with yellow streaks. Stalk stout, an inch or more in length. Flesh greenish-yellow, tender and juicy, with a rich, sugary flavour, and adhering to the stone. Shoots smooth. An excellent late dessert plum. Ripe in October. It will hang till it shrivels, and is then very rich in flavour.’ [Hogg – Fruit Manual p.241/1860].

Prunus domestica ‘Kirke’s Golden Yellow’

A Prunus domestica L. cultivar. I have found no record of this plum. The plum that usually bears Kirke’s name is purple skinned. There is also a ‘Kirke’s Stoneless’, again with a purple skin.

Prunus domestica ‘Knight’s Large Green Drying’

A Prunus domestica L. cultivar. ‘Fruit large, round, and marked with a shallow suture. Skin greenish-yellow, and covered with thin white bloom. Flesh yellowish, firm, not very juicy, sugary, and richly flavoured when highly ripened; adhering to the stone. Shoots smooth. A dessert plum. Ripe in the middle and end of September; and succeeds best against a wall.’ [Hogg – Fruit Manual p.244/1860].

Prunus domestica ‘Lawrence’

A Prunus domestica L. cultivar. I have found no record of a plum called ‘Lawrence’s Orleans’ but it is probably ‘Lawrence’s Favourite’, also called ‘Lawrence’. ‘Fruit large, round, and flattened at both ends. Skin dull yellowish-green, streaked with darker green on the side exposed to the sun, veined with brown, and covered all over with thin grey bloom. Stalk half an inch long, inserted in a narrow cavity. Flesh greenish, tender, melting, and juicy, rich, sugary, and with a fine vinous, brisk flavour, separating from the stone. Shoots downy. A delicious dessert plum. Ripe in the beginning of September.’ [Hogg – Fruit Manual p.245/1860].

Prunus domestica ‘Orleans’

A Prunus domestica L. cultivar. ‘Branches downy. Fruit middle-sized, nearly globular, swelling a little more on one side of the suture than on the other. Skin dark red, and when fully exposed to the sun, of a purplish colour, covered with a thin blue bloom. Flesh yellow, and separates clean from the stone, like an Apricot. Juice a little sugary, with a portion of astringency. Ripe the middle and end of August. The Orleans is one of our most common Plums, and known in every market throughout England.’ [George Lindley – Orchard Guide p.454/1831].

Prunus domestica ‘Précoce de Tours’

A Prunus domestica L. cultivar. ‘Branches downy. Fruit below the middle size, oval, about one inch and a quarter deep, and an inch in diameter. Stalk half an inch long. Skin deep purple, covered with a thick blue bloom. Flesh brownish yellow, with a few red streaks near the stone, from which it separates. Juice sweet, with an agreeable flavour. Ripe on a south wall the end of July.’ [George Lindley – Orchard Guide p.444/1831].

Prunus domestica ‘Purple Gage’

A Prunus domestica L. cultivar. ‘Branches smooth, almost like the Green Gage. Fruit, except in colour, very like the Green Gage, middle-sized, roundish oval, somewhat flattened at the ends. Suture moderately depressed. Stalk about an inch long, rather thick. Skin violet, powdered with a light blue bloom, beneath which it is engrained with pale yellow dots. Flesh greenish amber, rich, sugary, and strikingly high flavoured. Stone oval, inclining to ovate, compressed. Ripe the end of August and beginning of September.’ [George Lindley – Orchard guide p.456/1831].

Prunus domestica ‘Quetsche’

A Prunus domestica L. cultivar. ‘Fruit medium sized, oval, narrowing towards the stalk, flattened on one side, where it is marked with a distinct suture. Skin dark purple, dotted with grey dots and veins of russet, and covered with blue bloom. Stalk an inch long. Flesh firm, juicy, sweet, and brisk, separating from the stone. Shoots smooth. A culinary plum. Ripe in the end of September.’ [Hogg – Fruit Manual p.251/1860].

Prunus domestica ‘Red Magnum Bonum’

A Prunus domestica L. cultivar. ‘Branches smooth. Fruit pretty large, oval, about two inches and a quarter long, and one inch and three quarters in diameter, swelled much more on one side of the suture than on the other. Stalk one inch and a quarter long, slender. Skin pale green on the shaded side, but of a deep red colour, with numerous grey specks, where fully exposed to the sun, and covered with a very thin blue bloom. Flesh yellowish green, and separates from the stone. Juice harsh, subacid. Stone oval, sharp-pointed. Ripe the beginning and middle of September.’ [George Lindley – Orchard guide p.457/1831].

Prunus domestica ‘Reine Claude de Bavay’

A Prunus domestica L. cultivar. ‘Fruit large, roundish, and flattened at both ends. Skin greenish-yellow, mottled and streaked with green, and covered with a delicate white bloom. Stalk half an inch long, inserted in a small cavity. Flesh yellow, tender, melting, and very juicy, with a rich, sugary flavour, and separating from the stone. Shoots smooth. A first-rate dessert plum of exquisite flavour. Ripe in the end of September and beginning of October.’ [Hogg – Fruit Manual p.252/1860].

Prunus domestica ‘Reine Claude’

A Prunus domestica L. cultivar. ‘Reine Claude’ is a synonym of ‘Green Gage’, which see for more detail.

Prunus domestica ‘St. Martin Quetsche’

A Prunus domestica L. cultivar. Fruit medium sized, ovate, or rather heart-shaped. Skin pale yellow, covered with white bloom. Flesh yellowish, sweet, and well-flavoured, separating from the stone. Shoots smooth. A very late plum. Ripe in the middle of October. [Hogg – Fruit Manual p.254/1860].

Prunus domestica ‘Washington’

A Prunus domestica L. cultivar. ‘Branches downy. Fruit regularly oval, with a very obscure suture just at the stalk, where it is rather deep, about one inch and three quarters long, and one inch and five eighths in diameter. Stalk three quarters of an inch long, slightly pubescent. Skin dull yellow, broken a little with green, assuming an orange cast on the sunny side, with a purplish bloom, and more or less mottled with crimson dots. Flesh yellow, firm, very sweet and luscious, separating freely from the stone. Stone oval, acute at each end, wrinkled all over, and nearly even at the edges. Ripe in September.’ [George Lindley – Orchard Guide p.466/1831].

Prunus domestica ‘White Magnum Bonum’

A Prunus domestica L. cultivar. ‘Fruit of the largest size, oval, with a rather deep suture extending the whole length of one side. Skin deep yellow, covered with thin white bloom. Stalk an inch long, inserted without depression. Flesh yellow, firm, coarse-grained, with a brisk subacid flavour, and adhering to the stone. Shoots smooth. A culinary plum, highly esteemed for preserving. Ripe in the beginning of September.’ [Hogg – Fruit Manual p.258/1860].

Prunus domestica ‘Yellow Gage’

A Prunus domestica L. cultivar. ‘Fruit below medium size, round, and marked with a shallow suture. Skin greenish-yellow, thickly covered with white bloom. Stalk half an inch long, inserted in a pretty deep cavity. Flesh yellowish-white, firm, rather coarse-grained, but sweet and pleasantly flavoured, separating from the stone. Shoots smooth. A dessert plum of second-rate quality. Ripe in the beginning and middle of September.’ [Hogg – Fruit Manual p.259/1860].

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