CHAPTER IV
LEADING VARIETIES OF CHERRIES
ABBESSE D'OIGNIES
_Prunus avium_ × _Prunus cerasus_
=1.= Mortillet _Le Cerisier_ =2=:182. 1866. =2.= Leroy _Dict. Pom._ =5=:161, 162 fig. 1877. =3.= Hogg _Fruit Man._ 276, 277. 1884. =4.= _Mich. Pom. Soc. Rpt._ 329. 1888. =5.= Budd-Hansen _Am. Hort. Man._ =2=:284. 1903. =6.= _Ia. Sta. Bul._ =73=:62 fig. 1907. =7.= _N. Y. Sta. Bul._ =385=:307, 308, Pl. 1914.
Abbesse d'Oignies has so many good characters that it is well worth trying commercially wherever cherries are grown in the United States. Curiously enough, it seems so far to have been tried only in the Middle West, Professor Budd having introduced it in Iowa from Russia in 1883. In the unfavorable soil and climatic conditions of the Mississippi Valley, Abbesse d'Oignies grows as well as any cherry of its class, if we may judge from the accounts of it. We do not know of its having been tried elsewhere in the East than on our grounds and here we find it, in competition with practically all of the varieties of its class, one of the best of the Dukes. At this Station it does so well that we described it, in the reference given, as one of the noteworthy fruits in our collection. The trees are large, vigorous, hardy, fruitful and very free from fungus diseases. The cherries are large, dark red, of most excellent quality, combining the flavor of the Dukes with a firmer and yet tenderer flesh than the Montmorency. The high quality, handsome appearance and good shipping qualities of the fruit, combined with the splendid characters of the tree, ought to make Abbesse d'Oignies a very good commercial variety.
This cherry probably originated in Belgium about the middle of the Nineteenth Century. At least it was first listed in Belgian nursery catalogs in 1854. It is now a greater or less favorite wherever cherries are grown in the Old World, Professor Budd having found it, as we have said, in 1883, in Russia and immediately transported it to America.
Tree characteristically large and vigorous, upright-spreading, round-topped but with drooping branchlets, hardy, productive; trunk stocky, with shaggy bark; branches thick, smooth, ash-gray over reddish-brown, with many lenticels; branchlets short, with short internodes, brownish, roughened by transverse wrinkles and by numerous conspicuous, small, raised lenticels.
Leaves two and one-half inches wide, five and one-half inches long, folded upward, obovate, thick; upper surface glossy, dark green; lower surface light green, slightly pubescent, distinctly ribbed by the larger veins; apex taper-pointed, base acute; margin with small, black glands, coarsely and doubly serrate; petiole one and one-quarter inches long, thick, lightly tinged with red, grooved, with one or two small, globose, reddish-orange glands.
Buds rather long, pointed, free, arranged often in elongated clusters at the ends of long spurs; leaf-scars very prominent; season of bloom medium, averaging five days in length; flowers white, one and three-sixteenths inches across; borne in dense clusters at the ends of long spurs or spur-like branches, well distributed, varying from one to three; pedicels one-half inch long, glabrous, greenish; calyx-tube reddish, campanulate, glabrous; calyx-lobes tinged red, long, narrow, somewhat acuminate, glabrous within and without, reflexed; petals roundish-oval, entire, nearly sessile, with a broad, shallow notch at the apex; filaments one-quarter inch long; pistil glabrous, equal to the stamens in length.
Fruit late; three-fourths inch long, seven-eighths inch thick, roundish-oblate, slightly compressed; cavity of medium depth, wide, regular; suture a line; apex roundish, slightly depressed; color dark red; dots numerous, small, light russet, conspicuous; stem slender, one and one-half inches long, adhering to the fruit; skin tough; flesh yellowish-white, with colorless juice, slightly stringy, tender and soft, sprightly subacid; of very good quality; stone free, about three-eighths inch in diameter, roundish, turgid, slightly pointed, with smooth surfaces; ridged along the ventral suture.
ARCH DUKE
_Prunus avium_ × _Prunus cerasus_
=1.= Parkinson _Par. Ter._ 571. 1629. =2.= Rea _Flora_ 205. 1676. =3.= Prince _Pom. Man._ =2:=135. 1832. =4.= Downing _Fr. Trees Am._ 189, 190. 1845. =5.= Floy-Lindley _Guide Orch. Gard._ 97, 98. 1846. =6.= _Mag. Hort._ =13=:398 fig. 1847. =7.= Elliott _Fr. Book_ 203. 1854. =8.= _U. S. D. A. Rpt._ 135. 1867. =9.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 12. 1871. =10.= Hogg _Fruit Man._ 278, 279. 1884.
_Griotte de Portugal._ =11.= Duhamel _Trait. Arb. Fr._ =1=:190, 191, Pl. XIII. 1768. =12.= Leroy _Dict. Pom._ =5=:297, 298 fig. 1877.
_Portugiesischer Griottier Weichselbaum._ =13.= Kraft _Pom. Aust._ =1=:6, Tab. 16 fig. 1. 1792.
_Herzogskirsche._ =14.= Christ _Handb._ 670. 1797. =15.= Christ _Wörterb._ 282. 1802. =16.= Truchsess-Heim _Kirschensort._ 371-376. 1819.
_Portugiesische Griotte._ =17.= Christ _Handb._ 674. 1797.
_Cerise Royale de Hollande._ =18.= _Ann. Pom. Belge._ =1=:81, Pl. 1853.
_Cerise de Portugal._ =19.= Mortillet _Le Cerisier_ =2=:148 fig. 37, 149, 150. 1866.
Parkinson, nearly three hundred years ago, thought the Arch Duke "one of the fairest and best of cherries." It is now, however, quite surpassed by several others of the Dukes. The concensus of opinion of those who have known the true fruit of this name is that either May Duke or Late Duke is better. We give it prominence only because of its worthy past and that it may be better distinguished from May Duke with which it is often confused. As compared with the last-named variety it is two weeks later; the tree is more vigorous but not as productive; and the branches are larger, more divergent and more pendulous. The cherries are not as well flavored but are larger and have a shorter stalk.
This old English variety was first mentioned by Parkinson in _Paradisus Terrestris_, 1629. For many years previous to the middle of the last century the true Arch Duke cherry was very scarce and was often confused with other varieties, some writers asserting that it was the May Duke; others, the Late Duke. In 1847, however, the true Arch Duke cherry was discovered in the nurseries of Thomas Rivers, Sawbridgeworth, England, having been grown there, according to Mr. Rivers, by his ancestors for nearly a century. It was then found that the fruit was quite unlike that of either May Duke or Late Duke, though the habit of the tree was similar. It is not known when Arch Duke was introduced into America but the American Pomological Society placed it upon its fruit list in 1871.
Tree medium in size, vigorous, somewhat upright, hardy, productive; trunk stocky, smooth; branches slender, long, smooth, reddish-brown, marked with considerable scarf-skin, with numerous, rather large lenticels; branchlets of medium length, curved, with short internodes, brown mottled with ash-gray, smooth, glabrous, with few small, slightly raised, inconspicuous lenticels.
Leaves numerous, about two inches wide, three inches long, folded upward, short-oval to obovate, of medium thickness; upper surface dark green; lower surface light green, very slightly pubescent; apex acutely pointed; margin finely and doubly serrate, glandular; petiole one inch long, tinged with dull red, slender, with one or two, rarely three small, globose, brownish glands at the base of the blade.
Buds small, short, conical, plump, free, arranged singly as lateral buds or in clusters of variable size; leaf-scars rather prominent; season of bloom medium; flowers white, one and one-sixteenth inches across; borne in clusters of twos and threes; pedicels three-fourths inch long, rather slender, glabrous, greenish; calyx-tube with a faint tinge of red, obconic, glabrous; calyx-lobes with a trace of red, of medium length and breadth, acute, serrate, glabrous within and without, reflexed; petals roundish, entire, nearly sessile, the apex entire or with a shallow, wide notch; anthers yellowish; filaments three-sixteenths inch long; pistil glabrous, longer than the stamens.
Fruit matures in mid-season; one and one-eighth inches in diameter, obtuse-cordate, slightly compressed, flattened at the extremities; cavity of medium depth, narrow, somewhat obtuse; suture distinct; apex flattened or depressed; color light red becoming dark red or almost black at full maturity; dots numerous, of medium size, russet, rather inconspicuous; stem slender, one and one-half inches long, rather stout at its point of insertion in the fruit, adherent to the fruit; skin moderately thick; flesh light to dark red, firm, crisp, slightly astringent at first, becoming a very pleasant subacid at full maturity, juicy, good to very good in quality; stone semi-clinging, seven-sixteenths inch long, three-eighths inch wide, oval, compressed, with smooth surfaces.
BALDWIN
_Prunus cerasus_
=1.= _Kan. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ =23=:81. 1898. =2.= Kan. Hort. Soc. _Cherry, The_, 15, 16, Pl. 1900. =3.= _Ia. Sta. Bul._ =73=:63. 1903. =4.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 27. 1909.
Baldwin is supposed to have grown from a sprout of a stock on which Early Richmond had been budded on the farm of S. J. Baldwin, Seneca, Kansas. The Early Richmond bud was in some manner broken off and the sprout, springing from the stock, was allowed to grow and first fruited in 1891. On the grounds of this Station Baldwin trees which came fairly direct from the originator turned out to be Olivet. The published descriptions that can be found are so scant and fragmentary that we cannot make out whether the variety is really distinct or, as in the case of our trees, is Olivet renamed. The variety has been rather widely disseminated in the Middle West but has not shown much merit either for home or for commercial orchards in the rather lengthy probationary period it has had in the East. The American Pomological Society added Baldwin to its fruit list in 1909. The description we give is a compilation.
Tree vigorous, upright, round-topped; leaves large, broad; flowers white, changing to pink.
Fruit ripens early; usually borne in pairs; large, round; stem of medium length, rather thick; color very dark red, yet almost transparent; flavor slightly acid, yet considered one of the sweetest and richest of the Morello class.
BAUMANN MAY
_Prunus avium_
=1.= Downing _Fr. Trees Am._ 168 fig. 60. 1845. =2.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 74. 1862. =3.= Hogg _Fruit Man._ 279. 1884.
_Frühe Maiherzkirsche._ =4.= Kraft _Pom. Aust._ =1=:1, Tab. 1. 1792. =5.= Truchsess-Heim _Kirschensort._ 140, 141, 142. 1819. =6.= _Ill. Handb._ 49 fig., 50. 1860. =7.= Mathieu _Nom. Pom._ 348, 349. 1889.
_Süsse Maiherzkirsche._ =8.= Christ _Handb._ 662. 1797.
_May Bigarreau._ =9.= Kenrick _Am. Orch._ 234. 1841. =10.= _Mag. Hort._ =7=:288. 1841. =11.= _Cultivator_ N. S. =4=:280 fig. 1. 1847. =12.= Hovey _Fr. Am._ =1=:55, 56, Pl. 1851.
_Guigne Précoce de Mai._ =13.= Mortillet _Le Cerisier_ =2=:54 fig. 2, 55, 56. 1866. =14.= Mas _Pom. Gen._ =11=:51, 52, fig. 26. 1882.
_Bigarreau Baumann._ =15.= Leroy _Dict. Pom._ =5=:176 fig., 177. 1877.
_Guigne de Mai._ =16.= _Soc. Nat. Hort. France Pom._ 102 fig., 103. 1904.
Baumann May is an early Sweet Cherry which at one time held high place among its kind but a century of culture proved that it had little value except for extreme earliness and it is now but sparingly or not at all grown either in America or abroad. If the variety could be obtained it might be worth growing for breeding work because of its earliness and great productiveness. At one time this variety was rather largely grown in central and western New York and specimens of it must yet remain in this region.
From the latter part of the Eighteenth Century, when we first find an account of this variety in Kraft's _Pomona Austriaca_, to the last of the Nineteenth, writers have described Baumann May under many different names. From all accounts it originated toward the latter part of the Eighteenth Century, in Germany. From Germany it was introduced into Alsace where F. J. Baumann, a nurseryman at Bollweiler, grew it in his nursery under the name Bigarreau Baumann and disseminated it throughout the French provinces. The cherry was received in America, with several others, by Colonel M. P. Wilder of Boston, Massachusetts, from Messrs. Baumann, about the year 1838. The American Pomological Society listed the variety, in 1862, in its fruit catalog as Bauman's May but dropped it again in 1871. The following description is a compilation:
Tree vigorous, somewhat spreading, regular in form, compact, very productive; branches stocky, nearly horizontal but often curved downward; branchlets with short internodes, reddish-brown nearly covered with silver-gray scarf-skin; leaves medium to large, dark green, ovate-oblong, coarsely and deeply serrate; petiole rather short, with two large, reniform glands near the base of the leaf; buds large, ovate; flowers of medium size, opening very early.
Fruit matures very early; medium to rather small, ovate-cordate, angular, irregular in outline; color dark red becoming nearly black when fully ripe; stem one and three-quarters inches long, rather thick; flesh purplish-red, with abundant juice, soft and tender, sweet, well flavored; of good quality; stone medium in size, roundish-ovate.
BESSARABIAN
_Prunus cerasus_
=1.= _Ia. Agr. Col. Bul._ 53. 1885. =2.= _Ia. Sta. Bul._ =2=:38. 1888. =3.= _Ibid._ =19=:549. 1892. =4.= _Can. Exp. Farm Bul._ =17=:6. 1892. =5.= _Mich. Pom. Soc. Rpt._ 244. 1894. =6.= _U. S. D. A. Pom. Rpt._ 39, 40. 1895. =7.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 17. 1897. =8.= _Del. Sta. An. Rpt._ =12=:122, 123 fig. 8, 124. 1900. =9.= _Wash. Sta. Bul._ =92=:12. 1910.
By general consent Bessarabian has a place in home orchards in the colder parts of the Mississippi Valley and the Great Plains. It is very hardy and is said to thrive even under neglect--standing as much abuse as a forest tree. As compared with standard commercial cherries of the East the fruit is distinctly inferior in size and quality, being hardly fit to eat out of hand, and is sour and astringent even when cooked. The trees, though hardy and healthy, are dwarfish and not productive because of the smallness of the cherries. It is an early cherry but the fruit hangs long. The variety is said to root well from cuttings, which, if true, might make it worth while trying as a stock. Bessarabian is a variant of English Morello, the fruit of which sort greatly excels it wherever the trees can be equally well grown.
This variety was brought to America from Russia about 1883, by Professor J. L. Budd of Ames, Iowa, who believed it to belong to a race of cherries originally found in central Asia.
Tree of medium size, upright, becoming somewhat spreading, compact, healthy, unproductive, very hardy; branches somewhat drooping, long, slender; leaves abundant, medium to small, oval, coarsely serrate, dark green, broad, flat; glands few, usually on the stalk at the base of the leaf.
Fruit matures medium early, remaining on the tree a long time in good condition; medium in size, roundish-oblate to cordate, irregular, bright red becoming dark red; stem long, varying from one and three-fourths to two inches in length, slender, curved; skin tender; flesh light to dark red, with abundant colored juice, variable in firmness, sprightly subacid becoming milder when fully ripe; fair in quality; stone variable in size, roundish-oval, semi-clinging.
BIGARREAU PÉLISSIER
_Prunus avium_
=1.= _Soc. Nat. Hort. France Pom._ 92 fig., 93. 1904. =2.= _Cat. Cong. Pom. France_ 30 fig. 1906.
_Pélissiers Knorpelkirsche._ =3.= _Proskauer Obstsort._ 57. 1907.
This variety originated in France as a chance seedling about 1883 and fruited first in 1891. It was introduced a few years later by M. Auguste Pélissier, a nurseryman at Château-Renard, Bouches-du-Rhône, France. Although not yet well established even in France, this cherry is considered promising for market, because of its firm flesh, handsome appearance, high quality and good tree-characters. It is included among the major varieties in _The Cherries of New York_ that the attention of American cherry-growers may be called to it. As yet it seems not to have been tried in this country. The following description is compiled:
Tree upright, vigorous, very productive; branches rather long, large, bearing large, oval leaves; flowers large, semi-open; blooming season early.
Fruit matures from early June to the last of June; large or very large, obtuse-cordate, slightly depressed at the apex, with a shallow yet distinct suture; stem short, thick; skin rather thick, firm, yellowish almost entirely overspread with vivid red which becomes darker at maturity but often showing streaks of clear red; flesh fine-grained, firm, juicy, red with streaks of white, sweet, aromatic; quality good to very good; stone of medium size, oval, with a pronounced suture.
BING
_Prunus avium_
=1.= _U. S. D. A. Rpt._ 262, Pl. 4 fig. a. 1892. =2.= _Wash. Bd. Hort. Rpt._ 126, 128. 1893. =3.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 24. 1899. =4.= _W. N. Y. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 112. 1900. =5.= _Ibid._ 26. 1904. =6.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Rpt._ 192. 1907. =7.= Wickson _Cal. Fruits_ 187. 1908. =8.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 26. 1909. =9.= _Wash. Sta. Bul._ =92=:23. 1910.
Bing is one of the best of the several very good cherries from the Pacific Northwest. But few Sweet Cherries equal it in size and attractiveness and none surpass it in quality, so that it may be said to be as good as any of the dessert cherries. It is, too, a very good shipping fruit, ranking with the best of the Bigarreaus, to which group it belongs, as a cherry for distant markets. Another quality commending the variety is that it hangs well on the trees and the crop ripens at one time so that the harvest consists of but one picking. While many cherry-growers speak well of the trees, unfortunately we cannot do so from their behavior on the grounds of this Station. They have not been as vigorous, as healthy or as productive as cherry trees should be in a commercial variety of first rank. The cause, however, may be in the location rather than in the variety, for in an orchard but a few miles distant Bing does much better than on these grounds. The variety, though comparatively new, is no longer on probation. It has a niche in the cherry flora of the country, deserving a place in the collection of every amateur by virtue of its splendid fruit. When it is happy in soil and climate, Bing is bound to be one of the leading commercial cherries.
Seth Lewelling of Milwaukee, Oregon, the originator of several of our finest cherries, grew Bing from the seed of Republican in 1875. The variety was named after a Chinese workman. In 1899 the American Pomological Society placed the variety on its fruit list.
Tree large, vigorous, erect becoming upright-spreading, rather open, productive; trunk and branches thick, smooth; branches brownish with numerous, small lenticels; branchlets thick, long, with long internodes, greenish-brown, smooth, pubescent, with small, raised, conspicuous lenticels.
Leaves abundant, large, folded upward, ovate to obovate of medium thickness; upper surface dark green, smooth; lower surface light green, pubescent; apex abruptly pointed, or acute, base abrupt; margin slightly serrate, glandular; petiole long, pubescent, thickish, tinged red, with from one to three large, reniform, reddish glands on the stalk.
Fruit matures in mid-season or later; very large, one inch in diameter, broadly cordate, somewhat compressed, slightly angular; cavity deep, of medium width, abrupt, regular; suture a dark line; apex roundish or slightly depressed; color very dark red, almost black; dots small, russet, inconspicuous; stem variable in thickness, one and one-fourth inches long; skin of medium thickness, tough, adherent to the pulp; flesh purplish-red with dark purple juice, rather coarse, firm, very meaty, brittle, sweet; of very good quality; stone semi-free, large, ovate to oval, blunt, with smooth surfaces.
BLACK GUIGNE
_Prunus avium_
=1.= Prince _Pom. Man._ =2=:112. 1832.
_Scheur-Kers._ =2.= Knoop _Fructologie_ =2=:36, 43. 1771.
_Frühe Schwarze Herzkirsche._ =3.= _Christ Wörterb._ 274. 1802.
_Guigne Bigaudelle_. =4.= Prince _Pom. Man._ =2=:113. 1832.
_Coburger Maiherzkirsche._ =5.= _Ill. Handb._ 51 fig., 52. 1860. =6.= Oberdieck _Obst-Sort._ 377. 1881. =7.= Lauche _Deut. Pom._ =III=:No. 1, Pl. 1882.
_Guigne Noire Commune._ =8.= _Leroy Dict. Pom._ =5=:328, 329 fig., 330. 1877.
_Noire Hâtive de Cobourg._ =9.= Mas _Pom. Gen._ =11=:123, 124, fig. 62. 1882.
There is much confusion in the history of this old cherry. It undoubtedly originated in France and in that part of the country later conquered by the Germans, though Mas, in his _Pomologie Générale_, mentioned it as probably of German origin. In the time of Louis XIII this variety was known as the Guigne Noire Commune and was cultivated quite extensively in France and northern Italy. It was esteemed both for its earliness and its fine quality and was known as Guigne Guindoulle by the peasants of central France and by the Tuscans in Italy as Corbini because of the color of its skin. Black Guigne, Black Heart, and Early Purple, which, while similar in many characters, are entirely distinct, have been badly confused by both French and German writers and it is only with the greatest difficulty that the three can be separated. While this cherry was formerly considered of worth in Continental Europe, it is scarcely recognized there now and was probably never brought to America. The following description is compiled from European fruit-books:
Tree very large, round-topped, spreading, irregular in outline, productive; branches long, large, straight, brownish, mottled with gray scarf-skin; internodes long and unequal; leaves large, oval or oblong, acuminate; margin irregularly serrate; petiole long, slender, with large glands; blooming season late; flowers small.
Fruit matures the last of June to the middle of July, usually attached in pairs but sometimes in threes; medium to large in size, obtuse-cordate; color bright reddish-black changing to deep purple; suture indistinct; stem slender, inserted in a deep, broad cavity; skin thin, tender; flesh dark purple, with abundant colored juice, half-tender, somewhat stringy, sweet yet sprightly, pleasantly flavored; quality good; stone small, oval.
BLACK HAWK
_Prunus avium_
=1.= _Horticulturist_ =6=:360, 361 fig. 1851. =2.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Rpt._ 45, 235. 1854. =3.= Elliott _Fr. Book_ 190 fig. 1854. =4.= Hooper _W. Fr. Book_ 258, 270, 271. 1857. =5.= _U. S. D. A. Rpt._ 382. 1875.
_Épervier Noir._ =6.= Mas _Pom. Gen._ =11=:41, 42, fig. 21. 1882.
Despite the fact that Black Hawk was lauded by the horticulturists in the middle of the last century as one of the best of all black Sweet Cherries, it is now almost unknown. According to the older pomologists it was unsurpassed for eating out of hand but was only mediocre in all other characters of either fruit or tree. In particular it was surpassed in many ways by the better-known Eagle which fills about the same place in cherry culture. The variety was very popular in southern Ohio about Cincinnati where many trees may still be found and where it is still more or less planted. Possibly because of the excellent quality of the fruit, the amateur might well try a tree or two. The description is compiled.
Black Hawk originated with Professor J. P. Kirtland of Cleveland, Ohio, sometime previous to 1845. It is one of the best of the many seedlings fruited by him. The American Pomological Society in 1854 named this sort as one of the promising new fruits and it still remains on the fruit-list of this organization.
Tree large, vigorous, spreading, round-topped, resembling Yellow Spanish in habit, productive, healthy; branches stout, smooth, dark reddish-brown, straight; branchlets slender, with short internodes.
Leaves large, folded upward, obovate, rather thick; upper surface dark green; lower surface pale green; apex abruptly pointed; margin coarsely and deeply serrate; petiole short, stout, bright red, with two or more orange-red, reniform glands.
Buds of medium size, rather short, free; flowers small or medium in size; pedicels long, very slender; calyx-lobes straight, finely serrate, obtuse; petals roundish, broadly and deeply notched at the tip.
Fruit matures about the middle of June, a few days later than Black Tartarian; medium to large, obtuse-cordate, surface uneven, sides compressed; cavity deep, broad, abrupt, nearly regular; color glossy, dark purplish-black changing to almost black at complete maturity; stem usually thick but often variable, of medium length; skin thick, adhering to the pulp; flesh purplish-black, tender, with abundant colored juice, aromatic, well flavored, sweet; of very good quality; stone of medium size, with uneven surfaces.
BLACK HEART
_Prunus avium_
=1.= Rea _Flora_ 205. 1676. =2.= Prince _Pom. Man._ =2=:115. 1832. =3.= Downing _Fr. Trees Am._ 169 fig. 1845. =4.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Rpt._ 195. 1854. =5.= Thompson _Gard. Ass't_ 526. 1859. =6.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 74. 1862.
_Guignier à Fruit Noir._ =7.= Duhamel _Trait. Arb. Fr._ =1=:158, 159, 160, Pl. 1 fig. 1. 1768.
_Frühe Schwarze Herzkirsche._ =8.= Truchsess-Heim _Kirschensort._ 116-119. 1819. =9.= Mathieu _Nom. Pom._ 340, 349. 1889.
_Guigne Noire Ancienne._ =10.= Mortillet _Le Cerisier_ =2=:66 fig. 7, 67, 68. 1866.
_Bigarreau Noir d'Espagne._ =11.= Leroy _Dict. Pom._ =5=:223 fig., 224. 1877.
Although one of the oldest cherries under cultivation, Black Heart is still largely grown the world over. Prince, in 1832, said that it was more widely cultivated in the United States than any other variety and Downing, in 1845, said Black Heart was then better known than any other cherry in the country. While neither of these two statements would hold for Black Heart now, it having long since passed its heyday of popularity, it is still, because of the fruitfulness of the tree and the high quality and beauty of the fruit, a variety of much merit. Black Heart fails in the commercial fruit growing of nowadays, as compared with the cherry culture of the fruit connoisseurs of a generation ago, because it does not meet market demands, failing to do so through two defects: it does not ship well and when brown-rot is rife it quickly succumbs to this fungus. It is, too, now difficult to obtain the variety true to name, the trees at this Station, as an example, in several attempts, turning out untrue, which forces the use of a compiled description in this text.
This cherry was mentioned by John Rea in 1676 but there can be no doubt but that it originated many years previous to this date. Probably it is the cherry mentioned by Robert Dodonée, a naturalist of Malines, Belgium, in 1552. When or by whom it was introduced to America is not known but it was being grown here very early in the Nineteenth Century and ever since has been considered a valuable variety for general planting. Nearly every nurseryman throughout the United States lists Black Heart, a fact attesting its popularity. The American Pomological Society placed Black Heart on its catalog of fruits in 1862, a place which it has since retained.
Tree large, very vigorous, tall, wide-spreading, productive; branches stout, brownish, mingled with yellow, mottled with gray scarf-skin; lenticels numerous, small.
Leaves very large, oblong, waved, acuminate, nearly flat; upper surface dark green; margin deeply and coarsely serrate; petiole of medium length, lightly tinged with red, with greenish glands.
Buds large, oval, pointed; season of bloom early or very early; flowers medium in size; petals roundish, imbricated.
Fruit matures early, season long; large, obtuse-cordate, somewhat compressed; cavity broad; suture deep; surface somewhat irregular; color dark purple becoming black; stem one and three-fourths inches long, slender; skin slightly shrivelled; flesh dark red, firm to very firm becoming tender at full maturity, with abundant colored juice, sweet; good in quality; stone large, roundish-ovate; dorsal suture deep.
BLACK TARTARIAN
_Prunus avium_
=1.= Truchsess-Heim _Kirschensort._ 130-132. 1819. =2.= _Pom. Mag._ =1=:44, Pl. 1828. =3.= _Lond. Hort. Soc. Cat._ 55. 1831. =4.= Prince _Pom. Man._ =2=:113, 114. 1832. =5.= _Proc. Nat. Con. Fr. Gr._ 52. 1848. =6.= Dochnahl _Führ. Obstkunde_ =3=:21. 1858. =7.= _Ill. Handb._ 61 fig., 62. 1860. =8.= Leroy _Dict. Pom._ =5=:228, 229 fig., 230. 1877. =9.= Mathieu _Nom. Pom._ 377, 378. 1889. =10.= _Cat. Cong. Pom. France_ 37. 1906.
_Ronald's Large Black Heart._ =11.= Forsyth _Treat. Fr. Trees_ 42, 43. 1803.
_Guigne Noire à Gros Fruit._ =12.= _Cat. Cong. Pom. France_ 36. 1906.
_Tartarian._ =13.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 26. 1909.
Black Tartarian is probably the favorite dooryard and roadside Sweet Cherry in New York and ranks second or third among commercial cherries in the State, as it probably does for the whole region east of the Mississippi. It is known by all who grow or eat cherries. The preeminently meritorious characters which give it so high a place in cherry culture are: first, and most important, the elasticity of its constitution whereby it adapts itself to widely different soils and climates; second, the fruitfulness, healthfulness and robustness of the trees which also bear regularly, live to an old age and grow to a prodigious size, oftentimes attaining a diameter of two feet; third, this variety is comparatively free from the worst of cherry diseases, brown-rot; lastly, the cherries, though not as large as some similar sorts, are tempting to the eye through their rotund form and glossy black color and are a delight to the palate, the handsome purplish-red flesh being firm and crisp, yet juicy, with a sweet, rich flavor which all agree gives the quality the rank of "very good to best." It is a virile variety and from it have come several promising seedlings and it is one of the parents of a number of cross-bred cherries. Black Tartarian is earlier than most of the Sweet Cherries with which it must compete--under most conditions a help in marketing. Unfortunately it is a little too soft to handle well in harvesting and marketing or to hold its shape as a canned product. Its small size is also against it for the canner's trade. The several defects noted prevent Black Tartarian from taking first rank in commercial orchards but for the home plantation it is one of the best.
Black Tartarian came originally from Russia. It was introduced into England in 1794 from Circassia, by Hugh Ronalds of Brentford, Middlesex, as Ronald's Large Black Heart. Two years later, John Fraser introduced a variety, a native of Crimea, which he purchased in St. Petersburg, as Fraser's Black Tartarian. This turned out to be the same as the cherry from Circassia. Some go farther back and say that Black Tartarian was carried to Russia from Spain, thence to England. It owes its introduction into this country to William Prince of Flushing, Long Island, probably in the early part of the Nineteenth Century. It was recognized in 1848 and placed on the schedule of fruits at the National Convention of Fruit Growers which later became the present American Pomological Society. The variety still retains a place among the recommended cherries but under the name Tartarian. The variety quickly became popular in America, finding a place in every orchard and in the lists of all nurserymen. Some nurserymen claim to have superior strains of the old variety; as, Green's Tartarian and Black Tartarian Improved. Comparisons show no differences. Black Russian, listed by some firms, is probably Black Tartarian as it is used many times as a synonym by foreign writers.
Tree characteristically large, vigorous, upright, vasiform, productive; trunk of medium thickness, smooth; branches smooth, reddish-brown, slightly overspread with ash-gray, with large lenticels; branchlets rather long, brown almost entirely overspread with ash-gray, smooth, glabrous, with inconspicuous, slightly raised lenticels.
Leaves numerous, five and one-half inches long, two and one-half inches wide, folded upward, obovate to elliptical, thin; upper surface dark green, rugose; lower surface light green, slightly pubescent; apex acute, base abrupt; margin varies from serrate to crenate; petiole two inches long, thick, tinged with red, with a few hairs, with from one to three reniform, reddish glands of medium size usually on the stalk.
Buds pointed or obtuse, plump, free, arranged singly as lateral buds, or in small clusters on spurs of variable length; leaf-scars very prominent; season of bloom medium; flowers white, one and one-fourth inches across, borne in scattering well-distributed clusters in twos and threes; pedicels one inch long, slender, glabrous, greenish; calyx-tube faintly tinged with red, campanulate, glabrous; calyx-lobes with a trace of red, long, broad, obtuse, glabrous within and without, reflexed; petals roundish, entire, with short, blunt claws; anthers yellowish; filaments nearly one-half inch long; pistil glabrous, shorter than the stamens.
Fruit matures early; less than one inch in diameter, cordate, compressed; cavity intermediate in depth and width, flaring; suture indistinct; apex pointed and slightly depressed; color purplish-black; dots numerous, small, russet, obscure; stem slender, one and one-half inches long, adherent to the fruit; skin thin, separating readily from the pulp; flesh purplish-red, with dark colored juice, firm, meaty, crisp, pleasant flavored, mild, sweet; of very good quality; stone free, ovate, slightly flattened and oblique, with smooth surfaces.
BLEEDING HEART
_Prunus avium_
=1.= Rea _Flora_ 205. 1676. =2.= Forsyth _Treat. Fr. Trees_ 42. 1803. =3.= Floy-Lindley _Guide Orch. Gard._ 104. 1846. =4.= Elliott _Fr. Book_ 215. 1854.
_Gascoigne._ =5.= Parkinson _Par. Ter._ 571, 572. 1629. =6.= Gerarde _Herball_ 1504. 1636. =7.= Hogg _Fruit Man._ 298. 1884.
_Red Heart._ =8.= Rea _Flora_ 206. 1676. =9.= Brookshaw _Hort. Reposit._ =2:=183, Pl. 96 fig. 1. 1823.
_Blutherzkirsche._ =10.= Truchsess-Heim _Kirschensort._ 224, 225, 226. 1819.
_Gascoigne's Heart._ =11.= Downing _Fr. Trees Am._ 174. 1845.
_Blutrothe Molkenkirsche._ =12.= Dochnahl _Führ. Obstkunde_ =3:=29. 1858.
_Guigne Rouge Hâtive._ =13.= Leroy _Dict. Pom._ =5:=338 fig., 339. 1877.
Bleeding Heart goes back almost as far as the history of cultivated cherries. It is only of historical interest now and this chiefly because it has been the parent of many sorts of present worth. According to the old writers it took highest rank in the cherry lists of a century and more ago by virtue of its high quality and handsome appearance, the name being indicative of color and form. So far as can be made out at this late date the variety has been grown but little or not at all in America, the description here given coming from old pomologies.
This, like the preceding sort, is a cherry of several names, having been mentioned first by Parkinson in 1629 as the Gascoign Cherry. In England three different names have been applied to this variety, Gascoigne, Red Heart and Bleeding Heart. At least there seems to be little doubt that the Bleeding Heart and Red Heart listed by John Rea in 1676 were the Gascoign of Parkinson and Gerarde.
Tree of largest size, very vigorous, not very productive; branches numerous, large, long, diverging, brownish-red, mottled with gray scarf-skin; leaves very large, oblong, acuminate; margin crenate; petiole thick, long, reddish, with well-developed glands; blooming season early.
Fruit matures the latter half of July; usually in pairs, large, elongated heart-shaped, with pointed apex; color bright red changing to dark red, somewhat mottled; stem two inches long, slender; flesh reddish, rather tender although firm, with abundant juice, highly flavored, sweetish; good in quality; stone large, oblong.
BOURGUEIL
_Prunus cerasus_
_Cerise de Bourgueil._ =1.= Mortillet _Le Cerisier_ =2=:205. 1866.
_Montmorency de Bourgueil._ =2.= Mas _Le Verger_ =8=:123, 124, fig. 60. 1866-73. =3.= Leroy _Dict. Pom._ =5:=364, 365 fig. 1877.
Bourgueil is a variant form of Montmorency hardly differing enough in fruit from Large Montmorency to be distinguished from it and yet since it seems to be more productive than the last-named sort it is possibly worth adding to the cherry flora of the country. The variety, it must be remembered, is still on probation, but if trees true to name can be obtained it is worth planting in small numbers where growers want a cherry of the Montmorency type.
This variety was found by a Doctor Bretonneau about 1844 in Bourgueil, Indre-et-Loire, France. It is known by the name of the finder as well as that of the locality in which it originated and through having the same place of origin is often confused with Cerise Rouge Pale. The United States Department of Agriculture received this variety in 1905 from Ferdinand Jamin, Bourg-la-Reine, Seine, France, and in turn forwarded it to this Station where it has been fruiting for the past few seasons. Nurserymen do not as yet offer it for sale and it is doubtful if it is known in more than a few places in America.
Tree vigorous, upright-spreading, vasiform, productive; branches slender, smooth, reddish-brown partly covered with ash-gray, with numerous lenticels; branchlets slender, long, brown, with some ash-gray, smooth, with numerous inconspicuous, raised lenticels.
Leaves numerous, four inches long, two inches wide, folded upward, obovate to ovate, thick; upper surface dark green, smooth; lower surface light green, pubescent along the veins; apex and base variable in shape; margin doubly crenate; petiole one inch long, thick, with a dull tinge of red, pubescent, with none or with from one to three globose, yellow or brownish glands on the base of the blade.
Buds small, short, variable in shape, plump, free, arranged singly as lateral buds and on short spurs in clusters variable in size; leaf-scars prominent; season of bloom late; flowers white, one and one-fourth inches across; borne in scattering, well-distributed clusters, usually in threes; pedicels short, one-half inch long, glabrous, greenish; calyx-tube faintly tinged with red, campanulate, glabrous; calyx-lobes with a trace of red, broad, serrate, glabrous within and without, reflexed; petals crinkled, roundish, entire, sessile, with apex entire; filaments one-fourth inch long; pistil glabrous, equal to the stamens in length.
Fruit matures in mid-season; three-fourths inch long, one inch wide, nearly oblate, somewhat compressed; cavity deep, wide, medium flaring, regular; suture indistinct; apex roundish to flattened; color bright red; dots small, russet, inconspicuous; stem stout, one and one-eighth inches long, adherent to the fruit; skin tender, free; flesh yellowish-white with colorless juice, tender and melting, sprightly, sour; of good quality; stone free, large, roundish-ovate, pointed, with smooth surfaces, tinged with red, with a prominent ventral suture.
BRUSSELER BRAUNE
_Prunus cerasus_
1. Christ _Handb._ 676. 1797. 2. Christ _Wörterb._ 288. 1802. 3. Truchsess-Heim _Kirschensort._ 533-536. 1819. 4. Dochnahl _Führ. Obstkunde_ =3=:63, 64. 1858. 5. Mathieu _Nom. Pom._ 333, 341. 1889. 6. _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 24. 1899. 7. _Del. Sta. An. Rpt._ =12=:124, 125, fig. 8. 1900.
_Brüsselsche Bruyn_. 8. Krünitz _Enc._ 75, 76. 1790.
_Zweite Grösser Herzkirschweichsel._ 9. Kraft _Pom. Aust._ =1=:9, Tab. 22 fig. 1. 1792.
_Ratafia._ 10. Hogg _Fruit Man._ 309, 310. 1884.
From the standpoint of commercial cherry culture, Brusseler Braune has little value. The trees are uncertain in bearing; the cherries are small, sour, and astringent; and, worse than the faults named, the crop ripens very unevenly. It is of the English Morello type but in New York, at least, is far inferior to this well-known sort. Brusseler Braune has been much advertised for cold climates but there are many better cherries that stand cold nearly or quite as well and are better in both tree and fruit characters and, in particular, that will not vex the souls of growers by ripening so unevenly. The variety has two marked peculiarities: the leaves on the two-year-old wood are very small and the fruit-stems bear a small leaflet at their base. These leaflets on the fruit-stem would have to be removed in marketing the crop--another serious defect.
No doubt Brusseler Braune originated in Holland but there is nothing definite as to the time though Truchsess, a German, writes of having received it in 1785 as Brüsselsche Bruyn. The synonyms of this variety are more or less confused with those of English Morello. This cherry was brought to America in 1883 by the late J. L. Budd with several other varieties. In the collection of trees sent out from the original importation, of which this was one, or from trees budded from them, were Griotte du Nord, Large Long Late, Shadow Amarelle, Lutovka, George Glass, Orel No. 27, or Gibb, and Bessarabian. Unfortunately the varieties were badly mixed and much confusion has resulted. It is not impossible that the first three are synonyms but the Lutovka, George Glass, Bessarabian and possibly the Gibb are distinct varieties. In 1895, this Station recommended a new cherry for trial for home and market and distributed buds throughout the state under the name Lutovka. Later it was found that an error had been made regarding the trees sent us as Lutovka, they being the Brusseler Braune. The American Pomological Society added Brusseler Braune to its fruit catalog list in 1899 but dropped it in 1909.
Tree of medium size, vigorous, upright-spreading but with drooping branchlets, dense, round-topped, unproductive; trunk and branches smooth, stout; branches brownish, overspread with ash-gray, with numerous small lenticels; branchlets slender, with short internodes, nearly covered with ash-gray, smooth, glabrous, with small, lightly raised, inconspicuous lenticels.
Leaves three and one-half inches long, one and three-fourths inches wide, folded upward, obovate, thick, grooved along the midrib; upper surface very dark, dull green; lower surface light green, pubescent; apex taper-pointed, base acute; margin finely and doubly serrate; petiole one and one-eighth inches long, tinged with dull, dark red, grooved along the upper surface, with from one to four small, globose, yellowish-green glands.
Buds pointed, plump, free, arranged as lateral buds and in clusters on scattering, short spurs; leaf-scars prominent; season of bloom late; flowers one inch across, white; borne in scattering clusters in threes and fours; pedicels one and one-eighth inches long, slender, glabrous, greenish; calyx-tube furrowed, tinted with red, obconic, glabrous; calyx-lobes with a trace of red, acuminate, serrate, glabrous within and without, reflexed; petals oval to obovate, entire, nearly sessile, with a shallow, wide notch at the apex; filaments one-fourth inch long; pistil glabrous, equal to the stamens in length.
Fruit matures very late; nearly one inch in diameter, although variable in size, roundish-cordate, slightly compressed; cavity of medium depth, narrow, abrupt; suture very shallow, indistinct; apex roundish, with a small depression at the center; color light red changing to dark red as the season advances; dots numerous, small, dark russet, inconspicuous; stem two and one-fourth inches long, with small leaflets at the base, strongly adherent to the fruit; skin thin, tender, separates readily from the pulp; flesh dark red, with dark colored juice, tender and melting, somewhat astringent, sour; of fair quality; stone nearly free when fully mature, fifteen-thirty-seconds inch long, roundish-oval, rather plump, blunt-pointed; surfaces smooth; ventral suture slightly enlarged near the base.
BUNTE AMARELLE
_Prunus cerasus_
1. Truchsess-Heim _Kirschensort_. 652-655. 1819. 2. _Ia. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 330. 1885. 3. _Ia. Sta. Bul._ =2=:40. 1888. 4. Budd-Hansen _Am. Hort. Man._ =2=:272. 1903.
So far Bunte Amarelle has found a place only in the trying cherry climate of Iowa and neighboring States. It is not attractive enough in appearance, good enough in quality, or certain and fruitful enough in bearing to compete with other Amarelles, to which group this variety belongs. Its saving grace is extreme hardiness of tree, though vigor and health help make it somewhat desirable in cold, prairie regions of the Mid-West where cherry growing is more or less precarious. There has been much uncertainty as to the true variety and we have had to discard the trees on the Station grounds and compile a description.
This variety probably originated in Germany in the latter part of the Eighteenth Century. Truchsess, a German, in 1819, called the cherry Bunte Amarelle because of its variegated color before full maturity. The variety was introduced from Poland to America sometime previous to 1885 and has usually gone under the name of Amarelle Bunte. From all accounts Professor J. L. Budd of Ames, Iowa, the authority on these hardy cherries during his time, had two different cherries under the name Amarelle Bunte; for in his report at the Iowa Horticultural Society in 1885, he mentioned a variety under that name as being a large, dark purple and nearly sweet sort which could not have been the true Bunte Amarelle of Truchsess. Budd and Hansen in 1903 described a variety which agrees very closely with the true variety of Truchsess which we herewith describe.
Tree vigorous, upright, hardy; foliage large, coarse.
Fruit matures the second week in June; medium to large, roundish, flattened at the base; cavity variable in depth; suture shallow, indistinct; apex depressed; color yellow overspread with light red; stem green, straight, rather slender, one and one-half to two inches long; flesh slightly colored, juicy, firm but tender, pleasantly subacid; very good in quality; stone variable in size, broad.
CALIFORNIA ADVANCE
_Prunus avium_
1. Wickson _Cal. Fruits_ 289, 292. 1889. 2. _Wash. Sta. Bul_. =92=:25. 1910.
_Advance_. 3. _Am. Pom. Soc. Rpt_. 130. 1897.
_Ulatis_. 4. _Mich. Sta. Bul_. =177=:32. 1899.
California Advance is a Sweet Cherry, one of the "Hearts" of common parlance, distinguished and worth growing only because it is extra early, though when fully ripe it is of very good quality. It is usually described as a cherry of "large size" but on the grounds of this Station the cherries run small, as they are occasionally reported elsewhere to do, suggesting that the variety requires good care and a choice cherry soil for a finely finished product. On these grounds the variety seems to be preeminently free from fungus diseases but the robin and other birds take greater toll from it than from almost any other cherry, beginning their harvest long before the fruit is fit for human fare. California Advance might well be planted in a small way for a local market in New York, or a tree or two for home use, but it has no place in large numbers in this State.
California Advance came from a seed of Early Purple sown by W. H. Chapman of Napa, California, the seedling being saved because the cherries were larger and ripened earlier than those of its parent. It has sometimes been confused with the Chapman cherry, of somewhat similar characteristics, which also originated in Napa, but the two are quite distinct.
Tree large, vigorous, upright-spreading, dense, productive; trunk and branches stout, smooth; branchlets of medium thickness, brownish-bronze partly covered with ash-gray, glabrous; leaves numerous, five and one-half inches long, two and one-half inches wide, long-obovate to elliptical, thin, medium green, slightly rugose; margin serrate, glandular; petiole nearly two inches long, slender, tinged with red, pubescent along the upper side and with a shallow groove, with from two to four large, reniform, reddish glands, usually on the stalk; buds large, obtuse or pointed, plump, arranged singly as lateral buds or in clusters of variable size on numerous short spurs; leaf-scars prominent; season of bloom early; flowers one and one-eighth inches across; pistil equal to the stamens in length.
Fruit ripens very early, season averaging eleven days; about three-fourths inch in diameter, roundish-cordate, compressed; color purplish-black; stem of medium thickness, often one and one-half inches long, adherent to the fruit; skin thin, tender, separates from the pulp; flesh reddish, with dark red juice, meaty, tender, mild, sweet; of very good quality; stone semi-clinging, three-eighths inch by eleven-thirty-seconds inch in size, roundish-oval, compressed, oblique, with smooth surfaces.
CARNATION
_Prunus cerasus_
=1.= Rea _Flora_ 205. 1676. =2.= Langley _Pomona_ 86, Pl. 16 fig. 3. 1729. =3.= Forsyth _Treat. Fr. Trees_ 42. 1803. =4.= Coxe _Cult. Fr. Trees_ 251. 1817. =5.= Prince _Pom. Man._ =2=:138, 139. 1832. =6.= Downing
_Fr. Trees Am._ 194 fig. 83. 1845. =7.= Thompson _Gard. Ass't_ 529. 1859. =8.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 74. 1862. =9.= Mas _Le Verger_ =8=:91, 92, fig. 44. 1866-73. =10.= Hogg _Fruit Man._ 289. 1884.
_Cerise d'Orange._ =11.= Knoop _Fructologie_ =2=:36, 41. 1771.
_Rothe Oranienkirsche._ =12.= Krünitz _Enc._ 55, 56. 1790. =13.= Truchsess-Heim _Kirschensort._ 456-463. 1819. =14.= _Ill. Handb._ 175 fig., 176. 1860.
Carnation is a conspicuous cherry because of its beautiful color--red, a little variegated with white or yellow, hence the name. It is one of the Amarelles, similar to Montmorency except in color in which character it is more pleasing than the better-known sort. The stone separates from the pulp very readily leaving the flesh unusually bright and clean. Because of their sprightly refreshing flavor, the cherries are pleasing to the palate, as well as attractive to the eye. Unfortunately the trees are but moderately vigorous and fruitful and these qualities count so heavily against it as a commercial cherry that Carnation cannot be more than a fruit for amateurs unless under exceptional conditions. For a home plantation, however, it would be hard to name a better cherry of its kind.
Carnation is another of the choicely good, old cherries, being first mentioned by John Rea in 1676 and later by Langley in 1729. Having been cultivated for so long and disseminated among so many growers who kept meagre records in early days, this sort became badly confused with other varieties, especially with the "Cerisier à gros fruit rouge-pale," mentioned by Duhamel in 1768. How old the variety truly is or where it originated cannot be said. Carnation seems to have been first mentioned in America by William Coxe in 1817 and a few years later it was growing on the grounds of William Prince, Flushing, New York. Since that time it has been quite widely disseminated throughout the United States but is grown less extensively now than formerly. The American Pomological Society, in 1862, placed Carnation on its list of recommended fruits where it still holds a place.
Tree medium in size, spreading, becoming drooping, not very productive; trunk intermediate in thickness; branches reddish-brown overspread with ash-gray, with numerous lenticels variable in size; branchlets brown or ash-gray, smooth, with numerous conspicuous, raised lenticels.
Leaves very numerous, four inches long, two inches wide, folded upward, oval to obovate, thin; upper surface dark green, roughened; lower surface dull, light green, thinly pubescent; apex acute; margin finely and doubly serrate, glandular; petiole two inches long, slender, dull red on the upper surface, with one or two large, reniform, reddish glands on the stalk.
Buds small, short, obtuse, plump, free, arranged singly as lateral buds, or in small clusters on numerous, short spurs; season of bloom late; flowers white, one and one-fourth inches across; borne in scattered clusters in twos and threes; pedicels one inch long, of medium thickness, glabrous, green; calyx-tube light reddish-green, campanulate, glabrous; calyx-lobes tinged with red, of medium length, broad, acute, glabrous within and without, reflexed; petals roundish-oval, entire, with short, broad claws, the apex notched; filaments in four series, the longest averaging one-half inch in length; pistil glabrous, shorter than the stamens.
Fruit matures in mid-season or later; three-fourths of an inch long, one inch in thickness, roundish-oblate, compressed; cavity deep, abrupt; suture indistinct; apex flattened or with a deep depression; color medium to dark red; dots numerous, small, russet, inconspicuous; stem one and one-half inches long, adherent to the fruit; skin tender, separating readily from the pulp; flesh yellowish-white, with abundant colorless juice, tender and melting, sprightly; of very good quality; stone free, nearly one-half inch in diameter, roundish, blunt, with smooth surfaces.
CENTENNIAL
_Prunus avium_
=1.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Rpt._ 17, 159. 1885. =2.= Wickson _Cal. Fruits_ 289. 1889. =3.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 24. 1899.
In California, Centennial is passing from the period of probation to one of general acceptance as a standard variety. Unfortunately it has not been well tested in the East but trees growing in a commercial orchard at Geneva show the variety to be a close competitor, in this instance at least, with its parent, Napoleon, the mainstay of Sweet Cherry growers in New York. In some respects it quite surpasses Napoleon. It is larger, sweeter and better flavored and has a smaller pit. The trees fall short of those of its well-known parent, however, in being less fruitful. Even more serious defects are, in the orchard under observation, that Centennial cracks and is less successful in resisting brown-rot than Napoleon though it surpasses many other well-known sorts in these respects. The two varieties under comparison may be further distinguished by the more oblate fruits of Centennial, by a more mottled color and by the pits which are longer and more pointed in the newer variety. Centennial is recommended for home orchards and experimentally for commercial plantations.
Centennial is a seedling of Napoleon grown by Henry Chapman, Napa, California. It came in fruit in 1876 but was not introduced until 1885, Leonard Coates of Napa, California, being the introducer. Despite its many merits, Centennial did not win a place on the fruit list of the American Pomological Society until 1899.
Tree large, vigorous, upright-spreading, open-topped, productive; trunk thick, roughish; branches stout, smooth, brownish, with many large lenticels; branchlets thick, with internodes of medium length.
Leaves numerous, large, flattened, long-oval to obovate, thick; upper surface dark green, rugose; lower surface pale green, thinly pubescent; apex taper-pointed; margin coarsely serrate, with small and inconspicuous glands; petiole one and one-fourth inches long, pubescent, tinged with red, with from two to four large, reniform, greenish-red, flattened glands, usually on the stalk.
Buds large, long, pointed, plump, free, arranged singly as lateral buds or in small clusters on short spurs; leaf-scars prominent; blooming season about the middle of May; flowers one and one-fourth inches across, usually arranged in twos and threes; pedicels variable in length averaging one and one-eighth inches, slender, glabrous, greenish; calyx-tube faintly tinged with red, obconic, glabrous; calyx-lobes long, acute, glabrous on both surfaces, reflexed; petals oval, entire, tapering to short, narrow claws, with a slightly crenate apex; anthers greenish; filaments one-eighth inch long, shorter than the petals; pistil glabrous, equal to the stamens in length.
Fruit matures the last week in June, length of season rather short; very large, short-cordate, compressed; cavity deep, wide; suture distinct, broad, shallow; apex roundish or slightly depressed; color amber-yellow, speckled and overlaid with crimson; dots whitish, inconspicuous; stem thick, one and one-fourth inches long, adherent to the pulp; skin thin, tender, cracks badly, adherent to the pulp; flesh whitish, with colorless juice, meaty, crackling, sprightly, sweet; of very good quality; stone semi-clinging, three-eighths inch in length, eleven-thirty-seconds inch in width, ovate, plump, oblique, with smooth surfaces; ridged on the ventral suture.
CHOISY
_Prunus avium_ × _Prunus cerasus_
_Cerisier à Fruit Ambré, à Fruit Blanc._ =1.= Duhamel _Trait. Arb. Fr._ =1=:185, 186, 187, Pl. XI. 1768.
_Schöne von Choisy._ =2.= Truchsess-Heim _Kirschensort._ 452-455. 1819. =3.= Mathieu _Nom. Pom._ 333, 334, 376. 1889.
_Belle de Choisy._ =4.= _Pom. Mag._ =1=:42, Pl. 1828. =5.= Prince _Pom. Man._ =2=:137. 1832. =6.= _Cultivator_ =10=:150 fig. 1843. =7.= Downing _Fr. Trees Am._ 190 fig. 79. 1845. =8.= Poiteau _Pom. Franc._ =2=: No. 27, Pl. 1846. =9.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Rpt._ 37, 38, 102. 1852. =10.= _Ann. Pom. Belge_ =1=:63, fig. 2. 1853. =11.= Elliott =Fr. Book= 189. 1854. =12.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 74. 1862. =13.= Mortillet _Le Cerisier_ =2=:169, 170 fig. 45, 171, 172. 1866. =14.= Mas _Le Verger_ =8=:113, 114, fig. 55. 1866-73. =15.= Hogg _Fruit Man._ 276, 280. 1884. =16.= _Soc. Nat. Hort. France Pom._ 80 fig., 81. 1904. =17.= _Cat. Cong. Pom. France_ 18. 1906.
It seems to be the consensus of opinion of a score or more of European and American pomologists who have known Choisy that it is the handsomest and most delicious of all Duke cherries--one of the very best of all dessert cherries. In it are delicately combined the richness of the Sweet Cherry and the sprightliness of the Sour Cherry. Unfortunately, while it bears early and regularly, the trees are seldom fruitful. As an offset to unfruitfulness, however, the trees are vigorous, hardy and healthy. The cherries keep and stand the wear and tear of marketing as well as those of any other Duke. Its qualities all commend it for the home orchard and for a local market. In particular it may be recommended for cold climates where a true Sweet Cherry is not quite hardy, this hybrid being nearly as hardy as the other parent, the Sour Cherry. Unfortunately suitable specimens of this beautiful cherry could not be obtained for a color-plate and the description has had to be compiled in part.
Duhamel describes two amber-colored cherries, one of which is listed by Leroy as Belle de Choisy. The Cerise Blanche, or Cerise Ambrée (Grosse), according to Leroy, was cultivated in Central France as early as 1628 and in 1667 Merlet wrote of it as the most curious and rare of all cherries. Kenrick, _American Orchardist_, 1832, lists a variety, Ambrée, which according to Floy-Lindley's and Duhamel's descriptions must be Choisy. Some writers, however, say that Choisy was first grown by M. Gondouin, a gardener for Louis XV, in 1760, at the village of Choisy near Paris. The American Pomological Society, in its report for 1852, mentioned this variety as having promise and ten years later listed it in the Society's fruit catalog where it has since remained.
Tree large, vigorous, spreading, somewhat open, hardy, but moderately productive; branches thick, of a clear grayish color with brownish-red tips; lenticels very numerous, large, roundish.
Leaves numerous, very broad, obovate, rather abruptly pointed; upper surface shining dark green, deeply and regularly serrate to rather dentate.
Buds large, thick, conical, clear brown somewhat covered with gray; season of bloom rather early; flowers white, large, numerous, borne in large clusters; petioles short, scarcely an inch in length; petals broadly round, edges dentate; calyx-lobes short, large; pistil longer than the stamens.
Fruit matures in some localities just before May Duke, in others just after that variety, ordinarily ripe, however, at the end of June; usually attached in pairs, large, roundish to somewhat oval, flattened toward the base; cavity shallow, wide; suture shallow, indistinct; apex depressed; color attractive bright red mottled with yellow and amber; stem thick at the base, one and one-half to two inches long, generally forking at about one-half inch from the base; skin thin, somewhat firm, semi-transparent showing the netted texture of the pulp beneath; flesh pale amber, with abundant colorless juice, tender, melting, sweet, pleasant flavor; very good in quality; stone medium to small, roundish, pointed at the apex; dorsal suture indistinct; surfaces nearly smooth.
CLEVELAND
_Prunus avium_
1. _Horticulturist_ =2=:60 fig. 1847-48. 2. Elliott _Fr. Book_ 191 fig., 192. 1854. 3. _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 74. 1862. 4. Mortillet _Le Cerisier_ =2=:131. 1866.
_Knorpelkirsche von Cleveland_. 5. _Ill. Handb_. 45 fig., 46. 1867.
Cleveland is a Bigarreau which falls so far short of its near kin, as it grows in New York at least, as not to be worth planting except as an early cherry of its type--earliness being its one saving asset. The cherries closely resemble Rockport in size, color, shape and flavor, are in no way better than that somewhat mediocre sort and are even more subject to brown-rot. It ripens with Black Tartarian and can never compete in orchard or market with that sort. Possibly Cleveland has too much merit to be wholly neglected yet it certainly is not worth planting in New York unless in a locality where it does exceptionally well and when an early cherry of its kind is wanted.
Cleveland is said by its introducer, Professor J. P. Kirtland, to be a seedling from Yellow Spanish. Its close similarity to Rockport suggests that it may have come from a pit of that variety. It was brought out in 1842 but was not adopted by the American Pomological Society for its fruit list until 1862. Despite rapidly passing popularity it is still on this list.
Tree of medium size and vigor, upright-spreading, open, very productive; trunk of medium diameter and smoothness; branches smooth, reddish-brown partly overspread with ash-gray, with many small lenticels; branchlets slender, brown partly overspread with ash-gray, smooth, with numerous small, inconspicuous lenticels.
Leaves numerous, five inches long, two and one-half inches wide, folded upward, obovate to long-elliptical, thin; upper surface medium green, slightly rugose; lower surface light green, lightly pubescent; apex acute, base abrupt; margin coarsely and doubly serrate, glandular; petiole often two inches long, reddish, rather slender, hairy, grooved, glandless or with from one to four reniform, reddish glands, usually on the stalk.
Buds small, short, pointed, plump, free, arranged singly as lateral buds or in clusters of variable size on rather short spurs; leaf-scars prominent; flowers white, one and one-fourth inches across; borne in scattered clusters, usually in twos; pedicels three-fourths inch long, glabrous, greenish; calyx-tube green, tinged with red, light green within, broadly campanulate, glabrous; calyx-lobes tinged with red, broad, acute, glabrous within and without, reflexed; petals roundish, entire, with short, broad claws, notched and crinkled at the apex; filaments in four series, the longest averaging one-half inch in length; pistil glabrous, shorter than the stamens.
Fruit matures early; about three-fourths of an inch in diameter, cordate, compressed, cavity wide, flaring, irregular; suture shallow, indistinct; apex somewhat obtusely-pointed; color light red overspreading yellow; dots numerous, small, yellowish, obscure; stem slender, one and one-half inches long, adherent to the fruit; skin thin, tender, separating readily from the pulp; flesh light yellow, with colorless juice, tender and melting, sweet; of good quality; stone clinging, large, one-half inch long, oval, flattened at the base, plump, with smooth surfaces.
CLUSTER
_Prunus cerasus_
1. Parkinson _Par. Ter._ 572, fig. 10. 1629. 2. Gerarde _Herball_ 1505 fig. 6. 1636. 3. Prince _Pom. Man._ =2=:132, 133. 1832. 4. Downing _Fr. Trees Am._ 194 fig., 195. 1845. 5. Hogg _Fruit Man._ 290. 1884.
_Flanders Cluster_. 6. Ray _Hist. Plant._ 1539. 1688.
_Cerisier à Bouquet._ 7. Duhamel _Trait Arb. Fr._ =1=:176, 177, 178, Pl. VI. 1768. 8. Poiteau _Pom. Franc._ 2: No. 16, Pl. 1846. 9. Mas _Le Verger_ =8=:47, 48, fig. 22. 1866-73.
_Tros-Kers._ 10. Knoop _Fructologie_ =2=:43. 1771.
_Trauben oder Bouquet Amarelle._ 11. Truchsess-Heim _Kirschensort._ 621-629. 1819. 12. Dochnahl _Führ. Obstkunde_ =3=:70, 71. 1858. 13. Mathieu _Nom. Pom._ 340. 1889.
_Griotte à Bouquet._ 14. Leroy _Dict. Pom._ =5=:278, 279 fig., 280, 281. 1877.
Cluster is a curiosity, characterized by fruits borne in clusters at the extremity of a single peduncle. The pistils vary from one to a dozen, setting from one to five perfect fruits in the cluster or from eight to twelve as the trees become older. The variety is little known in America but is well known in Europe, having first been described by Daléchamp in 1586, according to Leroy. Its origin is uncertain. Parkinson speaks of it as Flanders Cluster, in 1629, and as it was cultivated in Germany before 1613 and nearly as soon in Switzerland it may be assumed that either South Germany or Flanders is its native home. It appears under several names in European fruit books, the terms trochet, bouquet, buschel, and trauben all signifying that the fruits are borne in clusters and usually referring to this variety. The Cerisier à Trochet of Duhamel is probably a distinct variety. The fruit has little value and is cultivated chiefly as a curiosity. The following description is compiled:
Tree small and bushy, moderately vigorous, dense, productive; branches numerous, long, slender, somewhat curved, drooping and often breaking under a load of fruit; internodes long; leaves small, oblong, acuminate; margin doubly serrate; petiole thick, short, rigid, with small, roundish, conspicuous glands; blooming season late; flowers small.
Fruit matures the last of June, attached in twos or threes, with from two to eight fruits per cluster; variable in size, roundish, flattened at the extremities; suture prominent; color clear red becoming darker at maturity; skin tough, transparent; stem long, inserted in a deep cavity; flesh nearly white, transparent, with abundant juice which is usually uncolored but sometimes tinged red, very tender, sour, yet agreeable; quality fair; stone small, roundish, compressed.
COE
_Prunus avium_
1. _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 26. 1909.
_Coe's Transparent._ 2. _Horticulturist_ =2=:71, 72 fig. 1847-48. 3. _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 211. 1856. 4. Mortillet _Le Cerisier_ =2=:87 fig., 88. 1866. 5. _Cult. & Count. Gent._ =36=:326. 1871. 6. Thomas _Guide Prat._ 15, 206. 1876.
_Guigne Coé._ 7. Leroy _Dict. Pom._ =5=:319 fig., 320. 1877.
_Coe's Bunte Transparent._ 8. Mathieu _Nom. Pom._ 343. 1889.
Even earlier and certainly better than Cleveland, which we have just discussed, is Coe, long known as Coe's Transparent. This is the first of the light-colored cherries to ripen and is a splendid fruit in quality and appearance. The color-plate shows this variety very well--possibly too well, since one of its defects is variability in color, the variant usually being very light colored and not as attractive as the type. A second defect is that the fruit runs rather small. The tree-characters are in the main very good. The variety can be distinguished, as a rule, by the large, spreading tree and to a lesser extent by its hardiness, vigor, healthfulness and fruitfulness. Coe is worthy of a place in every home plantation, in orchards for local markets and in favored localities as an early cherry for the general market.
Curtis Coe of Middletown, Connecticut, grew this variety early in the Nineteenth Century from a pit of what he supposed to be Ox Heart. The American Pomological Society included Coe in its list of recommended fruits in 1856.
Tree large, vigorous, upright-spreading, open, very productive; trunk stocky, shaggy; branches thick, smooth, dark reddish-brown overlaid with ash-gray, with many raised lenticels; branchlets stout, short, brown nearly covered with gray, smooth, glabrous, with numerous small, conspicuous, raised lenticels.
Leaves numerous, four and one-fourth inches long, two and one-fourth inches wide, folded upward or flattened, long-elliptical to obovate, thin; upper surface medium green; lower surface light green, thinly pubescent; apex acute, base abrupt; margin coarsely serrate, with small, black glands; petiole one and three-fourths inches long, thick, tinged with red, grooved, hairy, with from one to three large, reniform, greenish-yellow or reddish glands on the stalk.
Buds large, long, conical, plump, free, in clusters on spurs variable in length; leaf-scars very prominent; season of bloom intermediate; flowers one and one-fourth inches across, white; borne in dense clusters, thickly distributed over the tree in twos and threes; pedicels one inch long, slender, glabrous, green; calyx-tube green, broadly campanulate, glabrous; calyx-lobes tinged with red, broad, obtuse, glabrous within and without, reflexed; petals roundish, entire, with a shallow notch at the apex; filaments one-quarter inch long; pistil glabrous, equal to the stamens in length.
Fruit matures early; nearly one inch in diameter, roundish-cordate, slightly compressed; cavity regular, abrupt; suture indistinct; apex blunt-pointed or slightly depressed; color pale amber faintly mottled with red; dots small, light yellow, inconspicuous; stem slender, one and one-half inches long, adherent to the fruit; skin thin, of medium toughness, separating from the pulp; flesh pale yellow, with colorless juice, tender, meaty, mild, sweet; good to very good in quality; stone semi-free or free, one-half inch long, less than one-half inch wide, roundish, somewhat flattened, blunt, with smooth surfaces; ridged along the ventral suture.
DIKEMAN
_Prunus avium_
1. _Del. Sta. Bul._ =35=:16, 17 fig. 1897.
Dikeman has some merit as a very late Sweet Cherry but here its usefulness ends. The cherries are too small and the pits too large for this variety to have great worth. The tree is somewhat remarkable for its spreading habit and stout branches. Plant-breeders seeking for a very late sort might well choose Dikeman as a parent.
Two very similar cherries, with a variation in the spelling, pass under this name. Late in the Eighteenth Century there appeared a cherry on the Dyckman farm near New York City. Some thought it to be identical with Black Tartarian; others said it was distinct and called it Dyckman. It was never more than of local note. Some few years ago the late S. D. Willard of Geneva introduced the Dikeman cherry from the farm of George B. Dikeman, Oceana County, Michigan. This variety often goes under the name Dykeman but from the information at hand we feel certain that Dikeman is the correct spelling. On our grounds this variety and Black Tartarian, although similar, are two distinct sorts, the Dikeman being later, firmer and a clingstone.
Tree large, vigorous, broadly-spreading, open-topped, productive; trunk and branches thick, smooth; branches reddish-brown covered with ash-gray, with numerous lenticels which are variable in size; branchlets short, brown, partly covered with ash-gray, smooth, glabrous, with inconspicuous, slightly raised lenticels.
Leaves numerous, four and one-half inches long, two and one-fourth inches wide, folded upward, obovate to long-elliptical, thin; upper surface medium green, slightly rugose; lower surface light green, faintly pubescent; apex acute, base abrupt; margin coarsely and doubly serrate; petiole about one and one-half inches long, tinged with red, with a few hairs, with from one to four reniform, reddish glands, usually on the stalk.
Buds large, pointed, plump, free, arranged singly as lateral buds or in clusters variable in size on short spurs; leaf-scars prominent; season of bloom intermediate; flowers white, one and three-eighths inches across; borne in scattering clusters, in ones, twos or threes; pedicels one and one-fourth inches long, glabrous, greenish; calyx-tube tinged with red, campanulate, glabrous; calyx-lobes with reddish tinge, broad, acute, glabrous within and without, reflexed; petals roundish, entire, nearly sessile, with a shallow notch at the apex; filaments one-half inch long; pistil glabrous, shorter than the stamens.
Fruit matures late; about three-fourths of an inch in diameter, cordate; cavity wide, flaring; suture shallow, indistinct; apex slightly pointed, with a small depression at the center; color purplish-black; dots numerous, small, dark russet, inconspicuous; stem slender, one and one-fourth inches long, adherent to the fruit; skin thin, tender, adherent to the pulp; flesh dark red, with dark colored juice, very meaty, crisp, mild, somewhat aromatic, sweet; of good quality; stone clinging, longer than wide, ovate, flattened, with smooth surfaces, somewhat marked with a reddish tinge.
DOUBLE GLASS
_Prunus avium_ × _Prunus cerasus_
1. Truchsess-Heim _Kirschensort._ 440-451, 487-490, 689. 1819. 2. Dochnahl _Führ. Obstkunde_ =3=:51, 52. 1858. 3. _Ill. Handb._ 163 fig., 164. 1860. 4. _Mich. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 329. 1888. 5. _Ia. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 80. 1890. 6. _Can. Exp. Farm Bul._ =17=:7. 1892. 7. Budd-Hansen _Am. Hort. Man._ =2=:274. 1903.
_Amarelle Double de Verre._ 8. Mortillet _Le Cerisier_ =2=:197-201, fig. 55. 1866.
_Great Cornelian._ 9. Hogg _Fruit Man._ 299. 1884.
_Glass._ 10. _Ia. Sta. Bul._ =73=:70. 1903.
Double Glass is a Duke, a hybrid more nearly resembling the Sweet Cherry than the Sour Cherry. The trees grow remarkably well in nursery and orchard and their behavior so pleased growers when the variety was brought to notice that it became for a time quite the vogue. But the trees turned out to be unproductive and the cherries so mediocre that the variety rapidly passed through its heyday of popularity. The fruits are curiously marked, the suture being so deep as to make them appear double--hence the name. The variety has no value where sweet sorts are hardy but possibly might find a niche somewhere in regions where a more tender Sweet Cherry cannot be grown.
This variety, of ancient and unknown origin, dates back at least to 1792 when Truchsess received it from Christ under the names Grosse Frühkirsche and Englische Erzherzogskirsche, both of which were incorrect, the first because it was not characteristic since the fruit did not ripen early, and the second because it denoted a class of dark-fleshed cherries. In France, Double Glass has long been cultivated under the name Amarelle Double de Verre. The variety was brought to America from Russia in 1883 by Professor J. L. Budd. While grown for a time in the Central States it was never highly regarded and has now nearly passed from cultivation. The following description is a compilation:
Tree large, vigorous, upright-spreading becoming divergent with age, usually hardy, rather unproductive; branchlets thick, reddish-brown; leaves healthy, small to medium, ovate, with serrated margins; buds large, prominent.
Fruit matures the latter part of June; usually large, roundish-oblate, with a very deep suture; color light red becoming much darker at maturity; stem long, thick; skin thin, tough, translucent; flesh yellowish, with abundant uncolored juice, firm, tender, sprightly; good in quality; stone medium in size, roundish.
DOUBLE NATTE
_Prunus cerasus_
1. Truchsess-Heim _Kirschensort._ 538, 539. 1819. 2. Hogg _Fruit Man._ 292. 1884. 3. _Mich. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 327. 1888. 4._Ia. Sta. Bul._ =73=:67. 1903.
_Cerise van der Nat._ 5. Knoop _Fructologie_ =2=:41. 1771.
_Kirsche von der Natte._ 6. Krünitz _Enc._ 69, 70. 1790. 7. Truchsess-Heim _Kirschensort._ 539-542. 1819. 8. _Ill. Handb._ 509 fig., 510. 1861.
Budd's importations of Russian cherries, to which reference is so often made in this text, brought forth almost universal praise for any and all of the foreign sorts. Cultural tests soon demonstrated, however, that most of the varieties were comparatively worthless; Double Natte is one of these. It is a very mediocre cherry of the Morello group in nowise equal to English Morello except when earliness is a prime requisite, this sort being one of the earliest of the Morellos. In flavor it is equal to English Morello but is no better. At Geneva the trees are seldom very fruitful. From the eulogistic reports of its behavior in the Middle West it would seem that it was better adapted to Iowa, for instance, than for New York.
This variety was first mentioned by Knoop, the Dutch pomologist, in 1771--origin not given. Some years ago Professor J. L. Budd also imported from Russia a cherry under the name Riga No. 18. This cherry has been grown as a separate variety under the name Riga but the descriptions of it are all identical with those of Double Natte and there can be no doubt but that they are one and the same.
Tree large, vigorous, upright-spreading, open-topped, somewhat vasiform, productive; trunk and branches smooth; branches brown nearly covered with ash-gray, with a few large lenticels; branchlets long, with short internodes, brown partly covered with ash-gray, smooth, with a few very large, raised lenticels.
Leaves numerous, three and three-eighths inches long, one and three-fourths inches wide, folded upward, short-obovate, thick, stiff; upper surface glossy, slightly rugose; lower surface pale green, thinly pubescent; apex sharp-pointed, tapering toward the base; margin coarsely serrate, glandular; petiole thick, dull red, grooved on the upper surface, nearly one inch long, glandless or with one or two small glands at the base of the blade.
Buds conical or pointed, plump, free, arranged singly as lateral buds and in small clusters on spurs; leaf-scars inconspicuous; season of bloom intermediate; flowers white, one and one-fourth inches across; borne in scattering clusters in twos and threes; pedicels one inch long, slender, glabrous, greenish; calyx-tube with a faint reddish tinge, campanulate, glabrous; calyx-lobes tinged red, long, acute, glabrous within and without, reflexed; petals obovate, entire, tapering to short, narrow claws, with a broad but shallow notch at the apex; filaments about one-fourth inch long; pistil glabrous, shorter than the stamens.
Fruit matures early; three-fourths of an inch in diameter, cordate to conical, compressed; cavity somewhat abrupt, regular; suture deep, distinct, often extending entirely around the fruit; apex depressed; color dark red; dots numerous, small, brownish, obscure; stem slender, one and three-fourths inches long, adheres strongly to the fruit; skin thin, tough, separating readily from the pulp; flesh dark red, with reddish juice, tender and melting, sprightly, sour; good to very good in quality; stone nearly free, longer than wide, nearly round, slightly flattened, with smooth surfaces; somewhat ridged along the ventral suture.
DOWNER
_Prunus avium_
=1.= Kenrick _Am. Orch._ 218. 1835. =2.= Hovey _Fr. Am._ =2=:93, 94, Pl. 1851.
_Downer's Red Heart._ =3.= Kenrick _Am. Orch._ 276. 1832.
_Downer's Late._ =4.= _Proc. Nat. Con. Fr. Gr._ 52. 1848. =5.= _Ann. Pom. Belge_ =2=:65, Pl. 1854.
_Guigne Tardive de Downer._ =6.= Mortillet _Le Cerisier_ =2=:95 fig., 96, 97. 1866.
Downer is a Sweet Cherry, one of the so-called "Hearts" much prized by those who know it as a late cherry delicately and richly flavored. Possibly it is the best of the late Sweet Cherries. Several defects keep it from being of any considerable worth; it thrives only in the choicest soils; the trees are often unhealthy as well as lacking in vigor; the flesh is thin and the stone is large; and, though the cherries set abundantly, the yield is small because the fruits are small. So, while the variety is almost indispensable in a home orchard, ripening after almost all of the dessert cherries have gone, Downer has small place in a commercial plantation. It should be said further in its favor, however, as a commercial fruit, that it stands harvesting and shipping very well.
Downer takes the name of Samuel Downer, Dorchester, Massachusetts, who grew it some time before 1832 when it first found a place in pomological works. It was included by the American Pomological Society in its schedule of fruits in 1848 as Downer's Late. It now appears as Downer with Downer's Late Red as a synonym in accordance with the rules of the Society.
Tree large, vigorous, upright-spreading, dense-topped, productive; trunk thick, with shaggy bark; branches thick, roughened, dark brown overspread with dark gray, with numerous large lenticels; branchlets slender, long, brown partly covered with ash-gray, smooth, with inconspicuous, raised lenticels.
Leaves numerous, three inches long, one and three-fourths inches wide, folded upward, obovate, rather stiff; upper surface dark green; lower surface light green, hairy along the veins; apex acute, base abrupt; margin doubly serrate, glandular; petiole one inch long, thick, dark red, grooved, glandless or with from one to three large, globose or reniform glands on the stalk.
Buds small, except the terminals which are large, pointed, plump, free, arranged singly as lateral buds, or in small clusters on short spurs; leaf-scars prominent; flowers white, one and one-fourth inches across; borne in thin clusters in ones and in twos; pedicels variable in length often one inch long, glabrous; calyx-tube faintly tinged with red, campanulate, glabrous; calyx-lobes tinged with red, acuminate, glabrous within and without, reflexed; petals roundish, entire, somewhat sessile, with a shallow notch at the apex; pistil glabrous, nearly equal to the stamens in length, often defective.
Fruit matures among the latest; three-fourths of an inch in diameter, roundish-cordate, slightly compressed; cavity very shallow, flaring; suture obscure; apex variable in shape usually somewhat pointed; color light to dark red frequently showing an amber background on the shaded side; dots numerous, small, russet, inconspicuous; stem one and three-fourths inches long, adherent to the fruit; skin tough, separating from the pulp; flesh pale yellow, with colorless juice, somewhat stringy, tender, with soft flesh, mild and pleasant, sweet when fully ripe; good to very good in quality; stone large, free, ovate, flattened, with smooth surfaces; somewhat ridged along the ventral suture.
DYEHOUSE
_Prunus cerasus_
=1.= _Horticulturist_ =25=:176, 177. 1870. =2.= Downing _Fr. Trees Am._ 3rd App. 161. 1881. =3.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 17. 1897.
Dyehouse is conspicuous among cherries for its earliness and for the beauty of its fruit. Early Richmond is the standard early cherry yet Dyehouse is a week earlier, just as attractive in appearance and equally well flavored. It is near of kin to Early Richmond but the two may be distinguished by the difference in time of ripening and by its brighter, clearer color, greater opaqueness, more highly colored juice and slightly smaller size. Possibly this cherry would supersede the better-known Early Richmond were it not for the defect in size and for the further faults of being less productive and more capricious to environment, as it fails to thrive in localities where the older sort is quite at home. It is a worthy rival of Early Richmond, however, and ought to be grown both for home and commercial purposes far more than it is.
To H. T. Harris of Stamford, Kentucky, belongs the honor of introducing this well-known cherry. Although its parentage is unknown, it is almost certain that a Mr. Dyehouse, Lincoln County, Kentucky, raised the tree from a pit sixty or more years ago. At the time of its introduction its characteristics were not clearly drawn and many believed it to be the Early Richmond. In time, however, differences were shown, as we have set forth in the preceding paragraph. It was added to the fruit list of the American Pomological Society in 1897.
Tree small, vigorous, spreading, with drooping branchlets, dense, round-topped, productive; trunk and branches slightly roughened; branches reddish-brown covered with dark ash-gray, with large, elongated, raised lenticels; branchlets slender, willowy, variable in length, brown overspread with ash-gray, smooth, with a few small, inconspicuous lenticels.
Leaves numerous, three inches long, one and one-half inches wide, slightly folded upward, obovate to long-oval; upper surface very dark green, smooth; lower surface light green, with a few hairs along the midrib; apex acute, base variable in shape; margin finely serrate, with small, dark glands; petiole one-half inch long, tinged with dull red, with a few hairs along the grooved upper surface, with from one to three small, globose, greenish-yellow glands at the base of the blade.
Buds small, short, obtuse, plump, free, arranged singly and in clusters on short spurs; leaf-scars prominent; season of bloom intermediate; flowers one inch across, white; borne in dense but well-distributed clusters, usually at the ends of spur-like branches, in twos, threes or fours; pedicels one and one-half inches long, glabrous, greenish; calyx-tube green, obconic, glabrous; calyx-lobes tinged with red, serrate, glabrous within and without, reflexed; petals roundish-obovate, entire, almost sessile, with entire apex; filaments one-fourth inch long; pistil glabrous, nearly equal to the stamens in length.
Fruit matures early; more than one-half inch in diameter, oblate, slightly compressed; cavity of medium depth, narrow, abrupt, regular; suture indistinct; apex flattened, with a small depression at the center; color dark red; dots numerous, small, obscure; stem one inch long, adhering to the pulp; skin thin, tough; flesh light yellowish-white, with pinkish juice, tender, sprightly, tart; of very good quality; stone nearly free, ovate, slightly flattened, with smooth surfaces; somewhat ridged along the ventral suture.
EAGLE
_Prunus avium_
=1.= _Mich. Sta. Bul._ =104=:84. 1894. =2.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 17. 1897.
_Black Eagle._ =3.= Prince _Treat. Hort._ 31. 1828. =4.= _Pom. Mag._ =3=:127, Pl. 127. 1830. =5.= Kenrick _Am. Orch._ 274, 275. 1832. =6.= Downing _Fr. Trees Am._ 170 fig. 62. 1845. =7.= Floy-Lindley _Guide Orch. Gard._ 102. 1846. =8.= _Mag. Hort._ =14=:386, 387 fig. 37. 1848. =9.= _Proc. Nat. Con. Fr. Gr._ 52. 1848. =10.= Hovey _Fr. Am._ =1=:85, Pl. 1851. =11.= _Horticulturist_ N. S. =4=:287. 1854. =12.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Rpt._ 108, 186. 1856. =13.= Mortillet _Le Cerisier_ =2=:77-79, fig. 12. 1866. =14.= Mas _Pom. Gen._ =11=:83, 84, fig. 42. 1882. =15.= Hogg _Fruit Man._ 285, 286. 1884. =16.= _Cornell Sta. Bul._ =98=:491 fig. 86. 1895.
We hesitatingly follow the American Pomological Society in calling this variety Eagle when it has so long been known as Black Eagle, the name given it by the great pomologist, Knight. Were this choicely good cherry larger in size, it would still be a prime favorite with growers for in many respects it is one of the best varieties of its species. Its flavor is excellent; the trees are usually fruitful; it ripens at a good time in the cherry season, just after Black Tartarian; the cherries are less liable to crack than many of its rivals; and the trees are as hardy, healthy and vigorous as those of any Sweet Cherry. Some complain that the trees do not bear well at first but are productive only with age. But, after all, it is its high quality that gives Eagle so much merit that it ought not to be forgotten--makes it worth a place in every home orchard and commends it highly to commercial growers of cherries who want a finely finished product for either local or general market. The fruit-stems of this variety are characteristically long.
Eagle was grown about 1806 by Sir Thomas Andrew Knight at Downton Castle, Wiltshire, England, by fertilizing the Bigarreau of the old writers, our Yellow Spanish, with pollen of the May Duke. The correctness of the parentage as given has been questioned because of its inherited characteristics. But if the May Duke is a hybrid between a Sweet and a Sour, a pure Sweet offspring is not an impossibility. In 1823, Honorable John Lowell of Massachusetts received Eagle from Knight. Prince mentioned this cherry in his _Treatise of Horticulture_, 1828, but the exact date of its introduction into New York is unknown. In 1848 it was placed on the list of fruits adopted by the National Convention of Fruit Growers and since then it has been retained on the fruit list of the American Pomological Society.
Tree large, vigorous, upright-spreading, dense, unproductive at first but improving with age; trunk and branches thick, smooth; branches reddish-brown partly covered with ash-gray, with numerous small lenticels; branchlets thick, brownish partly covered with light ash-gray, the surface slightly ribbed and with small, raised, inconspicuous lenticels.
Leaves numerous, five inches long, two and one-half inches wide, folded upward, long, obovate to elliptical, thin; upper surface dark green, rugose; lower surface light green, thinly pubescent; apex variable in shape; margin coarsely and doubly serrate, with dark glands; petiole nearly two inches long, tinged with red, with a few hairs, with from two to four reniform, brownish glands usually on the stalk.
Buds large, conical or pointed, plump, free, arranged singly as lateral buds and in clusters on spurs of medium length; leaf-scars prominent; season of bloom medium; flowers white, one and one-eighth inches across; borne in scattered clusters in twos and threes; pedicels one inch long, slender, glabrous, greenish; calyx-tube green faintly tinged with red, campanulate; calyx-lobes with a trace of red, obtuse, glabrous within and without, reflexed; petals irregular-oval, crenate, with short, blunt claws and with a crenate apex; anthers yellowish; filaments one-fourth inch long; pistil glabrous, equal to the stamens in length.
Fruit matures in mid-season; nearly one inch in diameter, oblate, somewhat cordate, compressed; cavity regular, flaring; suture a faint groove; apex pointed or slightly depressed; color dark red almost black; dots small, russet, medium in number, obscure; stem slender, two inches long; skin thin, tender; flesh dark red, with wine-colored juice, meaty, tender, crisp, pleasant flavored, mild, sweet; very good to best in quality; stone free except along the ventral suture, rather small, ovate, slightly flattened, blunt, with smooth surfaces; ridged along the ventral suture.
EARLY MAY
_Prunus fruticosa_
=1.= Langley _Pomona_ 86, Pl. 17 fig. 2. 1729. =2.= Prince _Pom. Man._ =2=:131. 1832. =3.= Downing _Fr. Trees Am._ 479. 1869. =4.= Hogg _Fruit Man._ 295. 1884.
_May._ =5.= Parkinson _Par. Ter._ 571. 1629.
_Cerisier Nain à Fruit Rond Précoce._ =6.= Duhamel _Trait. Arb. Fr._ =1=:168, 169, 170, Pl. III. 1768.
_Frühe Zwergweichsel._ =7.= Truchsess-Heim _Kirschensort._ 492-498. 1819. =8.= Mathieu _Nom. Pom._ 349, 350, 372. 1889.
_Amarell-Weichsel._ =9.= Dochnahl _Führ. Obstkunde_ =3=:57, 58. 1858.
_Précoce de Montreuil._ =10.= Mas _Le Verger_ =8=:141, 142, fig. 69. 1866-73.
_Griottier Nain Précoce._ =11.= Leroy _Dict. Pom._ =5=:293 fig., 294. 1877.
As the only cultivated representative of the European Dwarf Cherry, Early May should be of especial interest to cherry-growers. It is a true dwarf variety, the trees seldom attaining a height of more than six or seven feet. Both tree and branches are very flexible so that Early May is well adapted to the wall-training of European countries. It has further value in its earliness, being the earliest of all cherries. It is doubtful whether the variety can now be obtained in America but it ought to be reintroduced both for the fruit and because it is a handsome ornamental. Early May has several characters to recommend it to plant-breeders. The description herewith given is compiled from European fruit-books.
Pliny in his _Natural History_ mentions the Macedonian and the Chamaecerasus cherries, both of which we now believe to have been _Prunus fruticosa_, the European Dwarf Cherry. Early May, according to European botanists, is a variety of this dwarf species and may be the identical cherry that Pliny described. Following Pliny it was mentioned by Estienne, a Frenchman, in 1540, by Knoop, the Dutch pomologist, in 1771, by Parkinson, the English herbalist, in 1629, and, as the references show, by most pomologists since. The names May and Early May have been applied to several varieties, and especially in the West to the Early Richmond but all are distinct and ought not to be confused with this, the true variety.
Tree very small, rather weak; branches numerous, slender, somewhat curved, flexible, branchlets slender, pendant; leaves abundant, very small, obovate or oblong, acuminate; margin irregularly and deeply serrate; petiole short, slender, without glands; blooming season very early; flowers small; petals oval.
Fruit matures very early, usually attached in pairs; small, roundish, slightly flattened; suture indistinct; color bright red becoming dark red at full maturity; stem one inch long, slender, set in a small, regular cavity; skin thin; flesh yellowish-white, sometimes tinged red under the skin, tender, juicy, brisk but pleasant subacid; quality fair; stone very small, roundish.
EARLY MORELLO
_Prunus cerasus_
=1.= _Del. Sta. An. Rpt._ =12=:118. 1900. =2.= Budd-Hansen _Am. Hort. Man._ =2=:275. 1903.
_Orel No. 23._ =3.= _Mich. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 327. 1888. =4.= _Ia. Sta. Bul._ =73=:68, 77 fig. 17. 1903.
This, which we think is the true Early Morello, is worthy an extended description in _The Cherries of New York_ chiefly because there are several cherries of this name. The confusion results in much vexation to cherry-growers in the West where, only, these cherries have been planted. The full description should make clear at least the character of the variety which is being grown at this Station as Early Morello. About all that can be said of the variety as it grows here is that the trees are hardy, healthy, vigorous, fruitful and regular in bearing. The cherries show the variety to be of the Amarelle group but are such as to make it far inferior to Montmorency and other well-known Amarelles. The name is misleading, as the variety has little in common, in tree or fruit, with the true Morellos.
The cherry described here as Early Morello was introduced by Professor J. L. Budd from Orel, Russia, as Orel No. 23. It has proved very productive and hardy throughout the West and resembles Early Richmond, though smaller, a trifle darker, less acid and a week later. A dark-fleshed variety from Erfurt, Prussia, was sent out from Rosedale, Kansas, where it is known as Early Morello. This, and one by D. U. Reed, Blue Springs, Nebraska, appear to be very similar to the Northwest, or Wier No. 29.
Tree of medium size and vigor, upright-spreading, very productive; trunk rather thick, shaggy; branches with numerous large lenticels; branchlets slender, short; leaves two and three-fourths inches long, one and one-half inches wide, thick, stiff, dark green, rather glossy, smooth; margin finely and doubly serrate, with small, dark glands; petiole glandless or with from one to three small, globose, brown or yellowish glands variable in position; buds small, short, obtuse, in small clusters at the ends of slender, branchlike spurs; leaf-scars prominent; season of bloom late; flowers one inch across; pistil equal to or slightly longer than the stamens, sometimes defective.
Fruit matures in mid-season; about three-fourths of an inch in diameter, oblate, compressed; color attractive dark red; stem one inch long, adhering to the fruit; skin thin, tender, separating from the pulp; flesh light yellow, with pinkish juice, tender and melting, sprightly, tart; of very good quality; stone free, ovate, flattened, slightly pointed, with smooth surfaces, somewhat tinged with red.
EARLY PURPLE
_Prunus avium_
=1.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 26. 1909.
_Purple Cherry._ =2.= Ray _Hist. Plant._ 1540. 1688.
_Early Purple Guigne._ =3.= _Cultivator_ N. S. =4=:280 fig. 2. 1847. =4.= Hovey _Fr. Am._ =1=:93, 94, Pl. 1851. =5.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Rpt._ 55. 1852. =6.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 211. 1856. =7.= Mas _Le Verger_ =8=:129, 130, fig. 63. 1866-73. =8.= Mortillet _Le Cerisier_ =2=:57 fig. 3, 58, 59. 1866. =9.= _Horticulturist_ =25=:71 fig. 1870. =10.= Leroy _Dict. Pom._ =5=:334, 335 fig., 336. 1877. =11.= Hogg _Fruit Man._ 295. 1884. =12.= _Guide Prat._ 6, 193. 1895.
_Purple Guigne_. =13.= Elliott _Fr. Book_ 195 fig. 1854.
Early Purple is a valuable cherry on account of its earliness, its attractive color and high quality. The trees bear well and regularly after having become established in the orchard. The variety has the reputation of being a poor grower in the nursery and as a young tree in the orchard but with age it takes on vigor and at all times is as healthy as those of any Sweet Cherry. More than most cherries, this variety responds to good care and a choice cherry soil--a warm, free-working loam being best. A rather unusual and serious defect of this variety is that the fruit-spurs are easily broken during picking and the crop of the next season thereby cut short. Another fault is that it is the favorite food of the robin where this, the worst of all cherry pests, abounds. The cherries of this variety do not attain their rich purple color until full maturity is reached. Hogg, the English pomologist, maintains that Early Purple does better on the Mahaleb than on the Mazzard stock. No home collection should be without this variety and it can often be profitably grown as an early cherry for the local market.
Early Purple is the Early Purple Guigne of most fruit-books, the name having been shortened by the American Pomological Society, though, since the variety goes back to the Early Purple of Ray in 1688, the name here used has the right of precedence. As to what the origin and history of the variety were before Ray mentioned it, we can find no record. Early Purple was brought to America over a hundred years ago. According to Elliott, eastern growers received it directly from England, while in the West it was brought over by a party of German emigrants, under the name "German May Duke" and as such it is still much grown in localities in the Central West. In 1852, the American Pomological Society listed Early Purple as one of the promising new fruits and later, in 1856, it was given a place, which it has since retained, on the Society's catalog of fruits recommended for general cultivation.
Tree large, vigorous, upright-spreading, open-topped, very productive; trunk thick, smooth; branches smooth, reddish-brown partly covered with ash-gray, with large lenticels; branchlets short, brown partly covered with ash-gray, roughened, with a few small, inconspicuous lenticels.
Leaves numerous, four inches long, one and three-fourths inches wide, folded upward, oval to obovate, thin; upper surface dark green, rugose; lower surface light green, very lightly pubescent; apex and base acute; margin finely serrate, with small, dark colored glands; petiole one and three-fourths inches long, slender, tinged with red, with few hairs, with two or three small, globose, reddish glands on the stalk.
Buds variable in size and shape, rather long, plump, free, arranged singly as lateral buds and in small clusters on spurs variable in length; season of bloom early; flowers white, one and one-fourth inches across; borne in scattering clusters, usually in twos; pedicels characteristically long, often one and one-fourth inches, slender, glabrous; calyx-tube with a faint tinge of red, campanulate; calyx-lobes tinged with red, long, acute, serrate, glabrous within and without, reflexed; petals broadly oval, serrate, with short, blunt claws and a shallow, notched apex; filaments one-fourth inch long; pistil glabrous, shorter than the stamens.
Fruit matures very early; one inch in diameter, cordate, slightly compressed; cavity regular; suture a faint line; apex pointed; color purplish-black; dots numerous, small, grayish, obscure; stem tinged with red, slender, nearly two inches long, adhering to the fruit; skin thin, tender, separating readily from the pulp; flesh dark reddish-purple, with dark colored juice, tender, melting, mild, sweet; of very good quality; stone free except along the ventral suture, rather large, broadly oval, compressed near the apex, with smooth surfaces.
EARLY RICHMOND
_Prunus cerasus_
=1.= Thacher _Am. Orch._ 217. 1822. =2.= Prince _Pom. Man._ =2=:142. 1832. =3.= Elliott _Fr. Book_ 194, 195 fig. 1854. =4.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 12. 1871. =5.= _Del. Sta. An. Rpt._ =12=:115 fig., 116. 1900.
_Flanders._ =6.= Parkinson _Par. Ter._ 571. 1629.
_Kentish._ =7.= Miller _Gard. Kal._ 154. 1734. =8.= Truchsess-Heim _Kirschensort._ 660, 661. 1819. =9.= Downing _Fr. Trees Am._ 196 fig., 197. 1845. =10.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 74. 1862. =11.= Mas _Le Verger_ =8=:25, 26, fig. 11. 1866-73.
_Cerisier Hâtif._ =12.= Duhamel _Trait. Arb. Fr._ =1=:170, 171, Pl. IV. 1768. =13.= Truchsess-Heim _Kirschensort._ 657, 658, 691. 1819. =14.= Poiteau _Pom. Franc._ =2=: No. 13, Pl. 1846. =15.= Leroy _Dict. Pom._ =5=:343, 344 fig., 345. 1877.
_Cerise de Volger._ =16.= Knoop _Fructologie_ =2=:36, 43. 1771.
_Frühzeitige Amarelle._ =17.= Truchsess-Heim _Kirschensort._ 616-618. 1819. =18.= Dochnahl _Führ. Obstkunde_ =3=:70. 1858.
_Early Griotte._ =19.= Prince _Pom. Man._ =2=:131, 132. 1832.
_French._ =20.= _Quebec Pom. & Fr. Gr. Soc. Rpt._ 122, 123. 1906.
Early Richmond has long been the leading Sour Cherry of its season--the first of its kind in the markets. It is not a remarkable variety in its fruit-characters, the cherries being but medium in size, mediocre in quality and not handsomer than other Amarelles with which it belongs. It is, however, a very good culinary fruit and when well ripened may be eaten out of hand with relish by those who like the refreshing acidity of a Sour Cherry. Though not in nearly as great demand for canning as Montmorency it still makes a very good canned product, being used more than it otherwise would be to prolong the canning season because of its earliness. Before cherries were largely canned for the markets, Early Richmond was much used in making dried cherries, the product, rightly cured, making a delicious sweetmeat which would keep for several months. The cherries are remarkable for the tenacity with which the stone clings to the stem. It is the tree in which the Early Richmond particularly surpasses. It thrives in varied soils and climates from the St. Lawrence to the Carolinas and from the Atlantic to the Pacific--possibly the most cosmopolitan of all cherries--and everywhere vigorous, healthy and fruitful. For the many purposes for which it may be used and because of the characters of the tree, Early Richmond is indispensable in every home and commercial orchard for an early cherry. After Montmorency it is more largely grown than any other cherry, Sweet or Sour, in New York.
Early Richmond is the old Kentish of English writers, confused more or less with the different Montmorencies. Whether or not this variety was introduced into Kent, England, by the Romans and became thus early the Kentish or whether it came from Flanders or Holland where it was called Cerise de Volger, is not now certain. Probably, however, it is one of the many seedlings of the Cerise Commune, as are the Montmorencies, and was first known as Cerisier Hâtif. Early in the Sixteenth Century the gardener of Henry VIII made extensive plantings in Kent with trees supposed to have come from Flanders, and Parkinson, in 1629, mentions a variety as Flanders which was probably this cherry. The variety, soon known by many English writers as Kentish, was confused by the French who seem to have had two Kentish cherries. In English nurseries Kentish was soon confused with Montmorency. In this way the terms Kentish, Flanders, Flemish and Montmorency came into use for this sort. It was early brought to America where it became known as Early Richmond but even here it has several names. The belief that it originated at Richmond, Virginia, was due to the fact that William Prince secured his first trees from that source. By whom the variety was introduced into this country is unknown, although Thacher speaks of it as early as 1822. In the South it became known as Virginia May, while in the West it has been called Early May. The variety appeared on the fruit list of the American Pomological Society as Kentish in 1862 but in 1871 the name was changed to Early Richmond. It is listed by all prominent nurseries in this country as Richmond or Early Richmond while in England it is still known as Kentish. The French cherry, often spoken of as "the common French cherry," introduced into the lower St. Lawrence region, is very similar to Early Richmond. This strain, propagated from seed or sprouts, seems to be somewhat hardier than Early Richmond and varies slightly from it in size and quality.
Tree of medium size, vigorous, upright-spreading, dense, round-topped, productive; trunk and branches smooth; branches reddish-brown lightly overspread with dull gray, with numerous lenticels; branchlets slender, long, grayish, smooth, with numerous small, inconspicuous lenticels.
Leaves numerous, three and one-half inches long, one and three-fourths inches wide, folded upward, obovate, thick; upper surface dark green, smooth; lower surface pale green; apex variable in shape, base abrupt; margin finely and doubly serrate, glandular; petiole glandless or with one or two globose, greenish-yellow glands at the base of the blade.
Buds small, short, obtuse, very plump, free, arranged singly and in clusters on very short spurs; blooms appearing in mid-season; flowers one and one-fourth inches across, white; borne in scattering clusters, usually in twos and threes; pedicels five-eighths inch long, glabrous; calyx-tube green or faintly tinged with red, obconic, glabrous; calyx-lobes with a trace of red, obtuse, serrate, glabrous within and without, reflexed; petals roundish, entire, sessile, with a shallow, wide notch at the apex; filaments over one-fourth inch long; pistil glabrous, equal to the stamens in length.
Fruit matures early; three-fourths inch in diameter, roundish-oblate, compressed; cavity abrupt, regular; suture indistinct; apex roundish or flattened, with a slight depression at the center; color light red changing to dark red; dots numerous, small, russet, inconspicuous; stem slender, one inch long, adherent to the fruit; skin thin, rather tough, separating from the pulp; flesh pale yellow, with light pinkish juice, stringy, tender and melting, sprightly, pleasant flavored; good to very good in quality; stone free, small, roundish-ovate, slightly pointed, with smooth surfaces; somewhat roughened along the ventral suture.
ELKHORN
_Prunus avium_
=1.= Prince _Pom. Man._ =2=:117. 1832. =2.= Elliott _Fr. Book_ 213. 1854. =3.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 24. 1899.
_John Tradescantes Cherrie._ =4.= Parkinson _Par. Ter._ 574. 1629.
_Hertogs-Kers._ =5.= Knoop _Fructologie_ =2=:36, 40. 1771.
_Grosse Schwarze Knorpelkirsche._ =6.= Truchsess-Heim _Kirschensort._ 180-192. 1819. =7.= Dochnahl _Führ. Obstkunde_ =3=:36. 1858. =8.= _Ill. Handb._ 89 fig., 90. 1860. =9.= Lauche _Deut. Pom._ =III=: No. 6, Pl. 1882. =10.= Mathieu _Nom. Pom._ 357, 358. 1889.
_Tradescant's Black Heart._ =11.= Downing _Fr. Trees Am._ 188 fig., 189. 1845. =12.= Thompson _Gard. Ass't_ 526. 1859. =13.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 74. 1862.
_Gros Bigarreau Noir._ =14.= Mortillet _Le Cerisier_ =2=:108-111, fig. 24. 1866. =15.= Leroy _Dict. Pom._ =5=:224, 225 fig., 226. 1877.
_St. Margaret's Cherry._ =16.= _Flor. & Pom._ 105, Pl. 542. 1881.
Elkhorn has served its day and is now being rapidly superseded by other cherries of the Bigarreau group to which it belongs. It was valued by the old pomologists because of the large size of the fruit, the firm flesh, late ripening, rich flavor, and because it hangs well on the tree long after maturity. But it fails in competition with other Bigarreaus in bearing cherries quite variable in size, in the diminishing size of the fruit as the trees attain age and more than all else in being but moderately productive. The bark of the trunk and main branches is so heavily overspread with gray as to make this a distinguishing mark. The fruit, too, is distinct in appearance by reason of the irregular surface of the skin. The variety possesses no characters, as it usually grows, to make it worth planting either for home or market.
The history of this old cherry was almost hopelessly confused by the early horticulturists by the vast number of names they used for it, many of which belonged to other varieties. Elkhorn is supposed to have been raised by John Tradescant, gardener to Charles I of England, under the name Tradescant's Black Heart. Of this cherry, John Parkinson in 1629 says: "John Tradescantes Cherrie is most usually sold by our Nursery Gardiners, for the Archdukes cherrie, because they have more plenty thereof, and will better be increased, and because it is so faire and good a cherrie that it may be obtruded without much discontent: it is a reasonably good bearer, a faire great berrie, deepe coloured, and a little pointed." It is not known when or how Elkhorn got to America. The first cherry-grower in this country to mention it was William Prince, in 1832, who says that his father noticed the variety growing in a garden next to a hotel in Maryland about 1797 and brought cions of it to New York afterwards propagating and selling it under the name Elkhorn given to the cherry by the hotel proprietor. Elkhorn was at one time very popular and well disseminated throughout the United States and is sold now by a large number of nurserymen either under the name Tradescant's Black Heart or as Elkhorn. In 1862, the American Pomological Society listed in its fruit catalog Tradescant's Black Heart but dropped it in 1877. In 1899 this Society placed the variety in its catalog under the name Elkhorn and it still remains on its list of recommended fruits. From its history it is apparent that this cherry is rightly called Tradescant or Black Heart or by some combination of these terms but Elkhorn has been adopted by the American Pomological Society, is everywhere in common use on this continent and is so distinctive that we choose for this text the newer name.
Tree large, very vigorous, upright, open-topped, moderately productive; trunk stocky, smooth; branches stout, smooth, with numerous small lenticels, reddish-brown heavily overspread with ash-gray; branchlets thick.
Leaves numerous, three and three-fourths inches long, two and one-fourth inches wide, short-oval to obovate, thin; upper surface medium green, roughish; lower surface dull, light green, lightly pubescent; apex acute; margin coarsely serrate, glandular; petiole with from one to three raised glands of medium size, variable in shape, usually on the stalk.
Fruit matures in late mid-season; three-fourths of an inch in diameter, cordate to conical, slightly compressed; cavity deep, wide, flaring; suture indistinct; apex roundish or pointed, with a slight depression at the center; color purplish-black; dots numerous, small, dark russet, inconspicuous; stem one and three-eighths inches long, adhering to the fruit; skin thin, tender, adhering somewhat to the pulp; flesh a characteristically dark purplish-red, with very dark colored juice, meaty, firm, crisp, mild, sweet; of good quality; stone semi-free, ovate, flattened, slightly pointed, with smooth surfaces, tinged with red.
ELTON
_Prunus avium_
=1.= _Lond. Hort. Soc. Cat._ 49. 1831. =2.= Prince _Pom. Man._ =2=:121, 122. 1832. =3.= _Pom. Mag._ =2=:92, Pl 1839. =4.= Downing _Fr. Trees Am._ 186 fig. 77. 1845. =5.= _Proc. Nat. Con. Fr. Gr._ 52. 1848. =6.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Rpt._ 75. 1850. =7.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 54. 1852. =8.= Elliott _Fr. Book_ 194 fig. 1854. =9.= Thompson _Gard. Ass't_ 528. 1859. =10.= _Ill. Handb._ 105 fig., 106. 1860. =11.= Mortillet _Le Cerisier_ =2=:91 fig. 17, 92, 93. 1866. =12.= Downing _Fr. Trees Am._ 463 fig. 1869. =13.= Leroy _Dict. Pom._ =5=:196, 197 fig. 1877.
_Flesh Coloured Bigarreau._ =14.= Prince _Pom. Man._ =2=:128. 1832. =15.= Downing _Fr. Trees Am._ 182 fig. 74. 1845. =16.= Leroy _Dict. Pom._ =5=:192, 193 fig. 1877.
Elton has been freely recommended and widely cultivated in Europe and America for the past century and probably no cherry has given more general satisfaction. The variety is distinguished by the form, color, flesh and flavor of its fruit. The cherries are oblong-heart-shaped--possibly too much drawn out for best appearance and often too oblique; the color, very well shown in the color-plate, is most attractive and makes up for any defect in shape--a dark red mottled with amber, very bright, clear and glossy; the flesh, a little too soft to ship well, is delicate and most pleasing to the palate; the flavor is peculiarly rich and luscious being hardly surpassed by that of any other cherry. The trees may be as readily told as the fruit, by the unusually dark red color of the petioles of the leaves. The branches are stout and bear the crop thickly placed close to the wood and in prodigious quantities. Unfortunately it has a fault which in America, at least, makes it almost unfit for a commercial plantation. Brown-rot, the scourge of the Sweet Cherry, attacks this variety more aggressively than almost any other sort and for this reason, while its merits can hardly be too highly spoken of, Elton must remain for most part a variety for the home orchard. The tree, perfect in most respects, is a little tender to cold. Leroy, the French pomologist, thinks it does better on Mahaleb than on the Mazzard stock.
This is another cherry from Thomas Andrew Knight, the great English pomologist. Knight fruited it first about 1806, the tree coming from a pit of Yellow Spanish, the paternal parent being White Heart. From the first it took a high place in English and continental pomology as it did also in America upon being brought here in 1823. The variety is everywhere known and grown in America and is for sale by many nurserymen. Elton was one of the fruits to receive attention at the first meeting of the American Pomological Society in 1848, and in 1852 was put on the list of recommended fruits where it still remains.
Tree large, vigorous, upright-spreading, open-topped, very productive; trunk thick, smooth; branches smooth, reddish-brown covered with ash-gray, with small lenticels; branchlets long, brown partly covered with ash-gray, smooth, with inconspicuous, raised lenticels, intermediate in number and size.
Leaves numerous, five and one-half inches long, two and one-half inches wide, folded upward, long-obovate to elliptical, thin; upper surface dark green, rugose; lower surface light green, thinly pubescent; apex acute, base abrupt; margin doubly serrate, with small, dark glands; petiole two inches long, heavily tinged with red, with a few scattering hairs along the upper surface, with from two to four reniform or globose, reddish-brown glands on the stalk.
Buds large, long, pointed, plump, free, arranged singly as lateral buds and on very short spurs variable in size; leaf-scars prominent; mid-season in blooming; flowers one and one-half inches across, white; borne in twos and threes; pedicels one inch long, slender, glabrous, greenish; calyx-tube green, campanulate, glabrous; calyx-lobes tinged with red, long, broad, acute, serrate, glabrous within and without, reflexed; petals roundish, entire, nearly sessile, with a shallow notch at the apex; filaments about one-half inch long; pistil glabrous, shorter than the stamens.
Fruit matures early; about one inch long, three-fourths inch wide, cordate to conical, somewhat compressed and oblique; cavity rather abrupt, regular; suture indistinct; apex distinctly pointed; color dark red with an amber tinge, faintly mottled; dots numerous, small, light yellow, obscure; stem slender, one and three-fourths inches long; skin thin, tender, separating from the pulp; flesh white with a tinge of yellow, with colorless juice, slightly stringy, tender, very mild, sweet; of good quality; stone free except along the ventral suture, one-half inch long, long-ovate, slightly flattened, with smooth surfaces; somewhat ridged along the ventral suture.
EMPRESS EUGENIE
_Prunus avium_ × _Prunus cerasus_
=1.= _Gard. Mon._ =7=:277. 1865. =2.= Mortillet _Le Cerisier_ =2=:159 fig. 41, 160. 1866. =3.= Mas _Le Verger_ =8=:5, 6, fig. 1. 1866-73. =4.= _Pom. France_ =7=: No. 10, Pl. 10. 1871. =5.= _U. S. D. A. Rpt._ 383. 1875. =6.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 20. 1877. =7.= Leroy _Dict. Pom._ =5=:348 fig., 349. 1877. =8.= Hogg _Fruit Man._ 296, 297. 1884. =9.= Gaucher _Pom. Prak. Obst._ No. 78, Pl. 29. 1894.
_Eugenie._ =10.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 22. 1883.
This old French cherry, for many years largely advertised and widely sold in America, does not thrive in the New World as well as the reports say it does in the Old World. The two faults that condemn it, as it grows here, are that the cherries ripen very unevenly making several pickings necessary and the trees are so small that, though loaded with fruit, the total yield is not large. Lesser faults are that the cherries are not uniform in shape and are borne thickly in close clusters so that when brown-rot is rife this variety suffers greatly. The short stem, too, prevents easy picking. To offset these faults Empress Eugenie has to its credit the reputation of being about the most refreshing and delicious Duke. In a home plantation where the unevenness in ripening can be utilized to prolong the season and where dwarfness may not be undesirable, Empress Eugenie may well find a place.
This cherry appeared in 1845 as a chance seedling on the grounds of M. Varenne at Belleville, near Paris, France. It first fruited about 1850 and four years later the Horticultural Society of Paris placed it, under the name Impératrice Eugenie, on its list of recommended fruits. M. A. Gontier, a nurseryman at Fontenay-aux-Roses introduced it to commerce in 1855. Empress Eugenie soon became quite generally disseminated throughout Europe and was considered nearly as good as May Duke, with which it has occasionally been confused. It must have been brought to America towards the beginning of the last quarter of the Nineteenth Century and here it gradually became widely distributed until today it is found in all the leading cherry plantations and is propagated by a large number of nurserymen throughout the United States. The American Pomological Society added this cherry to its fruit catalog list in 1877 under the name Empress Eugenie. In 1883 this name was shortened to Eugenie under which term it has since appeared in the Society's catalog. In _The Cherries of New York_ we have not adopted the shortened name as, by such a change, all trace is lost of the person after whom the cherry was christened.
Tree small, not very vigorous, upright, becoming round-topped, very productive; trunk slender, roughish; branches slender, much roughened, reddish-brown partly covered with ash-gray, with numerous small lenticels; branchlets with short internodes, brown slightly covered with ash-gray, smooth except for the numerous small, conspicuous, much-raised lenticels.
Leaves numerous, three and one-half inches long, one and three-fourths inches wide, folded upward, obovate, thick; upper surface dark green, slightly rugose; lower surface light green, thinly pubescent; apex abruptly pointed, base variable in shape; margin doubly serrate, with small, dark glands; petiole three-fourths of an inch long, tinged with red, with a few hairs along the upper surface, glandless or with one or two small, globose, greenish-yellow or reddish glands, usually at the base of the blade.
Buds obtuse, plump, free, arranged singly as lateral buds and on long or short spurs, in clusters variable in size; leaf-scars obscure; blooming in mid-season; flowers one and one-fourth inches across, white; borne in very dense clusters, in threes and fours; pedicels one inch long, glabrous, greenish; calyx-tube with a faint tinge of red, obconic, glabrous; calyx-lobes with a trace of red, acute, glabrous within and without, reflexed; petals roundish, entire, with short but distinct claws; apex nearly entire; filaments one-fourth inch long; pistil glabrous, equal to the stamens in length.
Fruit matures in mid-season; three-fourths of an inch in diameter, roundish-conic to oblate-conic, compressed; cavity narrow; suture very shallow, indistinct; apex flattened or depressed; color dark red; dots numerous, small, dark russet, obscure; stem one and one-fourth inches long, adherent to the fruit; skin tough, separating from the pulp; flesh pale red, with pinkish juice, tender, meaty, sprightly, pleasant flavored, tart; of good quality; stone semi-clinging, small, ovate, flattened, somewhat oblique, with smooth surfaces.
ENGLISH MORELLO
_Prunus cerasus_
=1.= Parkinson _Par. Ter._ 572. 1629. =2.= Langley _Pomona_ 85. 1729. =3.= Christ _Handb._ 677. 1797. =4.= _Lond. Hort. Soc. Cat._ 54. 1831. =5.= Downing _Fr. Trees Am._ 197, 198 fig. 1845. =6.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 74. 1862. =7.= Hogg _Fruit Man._ 306, 307. 1884. =8.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 27. 1909.
_Grosse Cerise à Ratafia._ =9.= Duhamel _Trait. Arb. Fr._ =1=:189. 1768.
_Grosse Lange Lothkirsche._ =10.= Truchsess-Heim _Kirschensort._ 599, 600, 601. 1819. =11.= _Mich. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 326. 1888. =12.= Mathieu _Nom. Pom._ 356, 357. 1889.
_Large Morello._ =13.= Prince _Pom. Man._ =2=:144. 1832.
_Ratafia Griotte._ =14.= Prince _Pom. Man._ =2=:147. 1832. =15.= Poiteau _Pom. Franc._ =2=: No. 17, Pl. 1846. =16.= Leroy _Dict. Pom._ =5=:299, 300 fig., 301. 1877.
_Northern Griotte._ =17.= Prince _Pom. Man._ =2=:146. 1832. 18. Poiteau _Pom. Franc._ =2=: No. 18, Pl. 1846. =19.= Mortillet _Le Cerisier_ =2=:188 fig. 189, 190. 1866. =20.= _Pom. France_ =7=: No. 15, Pl. 15. 1871. =21.= Thomas _Guide Prat._ 18, 195. 1876. =22.= _Ia. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 331. 1885.
_Colorado Morello._ =23.= Rogers _Cat._ 18. 1900.
English Morello is the best of all its group and is the standard late Sour Cherry in North America, occupying at the close of the season the place held by Montmorency in mid-season for home, market and cannery. It is not a table fruit and can hardly be eaten out of hand until it loses some of its astringency and acidity by thorough ripening. In any way the cherries are prepared by cooking, however, it is one of the best, culinary processes giving the fruits a rich, dark wine color, very attractive in appearance, and a most pleasant, sprightly, aromatic flavor. The fruit is handsome in appearance, bears harvesting and shipping well, is resistant to brown-rot and hangs long on the trees after ripening, often until the last of August if robins can be kept away. Once seen, one may always know the trees. They are small, round-headed, with branches that distinctly droop. To be sufficiently productive an English Morello orchard must be closely set; for, though the trees are vigorous and productive for their size, they are too dwarf to yield heavily. The trees are hardy but not always healthy and are not adapted to as great a diversity of soils as might be wished. The variety distinctly fails in its tree-characters. The demand for English Morello has recently decreased and it is doubtful if it ever regains its popularity of a decade ago. There is a place for a late cherry which English Morello now fills but not sufficiently well.
All of the early pomologists describe a Morello or a Morella but no one of them definitely gives its place of origin. The concensus of opinion is that it originated in either Holland or Germany from whence it was introduced into England and later into France. The early German writers listed a Grosse Lange Lothkirsche which is English Morello. Preceding them, Duhamel described the Grosse Cerise à Ratafia "as one praised for confitures and preserving," which is probably this cherry. Leroy believed English Morello to be the cherry that Mortillet brought to Paris from Holland calling it Griotte du Nord though he thought the variety had been grown in France for many years previous but under another name. It is possible that the term Du Nord originated through its being widely grown as an espalier demanding a northern exposure, rather than as some have thought, because it came from northern Germany. In 1862 English Morello was put on the fruit list of the American Pomological Society where it still remains. Wragg is thought to be identical with this cherry by some and, if not, it differs but little. Northern Griotte and Grosse Lange Lothkirsche, introduced by Budd from Russia, are English Morello. Morris, or Colorado Morello, put out by John Morris of Golden, Colorado, once thought to be distinct, is also English Morello.
Tree small, upright-spreading, with drooping branchlets, dense-topped, productive; trunk slender, rough; branches slender, smooth, dark brown overlaid with dark ash-gray, with numerous small lenticels; branchlets slender, willowy, with short internodes, brownish, smooth, with numerous conspicuous, small, slightly raised lenticels.
Leaves numerous, two and three-fourths inches long, one and one-half inches wide, folded upward, obovate to oval; upper surface dark green, smooth; lower surface light green; apex acute, base variable in shape; margin finely serrate, with small, dark glands; petiole one-half inch long, tinged with dull red, grooved, with from one to three small, globose or reniform, greenish-yellow glands at the base of the blade.
Buds small, short, obtuse, plump, free, arranged singly as lateral buds; leaf-scars obscure; season of bloom late; flowers one inch across, white; borne in scattering clusters in twos and threes; pedicels nearly one inch long, glabrous, greenish; calyx-tube with a faint tinge of red, somewhat campanulate, glabrous; calyx-lobes with a trace of red, obtuse, serrate, glabrous within and without, reflexed; petals distinctly veined, roundish, crenate, sessile, with crenate apex; filaments one-fourth of an inch long; pistil glabrous, shorter than the stamens.
Fruit matures very late; about three-fourths of an inch in diameter, sometimes running larger, roundish-cordate, slightly compressed; cavity shallow, narrow, flaring, regular; suture a shallow groove; apex roundish, with a small depression at the center; color very dark red becoming almost black; dots numerous, small, dark russet, conspicuous; stem slender, one inch long, adhering well to the fruit; skin thin, tender, separating from the pulp; flesh dark red, with dark colored juice, tender and melting, sprightly, tart; of good quality; stone free, small, ovate, slightly flattened and pointed, with smooth surfaces, slightly tinged with red.
FLORENCE
_Prunus avium_
=1.= Prince _Treat. Hort._ 29. 1828. =2.= Kenrick _Am. Orch._ 277. 1832. =3.= Downing _Fr. Trees Am._ 187. 1845. =4.= Thomas _Am. Fruit Cult._ 365. 1849. =5.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 22. 1885.
_Knevett's Late Bigarreau._ =6.= _Lond. Hort. Soc. Cat._ 46. 1831.
_Bigarreau de Florence._ =7.= Leroy _Dict. Pom._ =5=:204 fig., 205. 1877.
_Florence Heart._ =8.= Bunyard-Thomas _Fr. Gard._ 43. 1904.
Florence is a Bigarreau so similar to Yellow Spanish as to be hardly worth planting, since it is, all and all, surpassed by its better-known rival. The fruit hangs on the tree in edible condition an almost phenomenal length of time which has given rise to much divergence of opinion as to its season, some pomologists rating it as early, others as mid-season and still others as late. At Geneva the trees of this variety are not as healthful, vigorous or as fruitful as those of Yellow Spanish, with which it must compete, nor are the cherries quite as fine in appearance or quality.
This variety was found in Florence, Italy, early in the Nineteenth Century by John Houblon, who took it to England from whence it was brought to America. It found a place in 1885 on the fruit list of the American Pomological Society where it remained until 1891, when it was discarded, with quite sufficient reason.
Tree vigorous, upright, open-topped, productive; trunk and branches thick, smooth; branches reddish-brown partly overspread with ash-gray, with numerous lenticels; branchlets thick, long, brown partly covered with ash-gray, smooth, with inconspicuous, raised lenticels.
Leaves numerous, variable in size, averaging four and one-fourth inches long, two and one-fourth inches wide, folded upward, long-oval to obovate, thin; upper surface rather dark green, rugose; lower surface dull light green, thinly pubescent; apex acute, base abrupt; margin coarsely and doubly serrate, glandular; petiole one and three-fourths inches long, thick, pubescent, dull red, with from two to four large, reniform, reddish glands on the stalk.
Buds pointed, plump, free, arranged as lateral buds and grouped in large clusters on numerous short spurs; season of bloom intermediate; flowers one and one-fourth inches across, white; borne in dense clusters in twos and threes; pedicels three-fourths of an inch long, slender, glabrous, greenish; calyx-tube green, obconic, glabrous; calyx-lobes greenish, acute, glabrous within and without, reflexed; petals broad-obovate to oval, entire, with very short, blunt claws, distinctly notched at the apex; filaments nearly one-half inch long; pistil glabrous, usually shorter than the stamens.
Fruit matures early; one inch in diameter, cordate, compressed; cavity deep, wide; suture very shallow; apex somewhat pointed; color reddish over an amber background, marked with indistinct, whitish spots and streaks; dots numerous, small, whitish, inconspicuous; stem one and one-half inches long, adherent to the fruit; skin thin, separating from the pulp; flesh yellowish-white, with colorless juice, tender, meaty, crisp, sprightly, sweet; of very good quality; stone clinging, cordate, flattened, blunt, with roughish surfaces; enlarged along the ventral suture.
GEORGE GLASS
_Prunus cerasus_
=1.= _Mich. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 328, 329. 1888. =2.= _Ia. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 79. 1890. =3.= _Mich. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 245. 1894. =4.= _Ia. Sta. Bul._ =31=:341. 1895. =5.= _Del. Sta. An. Rpt._ =12=:125. 1900. =6.= Budd-Hansen _Am. Hort. Man._ =2=:276, 277. 1903. =7.= _Ia. Sta. Bul._ =73=:70. 1903.
George Glass has been widely heralded as a desirable variety in the Middle West but in New York, where it has passed through a rather lengthy probationary period, practically all who have tried it are ready to declare it worthless. It is of the Amarelle group and cannot compete with the many good varieties of its kinship, as the Early Richmond or the several Montmorencies. Its season is between Early Richmond and Montmorency. As compared with the last-named variety, the standard Sour Cherry, the fruit of George Glass is smaller, sourer, less attractive in appearance and the trees are far less fruitful. Possibly the trees are more hardy, this character commending it for the colder parts of the Mississippi Valley.
The origin of this variety is uncertain but it is supposed to have been introduced into Iowa by immigrants from northeastern Germany. In American collections it has often been confused with Brusseler Braune and Bessarabian and by some is declared to be identical with the latter sort. It is supposed to be a cross between a Duke and a Morello cherry.
Tree large, vigorous, upright-spreading, rather open, hardy, appears unproductive; trunk thick; branches thick, roughened, with numerous conspicuous, raised lenticels; leaves numerous, four inches long, two inches wide, obovate, thick, stiff, dark green; petiole three-fourths of an inch long, tinged with red, with a few hairs along the upper surface, with one or two small, globose, reddish-orange glands, usually at the base of the blade; buds intermediate in size and length; leaf-scars prominent; season of bloom intermediate; flowers one and one-fourth inches across; borne in dense clusters.
Fruit matures in mid-season; three-fourths of an inch long, one inch wide, oblate, compressed; cavity deep; color light red changing to dark red; stem one and one-eighth inches long, adherent to the fruit; skin separating from the pulp; flesh yellowish-white, with abundant colorless juice, stringy, tender and melting, rather mild for a sour cherry; good to very good in quality; stone free, roundish or slightly oblate, plump, blunt, with smooth surfaces; ventral suture prominent.
HEART-SHAPED WEICHSEL
_Prunus cerasus_
=1.= Truchsess-Heim _Kirschensort_. 573-577. 1819. =2.= Dochnahl _Führ. Obstkunde_ =3=:60, 61. 1858. =3.= _Mich. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 328. 1888. =4.= _Wash. Sta. Bul._ =92=:17. 1910.
_Herzförmige Sauerkirsche_. =5.= Christ _Wörterb._ 288. 1802.
_Heart-Shaped Griotte_. =6.= Prince _Pom. Man._. =2=:149. 1832. =7.= Mas _Le Verger_ =8=:103, 104, fig. 50. 1866-73.
This Sour Cherry, of the Morello group, is too poor in quality to recommend it for any purpose. The fruit is scarcely edible until dead ripe and even then is too puckering to eat out of hand with relish. The cherries are very attractive, being large for the kind, heart-shaped, of a handsome, clear, glossy dark purple color and very uniform in all characters. The tree is conspicuous because of its symmetrical shape, large size, round head and its many branches and branchlets. The leaves are characteristically small, as are the flowers, which are further distinguished by very narrow petals. The tree is hardy and productive and quite worth a place on a lawn as an ornamental if not in the garden for its fruit. The variety has several characters to commend it to plant-breeders.
This variety came to light in written records in the early part of the Nineteenth Century in German fruit-books under the name Saure Herzkirsche or Herzkirschweichsel and was highly recommended for its fine flavor. Professor J. L. Budd of Iowa, in one of his European trips, was impressed with its symmetrical habit of growth and its abundant foliage where he found it growing in eastern Europe as a lawn tree. He included it among his importations but it has not proved valuable in the New World.
Tree large, vigorous, upright-spreading, open-topped, unproductive; branches rather slender, smooth except for the large, conspicuous lenticels; branchlets slender, long; leaves numerous, two and three-fourths inches long, one and three-eighths inches wide, obovate to oval, thin, dark green, smooth; petiole over one-half inch long, tinged with red, with from one to three small, globose, greenish-yellow or brownish glands at the base of the blade; buds intermediate in size and length, usually obtuse; season of bloom late; flowers one inch across; borne in scattered clusters; filaments one-fourth inch long; pistil slightly shorter than the stamens, often defective.
Fruit matures in mid-season; about three-fourths of an inch in diameter, roundish-conic, slightly compressed; color very dark, dull red; stem slender, one and one-fourth inches long, adhering to the fruit; skin thin, tough; flesh very dark red, with dark wine-colored juice, tender, rather meaty, very astringent, sour; of poor quality; stone nearly free, small, ovate, flattened, pointed, with roughish and colored surfaces.
HILDESHEIM
_Prunus avium_
=1.= Prince _Pom. Man._ =2=:131. 1832. =2.= Elliott _Fr. Book_ 196. 1854.
_Guignier à Fruit Rouge Tardif._ =3.= Duhamel _Trait. Arb. Fr._ =1=:162. 1768.
_Agathe._ =4.= Knoop _Fructologie_ =2=:37. 1771.
_Doppelttragende Kleine Rothe Spätkirsche._ =5.= Truchsess-Heim _Kirschensort_. 281, 282, 283. 1819.
_Hildesheimer Ganz Späte Knorpelkirsche._ =6.= Truchsess-Heim _Kirschensort_. 321, 322, 323. 1819.
_Late Red Guigne._ =7.= Prince _Pom. Man._ =2=:113. 1832.
_Bigarreau Tardif de Hildesheim._ =8.= Downing _Fr. Trees Am._ 184. 1845.
_Merveille de September._ =9.= Elliott _Fr. Book_ 210. 1854.
_Belle Agathe de Novembre._ =10.= _Ann. Pom. Belge_ =3=:9, Pl. 1855.
_Hildesheimer Späte Knorpelkirsche._ =11.= _Ill. Handb._ 139 fig., 140. 1860.
_Kratos Knorpelkirsche._ =12.= _Ill. Handb._ 59 fig., 60. 1867.
_Schöne Agathe._ =13.= _Ill. Handb._ 63 fig., 64. 1867.
_Bigarreau de Fer._ =14.= Leroy _Dict. Pom._ =5=:199, 200 fig. 1877.
_Belle Agathe._ =15.= Mas _Pom. Gen._ =11=:99, 100, fig. 50. 1882.
_Bigarreau de Hildesheim._ =16.= Hogg _Fruit Man._ 282. 1884.
This variety, one of the oldest, has been called by a great number of names by European writers. The cherry mentioned by Duhamel, in 1768, as a late Guigne with red fruit, otherwise known as Guigne de Fer, can be no other than Hildesheim. The exact origin of the variety has never been known, though it is supposed to have sprung up in the neighborhood of Hildesheim, Prussia. It was brought to America early in the Nineteenth Century, probably by William Prince. With it came some of the numerous foreign names. It seems certain that Late Red Guigne mentioned by Prince was Hildesheim. Ripening late and being small and of rather undesirable texture, Hildesheim did not meet with much favor in America, never being widely disseminated, and has long since passed from cultivation. This variety, under the name Belle Agathe, was propagated in Belgium by M. Thiery about 1852 and for some time was supposed to be a separate sort. The following description is compiled:
Tree very large, vigorous, upright, hardy, an annual bearer, unproductive while young producing good crops later; branches thick, large, long, straight; leaves numerous, of medium size, oval or elongated-oval, acuminate; margin finely and regularly serrate; petiole slender, rather short, tinged red, with large, flattened glands; blooming season early.
Fruit matures very late, usually attached in fives but sometimes in threes and fours; small to medium, roundish-cordate, flattened on one side, somewhat irregular; color yellowish, mottled and marbled with dark red; stem two inches long, slender, somewhat curved; skin thick; flesh pale yellow, slightly tinged with red at the pit, firm, somewhat stringy, rather dry, with uncolored juice, pleasant flavored, sweet; quality good; stone medium to large, with reddish surface, long, compressed.
IDA
_Prunus avium_
=1.= _Gard. Mon._ =20=:270, 271. 1878. =2.= Downing _Fr. Trees Am._ 3rd App. 162. 1881. =3.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 26. 1909.
Ida is a handsome, large, light red cherry resembling Napoleon in shape and Rockport in color, but differing from both in having soft flesh which places it among the Hearts rather than the Bigarreaus. Because of beauty of the fruit, earliness and good tree-characters, Ida promises to become a rather general favorite in home orchards though it falls short of several others of its near of kin in flavor and flesh-characters. It can never take a high place among commercial kinds because the cherries are too soft to handle well, show bruises plainly, are somewhat susceptible to brown-rot and come when better cherries are plentiful. The trees are vigorous, hardy and bear full crops regularly and in various environments. The variety is readily told by the upright habit of growth and by the large lenticels on trunk and branches. Ida has been very well tried as a commercial variety in this State but in the ups and downs of the industry has not held its own with other sorts and can be recommended only for home plantations.
E. H. Cocklin of Shepherdstown, Pennsylvania, grew this variety as a seedling of Cocklin's Favorite, another of his cherries. The cherry was named after his daughter, Ida. It seems to have proved worthy of general culture, as it is now listed by many nurserymen. The American Pomological Society placed Ida on its fruit list in 1909.
Tree large, vigorous, upright, open-topped, somewhat vasiform, very productive; trunk stout; branches very stocky, smooth, light ash-gray over brown, with large, much-raised lenticels; branchlets very stout, short, brown partly covered with ash-gray, roughish, with a few raised lenticels.
Leaves five and one-half inches long, two and one-half inches wide, folded upward, elliptical to obovate, thin; upper surface dark green, smooth; lower surface light green, pubescent along the midrib and larger veins; apex taper-pointed, base acute; margin doubly crenate, with small, black glands; petiole two and one-fourth inches long, thick, tinged with red, somewhat hairy along the grooved upper surface, usually with two large, reniform, reddish glands on the stalk.
Buds large, long, pointed, plump, free, arranged singly as lateral buds and in dense clusters on numerous short spurs, also with many small, round, lateral leaf-buds on the secondary growth; leaf-scars not prominent; blooming in mid-season; flowers white, one and one-fourth inches across; borne in clusters usually in twos; pedicels three-fourths of an inch long, glabrous, greenish; calyx-tube green, whitish within, campanulate, glabrous; calyx-lobes with a tinge of red, acute, reflexed; petals roundish, entire, dentate at the apex, nearly sessile; filaments nearly one-half inch long; pistil glabrous, shorter than the stamens.
Fruit matures early; three-fourths of an inch in diameter, cordate, slightly compressed; cavity deep, flaring, regular; suture a distinct line; apex variable in shape; color amber overspread with light red, mottled; dots numerous, rather large, yellowish, somewhat conspicuous; stem one and one-half inches long; skin thin, separating readily from the pulp; flesh whitish, with colorless juice, tender and melting, mild, sweet; of good quality; stone free or semi-free, roundish, slightly flattened, blunt, with smooth surfaces; with distinct ridges along the ventral suture.
JEFFREY DUKE
_Prunus avium × Prunus cerasus_
=1.= _Lond. Hort. Soc. Cat._ 52. 1831. =2.= _Mag. Hort._ =9=:204. 1843. =3.= Downing _Fr. Trees Am._ 190, 191. 1845. =4.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 74. 1862. =5.= _Mas Pom. Gen._ =11=:119, 120, fig. 60. 1882. =6.= Hogg _Fruit Man._ 302. 1884.
_Royale._ =7.= Duhamel _Trait. Arb. Fr._ =1=:193, 194, Pl. XV. 1768. =8.= Truchsess-Heim _Kirschensort_. 482-484. 1819. =9.= Leroy _Dict. Pom._ =5=:386, 387 fig., 388. 1877.
_Königliche Süssweichsel._ =10.= Truchsess-Heim _Kirschensort_. 427-429. 1819. =11.= _Ill. Handb._ 73 fig., 74. 1867.
_Jeffrey's Royal._ =12.= Floy-Lindley _Guide Orch. Gard._ 99. 1846.
_Royale Hâtive._ =13.= Mortillet _Le Cerisier_ =2=:134-138, fig. 32. 1866.
This old variety, which has almost passed from cultivation, may have had its origin in France about the middle of the Eighteenth Century, though more likely it originated in England much earlier. Leroy mentions a Royale cherry which was introduced from England to France about 1730 and was first grown by M. le Normand in the garden of Louis XV. The name Royale was first used by the French about 1735 from the fact that it was grown in the royal gardens and since that time this name has clung to the variety in most of the French plantations. According to English writers, the variety was brought to notice in England by Jeffrey, proprietor of the Brompton Nursery at Brompton Park, England, and from that time it was known as Jeffrey's Duke. English pomologists maintain that Jeffrey renamed the old Cherry Duke of England, giving it his name. Jeffrey Duke appeared on the American Pomological Society's fruit catalog list in 1862 but was dropped in 1871. It is doubtful if the variety can now be found in America. The following description is compiled from the authors given in the references:
Tree large, vigorous, very upright, unusually compact, slow-growing, productive; branches very numerous, stocky, straight, thickly set with fruit-spurs; internodes short; branchlets very short; buds closely set; leaves numerous, medium in size, oval or obovate, acuminate; margin finely and irregularly serrate; petiole short, slender, with small, flattened or globose glands; blooming season late; flowers small, very open.
Fruit matures in mid-season, usually attached in pairs; medium in size, roundish, slightly flattened at the apex and base; suture a well-marked line; color lively red becoming dark red or almost black when fully ripe; stem slender, inserted in a moderately broad, deep cavity; skin thin; flesh firm but tender, yellowish-amber, with abundant colored juice, slightly stringy, highly flavored; good in quality; stone small, roundish, tinged with red.
KING AMARELLE
_Prunus cerasus_
=1.= _Christ Wörterb._ 293. 1802. =2.= Truchsess-Heim _Kirschensort_. 610-615. 1819. =3.= Liegel _Syst. Anleit._ 174. 1825. =4.= _Ill. Handb._ 533 fig., 534. 1861. =5.= Lauche _Deut. Pom._ =III=: No. 23, Pl. 1882. =6.= _Am. Gard._ =9=:264. 1888. =7.= _Can. Exp. Farm Bul._ 2nd Ser. =3=:62. 1900. 8. _Ia. Sta. Bul._ =73=:72. 1903. =9.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 27. 1909.
_King's Cherry._ =10.= Rea _Flora_ 205. 1676.
King Amarelle is an old European cherry that has taken on new life in America. It is of the Early Richmond type, differing from this standard Amarelle in bearing fruit a little earlier, lighter in color and with a longer stem. The fault which all but condemns the variety as a commercial cherry is the small size of the fruit, the cherries running smaller than those of Early Richmond which, in its turn, is rather too small. The tree is very like that of Early Richmond--quite as vigorous and productive, the same in size and shape and, if anything, a little more hardy. The variety is told from afar in blossoming-time by the peculiar distribution of the flower-clusters, which are numerous and dense but always separated by several inches or a foot of bare wood. King Amarelle can never displace Early Richmond but might be tried where a somewhat hardier cherry is wanted or it might be planted as a substitute where the better-known sort fails.
This variety, of old and uncertain origin, sprang up in France about the same time as the Montmorencies and became confused with them. In both fruit and tree-characters, however, King Amarelle is very different from the Montmorencies, being more like Early May but ripening later and making a larger tree. The cultivation of King Amarelle never became extended in Europe because of the inferior quality of the fruit and poor tree-characters. Professor J. L. Budd brought the variety to America from Russia about 1883. The Royal Amarelle, grown on the Canadian Experiment Station grounds in 1900, is undoubtedly King Amarelle. The American Pomological Society placed it on its list of recommended fruits in 1909.
Tree of medium size and vigor, upright-spreading, open-topped, very productive; trunk roughish; branches rather slender, smooth, reddish-brown overlaid with dark ash-gray; branchlets slender, of medium length, with short internodes, brown partly covered with ash-gray, smooth, with numerous conspicuous, small, raised lenticels.
Leaves three and one-half inches long, one and one-half inches wide, folded upward, obovate, somewhat glossy, thick; upper surface dark green, rugose; lower surface light green, with a few scattering hairs; apex acute, base abrupt; margin finely and doubly serrate, with small, dark glands; petiole one inch long, somewhat slender, lightly tinged with red, with a few hairs on the grooved upper surface and with from one to three small, globose, greenish-yellow glands at the base of the blade.
Buds small, short, obtuse, very free, arranged singly as lateral buds and in clusters on few, short spurs; leaf-scars prominent; season of bloom intermediate; flowers white, one and one-fourth inches across; borne in dense clusters usually in threes; pedicels over one-half inch long, glabrous, greenish; calyx-tube with a tinge of red, obconic, glabrous; calyx-lobes faintly tinged with red, acute, serrate, glabrous within and without, reflexed; petals somewhat obovate, entire, with an entire apex; filaments one-fourth inch long; pistil glabrous, equal to the stamens in length.
Fruit matures early; three-fourths inch in diameter, roundish-oblate, compressed; cavity regular, somewhat abrupt; suture indistinct; apex roundish or flattened; color bright red; dots numerous, small, light russet, rather conspicuous; stem one inch long, adhering to the fruit; skin thin, tender, separating from the pulp; flesh pale yellow, with colorless juice, tender and melting, sprightly; fair to good in quality; stone free, ovate, somewhat flattened, pointed, with smooth surfaces, faintly tinged with red; ridged along the ventral suture.
KIRTLAND
_Prunus avium_
=1.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Sp. Rpt._ 22. 1904-05.
_Kirtland's Mary._ =2.= _Horticulturist_ =2=:123, 124 fig. 21. 1847-48. =3.= Thomas _Am. Fruit Cult._ 365. 1849. =4.= Cole _Am. Fr. Book_ 231. 1849. =5.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Rpt._ 39. 1852. =6.= _Ibid._ 235. 1854. =7.= Elliott _Fr. Book_ 198 fig. 1854. =8.= Hooper _W. Fr. Book_ 262, 263. 1857. =9.= Mas _Le Verger_ =8=:55, 56, fig. 26. 1866-73.
_Mary._ =10.= _Hogg Fruit Man._ 69, 86, 87. 1866.
In the collection of cherries at this Station, Kirtland stands among the best of the Bigarreaus in quality of fruit--in fact is hardly surpassed in richness and delicacy of flavor. The fruit, too, as may be seen from the color-plate, is handsome, the cherries resembling the well-known Napoleon but being a little darker in color. The flesh is firm and meaty and stands handling well and also resists the brown-rot as well as any other cherry. With these splendid qualities of fruit, Kirtland would long ago have been one of the standard commercial cherries were its tree-characters better. Wherever tried, the complaint comes that the trees lack vigor and can be grown successfully only on choice cherry soils and under the best of care. With these faults the variety can be recommended only for home orchards and for local markets where there is demand for a very early Bigarreau, since this variety ripens before most other cherries of its kind.
Kirtland was grown in 1842 by Professor J. P. Kirtland of Cleveland, Ohio, and ranks foremost in quality and appearance of all the seedlings raised by this well-known cherry-breeder. The American Pomological Society, in 1852, mentioned this sort as deserving of further trial and, in 1854, listed it among the varieties of promising fruits. Elliott, in his _Fruit Book_, noted this cherry under the name Kirtland's Mary, in honor of Professor Kirtland's daughter, and classed it as a variety worthy of general cultivation. Hogg, in 1866, dropped the name Kirtland and listed it as Mary, while in the _American Pomological Society's Special Report_ for 1905 it is called Kirtland. According to the rules of pomological nomenclature, Hogg was correct in holding the name Mary but, since there is another Mary and no worthy sort bearing the name of so eminent a horticulturist as Professor Kirtland, this Station follows the American Pomological Society in the use of Kirtland.
Tree small, rather weak, upright-spreading, open-topped, productive; trunk and branches slender, smooth; branches reddish-brown partly overspread with ash-gray, with numerous lenticels; branchlets thick, brown almost entirely overspread with ash-gray, smooth except for the longitudinal, conspicuous, raised lenticels.
Leaves five inches long, two and one-fourth inches wide, folded upward, elliptical to obovate, thin; upper surface medium green, somewhat glossy, smooth; lower surface light green, thinly pubescent; apex acute, base abrupt; margin doubly serrate, with small, dark glands; petiole one and three-fourths inches long, slender, tinged with red, lightly pubescent along the upper side, with two or three reniform, reddish glands on the stalk.
Buds pointed, plump, free, arranged singly as lateral buds or on numerous, very short spurs in clusters variable in size; leaf-scars prominent; blooming in mid-season; flowers white, one and one-fourth inches across; borne in dense clusters; pedicels one inch long, pubescent, reddish-green; calyx-tube tinged with red, light green within, campanulate, glabrous; calyx-lobes reddish, obtuse, glabrous within and without, reflexed; petals roundish-oval, entire, with short, broad claws and a notched apex; filaments in four series, the longest one-half inch; pistil glabrous, shorter than the stamens.
Fruit matures in mid-season; three-fourths of an inch in diameter, cordate, compressed; cavity wide, flaring; suture a more or less distinct line; apex roundish or pointed, with a small depression at the center; color amber overspread with bright red; dots numerous, small, grayish, conspicuous; stem one and three-fourths inches long, adhering to the fruit; skin tough; flesh whitish, with colorless juice, tender, meaty, with a pleasant and refreshing flavor; very good to best in quality; stone free, small, roundish-ovate, with smooth surfaces; ridged along the ventral suture.
KNIGHT
_Prunus avium_
=1.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 26. 1909.
_Knight's Early Black._ =2.= _Lond. Hort. Soc. Cat._ 52. 1831. =3.= _Prince Pom. Man._ =2=:120. 1832. =4.= _Proc. Nat. Con. Fr._ Gr. 52. 1848. =5.= Dochnahl _Führ. Obstkunde._ =3=:19. 1858. =6.= Mortillet _Le Cerisier_ =2=:83. 1866. =7.= _Mas Pom. Gen._ =11=:85, 86, fig. 43. 1882.
_Knights Frühe Herzkirsche._ =8.= _Ill. Handb._ 3 fig., =4.= 1867.
This old English variety has long been popular in America, where it is generally known as Knight's Early Black, this name having been shortened by the American Pomological Society to Knight. Possibly Knight is to be found in dooryards and home gardens in Eastern United States as often as any other Sweet Cherry with the exception of Black Tartarian. The characters which give it popularity are excellent quality, handsome appearance because of its glossy, dark purple color and uniformity in color, shape and size, and its earliness, it being the earliest good Sweet Cherry. Unfortunately, even in the best soil and under the most painstaking treatment, the cherries run small, a defect for American markets. The small size also leads to comparatively low yields even though the fruits are often borne in prodigious numbers. Knight, in size, color and flavor, is much like Black Tartarian but the cherries are smaller and ripen earlier. As the trees grow on the grounds of this Station they are about all that could be desired in a Sweet Cherry. The trees are characteristically marked by smooth bark which is dotted with large lenticels. There are now better sweet varieties than Knight for most purposes but still this old variety has too many merits, especially for home grounds, to be wholly forgotten.
Knight comes from a seed of May Duke crossed with Yellow Spanish by T. A. Knight, Downton Castle, Wiltshire, England, about 1810. The new variety sprang into prominence almost immediately, being mentioned by French, German and English writers. Knight is still one of the well-recognized sorts in Europe and America and has appeared continuously on the fruit list of the American Pomological Society since 1848. Mathieu has included several synonyms under this head which we question as we believe they belong to the Guigne Noir Hâtive, a distinct variety though very similar.
Tree of medium size, upright-spreading, open-topped, very productive; trunk stocky, variable in smoothness; branches smooth, light reddish-brown nearly overspread with ash-gray, with small lenticels; branchlets thick, brown lightly covered with ash-gray, variable in smoothness, with small, raised, inconspicuous lenticels.
Leaves numerous, five and one-half inches long, two and one-half inches wide, folded upward, obovate to long-oval, thin; upper surface dark green, rugose; lower surface light green, thinly pubescent; apex and base variable in shape; margin doubly serrate, with small, dark glands; petiole two inches long, slender, tinged with red, with a shallow groove and with few hairs, with two or three large, reniform, reddish glands, usually on the stalk.
Buds long, conical or pointed, plump, free, arranged singly as lateral buds and in small clusters on spurs variable in length; leaf-scars prominent; season of bloom intermediate; flowers white, one and one-fourth inches across; borne in dense clusters, usually in twos; pedicels one inch long, slender, glabrous; calyx-tube green, campanulate, glabrous; calyx-lobes lightly tinged with red, long, acute, glabrous within and without, reflexed; petals oval, entire, deeply notched at the apex; filaments nearly one-half inch long; pistil glabrous, equal to the stamens in length.
Fruit matures early; three-fourths of an inch in diameter, cordate to conical; cavity wide, rather abrupt; suture indistinct; apex flattened, with a small depression at the center; color dark reddish-black, obscurely mottled; dots numerous, small, russet, obscure; stem slender, one and one-half inches long, adhering well to the fruit; skin thin, tender, separating from the pulp; flesh dark red, with dark colored juice, tender, meaty, mild, sweet; of good quality; stone free except along the ventral suture, small, roundish-ovate, with smooth surfaces.
LAMBERT
_Prunus avium_
=1.= _U. S. D. A. Pom. Rpt._ 24. 1894. =2.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 24. 1899. =3.= _U. S. D. A. Yearbook_ 307-309, Pl. 31. 1907.
Nowhere else in America, possibly nowhere else in the world, can the Sweet Cherry be grown as well as in Oregon and Washington. From these States, more particularly Oregon, several meritorious cherries have been added to pomology. One of the best of these is Lambert, now a standard sort in its native State but still on probation in Eastern America. Lambert is a Bigarreau, a seedling of Napoleon by Black Heart, and a worthy rival of its parents in most respects and superior in some. In appearance, Lambert is more like its male than its female parent, having much the same shape and color, but it is larger, more rotund, smoother, clearer and brighter--one of the handsomest of the dark-colored Sweets. The flesh and flavor leave little to be desired; the flesh is purplish-red marbled with lighter red, firm, meaty and juicy, with a sweet, rich flavor that at the first taste one marks very good. The tree is strong, vigorous, healthy and usually fruitful and regular in bearing. The fruit sets in great, loose clusters--often a dozen or more cherries to the fruit-spur. The leaves are remarkably large and dark green, the foliage betokening the vigor of the variety. Lambert is well worthy thorough testing for either home or market wherever the Sweet Cherry can be grown.
Lambert originated as a seedling under a Napoleon tree which was planted by the late Henderson Lewelling[80] about 1848 in the orchard of J. H. Lambert, Milwaukee, Oregon. This seedling, supposed to have been a cross between Napoleon and Black Heart, was grafted to May Duke and later transplanted. About 1880, the top died and a sprout from the seedling stock formed a new top. Mr. Lambert gave the new variety his name and in 1895 turned over his stock to the Oregon Horticultural Society with the exclusive right to propagate. The variety was placed on the fruit list of the American Pomological Society in 1899 where it still remains.
Tree medium to large in size and vigor, upright-spreading, very productive; branches smooth, dull reddish-brown, with numerous small lenticels; branchlets thick, long, dark reddish-brown nearly covered with ash-gray, smooth, glabrous, with a few inconspicuous lenticels.
Leaves four and one-fourth inches long, two and one-half inches wide, folded upward, oval to obovate, thin; upper surface medium green, smooth; lower surface light green, lightly pubescent; apex acute, base abrupt; margin doubly serrate, glandular; petiole one and one-half inches long, dull red, glandless, or with from one to three rather small, globose, reddish glands on the stalk.
Buds large, pointed or conical, free, arranged singly as lateral buds or in small clusters on short spurs; leaf-scars prominent; season of bloom intermediate, short; flowers one and one-fourth inches across, white; borne usually in twos; pedicels three-fourths of an inch long, glabrous, greenish; calyx-tube green, campanulate, glabrous; calyx-lobes long, broad, obtuse, finely serrate; petals roundish, entire, with short claws and with dentate apex; filaments one-half inch long; pistil glabrous, equal to the stamens in length.
Fruit matures in mid-season; one inch in diameter, roundish-cordate, compressed; cavity rather deep, slightly flaring; suture shallow, often a mere line; apex roundish, depressed at the center; color very dark red changing to reddish-black; dots numerous, small, russet, obscure; stem tinged with red, slender, one and one-fourth inches long, adherent to the fruit; skin thin, adhering to the pulp; flesh dark red, with scant dark red juice, meaty, firm, pleasant flavored, sweet; of very good quality; stone clinging, large, wide, ovate, flattened, blunt, oblique, with smooth surfaces; prominently ridged along the ventral suture.
[80] Little is known of the early life of Seth and Henderson Lewelling. They were of Welsh ancestry and both were born in Salem, North Carolina, Henderson on the 25th of April, 1809, and Seth on the 6th day of March, 1819. Henderson died in California December 28th, 1878, while Seth died in Milwaukee, continued: Oregon, February 21st, 1897. When the boys were still very young their parents moved from North Carolina to Ohio and founded the town of Salem in Ross County; later they moved to Indiana where their father established a nursery and became one of the pioneer fruit-growers of what was then the West and here again they founded a town of Salem. We next hear of Henderson Lewelling in Salem, Henry County, Iowa, the town of his naming, with the statement that in 1837 he planted a small nursery of 35 varieties of apples and some peach, plum and cherry trees.
The history of the Lewellings now becomes more definite for we have it from Seth Lewelling[81] (we spell the name as does he and not "Luelling" as do many in writing of him) that in March, 1847, Henderson Lewelling planted an assortment of apples, pears, peaches, plums and cherries and loaded them into two wagons and started to Oregon. This traveling nursery was on the road from March to November and one can imagine the labor of watering and caring for the trees in this trip across mountains and plains. Henderson Lewelling formed a partnership with William Meek under the firm name of Meek & Lewelling, Milwaukee, Oregon. Seth joined his brother in the fall of 1850 bringing with him from the East a considerable quantity of fruit seed. For the next few years their nursery operations were on a large scale, over 100,000 grafts being planted in 1853. From time to time they made new importations of plants and fruit seeds from the East. Seth says that his brother quit the business and moved to California in 1853 and we hear no more of him until his death in 1878. In 1857, the partnership between Meek and Seth Lewelling was dissolved leaving the latter the owner of the Milwaukee nurseries. It was in 1860 that Seth Lewelling raised his first seedling cherry, the Republican, called by him Black Republican, which was sold to George Walling of Oswego and Mr. Hanson of East Portland, the proceeds bringing Lewelling $500. Mr. Lewelling counts the Republican and Bing cherries and the Golden Prune as his most notable contributions to pomology.
The Lewellings are types of fruit-breeders who have done noble work for pomology in the settlement of all our states--men of for indomitable courage and will who have bred and grown fruits throughout their lives in spite of every adversity. Few other men labored longer and more devotedly to improve the cherry than Seth Lewelling.
[81] _Oregon St. Bd. Hort. An. Rpt._ =2=:242. 1893.
LARGE MONTMORENCY
_Prunus cerasus_
=1.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 22. 1885. =2.= _Ibid._ 25. 1899. =3.= _Del. Sta. An. Rpt._ =12=:110, 114. 1900. =4.= _Am. Gard._ =22=:266, 267. 1901.
_Flemish._ =5.= Bradley _Gard._ 211. 1739. =6.= _Lond. Hort. Soc. Cat._ 49. 1831. =7.= Thompson _Gard. Ass't_ 530. 1859.
_Grosse Glaskirsche von Montmorency._ =8.= Truchsess-Heim _Kirschensort_. 465-470. 1819. =8.= Dochnahl _Führ. Obstkunde_ =3=:54, 55. 1858. =10.= _Ill. Handb._ 165 fig., 166. 1860.
_Short Stem Montmorency._ =11.= Prince _Pom. Man._ =2=:139, 140. 1832. =12.= _Ia. Sta. Bul._ =73=:75. 1903.
_Grosser Gobet._ =13.= _Ill. Handb._ 543 fig., 544. 1861.
_Montmorency._ =14.= Mortillet _Le Cerisier_ =2=:195 fig. 54, 196, 197. 1866.
As its synonyms show, Large Montmorency has been grown under various names in Europe and America--a testimony to its merits. Were it not that the true Montmorency is so much more fruitful than this larger-fruited offshoot of the same race of Amarelle cherries, Large Montmorency would be a leading commercial Sour Cherry, for it is equal to the smaller-fruited strain in all other characters with the advantage of size. The relationship between this and the other Montmorencies is apparent but Large Montmorency is easily distinguished by several marked characters from the common Montmorency, known by all, with which it is most often confused. Its fruits are more often borne singly, are larger, have a shorter, thicker stem, are more oblate and ripen a little earlier. The trees are more upright, with stouter branches and are far less fruitful. The flesh-characters of the two kinds are much the same--excellent in both, the flavor being particularly refreshing to those who like the acidity of the Sour Cherry. Large Montmorency has been tried and found so wanting in productiveness that it can rarely be recommended as a commercial variety but it is much too good a fruit to be wholly lost and should be grown by connoisseurs who want a large, finely flavored Sour Cherry.
This variety has been much confused with other cherries, particularly Montmorency, Early Richmond and Short Stem Montmorency. Bradley, in 1739, mentioned a Flemish cherry which undoubtedly was the Large Montmorency of today, for the name Flemish has rather commonly been applied to this sort since Bradley's time. There is no doubt but that Large Montmorency sprang up about the same time as the true Montmorency, in the Montmorency Valley in France. It may have been a seedling of the Cerise Hâtive, afterwards known as Early Richmond, though some writers are of the opinion that the Montmorencies and Cerise Hâtive were all seedlings of the old Cerise Commune. At any rate, there have come to be at least three distinct types of Montmorency: the true Montmorency with long stems and moderate-sized fruit, called Montmorency à Longue Queue or, in America, Montmorency Ordinaire; the Large Montmorency with its large fruit and shorter, thicker stems, commonly known by the French and German writers as Montmorency à Gros Fruit, Gros Gobet, Grosse Glaskirsche von Montmorency and sometimes as Montmorency à Courte Queue; and the Short-Stem Montmorency, often called Montmorency à Courte Queue and sometimes Gros Gobet. Large Montmorency has often been sold for Montmorency, or for Early Richmond, hence the three varieties are more or less confused. Large Montmorency probably came to America about the same time as Montmorency and Early Richmond, early in the Nineteenth Century. In 1875, Ellwanger & Barry, Rochester, New York, disseminated this sort quite extensively but later it proved too unproductive for commercial use. It was soon replaced by the true Montmorency but often the names were interchanged and large forms of the Montmorency were thought to be this variety. The unproductiveness of this cherry has been consistently mentioned by nearly every writer from Duhamel's time to the present. Large Montmorency was added to the American Pomological Society's catalog list of fruits in 1885 as Montmorency Large but in 1899 this name was changed to Large Montmorency.
Tree rather large, vigorous, upright, vasiform, unproductive; trunk thick, roughened; branches stocky, nearly smooth, reddish-brown overspread with dark ash-gray, with numerous large, raised, conspicuous lenticels; branchlets thick, short, brown tinged with bronze, smooth except for the large, numerous yellowish, conspicuous, raised lenticels.
Leaves numerous, three and one-half inches long, one and three-fourths inches wide, folded upward, broad-oval to obovate, thick, stiff; upper surface dark green, slightly rugose; apex acute, base variable in shape; margin serrate, glandular; petiole one inch long, tinged with dull red, glandless or with from one to three globose, yellow or brownish glands, usually at the base of the blade.
Buds usually pointed, plump, free, arranged singly as lateral buds and in small clusters on short spurs; leaf-scars prominent; season of bloom intermediate; flowers white, one inch across; borne in scattering clusters, usually in threes; pedicels five-eighths inch long, glabrous, green; calyx-tube tinged with red, obconic, glabrous; calyx-lobes with a trace of red, long, broad, acute, serrate, glabrous within and without, reflexed; petals obovate, entire or slightly crenate, sessile, with a crenate apex; filaments one-fourth inch long; pistil glabrous, equal to or longer than the stamens, often defective.
Fruit matures in mid-season; three-fourths of an inch in diameter, oblate, compressed; cavity wide, flaring; suture shallow; apex flattened or depressed; color dark red; dots numerous, small, russet, somewhat conspicuous; stem thick, one inch long, adhering fairly well to the fruit; skin thick, separating from the pulp; flesh whitish, showing distinctly the fibers in the pulp, with abundant colorless or slightly tinged juice, tender and melting, sprightly, pleasant flavored, tart; of very good quality; stone free, roundish, plump, with smooth surfaces, tinged with red.
LATE DUKE
_Prunus avium_ × _Prunus cerasus_
=1.= _Pom. Mag._ =1=:45, Pl. 1828. =2.= _Lond. Hort. Soc. Cat._ 48, 49, 55, 56. 1831. =3.= Prince _Pom. Man._ =2=:134, 135. 1832. =4.= _Hort. Reg._ (Eng.) =1=:257, fig. 1833. =5.= Downing _Fr. Trees Am._ 191 fig. 80. 1845. =6.= _Mag. Hort._ =13=:397 fig. 33, 398. 1847. =7.= _Gard. Chron._ 556. 1848. =8.= Hovey _Fr. Am._ =1=:37, 38, Pl. 1851. =9.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 74. 1862.
_Wahre Englische Kirsche._ =10.= Christ _Handb._ 682. 1797. =11.= Christ _Wörterb._ 284. 1802. =12.= Truchsess-Heim _Kirschensort_. 405-410. 1819. =13.= Dochnahl _Führ. Obstkunde_ =3=:50. 1858. =14.= _Ill. Handb._ 499 fig., 500. 1861.
_Späte Herzogenkirsche._ =15.= Truchsess-Heim _Kirschensort_. 434-437. 1819.
_Anglaise Tardive._ =16.= Mortillet _Le Cerisier_ =2=:179-181, fig. 48. 1866. =17.= Mas _Le Verger_ =8=:67, 68, fig. 32. 1866-73.
Late Duke is a variant of the well-known May Duke, ripening from two weeks to a month later. The size, color, flavor and season of the fruit all commend it, as do the vigor, health and fruitfulness of the trees. The cherries are not quite as sweet as those of May Duke, a little more marbled in color of skin and ripen through a longer season. The trees are readily told from those of the earlier Duke, being more open and spreading, scanter of foliage, with slender branches and with fruit more thickly clustered along the branchlets. Ripening in a season when hybrid varieties are gone or rapidly going, Late Duke is a valuable acquisition in the home orchard and for nearby markets to which tender-fleshed varieties can be shipped. If those who want late cherries will plant this variety on a northern slope, against a northern wall or where in any way shaded or in a cool soil, these delicious cherries can be had until well toward August. The tree is hardy and its blossoming-time is late so that the variety is well adapted to northern latitudes.
The origin of this variety is unknown. In 1797, Christ mentions "a true English cherry" which is probably Late Duke. At least Oberdieck, in 1861, states that the true English cherry is identical with the Late Duke, or Anglaise Tardive. In 1823, Late Duke was introduced into England by the London Horticultural Society from M. Vilmorin, of Paris, under the name Anglaise Tardive. Though the French name of this variety seems to indicate an English origin, the old English writers were not aware of any cherry of this kind being in existence in England previous to its introduction by the Horticultural Society. Because of the close resemblance of Late Duke to May Duke it has often been confused with that sort and by some writers was supposed to be a late strain of May Duke. The American Pomological Society listed Late Duke in its fruit catalog in 1862.
Tree vigorous, upright-spreading, becoming spreading at maturity, open-topped, productive; trunk and branches slender; branches brown overlaid with dark ash-gray, with numerous small lenticels; branchlets slender, short, reddish-brown, with ash-gray scarf-skin, with numerous conspicuous, small, raised lenticels.
Leaves numerous, three inches long, one and three-fourths inches wide, folded upward, obovate, thick; upper surface very dark green, smooth; lower surface light green, with a few scattering hairs; apex abruptly pointed; margin doubly crenate, with small, dark glands; petiole one inch long, lightly tinged with red, grooved and somewhat hairy on the upper surface, glandless or with one or two small, reniform, greenish glands, usually at the base of the blade.
Buds small, short, obtuse or conical, plump, free, arranged singly and in clusters; leaf-scars prominent; season of bloom late; flowers white, one inch across; borne in numerous, dense clusters, in twos, threes and fours; pedicels one inch long, slender, glabrous, green; calyx-tube reddish, campanulate; calyx-lobes broad, obtuse, serrate, reflexed; petals roundish, entire, almost sessile; filaments one-fourth inch long; pistil glabrous, equal to the stamens in length.
Fruit matures very late; one inch in diameter, blunt-cordate, somewhat compressed; cavity wide; suture shallow; color dark red; stem slender, one and one-half inches to two inches long, deeply inserted; flesh amber-colored, with abundant juice, tender, rich, sprightly subacid; stone semi-clinging, medium to large, roundish-ovate, compressed.
LATE KENTISH
_Prunus cerasus_
=1.= Downing _Fr. Trees. Am._ 197. 1845. =2.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 27. 1909.
_Kentish Red._ =3.= Coxe _Cult. Fr. Trees_ 249. 1817.
_Pie Cherry._ =4.= Thomas _Am. Fruit Cult._ 371. 1849.
_Red Pie Cherry._ =5.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Rpt._ 103. 1852.
_Kentish._ =6.= Elliott _Fr. Book_ 217. 1854.
This old cherry served well the needs of Americans in colonial times when all cherries were grown from pits or suckers. Though but little improvement on the wild _Prunus cerasus_, the trees were so hardy, vigorous, healthy and productive that any who had a bit of spare land could have cherries. This, therefore, became preeminently the "pie cherry" of New England and the North Atlantic States. The trees are long-lived and even so late as a generation ago Downing says that this variety is "better known among us than any other acid cherry, especially abundant on the Hudson and near New York." The variety is never planted now, having long since been superseded by better sorts, Early Richmond and Montmorency in particular, but it is still to be found as old trees or self-sown near where a tree of the variety formerly stood.
Late Kentish and Early Richmond, the latter the Kentish of some authors, are much confused. Late Kentish is the old Pie Cherry of Colonial times. It is a seedling sort belonging to America, having been planted along fences and roadsides in the earliest times. This cherry is mentioned by the Pilgrims in 1620 and this and the May Duke were listed as market varieties in Massachusetts. Many believe it to be a seedling of Early Richmond, sometimes, as we have seen, called Kentish, but this variety being two weeks later, received the name Late Kentish. The name was put on the fruit list of the American Pomological Society in 1873. The following description is a compilation:
Tree small, bears annually, very productive, hardy.
Fruit matures about two weeks after Early Richmond; medium or below in size, roundish, flattened; stem one inch to one and one-half inches in length, stout, straight; color deep, lively red; flesh light colored, with abundant colorless juice, very tender, sour, remaining quite acid even when fully ripe; stone does not adhere to the stalk.
LITHAUER
_Prunus cerasus_
=1.= _Mich. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 328. 1888. =2.= _Can. Exp. Farm Bul._ =17=:9. 1892. =3.= _Mich. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 245. 1894. =4.= _Del. Sta. An. Rpt._ =12=:128. 1900. =5.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Sp. Rpt._ 33. 1904-05. =6.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 27. 1909.
It is barely possible that Lithauer, if the trees can be obtained, may have some value in the coldest and bleakest parts of New York where less hardy sorts cannot be grown. The variety is too poor in quality to be worth planting where the better but less hardy cherries will grow. We greatly doubt whether it is worthy a place in the recommended list of fruits of the American Pomological Society. It is included here only because of the prominence given it by a place in the fruit list named.
This is one of the varieties imported from Russia by Professor J. L. Budd of Iowa, who reported that it was much grown in southwest Russia for drying and in making cherry wine. As tested in various parts of this country Lithauer has proved of little value except in the extreme north. The American Pomological Society, in 1909, listed this sort in its catalog of recommended fruits for northern fruit regions. The following description is compiled:
Tree large, vigorous, tall, weeping, hardy.
Fruit matures from the middle to the last of July; small, roundish, slightly oblate; stem long, averaging one and one-half inches, slender; color dark purplish-red becoming almost black at maturity; skin thick, tough; flesh dark red, with reddish juice, firm, meaty, quite acid or bitter even when fully ripe; poor in quality; stone variable in size, roundish.
LOUIS PHILIPPE
_Prunus avium_ × _Prunus cerasus_
=1.= Elliott _Fr. Book_ 218. 1854. =2.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 74. 1862. =3.= _Horticulturist_ =22=:289, 290 fig. 1867. =4.= Thomas _Guide Prat._ 26, 195. 1876. =5.= _Cult. & Count. Gent._ =42=:378. 1877. =6.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 27. 1909.
Here again we have a very evident hybrid between some Sweet Cherry and a Sour Cherry of the Morello type in which Morello characters are most prominent. If the description and color-plates of this variety and Olivet be compared it will be found that the two cherries are nearly identical. They differ only in season of ripening and in minor tree-characters which may be best summarized by the statement that this cherry has in the tree more of the aspect of a Morello than has Olivet. It may be suspected that one or the other of the two varieties on our grounds is misnamed but the descriptions of all who have described the two show that they are very similar, if not identical. The history of Louis Philippe, long known in America but little or not at all known in Europe, throws some light on the question of its distinctness from Olivet, the origin of which is known, inasmuch as Louis Philippe seems to be the older of the two. The value of the two varieties to cherry-growers is the same and is indicated in the discussion of Olivet.
Elliott,[82] the American pomologist, imported Louis Philippe from France in 1846 but the cherry does not seem to have been known at that time in Europe and it is possible that Elliott gave it its name. For the first few years the variety was not given the recognition it deserved but, in 1862, it was recognized by the American Pomological Society by a place on its list of recommended fruits which it still holds under the name, Philippe.
Tree vigorous, upright-spreading, open-topped; trunk and branches intermediate in thickness; branches with numerous very large, elongated, raised lenticels.
Leaves numerous, four and one-half inches long, two and one-eighth inches wide, oval to obovate, thick, leathery; upper surface dark, shiny green, smooth; lower surface olive-green, with a large, prominent midrib; apex taper-pointed; margin finely serrate, with reddish-brown glands; petiole one inch long, usually with one or two large, globose, yellowish-red, glands, variable in position.
Flowers one and one-fourth inches across, white, well distributed, mostly in threes; pedicels one inch long, thick, glabrous, greenish; calyx-tube green, obconic, glabrous; calyx-lobes broad, obtuse, glabrous within and without, reflexed; petals slightly obovate, entire, broad, slightly notched at the apex; stamens one-fourth inch long; pistil glabrous, equal in length to the stamens.
Fruit matures in mid-season or later; nearly one inch in diameter, roundish-ovate; cavity abrupt; suture very shallow to a mere line; apex flattened, depressed; color very dark red; dots numerous, unusually small, obscure; stem one and one-fourth inches to one and one-half inches long, adhering well to the fruit; flesh light red, with much wine-colored juice, fine-grained, tender and melting, sour at first, becoming pleasantly tart at full maturity; good in quality; stone separates readily from the flesh, small, roundish-ovate, plump; ventral suture grooved; dorsal suture with a small ridge.
[82] Elliott's _American Fruit Growers Guide_, published in 1858 and dedicated to Professor Jared P. Kirtland, was one of the notable pomological books of its day. Cherry growers, in particular, owe Elliott a debt of gratitude for the publicity that he gave to Kirtland's cherries, having described in his book 20 of the sorts originated by Professor Kirtland. Beside his fruit book he published _Popular Deciduous and Evergreen Trees_ (1868), _Handbook for Fruit-growers_ (1876) and _Handbook of Practical Landscape Gardening_ (1877). He also served pomologists well for many years, at various times, from 1850 to 1873, as the secretary of the American Pomological Society. Franklin Reuben Elliott was born in Guilford, Connecticut, April 27, 1817. We know, from complimentary speeches, accepted by Elliott, that he was a descendant of John Eliot, "The Apostle of the Indians." As a young man he engaged with a brother in New York as an importer of dry goods, the firm being rated at half a million dollars. Financial ruin came through a disastrous fire and, in 1836, Elliott went to Newburgh and was employed by A. J. Downing from whom he imbibed his knowledge and much of his love for pomology and horticulture. A roving disposition and dissipated habits led him to leave Downing for a position with a relative near Cincinnati who was a market-gardener. A ready pen seems from this time on to have been his chief means of livelihood for we find him successively in Cleveland, Ohio, and St. Louis, Missouri, in newspaper work; after a few years in each place he wandered to Washington where he was employed in the Agricultural Department of the Patent Office illustrating American fruits. From his hand in the Patent Office reports and from his fruit book, came some of the most accurate and beautiful representations of the fruits of this continent. It is probable that while in Washington he began work on his _Fruit Growers Guide_, the time for which, he tells us in his preface, took ten years. Social infirmities seem to have cost him his position in Washington and his last employment was with the _Cleveland Herald_, after which comes the record of his death and burial in a pauper's grave January 10, 1878. One of the most brilliant pomologists of his time, his career seems again and again to have been checked by the weaknesses of his life; even so, he rendered horticulture valuable services for which we must give him gratitude and honor.
LUTOVKA
_Prunus cerasus_
=1.= _Ia. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 328. 1885. =2.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 17. 1897. =3.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Sp. Rpt._ 32, 33. 1904-05. =4.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 27. 1909.
_Galopin._ =5.= Thomas _Guide Prat._ 21. 1876. =6.= _Kan. Sta. Bul._ =73=:189. 1897.
For a time Lutovka and Galopin were listed as two distinct varieties. Unquestionably they are the same despite the seeming difference in origin. All we know of Galopin is that it was said to have been originated by a nurseryman in Belgium whose name it bears. The Lutovka was introduced into this country by J. L. Budd of Iowa, in 1883, and, according to the introducer, was well known in Poland and Silesia as a roadside tree. Nothing is said of it in foreign literature. As was the case with many of Budd's importations, this variety did not stand the test of culture. It is a shy bearer and is now seldom recommended, although it was placed on the list of desirable fruits of the American Pomological Society in 1897 where it still remains. The variety has no value in New York. In 1895, this Station sent out buds which they had been led to believe were the Lutovka and which they later found to be Brusseler Braune. The following description is compiled:
Tree large, upright, slightly spreading; leaves large, ovate, leathery, produced from short spurs along the main branches.
Fruit ripens the forepart of July; medium to above in size, roundish-oblate; suture often a line, sometimes lacking; stem short, stout, set in a large, deep cavity; skin dark, clear red, thin, tough, translucent; flesh colorless, meaty, juicy, slightly acid; quality good; pit large, roundish, free.
LYONS
_Prunus avium_
_Bigarreau de Lyon._ =1.= _Mag. Hort._ =16=:358. 1850. =2.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Rpt._ 61, 62 fig. 1854.
_Bigarreau Jaboulay._ =3.= Hogg _Fruit Man._ 74. 1866. =4.= Mortillet _Le Cerisier_ =2=:100 fig. 20, 101. 1866. =5.= Mas _Le Verger_ =8=:17, 18, fig. 7. 1866-73. =6.= _Pom. France_ =7=: No. 16, Pl. 16. 1871. =7.= Leroy _Dict. Pom._ =5=:213 fig., 214. 1877. =8.= _Flor. & Pom._ 117. 1878.
_Early Lyons_. =9.= _Flor. & Pom._ 193, fig. 1. 1875. =10.= Hogg _Fruit Man._ 294, 295. 1884.
_Early Jaboulay._ =11.= Hogg _Fruit Man._ 294. 1884.
Of the one hundred and twenty-five cherries tested on the grounds of this Station during the past ten years, Lyons is one of the best. Though grown for nearly a century in Europe it seems never to have been well tried in America probably because it has not been considered particularly valuable in the Old World. From its behavior at this Station it appears to deserve extensive trial as an extra early market cherry for dessert purposes, as it is one of the few tender-fleshed cherries that give promise of standing handling for distant markets. Though commonly classed as a hard-fleshed Bigarreau it is really an intermediate between the firm-of-flesh cherries and the soft-fleshed Hearts. In the tree it is a typical Bigarreau. Besides being one of the earliest of the Heart-like cherries it is one of the largest, handsomest and best flavored. Unfortunately, because of an accident, we cannot show a color-plate of this splendid cherry. On these grounds the tree-characters are about all that could be desired, though we are making allowance for a slight lack of productiveness in the young tree which is one of the faults commonly attributed to Lyons by European writers; however, all agree that the trees become fruitful with age. The blossoms of this variety are conspicuously large and showy, with pistils unusual in being longer than the stamens. The merits of Lyons have been so pronounced in the several years we have watched it that we feel quite warranted in recommending it for both home and commercial orchards.
About 1822, M. Jaboulay, a nurseryman at Oullins, near Lyons, France, grafted over a number of seedling cherries which had sprung up on his grounds. Five years later, having decided to dig out the trees, he was attracted by the superb growth made by one of them upon which the graft had not started and ordered the tree to be saved. This tree produced a full crop of exceedingly large and attractive fruit which matured far in advance of other varieties. Jaboulay decided to save all the grafts for propagation the succeeding year but found upon going to the tree the following spring that the wood had been stolen. About five years later M. Riviére, also a nurseryman at Oullins, placed upon the market at Lyons a very early cherry which he called Bigarreau Anglaise but which was recognized as the same as the one found by Jaboulay. Thus have come the several names given in the synonyms. Lyons has never been much grown in this country. Lewis B. Eaton of Buffalo, New York, in importing cherry trees from France in 1841 and 1842, found among them one without a label which turned out to be Bigarreau de Lyon, later the Lyons. Trees of this variety were received for testing at this Station from the United States Department of Agriculture under the name Hâtive de Lyons. These, as grown here, have proved identical in both tree and fruit characters with the many descriptions of Bigarreau Jaboulay, or Bigarreau de Lyon.
Tree vigorous, a rapid grower, upright-spreading; branches straggling, reddish-brown; branchlets thick, long, with long internodes, grayish-brown, with numerous rather large, conspicuous, raised lenticels.
Leaves numerous, variable in size, averaging five and one-half inches long, two and one-half inches wide, folded upward, long-elliptical to obovate, thin; upper surface dark green, smooth; lower surface light green, with few hairs; apex distinctly elongated, base abrupt; margin coarsely serrate, with small, dark glands; petiole often two inches long, thickish, pubescent on the upper surface, glandless or with from one to six large, reniform, reddish glands usually on the stalk.
Buds large, long, conical, free, arranged singly as lateral buds and in small, scattering clusters; leaf-scars obscure; season of bloom intermediate; flowers large, often one and one-half inches across, white; borne in dense clusters, in twos and threes; pedicels one inch long, glabrous, green with a trace of red; calyx-tube distinctly reddish, somewhat obconic, glabrous; calyx-lobes strongly tinged with red, broad, acute, glabrous within and without, reflexed; petals obovate, entire, tapering to distinct but short claws; apex entire or with a shallow, wide notch; filaments five-sixteenths of an inch long; pistil glabrous, equal to or longer than the stamens.
Fruit matures early; one inch in diameter, cordate, compressed; cavity flaring; suture shallow, or a mere line, often extending around the fruit; apex roundish or pointed; color very dark red; dots numerous, small, russet; stem thick, one and one-half inches long; skin thin, rather tender, separating from the pulp; flesh reddish, with dark colored juice, meaty, sprightly, sweet; of very good quality; stone semi-clinging, large, ovate, plump, with smooth surfaces; ridged along the ventral suture.
MAGNIFIQUE
_Prunus avium × Prunus cerasus_
=1.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 27. 1909.
_Belle et Magnifique._ =2.= Kenrick _Am. Orch._ 279, 280. 1832. =3.= _Ibid._ 239. 1841.
_Belle Magnifique._ =4.= Downing _Fr. Trees Am._ 193. 1845. =5.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 54. 1852. =6.= Elliott _Fr. Book_ 191. 1854. =7.= Downing _Fr. Trees Am._ 272. 1857. =8.= _Soc. Nat. Hort. France Pom._ 82 fig., 83. 1904.
_Belle de Magnifique._ =9.= _Ann. Pom. Belge_ =1=:61, fig. 1. 1853. =10.= _Pom. France_ =7=: No. 19, Pl. 19. 1871.
_Belle de Chatenay._ =11.= _Ill. Handb._ 179 fig., 180. 1860. =12.= Mortillet _Le Cerisier_ =2=:175-178, fig. 48. 1866. =12.= Mas _Le Verger_ =8=:57, 58, fig. 27. 1866-73. =13.= Mathieu _Nom. Pom._ 334, 343. 1889. =14.= _Guide Prat._ 9, 181. 1895.
This good, old cherry has never been considered a commercial fruit in the United States; yet it is, and has been, surprisingly popular with nurserymen, most of whom for nearly a century have offered it for sale. A generation ago, when American fruit-growing was in the hands of connoisseurs, Magnifique was more popular than now. It has failed as a commercial cherry because the crop ripens very unevenly, there being sometimes green and fully ripe cherries on the tree at the same time, though the season is usually given as very late. This is one of the lightest in color of the hybrid Dukes, the Sour Cherry parent very evidently having been an Amarelle--a conclusion to which both fruit and tree point. The quality is usually counted as very good though it is too acid to be a first-rate dessert cherry for some. The trees are very vigorous and usually are fruitful. Magnifique has been grown so long that its place in the orchard would seem to have been fixed by experience; yet it might be made more than a cherry for the home orchard if some commercial grower would plant it in a shaded place and a cool soil and thereby retard ripening time until other cherries were gone.
This valuable cherry was brought to notice in 1795 by Chatenay, surnamed Magnifique, a nurseryman near Paris. It seems, at first, to have been quite commonly called Belle de Chatenay but Belle de Magnifique became the commoner appellation ending in America at least with the universal name "Belle Magnifique." The variety was introduced into America from France sometime before 1830, by General H. A. S. Dearborn, Boston, Massachusetts, President of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society. The cherry is typically a Duke sort and is so listed by most writers, though Downing in 1845 placed it with the Morello cherries. Magnifique was placed upon the fruit list of the American Pomological Society in 1852 where it has since remained.
Tree large, vigorous, upright-spreading, dense, productive; trunk and branches stocky, brown overlaid with dark gray; branchlets with many, small conspicuous lenticels.
Leaves numerous, three and one-half inches long, two inches wide, obovate to oval, thickish; upper surface dark green, slightly rugose; lower surface finely pubescent; apex abruptly pointed, base variable in shape; margin finely serrate, with small, dark glands; petiole one inch long, tinged with dull red, grooved on the upper surface and with a few hairs, glandless or with one or two small, reniform, greenish glands usually at the base of the leaf.
Buds obtuse or conical, plump, free, arranged as lateral buds or in rather dense clusters on short spurs; leaf-scars obscure; season of bloom late; flowers white, one inch across, wide open; borne in dense clusters on short spurs, usually in threes or fours; pedicels one inch long, slender, glabrous, light green; calyx-tube greenish, campanulate, glabrous; calyx-lobes broadly and shallowly dentate, glabrous within and without, reflexed; petals obovate, entire, with very short claws, indented at the apex; filaments one-fourth inch long; pistil glabrous, equal to the stamens in length.
Fruit matures late; nearly one inch in diameter, cordate; cavity rather deep; suture very shallow; color pale red changing to bright red; dots numerous, small, russet, conspicuous; stem one and one-fourth inches long; skin thick, tough, adherent to the pulp; flesh whitish, with abundant colorless juice, fine-grained, meaty but tender, pleasantly tart, sprightly; very good in quality; stone free, small, oval, plump, slightly pointed, with smooth surfaces; slightly notched near the base of the ventral suture.
MAY DUKE
_Prunus avium_ × _Prunus cerasus_
=1.= _Bradley Gard._ 211. 1739. =2.= Duhamel _Trait. Arb. Fr._ =1=:194. 1768. =3.= Prince _Pom. Man._ =2=:133, 134. 1832. =4.= _Gard. Chron._ 57. 1843. =5.= Cultivator N. S. =2=:319 fig. 93. 1845. =6.= Downing _Fr. Trees Am._ 191, 192 fig. 81. 1845. =7.= Bridgeman _Gard. Ass't Pt._ =3=: 53, 54. 1847. =8.= _Proc. Nat. Con. Fr. Gr._ 52. 1848. =9.= Elliott _Fr. Book_ 211. 1854. =10.= McIntosh _Bk. Gard._ =2=:542, 543. 1855. =11.= _Mas Le Verger_ =8=:133, 134, fig. 65. 1866-73. =12.= Hogg _Fruit Man._ 305, 306. 1884. =13.= _Guide Prat._ 8, 195, 196. 1895.
_Duke Cherry._ =14.= Ray _Hist. Plant._ =2=:1540. 1688.
_May Cherry._ =15.= Miller _Gard. Dict._ =1=:1754. =16.= Mortillet _Le Cerisier_ =2=:138-140, fig. 33. 1866.
_Rothe Maikirsche._ =17.= Christ _Handb._ 669. 1797. =18.= Christ _Wörterb._ 282. 1802. =19.= Truchsess-Heim _Kirschensort._ 377-389. 1819. =20.= _Ill. Handb._ 151 fig., 152. 1860. =21.= Mas _Le Verger_ =8=:135, 136, fig. 66. 1866-73. =22.= _Lauche Deut._ Pom. III: No. 16, Pl. 1882. =23.= Mathieu _Nom. Pom._ 374. 1889.
_Royale Hâtive._ =24.= Poiteau _Pom. Franc._ =2=: Nos. 23, 24, Pl. 1846. =25.= _Pom. France_ =7=: No. 4, Pl. 4. 1871. =26.= Leroy _Dict. Pom._ =5=:389 fig., 390, 391. 1877.
_Royale Cherry Duke._ =27.= Mas _Pom. Gen._ =11=:127, 128, fig. 64. 1882.
_Esel Kirsche._ =28.= _Ohio Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 22. 1892-93.
_Anglaise Hâtive._ =29.= _Soc. Nat. Hort. France Pom._ 78 fig., 79. 1904.
May Duke is one of the oldest and, the world over, one of the most popular cherries. There are several reasons why it has attained and holds its popularity. It is finely flavored, especially when prepared for the table, and even before ripe; it is also delicious to eat out of hand if the cherries are dead ripe, when it is one of the best of the subacid cherries; while one of the earliest of its class, it may be left to hang for a month or six weeks, becoming daily sweeter and more aromatic; few or no cherries thrive in greater variations of soil and climates, this fact accounting in greatest measure for its world-wide distribution in temperate regions; despite its tender flesh, it ships well though it is grown only for local markets since its long period of ripening makes necessary several pickings--a fatal defect for a canning cherry or one for the general trade; lastly, the trees are as fruitful as any, and are hardy, vigorous and healthy. The fruit is remarkably well distributed in dense clusters on trees characteristically upright and vasiform and bearing a heavy canopy of dark green, luxuriant foliage. May Duke fills a particular place in the cherry orchard as a fruit for the local market and hundreds of new-comers have not been able to supplant it. The fact that it has lost none of its pristine vigor, health and productiveness in the two hundred and more years it has been known contradicts the idea that varieties of fruit degenerate or wear out with age. When we pass in review all of the varieties of cherries, all characters and purposes considered, May Duke remains one of the best.
This variety seems to have been first mentioned by Ray in 1688. May Duke is supposed by some English writers to have originated in a district in France known as Médoc and the name to have been derived from the place. When this cherry first received attention, the old style of reckoning time was in vogue and the 11th of June was the last day of May. It may, therefore, be presumed that the variety derived its name from its season of ripening rather than from a corruption of Médoc. A few years ago Professor J. L. Budd of Iowa imported from Russia several cherries among which was one called Esel Kirsche. Later this cherry was distributed by the United States Department of Agriculture. As grown on the grounds of this Station, Esel Kirsche has proved to be May Duke. In Ohio the two could not be distinguished and with this evidence we have listed Esel Kirsche as a synonym of May Duke. In 1832, William Prince mentioned May Duke as being among the first of the cherries introduced to America from Europe. From the references to this variety in the horticultural literature and in the nursery catalogs throughout the United States we may say that it is one of the most widely distributed and best-known cherries in the country. The American Pomological Society placed May Duke on its fruit catalog list in 1848.
Tree large, upright becoming somewhat vasiform and spreading with age, open-topped, very productive; trunk of medium thickness, somewhat shaggy; branches smooth or roughish, reddish-brown partly covered with ash-gray, with numerous lenticels variable in size; branchlets short, brown partly covered with light gray, smooth, with small, inconspicuous, raised lenticels.
Leaves numerous, three and one-half inches long, two inches wide, folded upward, obovate; upper surface very dark green, rugose; lower surface thinly pubescent; apex abruptly pointed, base acute; margin finely serrate, with small, dark glands; petiole one inch long, slender, tinged with red, grooved, glandless or with one or two small, globose, brownish glands, usually at the base of the blade.
Buds obtuse, plump, free, in large clusters on short spurs; leaf-scars prominent; season of bloom intermediate; flowers white, one and one-fourth inches across; borne in dense clusters, in twos and threes; pedicels one inch long, slender, glabrous, greenish; calyx-tube with a tinge of red, obconic, glabrous; calyx-lobes with a trace of red, rather long, narrow, acuminate, glabrous within and without, reflexed; petals broad-oval, entire, nearly sessile; apex crenate; filaments one-fourth inch long; pistil glabrous, equal to the stamens in length.
Fruit matures early, although variable in habit; three-fourths of an inch in diameter, cordate to conical, compressed; cavity abrupt, regular; suture indistinct; apex roundish, with a small depression at the center; color light changing to dark red at full maturity; dots numerous, russet, obscure; stem slender, one and one-half inches long, adhering strongly to the fruit; skin thin, tender, separating from the pulp; flesh medium to dark red, with pinkish juice, tender and melting, sprightly subacid, pleasant flavored; of very good quality; stone nearly free, small, roundish to elliptical, with smooth surfaces; slightly ridged along the ventral suture.
MERCER
_Prunus avium_
=1.= _U. S. D. A. Rpt._ 262, Pl. 5. 1892. =2.= _Am. Gard._ =14=:39 fig. 1893. =3.= _Can. Hort._ =17=:322 fig. 693. 1894. =4.= Black & Son _Cat._ 22 fig. 1909.
This comparatively new Bigarreau is on probation in many parts of the State and country, otherwise we should not give it prominence in _The Cherries of New York_, as the variety is all but worthless as it grows on the grounds of this Station. The trees are not sufficiently fruitful, the cherries are too small, the flavor in none too good and the fruit is not at all resistant to brown-rot--four fatal defects for a commercial cherry.
This variety is reported to have sprung from a pit of a Mazzard tree and was introduced several years ago by Black & Son of Hightstown, New Jersey. The name, Mercer, after the county in New Jersey from which it was introduced, was given the cherry by H. E. Van Deman, then United States Pomologist.
Tree vigorous, healthy, not always productive; branches long, grayish-brown, smooth, with a few small, inconspicuous lenticels.
Leaves numerous, four and one-half inches long, two and one-fourth inches wide, folded upward, long-oval, leathery; upper surface dark green, smooth; lower surface light green, pubescent, grooved along the midrib; apex taper-pointed, base abrupt; margin coarsely and doubly serrate, glandular; petiole one and one-half inches long, tinged with dull red, thick, with from two to five very large, reniform, reddish glands, variable in position.
Buds of medium size and length, conical, plump, free; leaf-scars rather prominent; season of bloom early; flowers one and one-fourth inches across, in scattering clusters in twos and threes; pedicels three-fourths inch long, glabrous; calyx-tube green or faintly tinged red, campanulate, glabrous; calyx-lobes greenish streaked with red along the edges, long, obtuse, glabrous within and without, reflexed; petals broad-oval, entire, slightly indented at the apex, tapering to short, blunt claws; filaments one-half inch long, shorter than the petals; pistil glabrous, shorter than the stamens.
Fruit matures in mid-season; small, cordate to blunt-conic, compressed; cavity shallow, narrow, abrupt; suture an indistinct line; apex flattened or depressed; color black; dots small, numerous, obscure; stem slender, one and one-fourth inches long, adherent to the fruit; skin thin, rather tender; flesh reddish, with dark colored juice, tender, meaty, crisp, aromatic, mild flavored, sweet; fair to good in quality; stone free or semi-clinging, variable in size, ovate, flattened, blunt-pointed, with smooth surfaces, tinged with red.
MEZEL
_Prunus avium_
=1.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 26. 1909.
_Bigarreau Monstrueux._ =2.= _Lond. Hort. Soc. Cat._ 46. 1831.
_Bigarreau of Mezel._ =3.= _Horticulturist_ =1=:475 fig., 476. 1846-47. =4.= Mortillet _Le Cerisier_ =2=:107 fig., 108. 1866. =5.= Downing _Fr. Trees Am._ 454. 1869. =6.= Leroy _Dict. Pom._ =5=:218 fig., 219. 1877.
_Great Bigarreau._ =7.= _Horticulturist_ =6=:20 fig., 21. 1851. =8.= Downing _Fr. Trees Am._ 253. 1857.
_Monstreuse de Mezel._ =9.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 74. 1862.
_Schwarze Knorpel von Mezel._ =10.= Mathieu _Nom. Pom._ 377. 1889.
Mezel seems to have made a stir in pomological circles in the middle of the Nineteenth Century by reason of the great size and beautiful appearance of the cherries. Though on the recommended list of the American Pomological Society and frequently spoken of in the pomological works of the day and offered by some nurserymen, we have not been able to find many trees of this variety now growing in New York. We glean from the literature that Mezel pleased the eye more than the palate and that the trees, while vigorous and healthy, were not productive. At any rate after a decade or two of much advertising and what would seem to have been a very thorough trial, Mezel failed to receive very general approbation from cherry-growers and has now almost passed from cultivation. Contrary to the general behavior of the variety in New York, the tree and fruit from which the accompanying description was made have so many merits that one can well wish that the variety will not wholly pass out of cultivation.
This variety was found at Mezel, Puy-de-Dôme, France, by M. Ligier sometime prior to 1846 when it was brought to notice. Even so, it had grown in a vineyard at that place for thirty years and was only made public after an excursion of several members of a horticultural society to the vineyard. It was immediately heralded as a coming variety and grafts were distributed. Great Bigarreau, which made its appearance a few years later, is here included as a synonym though many writers list it as a distinct sort. Bigarreau Monstrueux, first listed in the London Horticultural Society catalog for 1831, is held by many pomologists to be identical with Mezel which, if true, casts some doubt on the generally accepted history of the variety. Mezel appeared on the fruit list of the American Pomological Society in 1862 but was discarded in 1869; it was replaced in 1883 and is still on the list though it is scarcely known in any part of the United States.
Tree large, vigorous, upright-spreading, hardy, variable in productiveness; trunk stocky, nearly smooth; branches thick, smooth, reddish-brown partly overspread with dark ash-gray, with lenticels medium in number and size; branchlets of average thickness, variable in length, with internodes of medium length, brown partly covered with ash-gray, smooth, glabrous, with small, inconspicuous, raised lenticels medium in number.
Leaves numerous, five inches long, often two and one-half inches wide, long-oval, thin; upper surface dark green, strongly rugose giving a crumpled appearance; lower surface dull, light green, with slight pubescence; apex varies from abrupt to taper-pointed, base abrupt; margin glandular, coarsely serrate; petiole long, averaging one and one-half inches, slender, tinged with red, with from one to four reniform glands of medium size on the petiole.
Buds intermediate in size and length, plump, pointed, arranged singly as lateral buds or in clusters of various sizes on both long and short spurs; leaf-scars prominent; season of bloom intermediate; flowers one and seven-sixteenths inches across, well distributed in scattering clusters in twos and threes; pedicels one and one-eighth inches long, medium in thickness, glabrous, greenish; calyx-tube with a slight tinge of red, campanulate, glabrous; calyx-lobes long, medium in width, acute, slightly serrate, glabrous within and without; petals somewhat obovate, crenate, nearly sessile, with a very shallow notch at the apex; anthers yellow; filaments shorter than the petals; pistil glabrous, shorter than the stamens, often defective.
Fruit matures in mid-season; large, seven-eighths inch long, thirteen-sixteenths inch wide, cordate, compressed, the surface markedly irregular and broken into ridges; cavity very deep, wide, irregular, abrupt; suture variable, shallow to very deep and wide and at times double; apex blunt-pointed, usually not depressed; color attractive purplish-black; dots numerous, very small, somewhat russet, obscure; stem medium in thickness, long, averaging two and one-eighth inches, adheres well to the fruit; skin medium in thickness, rather tender but not inclined to crack, adheres slightly to the pulp; flesh purplish-red, with abundant dark red juice, tender, meaty, mild, very pleasant, sweet; very good to best in quality; stone clinging, large, strongly ovate, with slightly roughish surface.
MONTMORENCY
_Prunus cerasus_
=1.= Duhamel _Trait. Arb. Fr._ =1=:181, 182. 1768. =2.= Kraft _Pom. Aust._ =1=:6, Tab. 15 fig. 1. 1792. =3.= Christ _Wörterb._ 292. 1802. =4.= Truchsess-Heim _Kirschensort_. 656, 657, 691. 1819. =5.= Kenrick _Am. Orch._ 281. 1832. =6.= Poiteau _Pom. Franc._ =2=: No. 14, Pl. 1846. =7.= Mas _Le Verger_ =8=:53, 54, fig. 25. 1866-73. =8.= _Pom. France_ =7=: No. 3, Pl. 3. 1871. =9.= Leroy _Dict. Pom._ =5=:361, 362 fig., 363, 364. 1877. =10.= Mathieu _Nom. Pom._ 369. 1889. =11.= _Guide Prat._ 9, 196. 1895. =12.= _Del. Sta. An. Rpt._ =12=:112 fig. 4, 113, 114. 1900. =13.= _Am. Gard._ =22=:266, 267. 1901. =14.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 27. 1909.
_Kleine Glaskirsche von Montmorency._ =15.= Truchsess-Heim _Kirschensort_. 463, 464, 465. 1819.
_Long Stem Montmorency._ =16.= Prince _Pom. Man._ =2=:139. 1832.
_Amarelle Royale._ =17.= Mortillet _Le Cerisier_ =2=:191-195, fig. 53. 1866.
_Montmorency Ordinaire._ =18.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 17. 1897. =19.= _Ia. Sta. Bul._ =73=:75, fig. 15. 1903. =20.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Sp. Rpt._ 33, 34, Pl. 2. 1904-05.
Montmorency is the most popular Sour Cherry grown in America. No one questions its supremacy. Probably half of the cherry trees in New York, Sweet or Sour, are Montmorencies and at least three-fourths of all the trees of the Sour Cherry are of this variety. It leads in the demands for this fruit in the markets, for the cannery and for home use as a culinary cherry. Several characters give it first place. It is surpassed by no other Sour Cherry, in New York at least, in vigor, health and productiveness of tree. In the last character, in particular, it is supreme. Year in and year out, Montmorency trees are fruitful. Possibly, too, no other Sour Cherry is adapted to a greater diversity of soils than Montmorency, which, with capacity to stand heat and cold, makes the variety suitable to wide variations in environment. The cherries are in no way remarkable--not much above the average for an Amarelle in size, appearance or quality, in all of these characters being much inferior to Large Montmorency. The fruit has the advantage of being presentable in appearance and fit for culinary purposes several days before it is fully ripe and this adds to the value of the variety for the market. Brown-rot takes less toll from this cherry than of others of its kind probably because of relatively firm flesh and thick skin. These characters, also, make the fruit stand handling well in harvesting, shipping and on the markets. The preserved product, whether canned at home or commercially, is attractive in appearance and very good. Montmorency is not a dessert cherry but for those who like Sour Cherries it may be eaten out of hand with relish when it is fully matured. Some maintain that the variety falls short in the size of the tree, which is seldom more than medium, but the head is spreading and much-branched and the fruit is borne in clusters thickly scattered throughout the whole head so that the total yield from a tree is greater than would be thought from its size. For any and all purposes to which Sour Cherries are put Montmorency may be recommended as the best in its season.
Unfortunately several quite distinct cherries bear the name Montmorency and it has been most difficult to separate them in pomological literature. To make matters worse, all of them have been much confused with other varieties, Early Richmond in particular. The different Montmorencies and Early Richmond originated in the Montmorency Valley, France, several centuries ago, at least before the Seventeenth Century, probably as seedlings of Cerise Hâtive or of Cerise Commune. These Montmorency cherries differ from each other principally in their stems and fruit, one having long stems and moderate-sized, regular fruit; one shorter stems and larger fruit; and the third, very short, thick stems and oblate, irregular fruit showing a distinct suture. The first cherry has been generally known, particularly among the French, as Montmorency à Longue Queue or sometimes Cerise de Montmorency. This is the Montmorency of this sketch. Duhamel, in 1768, was the first writer to mention this cherry directly and according to his statement it was then esteemed around Paris, being superior in productiveness to the Large Montmorency.
Montmorency early found its way into England, where it soon became confused with its probable parent, the French Cerise Hâtive or the English Kentish. In a short time it had replaced Kentish in many nurseries and came to be called Kentish in much of the literature of the time. Just when Montmorency was introduced to this country is not known but it has been cultivated here under various names for many years. William Prince spoke of it in 1832 as the Long Stem Montmorency and it has long and commonly been known here as Montmorency Ordinaire. Montmorency is to be found in nearly every nursery in the United States under various names, some nurserymen using the French name, others the English, while still others are selling the variety as Large Montmorency. Many supposed strains have been given new names but it is doubtful if any distinct strains of this cherry exist. The American Pomological Society added Montmorency to its fruit catalog list in 1897 using the qualifying term Ordinaire which was dropped in 1909.
Tree large, vigorous, upright-spreading, with the lower branches inclined to droop, round-topped, productive; trunk and branches smooth; branches reddish-brown tinged with light ash-gray, with a few lenticels of medium size; branchlets slender, reddish-brown partly overspread with ash-gray, smooth, with a few small, inconspicuous lenticels.
Leaves three inches long, one and one-half inches wide, folded upwards or flattened, oval to obovate, leathery; upper surface dark green, smooth; lower surface pale green, with a few scattering hairs; apex and base variable in shape; margin doubly crenate, glandular; petiole one inch long, tinged with dull red, glandless or with from one to three small, globose, brownish or yellowish glands, usually at the base of the blade.
Buds obtuse, plump, free, arranged singly or in clusters on short spurs; leaf-scars obscure; season of bloom intermediate; flowers white, one and one-fourth inches across; borne in scattered clusters in twos and threes; pedicels one inch long, glabrous, greenish; calyx-tube green, obconic, glabrous; calyx-lobes tinged with red, broad, serrate, glabrous within and without, reflexed; petals roundish to obovate, crenate, with short, blunt claws and shallow, crenate apex; filaments one-fourth inch long; pistil glabrous, equal to or slightly longer than the stamens.
Fruit matures in mid-season; three-fourths of an inch in diameter, roundish-oblate, slightly compressed; cavity abrupt; suture very shallow; apex roundish; color light to rather dark red; dots numerous, small, russet, inconspicuous; stem thick, usually with a faint tinge of red, one inch long, adhering well to the fruit; skin thin, tender, separating from the pulp; flesh pale yellow, with a reddish tinge, with abundant light pink juice, tender and melting, sprightly, tart; of very good quality; stone free, small, roundish-ovate, flattened, pointed, with smooth surfaces which are tinged with red.
NAPOLEON
_Prunus avium_
=1.= Prince _Treat. Hort._ 30. 1828. =2.= Kenrick _Am. Orch._ 273, 274. 1832. =3.= Downing _Fr. Trees Am._ 183. 1845. =4.= Thomas _Am. Fruit Cult._ 365. 1849. =5.= _Ann. Pom. Belge_ =1=:27, 28, fig. 2. 1853. =6.= Elliott _Fr. Book_ 215. 1859. =7.= Thompson _Gard. Ass't_ 527. 1859. =8.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 74. 1862. =9.= Mortillet _Le Cerisier_ =2=:132. 1866. =10.= Downing _Fr. Trees Am._ 470. 1869. =11.= _Pom. France_ =7=: No. 9, Pl. 9. 1871. =12.= Leroy _Dict. Pom._ =5=:219, 220 fig., 221. 1877. =13.= _Flor. & Pom._ 57, Pl. 465. 1878. =14.= Mas _Pom. Gen._ =11=:109, 110, fig. 55. 1882. =15.= _Cornell Sta. Bul._ =98=:493, fig. 87. 1895. =16.= _Ont. Fr. Gr. Assoc. Rpt._ =5=:38 fig. 1898.
_Gros Bigarreau Blanc._ =17.= Duhamel _Trait. Arb. Fr_. =1=:165. 1768. =18.= Truchsess-Heim _Kirschensort_. 308-310. 1819. =19.= Mortillet _Le Cerisier_ =2=:123-126, fig. 29. 1866. =20.= Leroy _Dict. Pom._ =5=:179, 180 fig., 181. 1877. =21.= Mathieu _Nom. Pom._ 354. 1889.
_Lauermannskirsche._ =22.= Christ _Handb._ 664. 1797. =23.= Christ _Wörterb._ 280. 1802. =24.= Truchsess-Heim _Kirschensort_. 292-295, 323-328. 1819. =25.= Mathieu _Nom. Pom._ 367. 1889.
_Lange Marmorkirsche._ =26.= Christ _Handb._ 655. 1797. =27.= Truchsess-Heim _Kirschensort_. 330-333. 1819.
_Holländische Grosse Prinzessinkirsche._ =28.= Christ _Wörterb._ 281. 1802. =29.= Truchsess-Heim _Kirschensort_. 295-299. 1819. =30.= _Ill. Handb._ 125 fig., 126. 1860. =31.= Mas _Pom. Gen._ =11=:117, 118, fig. 59. 1882. =32.= Mathieu _Nom. Pom._ 357. 1889.
_Harrison's Heart._ =33.= Forsyth _Treat. Fr. Trees_ 42. 1803. =34.= Brookshaw _Hort. Reposit._ =1=:69, 70, Pl. 34 fig. 2. 1823. =35.= Mas _Le Verger_ =8=:145, 146, fig. 71. 1866-73. =36.= Mathieu _Nom. Pom._ 362. 1889.
_Grosse Weisse Marmorkirsche._ =37.= Truchsess-Heim _Kirschensort_. 316, 317, 682. 1819.
_Holland Bigarreau._ =38.= Downing _Fr. Trees Am._ 181 fig., 182. 1845.
_Bigarreau d'Esperen._ =39.= Mortillet _Le Cerisier_ =2=:119, 120 fig., 121. 1866. =40.= Downing _Fr. Trees Am._ 463. 1869. =41.= Mas _Le Verger_ =8=:11, 12, fig. 4. 1866-73. =42.= Leroy _Dict. Pom._ =5=:198 fig., 199. 1877. =43.= Mathieu _Nom. Pom._ 347. 1889. =44.= _Rev. Hort._ 321, 322. 1912.
_Bigarreau Gros Coeuret._ =45.= Mortillet _Le Cerisier_ =2=:126-129, fig. 30. 1866. =46.= _Pom. France_ =7=: No. 23, Pl. 23. 1871. =47.= Leroy _Dict. Pom._ =5=:208, 209 fig., 210. 1877.
_Royal Ann._ =48.= _Cal. Bd. Hort. Rpt._ 59, Pl. 18. 1893-94. =49.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Rpt._ 192. 1907. =50.= _Wash. Sta. Bul._ =92=:31, fig. 8. 1910.
Napoleon is the leading firm-fleshed Sweet Cherry. It takes its place by virtue of the large size, handsome appearance and high quality of the fruit and the phenomenal productiveness of the trees. The accompanying plate shows well the large size and beautiful color of the cherries--unsurpassed in either character by any other Bigarreau and possibly by any other cherry. The flavor is rich and sweet which, with the abundant juice and firm, crackling flesh, makes this a most delicious and refreshing cherry for dessert and, with the great size and attractive color, gives it preference over all other Sweet Cherries for culinary purposes. In particular, cherry-canners find that Napoleon makes a finely finished product. The cherries carry well and keep long and are, therefore, well thought of by fruit-dealers. Besides being very productive, the trees come in bearing early and are as vigorous, hardy and healthy as those of any other Sweet Cherry. They may usually be known by their upright growth and large, sturdy limbs. Napoleon, however, is not without its faults. The cherries crack badly in wet weather and the variety can be grown with certainty only in the dry summer climate of the Pacific Coast, where, especially in Oregon and Washington, it reaches truly wonderful perfection. In the East, too, Napoleon is more susceptible to brown-rot than several of its rivals. Possibly the greatest fault, however, is in the tree, which is very fastidious as to soils, thriving only in choice cherry land and in a congenial cherry climate. Despite these rather serious faults, cherry-growers agree that Napoleon takes first place among Sweet Cherries for both home and commercial plantings.
Napoleon is of unknown origin. Early in the Eighteenth Century it was grown by the Germans, French, Dutch and English, proof that it is a very old variety. Leroy believes that it was described by Merlet in 1667 but under another name. The great number of synonyms in several languages gives some idea of the countries in which the variety has been grown as well as the esteem in which it has been held. There are several accounts as to when the cherry was given the name Napoleon. Probably the best authenticated is that in which it is held that Parmentier, a Belgian, gave the cherry the name of the famous emperor in 1820. When the variety was taken to England, where at that time Napoleon was not in good repute, the name of his conqueror, Wellington, was substituted but seems to have been little used. As if not content with the score or more of European names, cherry-growers in America have added at least two more. In many parts of the country it is locally called the Ox Heart. On the Pacific Coast it is grown and sold by nurserymen and fruit-growers alike as Royal Ann, a name given it by its introducer, Seth Lewelling, of Milwaukee, Oregon, who lost the label bearing the old name in taking it across the Continent in early days and gave it a new name. With incomprehensible persistency Western horticulturists maintain this synonym to the confusion of horticultural nomenclature. The American Pomological Society placed Napoleon on its fruit list in 1862, it having been grown in America for at least 40 years before receiving this honor.
Tree large, vigorous, upright-spreading, open-topped, very productive; trunk thick, shaggy; branches thick, roughened by the lenticels, dull brown overlaid with ash-gray, with numerous large, raised lenticels; branchlets thick, long, light brown overspread with gray, smooth, with a few inconspicuous, small lenticels.
Leaves numerous, five and three-fourths inches long, two and one-half inches wide, folded upward, elliptical to obovate; upper surface dark green, rugose; lower surface light green, somewhat pubescent; apex acute, base variable in shape; margin doubly serrate, with small, dark glands; petiole one and one-fourth inches long, thick, tinged with dull red, hairy along the upper surface, with from one to three large, reniform, reddish-orange glands, usually on the stalk.
Buds variable in size, conical, free, arranged singly or in thin clusters from lateral buds and from spurs; leaf-scars prominent; season of bloom intermediate; flowers white, one and one-half inches across; borne in scattering clusters in ones or in twos; pedicels variable in length, averaging one inch long, glabrous, greenish; calyx-tube green, campanulate, glabrous; calyx-lobes tinged with red, long, rather narrow, acuminate, serrate, reflexed; petals oval, entire, dentate at the apex, with short, narrow claws; filaments one-half inch long; pistil glabrous, shorter than the stamens, often defective.
Fruit matures in mid-season; over one inch in diameter, conical to long-cordate, compressed; cavity deep, wide, flaring; suture a distinct line; apex much pointed; color, varying shades of bright red over a yellowish background, distinctly mottled; dots obscure; stem slender, more than one inch long, adherent to the fruit; skin thin, rather adherent; flesh whitish, with a faint yellow tinge, with colorless juice, tender, meaty, crisp, mild, the flavor improving as the season advances, sweet; good to very good in quality; stone semi-clinging, small, ovate, flattened, pointed, with smooth surfaces.
NOUVELLE ROYALE
_Prunus avium_ × _Prunus cerasus_
=1.= _Flor. & Pom._ 72, Pl. 1862. =2.= _Gard. Mon._ =7=:248. 1865. =3.= Hogg _Fruit Man._ 70, 88. 1866. =4.= Mas _Le Verger_ =8=:147, 148, fig. 72. 1866-73. =5.= Downing _Fr. Trees Am._ 484. 1869. =6.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Rpt._ 31. 1875. =7.= Gaucher _Pom. Prak. Obst._ No. 80, Tab. 33. 1894. =8.= _Guide Prat._ 9. 1895.
If this cherry were to be judged by its behavior on the grounds of this Station, it would be called one of the best of the hybrid Dukes. In particular, it would be commended by its product, the trees not making as good a showing as the fruit. The cherries are distinguished by their large size, dark red color, glossy surface, good quality, lateness in maturity and, even more particularly, sweetness, keeping in mind that the variety is a hybrid and not a true Sweet Cherry. The shape, too, offers a distinguishing character, the fruits being more oblate than in any other Duke. The long, stout stem is still another characteristic. Unfortunately the tree, while satisfactory in all other respects, is unproductive--a fatal fault in these days of commercial fruit-growing. Nouvelle Royale is not widely known in America and may well be given trial by those who want a late Duke.
This variety is supposed from its fruit- and tree-characters to be a hybrid between Early Richmond and May Duke but where, how and when it came to light is not known. Downing, in 1869, mentions the Nouvelle Royale as having recently been introduced into this country and it was noted in the Report of the American Pomological Society for 1875 but has never received a place upon the Society's fruit catalog list.
Tree large, vigorous, upright, compact, moderately productive; trunk of medium size; branches upright, thickish; branchlets slender, long, brown partly covered with ash-gray, with very numerous conspicuous, raised lenticels.
Leaves numerous, three and one-half inches long, two inches wide, folded upward, obovate; upper surface dark green, glossy, rugose; lower surface light green, lightly pubescent; apex abruptly pointed, base acute; margin finely and doubly serrate, glandular; petiole one and one-fourth inches long, slender, tinged with dull red, grooved and with few hairs along the upper surface, glandless or with from one to four globose, greenish-yellow or reddish glands variable in size usually at the base of the blade.
Buds small, short, obtuse, plump, free, arranged singly as lateral buds and on short spurs in clusters variable in size; leaf-scars obscure; season of bloom intermediate; flowers white, one inch across; borne in dense clusters in threes and fours; pedicels three-fourths of an inch long, slender, glabrous, greenish; calyx-tube with a tinge of red, obconic, glabrous; calyx-lobes somewhat reddish, broad, acute, serrate, glabrous within and without, reflexed; petals roundish, entire, nearly sessile, apex entire; filaments one-fourth inch long; pistil glabrous, longer than the stamens.
Fruit matures in mid-season; nearly one inch in diameter, oblate, strongly compressed; cavity deep, narrow, abrupt; suture shallow; apex flattened or slightly depressed; color dark red; dots numerous, small, russet, inconspicuous; stem one and three-fourths inches long, adherent to the fruit; skin thin, tender, separating from the pulp; flesh pale yellowish or with a tinge of red, with light pink juice, slightly stringy, tender and melting, pleasantly flavored, mildly tart; of very good quality; stone free, roundish-oval, plump, blunt, oblique, with smooth surfaces often tinged with red, with small ridges radiating from the base.
OLIVET
_Prunus avium × Prunus cerasus_
=1.= _Gard. Mon._ =19=:19. 1877. =2.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 20. 1881. =3.= Downing _Fr. Trees Am._ 3rd App. 164. 1881. =4.= _Can. Exp. Farm Bul._ =17=:11. 1892. =5.= _Cal. Sta. An. Rpt._ 316. 1895-97. =6.= _Va. Sta. Bul._ =133=:27. 1902. =7.= _Ia. Sta. Bul._ =73=:76, 77. 1903. =8.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Sp. Rpt._ 24. 1904-05. =9.= _Wash. Sta. Bul._ =92=:21. 1910.
Olivet is a large, globular, deep red, glossy cherry with a rich, vinous, subacid flavor. Some writers call Olivet a Duke while others place it with the Morellos. The fruit, on the grounds of this Station, shows many characteristics of the Morellos while the tree appears to be a Duke, suggesting that it is a hybrid between trees of the two groups. The fruit, eaten out of hand, would be rated as a very good Morello or a subacid and somewhat mediocre Duke, a fruit hardly good enough for dessert and not as good as some of the sourer cherries for culinary purposes. It is one of the earliest of the Morello-like cherries and this may give it a place in the cherry flora of the country. The trees are large and vigorous and their much-branched, round tops would seem to give the maximum amount of bearing surface, but, unfortunately, the cherries do not set abundantly. On the grounds of this Station the variety is not fruitful, this being its chief defect. In other parts of the country, however, it is reported to be either very productive or moderately so. The descriptions of this cherry as given by American experiment stations and nurserymen show plainly that there are several distinct sorts passing under the name Olivet in this country.
Olivet, of comparatively recent origin, was found at Olivet, Loire, France. American nurserymen introduced this variety sometime previous to 1877, for in that year the _Gardener's Monthly_ mentioned the cherry as being "a valuable Duke sort filling an unoccupied place among the list of early cherries in central New York." Olivet was entered on the American Pomological Society's catalog list of fruits in 1881 where it is still retained.
Tree large, vigorous, upright-spreading, round-topped, unproductive; trunk thickish, rather rough; branches thick, smooth, reddish-brown partly overspread with ash-gray, with numerous small lenticels; branchlets short, brown partly overspread with ash-gray, smooth, with numerous raised lenticels.
Leaves numerous, three and one-half inches long, one and three-fourths inches wide, folded upward, obovate to oval, thin; upper surface dark green, smooth; lower surface light green, glossy, with a few scattering hairs; apex acute; margin doubly serrate, glandular; petiole one and one-fourth inches long, greenish, glandless or with one or two globose, brownish glands variable in position.
Buds usually pointed, plump, free, arranged singly as lateral buds and in small clusters on short spurs; leaf-scars prominent; season of bloom intermediate; flowers white, one inch across; borne in dense clusters, usually in threes; pedicels one-half inch long, glabrous, greenish; calyx-tube with a tinge of red, obconic, glabrous; calyx-lobes with a trace of red, long, of medium width, acute, serrate, glabrous within and without, reflexed; petals oval to slightly obovate, entire, nearly sessile; apex entire; filaments one-fourth inch long; pistil glabrous, equal to the stamens in length.
Fruit matures in mid-season; nearly one inch in diameter, roundish to slightly oblate, somewhat compressed; cavity abrupt, regular; suture a line; apex roundish, with a small depression at the center; color bright red; dots russet, obscure; stem thickish, one and one-fourth inches long, adhering well to the fruit; skin tough, separating from the pulp; flesh light red, with abundant light red or wine-colored juice, tender and melting, sprightly, astringent, tart; of fairly good quality; stone free, small, roundish, slightly flattened, somewhat pointed at the apex, with smooth surfaces; somewhat ridged along the ventral suture.
OSTHEIM
_Prunus cerasus_
=1.= Christ _Obstbäume_ 159. 1791. =2.= Christ _Handb._ 676. 1797. =3.= Truchsess-Heim _Kirschensort_. 512-517. 1819. =4.= Prince _Pom. Man._ =2=:145. 1832 =5.= Dochnahl _Führ. Obstkunde_ =3=:60. 1858. =6.= _Ill. Handb._ 187 fig., 188. 1860. =7.= Leroy _Dict. Pom._ =5=:295, 296 fig. 1877. =8.= Mathieu _Nom. Pom._ 371. 1889. =9.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 25. 1899. =10.= _Del. Sta. An. Rpt._ =12=:121, 122. 1900. =11.= _Ia. Sta. Bul._ =73=:78 fig. 18, 79. 1903. =12.= _Wash. Sta. Bul._ =92=:14, 21, 22. 1910.
Ostheim finds considerable favor in the prairie states of the Middle West but is all but worthless as grown in New York and other eastern states. It is one of the Morellos and falls far short of the best of its group, the cherries being too small and of but mediocre quality. The trees are typical Morellos, round-headed, with slender, drooping branches and branchlets and very dark green foliage. The fruit is borne toward the ends of short branches which are not well distributed over the main branches, leaving much bare wood. Like all Morellos the fruit hangs long after maturity and since the ripening season is late the variety may be worth growing because of its lateness; as it may, also, in cold climates because of great hardiness. The trees on their own roots throw up many suckers which are often used in propagation. The variety has the reputation, too, of coming true to name from seeds.
Ostheim is a native of Spain and not of Germany as many have supposed. The trees were found in the region of the Sierra Morena Mountains, Spain, and were taken to Germany by a Dr. Klinghammer after the Wars of the Succession, 1701-1713. The cherry took the name Ostheim from the German town of that name where it was widely grown. The variety, being easily propagated, spread throughout Germany and soon became one of the best-known cherries. Later, the name seems to have come to be a class term for all cherries similar to the original Ostheim. The names Ostheim, Ostheimer, Griotte Ostheim and Ostheimer Weichsel are used interchangeably by foreign writers for this variety. American writers, however, have given these names to two very similar but distinct varieties. Ostheim was brought to the United States by William Robert Prince of the Linnean Botanical Gardens early in the Nineteenth Century. It has proved very satisfactory in some sections of the West and Canada, while in the East it is but a mediocre variety at best. At different times either buds or trees of so-called Ostheims have been imported to this country which have turned out not to be the true variety. What these sorts really are will remain uncertain until the several forms can be brought together and compared. Professor Budd imported a variety in 1883, which since has become known as Ostheim, carrying Griotte d'Ostheim as a synonym. Whether or not this is the old variety or a distinct strain of the Ostheim class we are unable to say. The Cerise d'Ostheim received by this Station has proved identical with this variety. Ostheim was first listed by the American Pomological Society in 1899. A cherry known as Minnesota Ostheim, introduced into Minnesota from Germany, is now recognized as a distinct sort. The variety as it is known in Kansas and Missouri is often called the German Ostheimer though some believe this to be different from the true sort.
Tree below medium in size, vigorous, upright-spreading, with drooping branchlets, dense, very productive; trunk smooth; branches rather slender, smooth, dark ash-gray partly overspreading reddish-brown, with small, raised lenticels; branchlets slender, willowy, long, brown partly overspread with ash-gray, smooth, glabrous, with small, inconspicuous lenticels.
Leaves very numerous, three and one-fourth inches long, one and one-half inches wide, folded upward, obovate to oval; upper surface very dark green, smooth; lower surface pale green, with a few scattering hairs; apex taper-pointed, base variable in shape; margin finely serrate, with small, dark glands; petiole slender, one-half inch long, short, tinged with dull red, grooved, with a few scattering hairs, with from one to three small, globose, greenish-yellow glands at the base of the blade.
Buds small, short, usually obtuse, plump, free, arranged as lateral buds and in small clusters on short spurs; leaf-scars prominent; season of bloom medium; flowers one inch across, white; borne in scattering clusters, in twos and threes; pedicels five-eighths of an inch long, rather slender, glabrous, greenish; calyx-tube green with a faint tinge of red, obconic, glabrous; calyx-lobes with a trace of red, rather long, serrate, glabrous within and without, reflexed; petals obovate, entire, nearly sessile, apex entire; filaments one-fourth inch long; pistil glabrous, nearly equal in length to the stamens.
Fruit matures very late; nearly three-fourths of an inch in diameter, roundish to slightly oblate, compressed; cavity very shallow and narrow, flaring; suture indistinct; apex roundish with a small depression at the center; color very dark red approaching black; dots numerous, small, dark russet, inconspicuous; stem slender, one and one-fourth inches long, but slightly adherent to the fruit; skin thin, tender, separating readily from the pulp; flesh dark red, with much very dark colored juice, tender and melting, sprightly, tart, losing its astringency when fully ripe; of fair quality; stone free, nearly one-half inch in diameter, roundish-oblate, somewhat pointed, with smooth surfaces slightly stained with red.
OX HEART
_Prunus avium_
=1.= Miller _Gard. Kal._ 154, 1734. =2.= Christ _Handb._ 663. 1797. =3.= Brookshaw _Hort. Reposit._ =1=:36, Pl. 18 fig. 2. 1817. =4.= Coxe _Cult. Fr. Trees_ 249. 1817. =5.= Truchsess-Heim _Kirschensort_. 132-135. 1819. =6.= Downing Fr. _Trees Am._ 176. 1845. =7.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Rpt._ 244. 1858. =8.= Mas _Pom. Gen._ =11=:57, 58, fig. 29. 1882. =9.= Oberdieck _Obst-Sort._ 365, 366. 1882. =10.= Mathieu _Nom. Pom._ 339, 371. 1889.
_Bigarreau Gros Commun._ =11.= _Mag. Hort._ =9=:203. 1843.
Ox Heart is very commonly used as a class name for the large, meaty varieties of cherries which are cordate in shape. In America the name is most often given to the light-fleshed cherries, such as Yellow Spanish, Napoleon or White Bigarreau. At one time, however, the name was applied to a distinct variety known throughout England, Germany and America, being first mentioned by Miller, an Englishman, in 1734. Coxe, in 1817, was the first American writer to list the variety but it never became popular in the New World. Ox Heart appeared among the fruits rejected by the American Pomological Society in 1858 and from then on it gradually gave way to better varieties. The synonyms of the true Ox Heart are badly confused not only with other dark-fleshed varieties but with those of the Yellow Spanish type. As some of these varieties are merely listed while others have but a meager description, it is impossible to separate or group them with any degree of certainty. In the 1909 catalog of the American Pomological Society there appears an Ox Heart of American origin and of recent introduction, known in the West as Major Francis. There are also in several nursery catalogs a "white-fleshed Ox Heart." What this variety is we are unable to say. The following is a description of Ox Heart compiled from European fruit books:
Tree medium in vigor, round-topped, spherical, productive; branches somewhat curved; internodes of medium length; leaves obovate, obtusely pointed, margin finely serrate; petiole short, rather slender, flexible, tinged red, with two reniform glands; flowers small; petals irregularly elliptical.
Fruit matures the last of June or early in July; medium to large, cordate, pointed, sides unevenly compressed; color lively red changing to intense purple or nearly black; stem of medium length and thickness, usually tinged red, inserted in a broad, deep cavity; skin tough; flesh dark red, with abundant colored juice, half-tender but firmer than most Hearts, sweet though slightly bitter before complete maturity; quality good; stone medium in size, broadly cordate, adhering to the flesh along the ventral suture.
REINE HORTENSE
_Prunus avium X Prunus cerasus_
=1.= _Gen. Farmer_ =11=:191 fig. 1850. =2.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Rpt._ 55. 1856. =3.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 211. 1856. =3.= Dochnahl _Führ. Obstkunde_ =3=:54. 1858. =4.= _Ill. Handb._ 167 fig., 168. 1860. =5.= Thomas _Guide Prat._ 17, 204. 1876. =6.= Leroy _Dict. Pom._ =5=:379-382, fig. 1877.
_D'Aremberg._ =7.= _Lond. Hort. Soc. Cat._ 45. 1831. =8.= Kenrick _Am. Orch._ 215. 1835.
_Hortense._ =9.= Elliott _Fr. Book_ 196, 197 fig. 1854. =10.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 27. 1909.
Were there not so many good Duke varieties of its season Reine Hortense would take high rank among hybrid cherries. Several qualities fit it admirably for home and somewhat for commercial plantations. To begin with, it is most excellent in quality, its flavor being a commingling of the refreshing acidity of the Sour Cherry and the richness of the Sweet Cherry, though to some there may be a little too much acidity for a first-class dessert fruit. The cherries are also handsome--large, round, bright, glossy red with a shade of amber and very uniform in size, color and shape. The fruit is especially attractive on the tree as it hangs on long stems in twos and threes thickly scattered and never much clustered. Unfortunately the fruit does not stand handling in harvesting and marketing quite as well as that of some other Dukes and is a little too susceptible to brown-rot for a good commercial cherry. The chief faults of the variety, however, are in the trees rather than in the fruit. The trees are but of medium size, are not as productive as some others of the hybrid sorts, are at their best only in choice cherry soils and demand good care. In Europe, Reine Hortense is much used as a dwarf and for training on walls. It would seem that its merits and faults, as it grows in America, are such as fit it preeminently well only for the amateur.
Of the several accounts of the origin of Reine Hortense the one giving France as its home and Larose as its originator is here accepted as authentic. M. Larose of Neuilly-sur-Seine, Seine, a gardener of the imperial court, grew the original tree early in the Nineteenth Century from a seed of the Cerise Larose, a seedling of his introduction. Soon after the first mention of this variety, about 1841, there appeared the Louis XVIII, Morestin, Guigne de Petit-Brie and several others. The variety was seemingly rechristened by every nurseryman who got hold of it. At one time the name Monstreuse de Bavay was acceptable to many, it having been given to the variety by a Mr. Bavay of Vilvorde, Brabant, Belgium, about 1826. The theory that Reine Hortense comes true to seed and therefore has several strains has been discredited. The American Pomological Society recognized Reine Hortense in 1856, only a few years after being introduced into this country, by placing it on the recommended fruit list. In 1909, the Society shortened the name from Reine Hortense to Hortense but in this text we prefer to use the full name, thereby indicating clearly the person for whom the cherry was christened.
Tree of medium size, upright-spreading, productive; trunk shaggy; branches smooth, dark reddish-brown covered with ash-gray, with a few large lenticels; branchlets rather slender, with short internodes, brown partly overspread with ash-gray, smooth, with inconspicuous, raised lenticels.
Leaves numerous, four and one-half inches long, two and one-half inches wide, folded upward, oval to obovate, thin; upper surface dark green, rugose; lower surface light green, pubescent along the midrib; apex taper-pointed, base abrupt; margin coarsely serrate, with dark glands; petiole one inch long, tinged with red, pubescent along the grooved upper surface, with none or with from one to four small, globose, greenish-yellow or brownish glands, usually at the base of the blade.
Buds large, long-pointed, plump, free, arranged singly as lateral buds and in small clusters on few long spurs; blooms appearing in mid-season; flowers white, one and one-fourth inches across; borne in dense clusters usually in threes; pedicels one inch long, slender, glabrous; calyx-tube with a tinge of red, campanulate, glabrous; calyx-lobes long, acuminate, glabrous within and without, reflexed; petals roundish, entire, sessile, with entire apex; filaments one-fourth of an inch long; pistil glabrous, shorter than the stamens.
Fruit matures in mid-season; nearly one inch in diameter, oblong-conic to obtuse-conic, compressed; cavity somewhat shallow, narrow, abrupt, often lipped; suture indistinct; apex roundish with a small depression at the center; color amber-red; dots numerous, light russet, conspicuous; stem tortuous, slender, one and one-half inches long, adherent to the fruit; skin tender, separating from the pulp; flesh pale yellow, with colorless juice, tender and melting, sprightly subacid; of very good quality; stone free, rather large, oblong to oval, flattened, blunt, with smooth surfaces.
REPUBLICAN
_Prunus avium_
=1.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 26. 1909.
_Black Republican._ =2.= _Cult. & Count. Gent._ =35=:534. 1870. =3.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 20. 1875. =4.= _Am. Gard._ =9=:357 fig. 1888. =5.= Wickson _Cal. Fruits_ 289. 1889. =6.= _Wash. Sta. Bul._ =92=:23, 25. 1910.
_Lewelling._ =7.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Rpt._ 127. 1875. =8.= _Gard. Mon._ =17=:336. 1875. =9.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 26. 1909. =10.= _Wash. Sta. Bul._ =92=:28, 29, fig. 7. 1910.
For some reason Republican does not make headway in the favor of cherry-growers though all who have described it speak well of it. Judged by the palate, Republican is one of the best of the Bigarreaus. The cherries are rich and sweet in flavor, firm of flesh and with an abundance of refreshing juice. Judged by the eye, too, it holds its own with the best of its class, the fruit having a pleasing rotundness of shape and a beautiful dark red, almost black, glossy color. In size the variety very often falls short; for, though often given as one of the largest, it turns out to be, in many orchards, but of medium size and sometimes is small. Here seems to be its fatal defect. It is exceedingly capricious as to soils, failing wholly or in part in all but the very choicest cherry environments. The trees are large, spreading and vigorous but on the grounds of this Station are more susceptible to the shot-hole fungus than any other Sweet Cherry. It has been reported to be very subject to this disease at the Washington Station also. The failure of this cherry to meet the demands of commercial cherry-growers during a probationary period of nearly a half a century means that it is, at most, of but local value.
This variety, known under two other names, Black Republican and Lewelling, originated about the middle of the Nineteenth Century in the orchard of Seth Lewelling, Milwaukee, Oregon. In traveling across the continent in 1849, Mr. Lewelling took with him to Oregon, Bigarreau, Morello and Mahaleb cherries and from seeds of one of the Bigarreaus sprang several seedlings, among them one which was named Black Republican. The parentage of the sort is not known though it was thought to be a cross between Napoleon and Black Tartarian, having sprung up near these two trees. Some cherry-growers and nurserymen describe a cherry which they call Lewelling but in every case the descriptions agree very closely with Republican. Many list the two names separately as designating two distinct varieties of diverse origin. Of these, some have supposed Republican to be a seedling of Eagle originating in 1860. The American Pomological Society for many years listed Black Republican alone beginning in its catalog of 1875 but in 1909 the catalog contained the two names, Republican and Lewelling. Inasmuch as the consensus of opinion is that both names apply to a single cherry this Station has decided to list Republican only.
Tree large, vigorous, upright-spreading, open-topped, very productive; trunk thick, somewhat shaggy; branches stout, roughened, brown covered with ash-gray, with large, raised lenticels; branchlets stout, with long internodes, brown nearly overspread with ash-gray, smooth except near the base, with a few small, raised, inconspicuous lenticels.
Leaves numerous, five inches long, two and five-eighths inches wide, folded upward, obovate to oval, thin; upper surface dark green, smooth; lower surface slightly hairy; apex acute, base abrupt; margin coarsely and doubly serrate, glandular; petiole one and one-fourth inches long, thick, tinged with dull red, with two or three large, reniform, light green or reddish glands on the stalk.
Buds pointed or obtuse, plump, free, arranged singly on the branchlets, or in small clusters on spurs of medium length; season of bloom intermediate; flowers white, one and one-half inches across; borne in scattering clusters in ones and twos; pedicels variable in length, averaging one inch long, characteristically thick, glabrous; calyx-tube tinged with red, campanulate, glabrous; calyx-lobes variable in width, tinged with red, long-obovate to acute, finely serrate, glabrous within and without, reflexed; petals obovate, entire, with short, blunt claws, with shallow, notched apex; filaments five-sixteenths of an inch long; pistil glabrous, equal to the stamens in length, often defective.
Fruit matures late; about one inch in diameter, wide, variable in shape, cordate or roundish-cordate, compressed, with angular and uneven surfaces; cavity deep, wide, flaring; suture a shallow groove, often extending around the fruit; apex with a small depression at the center; color purplish-black; dots numerous, small, dark russet, inconspicuous; stem thick, one and one-eighth inches long, adherent to the fruit; skin thin; flesh purplish-red, with dark colored juice, tender, meaty, crisp, mild, sweet or with slight astringency before fully mature; of good quality; stone semi-free, small, ovate, flattened, rather blunt, with smooth surfaces.
ROCKPORT
_Prunus avium_
=1.= _Horticulturist_ =2=:59 fig., 60. 1847-48. =2.= Elliott _Fr. Book_ 201, 202 fig. 1854. =3.= Hooper _W. Fr. Book_ 270, 271. 1857. =4.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 74. 1862. =5.= Mortillet _Le Cerisier_ =2=:131. 1866. =6.= Oberdieck _Obst-Sort._ 372. 1881.
Rockport is of very doubtful commercial value and has too many faults to be included with the best sweet sorts for a home orchard. It is more easily characterized by its faults than its merits. Compared with the well-known Yellow Spanish, of which it is a seedling and to which it is similar, the cherries are smaller and the pits are larger than those of the parent variety,--quite too large for the amount of pulp. Worst of the faults of the variety is, however, that the cherries are not sufficiently firm of flesh to withstand harvesting, shipping and the attacks of the brown-rot fungus. To offset the defects of the fruit the flesh is rich, sweet and tender, making it, all in all, as good as any other Sweet Cherry for dessert. The trees, too, are very satisfactory, being large, vigorous and very fruitful, though with the reputation of requiring good soil and the best of care, of lacking a little in hardiness to cold, and of having the period of maturing the crop more or less changed by soil and culture. Rockport has been, and is, more or less popular in New York but it can be recommended only for a home orchard.
Rockport is another of Professor Kirtland's introductions, having been raised by him at Cleveland, Ohio, about 1842, from a seed of Yellow Spanish. It soon won a place, in 1862, on the fruit list of the American Pomological Society where it still remains. It is mentioned by several foreign authors and many American nurserymen offer it for sale. Swedish is given as a synonym of Rockport by Hooper.
Tree large, vigorous, upright, very productive; trunk somewhat slender, roughish; branches smooth, reddish-brown, with numerous small lenticels; branchlets stout, variable in length, with long internodes, brown almost entirely overspread with ash-gray, smooth, with conspicuous, raised lenticels.
Leaves numerous, three and one-half inches long, one and three-fourths inches wide, folded upward, long-oval to obovate; upper surface dark green, somewhat rugose; lower surface dull, light green, pubescent along the veins; apex acute to taper-pointed, base abrupt; margin coarsely serrate, glandular; petiole two inches long, tinged with red, with a few hairs on the upper surface, glandless or with from one to four large, reniform, reddish glands variable in position.
Buds large, long, pointed, plump, free, arranged singly and in clusters from lateral buds and short spurs; leaf-scars prominent; season of bloom intermediate; flowers white, one and one-fourth inches across; borne in clusters usually in twos; pedicels one inch long, glabrous, greenish; calyx-tube green, campanulate, glabrous; calyx-lobes acute, glabrous within and without, reflexed; petals roundish, entire, dentate at the apex, nearly sessile; filaments nearly one-half inch long; pistil glabrous, shorter than the stamens, often defective.
Fruit matures early; one inch in diameter, cordate to conical, compressed; cavity shallow, wide, flaring, regular; suture a distinct line; apex roundish, with a small depression at the center; color bright red over an amber-yellow background, mottled; dots very numerous, small, light yellowish, somewhat conspicuous; stem one and one-half inches long, adhering well to the fruit; skin thin, tender; flesh pale yellowish-white, with colorless juice, tender, somewhat melting, aromatic, mild, sweet; good to very good in quality; stone free, ovate, plump, with smooth surfaces.
ROYAL DUKE
_Prunus avium_ × _Prunus cerasus_
=1.= _Mag. Hort._ =9=:204, 205. 1843. =2.= Downing _Fr. Trees Am._ 192. 1845. =3.= Thomas _Am. Fruit Cult._ 369. 1849. =4.= McIntosh _Bk. Gard._ =2=:543. 1855. =5.= Thompson _Gard. Ass't_ 530. 1859. =6.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 12. 1871. =7.= Mas _Pom. Gen._ =11=:125, 126, fig. 63. 1882. =8.= Hogg _Fruit Man._ 311. 1884.
_Royale d'Angleterre._ =9.= Christ _Obstbäume_ 159. 1791.
_Cerise Royale._ =10.= Christ _Wörterb._ 284. 1802. =11.= _Cat. Cong. Pom. France_ 40 fig. 1906.
_Königskirsche._ =12.= Truchsess-Heim _Kirschensort_. 422, 423, 424. 1819.
_Ungarische Süssweichsel._ =13.= Dochnahl _Führ. Obstkunde_ =3=:51. 1858.
_Anglaise Hâtive._. =14.= Mortillet _Le Cerisier_ =2=:161-163, fig. 42. 1866. =15.= Mas _Le Verger_ =8=:83, 84, fig. 40. 1866-73. =16.= _Pom. France_ =7=: No. 24, Pl. 24. 1871. =17.= _Guide Prat._ 17, 180. 1895.
_Belle de Worsery._ =18.= Mortillet _Le Cerisier_ =2=:181. 1866. =19.= Mas _Pom. Gen._ =11=:39, 40, fig. 20. 1882.
Royal Duke has a place in the cherry flora to follow in season the well-known May Duke and to precede another standard sort, Late Duke. It is so nearly like these two sorts, except in season, and so similar to Arch Duke, as well, that there is much difficulty in getting the variety true to name. It is more often taken for May Duke than for the other kinds named but it differs from this well-known sort in being a little later in season, and the cherries are larger, a little lighter in color, do not hang as thickly, being scattered along the branches, often singly, and are more oblate. The trees are markedly upright and the foliage is very dense. None of the Dukes are popular in America for market fruits and this is no exception though, among all, Royal Duke is as good as any--pleasantly flavored, juicy, refreshing and very good. The trees, too, are very satisfactory. The variety has a place in home orchards and for local markets. The French say that the tree makes a very weak growth budded on the Mahaleb and that it should be worked on the Mazzard, which is generally true of all Dukes. The buyer will have difficulty in getting the true Royal Duke in America.
The origin of this variety is unknown but the Royale d'Angleterre, mentioned by Christ in 1791, was probably the variety now known as Royal Duke, although the description is too meager to be certain. According to Thompson, Royal Duke was one of the varieties formerly cultivated in England under the names Late Duke, Arch Duke, or Late Arch Duke and was probably introduced by the London Horticultural Society from France under the name of Anglaise Tardive. When or by whom this variety was introduced into America is not known but according to Downing it was very rarely found here in the first half of the Nineteenth Century. The American Pomological Society placed Royal Duke upon its catalog list of recommended fruits in 1871.
Tree of medium size, vigorous, upright, vasiform, unproductive at this Station; trunk slender, roughish; branches stocky, with roughened surface, dark reddish-brown covered with ash-gray, with lenticels of medium number and size; branchlets stout, long, brown partly overspread with ash-gray, smooth except for the lenticels which are inconspicuous.
Leaves numerous, variable in size, averaging four and one-half inches long, two inches wide, folded upward, oval to obovate; upper surface dark green, slightly rugose; lower surface medium green, pubescent along the midrib; apex abruptly pointed, base acute; margin serrate or crenate; petiole variable in length, often one and one-half inches long, not uniform in thickness, tinged with red, glandless or with one or two small, reniform, greenish-yellow or reddish glands, usually at the base of the blade.
Buds rather small, pointed, plump, free, arranged singly as lateral buds and in very dense clusters on numerous short spurs; leaf-scars obscure; time of bloom mid-season; flowers white, one inch across; borne in very dense clusters, closely grouped in fours and fives; pedicels over one-half inch long, glabrous, green; calyx-tube green or with a tinge of red, obconic, glabrous; calyx-lobes with a trace of red, acute, serrate, glabrous within and without, reflexed; petals roundish, entire, sessile, apex entire; filaments nearly one-fourth inch long; pistil glabrous, longer than the stamens.
Fruit matures early; three-fourths inch in diameter, oblate, compressed; cavity rather narrow, abrupt, regular; suture a mere line; apex flattened or depressed; color bright red becoming darker at maturity; dots few, small, obscure; stem one and one-half inches long, adhering to the fruit; skin thin, rather tough, separating from the pulp; flesh pale yellowish-white with tinge of red, pinkish juice, tender, sprightly, pleasantly acid; good to very good in quality; stone semi-free, small, ovate, slightly flattened, with smooth surfaces.
SCHMIDT
_Prunus avium_
=1.= Dochnahl _Führ. Obstkunde_ =3=:38. 1858. =2.= _Ill. Handb._ 37 fig., 38. 1867. =3.= _Jour. Hort._ N. S. =23=:169 fig. 1872. =4.= _Flor. & Pom._ 121, fig. 2. 1874. =5.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 17. 1897. =6.= Budd-Hansen _Am. Hort. Man._ =2=:290. 1903.
_Smith._ =7.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 26. 1909.
Schmidt, shortened in accordance with the rules of the American Pomological Society from Schmidt's Bigarreau, is not new nor can it be said to be little known, since it has been rather widely planted in America for a score of years. Yet in New York, at least, it is not receiving the attention that it deserves from commercial cherry-growers, being relegated to the rear of ten or a dozen kinds when it should be in the front rank. Indeed, about Geneva, where many Sweet Cherries are grown, while not the leading market variety, it is one of the best. The characters which entitle it to a high place as a money-maker are: large size, being unsurpassed in this respect by any other black cherry in this region; its round, plump form and glossy, black color which tempt the eye; crisp, firm, juicy flesh and sweet, rich flavor, delicious to the taste; dark ruby-red color under the skin which makes it as pleasing inwardly as outwardly; freedom from brown-rot, in this respect excelling any other market sort; and a vigorous, healthy, productive tree. The tree is further characterized by its abundant, large leaves of dark, luxuriant green. The fruit is often picked before it is ripe, at which time it is dark red and not black. There is a good deal of enthusiasm in New York over several new Sweet Cherries from the Pacific Coast but in this vicinity none of these is equal to Schmidt.
Schmidt is a seedling of Festfleischige Schwarze Knorpelkirsche and was raised by Herr Schmidt, Forester at Casekow, Prussia, Germany, about 1841. It was introduced into England by Thomas Rivers of Sawbridgeworth and eventually found its way to America but how and when is not known. Schmidt appeared on the fruit list of the American Pomological Society in 1897 but only for two years when for some reason it was dropped. In 1909, a Smith was listed, with Smith's Bigarreau as a synonym. Budd-Hansen in the publication of 1903 also mentioned a Smith which is probably Schmidt. We are inclined to hold to the German spelling, Schmidt.
Tree large, vigorous, upright-spreading, open-topped, productive; trunk and branches stocky, smooth; branches dull reddish-brown covered with ash-gray, with numerous lenticels; branchlets thick, short, smooth, with rather conspicuous, raised lenticels.
Leaves numerous, six inches long, three inches wide, folded upward, obovate; upper surface light green, smooth; lower surface pale green, pubescent along the midrib and larger veins; apex acute, base abrupt; margin serrate, glandular; petiole one and one-half inches long, thick, dull red, with a narrow, deep groove along the upper surface, glandless or with one or two large, reniform, reddish glands on the stalk.
Buds large, long, obtuse to conical, plump, free, arranged singly as lateral buds and in numerous small clusters; leaf-scars prominent; time of blooming mid-season; flowers white, one and one-half inches across; borne in scattering clusters in twos and threes; pedicels one inch long, thick, glabrous; calyx-tube green or with a tinge of red, campanulate, glabrous; calyx-lobes long, broad, acute, serrate, glabrous within and without, reflexed; petals oval, crenate, with short, narrow claws; filaments three-eighths inch long; pistil glabrous, shorter than the stamens.
Fruit matures in mid-season; one inch in diameter, cordate, compressed, often slightly oblique; cavity deep, wide, flaring; suture indistinct; apex bluntly pointed; color purplish-black; dots numerous, small, dark russet, obscure; stem slender, one and one-half inches long, strongly adherent to the fruit; skin tough, separating from the pulp; flesh purplish-red, with dark colored juice, very meaty, crisp, firm, mild, sweet; of good quality; stone semi-clinging, ovate, slightly oblique, with smooth surfaces; ventral suture prominent.
SHORT-STEM MONTMORENCY
_Prunus cerasus_
=1.= Christ. _Handb._ 679. 1797. =2.= _Prince Pom. Man._ =2=:141, 142. 1832. =3.= Leroy _Dict. Pom._ =5=:365, 366 fig., 367. 1877.
_Gobet à Courte Queue._ =4.= Duhamel _Trait. Arb. Fr._ =1=:180, 181, Pl. VIII. 1768. =5.= Kraft _Pom. Aust._ =1=:7, Tab. 18 fig. 1. 1792.
_Gros Gobet._ =6.= Truchsess-Heim _Kirschensort._ 634-638. 1819. =7.= Dochnahl _Führ. Obstkunde_ =3=:71, 72. 1858. =8.= Mortillet _Le Cerisier_ =2=:204, 308. 1866. =9.= _Mas Le Verger_ =8=:51, 52, fig. 24. 1866-73. =10.= Hogg _Fruit Man._ 299, 300. 1884. =11.= Mathieu _Nom. Pom._ 358. 1889. =12.= _Guide Prat._ 9, 190. 1895.
_Flemish._ =13.= Downing _Fr. Trees Am._ 195 fig. 85, 196. 1845.
_Cerise à Courte Queue._ 1=4.= Poiteau _Pom. Franc._ =2=: No. 15, Pl. 1846.
_Cerise Gros Fruit._ =15.= _Pom. France_ =7=: No. 11, Pl. 11. 1871.
In tracing the history of the Montmorency cherries from Duhamel's time to the present we have been led to conclude that three distinct types are now being cultivated. Of these closely related strains, all of which probably originated about the same time in Montmorency Valley, France, Montmorency is by far the most important and the one now grown commercially in all parts of the country. Large Montmorency, while quite similar to Montmorency, is much less grown because of its unproductiveness, although in quality it is quite equal or perhaps superior to Montmorency. Short-Stem Montmorency, under discussion here, varies considerably both in tree and fruit from either of the other two, although it is frequently taken for Large Montmorency. The tree is smaller and more drooping but usually very productive. The fruit, similar in size to Large Montmorency, differs from it by being more oblate and irregular, and in having a very deep, wide suture which becomes an indistinct line towards the apex. The skin seldom becomes as dark red even at perfect maturity. The flavor is more sprightly but its quality is not as high. All three varieties have long lists of synonyms, many of which have been used for each of the three sorts. Many writers believe that only two distinct strains of Montmorency exist and that Short-Stem Montmorency is identical with Large Montmorency. The variety is little grown in North America and is not as worthy for any purpose as either of the other two better-known sorts.
Tree upright-spreading, round-topped, productive; trunk shaggy; branches roughish, reddish-brown covered with ash-gray, with numerous lenticels; branchlets slender, long, brown partly overspread with ash-gray, smooth, with conspicuous, numerous, small, raised lenticels.
Leaves numerous, variable in size, averaging four inches long, one and three-fourths inches wide, long-oval to obovate, thick; upper surface dark green, smooth; lower surface medium green, with a prominent midrib; apex taper-pointed, base acute; margin doubly crenate, glandular; petiole one inch long, tinged with dull red, variable in thickness, lightly pubescent, glandless or with from one to three large, raised, reniform glands on the stalk.
Buds small, short, variable in shape, free, arranged as lateral buds and on few, if any, spurs; leaf-scars obscure; season of bloom late; flowers white, one inch across; borne in a few scattering clusters, variable in number of flowers per cluster; pedicels one-half inch long, thick, greenish; calyx-tube green or with a tinge of red, campanulate, glabrous; calyx-lobes with a trace of red, obtuse, serrate, glabrous within and without, reflexed; petals roundish-oval, crenate, sessile, with a distinctly notched apex; filaments one-fourth inch long; pistil glabrous, equal to the stamens in length, often defective.
Fruit matures in mid-season; over three-fourths of an inch in diameter, decidedly oblate, irregular in outline, slightly compressed; cavity deep, wide, irregular, flaring; suture very deep near the stem but shallow at the apex which is flattened or depressed; color light to dark red; dots numerous, small, russet, inconspicuous; stem very thick, less than three-fourths of an inch long, adhering strongly to the fruit; skin rather tender, separating from the pulp; flesh pale yellow, with colorless juice, tender and melting, sprightly, sour; of fair quality; stone clinging along the ventral suture, small, roundish, plump, blunt, with smooth surfaces, faintly tinged with red; ventral suture very prominent.
SKLANKA
_Prunus cerasus_
=1.= _Ia. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 330. 1885. =2.= _Mich. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 327. 1888. =3.= _U. S. D. A. Pom. Rpt._ 40, 41. 1895. =4.= _Del. Sta. An. Rpt._ =12=:116 fig. 6, 117. 1900. =5.= _Ia. Sta. Bul._ =73=:83 fig. 21, 84. 1903.
Sklanka is evidently a cross between a cherry of the Amarelle group and one of the Morellos--another indication of the frequency of hybridization in this fruit. The cherries of Sklanka have the light-colored skin and juice of the Amarelles while the dwarfish, round-topped trees with pendant branches and abundant, small leaves are typical of the Morellos. The variety is in no way remarkable unless it be in hardiness, the pomologists of the colder parts of the Mississippi Valley holding that it is one of the hardiest of cherries. The fruit is not on a par with that of a score of other Amarelles and the trees, in New York at least, are too small and unproductive to be worth planting. The cherry has value, then, only where hardiness is a prime requisite.
Sklanka was imported to this country from Russia in 1883 by Professor J. L. Budd of Ames, Iowa. Its parentage and origin are uncertain. It does not seem to have been grown in continental Europe outside of Russia but in certain sections of that country it is reported as being one of the hardiest and most productive of the Sour Cherries. As grown in our Northern Central States it has proved one of the hardiest of all varieties but has not, as yet, gained much reputation commercially even in these cold regions. It is mentioned but seldom in the literature and is listed by but few nurserymen.
Tree of medium size, vigorous, spreading, with drooping branchlets, open-topped, unproductive; trunk thick and smooth; branches rather slender, long, slightly roughened, reddish-brown partly overspread with ash-gray, with numerous rather small lenticels; branchlets slender and willowy, with short internodes, brown nearly covered with ash-gray, smooth except for the lenticels, which are small, numerous, raised, conspicuous.
Leaves of medium number, three and one-fourth inches long, one and three-fourths inches wide, folded upward, obovate to elliptical, thick, stiff; upper surface very dark green, glossy, smooth; lower surface medium green, finely pubescent along the midrib and larger veins; apex and base acute; margin finely and doubly serrate, with small, dark glands; petiole three-fourths of an inch long, thick, tinged with dull red, grooved, with a few hairs along the upper surface, with from one to four small, globose, orange-colored glands usually at the base of the blade.
Buds small, short, variable in shape, plump, free, arranged singly as lateral buds and in few, very small clusters; time of blooming mid-season; flowers one and three-sixteenths inches across, white; borne in dense clusters usually at the ends of branches or spurs, well distributed, usually in threes; pedicels over one-half inch long, glabrous, greenish; calyx-tube green, obconic, glabrous; calyx-lobes broad, obtuse, serrate, glabrous within and without, reflexed; petals roundish, entire, nearly sessile, with almost entire apex; filaments one-fourth inch long; pistil glabrous, equal to the stamens in length.
Fruit matures early; about three-fourths of an inch in diameter, oblate, not compressed; cavity of medium depth, narrow, abrupt; suture lacking; apex flattened or strongly depressed; color bright currant-red; dots numerous, light colored, slightly conspicuous; stem thick, less than one inch long, adherent to the fruit; skin rather tough, separating from the pulp; flesh pale yellow, with colorless juice, tender and melting, sour; of good quality; stone semi-free, clinging only along the ventral suture, about one-third inch in diameter, roundish, slightly flattened, blunt, with smooth surfaces.
SPARHAWK
_Prunus avium_
=1.= Kenrick _Am. Orch._ 219, 220. 1835.
_Sparhawk's Honey._ =2.= Downing _Fr. Trees Am._ 177. 1845. =3.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 74. 1862. =4.= _Mas Le Verger_ =8=:143, 144, fig. 70. 1866-73.
_Honey Heart._ =5.= Cole _Am. Fr. Book_ 234 fig. 37, 235. 1849.
Sparhawk has little to recommend it for either a home or commercial orchard; but the rich and honeyed sweetness of the cherries, scarcely surpassed in flavor, might make it worth planting by plant-breeders and connoisseurs of choicely good fruits. The name "honey" which appears in several of the synonyms is indicative of the flavor of the fruit. The cherries are quite too small and the pits altogether too large for a commercial product. The tree is upright-spreading, with numerous thick branches over which the cherries are rather thickly scattered in ones, twos and threes and never in clusters. The fruit-stems are characteristically long and slender. Though of the Bigarreau group the flesh is too tender to well withstand harvesting, shipping and the brown-rot.
This cherry was introduced by Edward Sparhawk, for whom it was named, of Brighton, Massachusetts. The variety has been known under a number of different names, the number being no measure of its merit, however, for it has never been extensively cultivated. The American Pomological Society placed it in its fruit catalog list of recommended varieties in 1862 but dropped it in 1871 and for many years but little attention has been given it. It is now for sale in but few of the nurseries of the country.
Tree large, vigorous, upright, rather open-topped, hardy, unproductive; trunk stocky, slightly shaggy; branches thick; branchlets medium in thickness and length; leaves numerous, five inches long, two and one-fourth inches wide, long-oval to obovate, thin, medium green; margin coarsely and doubly serrate, glandular; petiole two inches long, thick, overlaid with red, with one or two large, reniform, reddish glands on the stalk; buds intermediate in size and length; season of bloom intermediate, average length five days; flowers one and one-fourth inches across; pistil shorter than the stamens.
Fruit matures in mid-season, average length about nineteen days; nearly seven-eighths inch in diameter, somewhat conical, compressed; color dark red over a yellowish background, finely mottled; stem of medium thickness, one and three-eighths inches long, adherent to the fruit; skin thin, tough, separates from the pulp; flesh pale yellowish-white, with colorless juice, tender, crisp, highly flavored, mild, aromatic, sweet; very good in quality; stone nearly free, large for the size of the fruit, ovate, flattened, slightly oblique, with smooth surfaces.
SPÄTE AMARELLE
_Prunus cerasus_
=1.= Christ _Handb._ 679. 1797. =2.= Christ _Wörterb._ 294. 1802. =3.= Truchsess-Heim _Kirschensort_. 629-632. 1819. =4.= Dochnahl _Führ. Obstkunde_ =3=:67, 68. 1858. =5.= _Ill. Handb._ 541 fig., 542. 1861. =6.= Mas _Le Verger_ =8=:149, 150, fig. 73. 1866-73. =7.= Lauche _Deut. Pom._ =III=: No. 24, Pl. 1882. =8.= _Am. Gard._ =9=:264. 1888. =9.= _Ia. Sta. Bul._ =2=:36. 1888. =10.= _Del. Sta. An. Rpt._ =12=:126, 127. 1900.
_Späte Morello._ =11.= _Ia. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 78. 1890. =12.= Budd-Hansen _Am. Hort. Man._ =2=:282, 283. 1903.
This is another variety with Amarelle fruit and a Morello-like tree and is unquestionably a hybrid between varieties of the two groups. Several references from the Middle West mention Späte Amarelle as very promising but in New York, where such sorts as Early Richmond and the Montmorencies thrive, it is unpromising for any purpose. The cherries are quite too poor in quality, being very sour, and the trees too unproductive to make the variety even a poor rival of a score or more of Amarelles and Dukes with which it would have to compete in this State.
The origin of this cherry is unknown but according to Truchsess it was sent out from Hanover as Späte Morelle in 1785. In 1797, Christ mentions a cherry under this name the description of which agrees with that of Späte Amarelle. Lauche states that Truchsess received the variety from Hanover under the name Späte Morelle and later changed the name to Späte Amarelle. This cherry was grown in the Paris National Nursery under the name Cerise Amarelle Tardive and at one time was commonly grown in gardens in France. In the spring of 1883, Professor J. L. Budd of Iowa brought to America a large number of cherries from central and eastern Europe. Somehow there was confusion in the description of these imported cherries and two kinds were described under the name Späte Amarelle, one a light-fleshed sort, the other with red flesh and colored juice. The true variety has light flesh and juice and a pleasant, acid flavor and is probably identical with the old French sort, Cerise Amarelle Tardive. The cherry sometimes called Späte Morello can be no other than the Späte Amarelle.
Tree of medium size, vigorous, upright-spreading, round-topped, rather unproductive; trunk stocky, somewhat shaggy; branches smooth, dark brown overspread by ash-gray, with numerous lenticels variable in size; branchlets slender, rather short, brown nearly covered with ash-gray, smooth, with slightly raised, inconspicuous lenticels.
Leaves numerous, small, folded upward, oval to somewhat obovate, rather stiff; upper surface dark green, smooth; lower surface medium green, pubescent only on the midrib and larger veins; apex acute, base variable in shape; margin finely serrate, glandular; petiole greenish or with a slight bronze tinge, glandless or with from one to four small, globose, brown or yellowish glands usually at the base of the blade.
Buds small, pointed, plump, free, arranged singly as lateral buds and in clusters on long or short spurs; leaf-scars prominent; season of bloom late; flowers one inch across, white; borne in scattered clusters, usually in threes; pedicels three-fourths of an inch long, slender, glabrous, greenish; calyx-tube green with a tinge of red, obconic, glabrous; calyx-lobes with a trace of red, rather narrow, acute, serrate, glabrous within and without, reflexed; petals broad-oval, entire, slightly crenate at the apex; filaments one-fourth inch long; pistil glabrous, equal to or longer than the stamens.
Fruit matures in mid-season; one-half inch long, oblate, slightly compressed; cavity shallow, narrow; suture indistinct; apex roundish or depressed; color dark red; dots numerous, very small, obscure; stem slender, one and one-half inches long; skin thin, tender; flesh light red, with light colored juice, tender, tart; of good quality; stone free, roundish, flattened, with smooth surfaces; distinctly ridged along the ventral suture.
SUDA
_Prunus cerasus_
=1.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 27. 1909.
_Suda Hardy._ =2.= _Ohio Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 21. 1892-93. =3.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 25. 1899. =4.= Stark Brothers _Cat._ 1899. =5.= _Ia. Sta. Bul._ =73=:84 fig., 85. 1903. =6.= _Am. Pom. Soc._ Sp. Rpt. 36. 1904-05.
Suda has been widely advertised as an improved English Morello but, while there seem to be some slight differences between the two, the new variety is not an improvement on the old so far as can be discovered at this Station. The trees of Suda in general aspect are more upright and the stems of the cherries longer and more slender than those of English Morello, being but an inch in length in the one variety and an inch and three-fourths in the other. The trees on the grounds of this Station are not as productive as those of English Morello. The cherries, if anything, are not as high in quality as those of the older and probably the parent variety. It is doubtful if there is a place for Suda in the cherry industry of New York.
This cherry originated in the garden of a Captain Suda, Louisiana, Missouri, about 1880. The American Pomological Society listed Suda in its fruit catalog of 1899 as Suda Hardy but in 1909 shortened the name to Suda, a change which has generally been accepted.
Tree vigorous, rather unproductive; branches slender, with numerous small lenticels; branchlets slender, long; leaves numerous, four inches long, two and one-fourth inches wide, obovate to oval, dull, dark green; margin doubly serrate, with dark glands; petiole one inch long, of medium thickness, tinged with dull red, glandless or with one or two reniform, yellowish-brown glands usually at the base of the blade; buds small, short, obtuse, arranged singly as lateral buds and on but very few, if any, spurs; season of bloom late; flowers white, one inch across; filaments one-fourth inch long; pistil shorter than the stamens.
Fruit matures very late; three-fourths inch in diameter, roundish-cordate, slightly compressed; cavity flaring; suture indistinct; color dark purplish-red; stem slender, one and three-fourths inches long, adherent to the fruit; skin separating from the pulp; flesh dark red, with dark colored juice, tender, somewhat meaty, sprightly, astringent, very sour; poor in quality; stone free or nearly so, ovate, slightly pointed, with smooth surfaces.
TIMME
_Prunus cerasus_
=1.= _Ia. Sta. Bul._ =73=:85, 86. 1903. =2.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 27. 1909.
Timme can hardly be distinguished from Early Richmond, differing only in smaller fruits, and probably is a seed variation of that variety. On the grounds of this Station the trees of Timme are even more productive than those of Early Richmond, one of the most fruitful of all cherries, but the greater fruitfulness of the tree hardly offsets the smaller size of the cherries. It is doubtful if this new strain can displace the older Early Richmond, which is well established in the favor of cherry-growers everywhere.
This variety is supposed to have been brought to America from Germany by a Mr. Timme of Omaha, Nebraska. It is of some local importance in Iowa and Nebraska but as yet has not been widely distributed in America. Possibly it will be found in time that it is some old German variety renamed. It was placed on the fruit list of the American Pomological Society in 1909.
Tree medium in size, rather vigorous, upright-spreading, open-topped, healthy; trunk and branches thick, with numerous large lenticels; branchlets slender, long, willowy; leaves three and one-half inches long, one and five-eighths inches wide, ovate to obovate, thick, stiff, leathery, dark green; margin finely serrate, tipped with reddish-brown glands; petiole three-fourths of an inch in length, with one or two large, globose glands variable in position; flowers one inch across, in dense clusters.
Fruit matures medium early; over one-half inch in diameter, roundish-oblate; color light red becoming dark red at full maturity; stem one inch long; flesh yellowish-white, with abundant pinkish juice, tender and melting, pleasant flavored, sprightly; good in quality; stone semi-clinging, roundish-ovate, plump; prominently ridged along the ventral suture.
TOUSSAINT
_Prunus cerasus_
=1.= _Duhamel Trait. Arb. Fr._ =1=:178-180, Pl. VII. 1768. =2.= Kraft _Pom. Aust._ =1=:7, Tab. 18 fig. 2. 1792. =3.= Poiteau _Pom. Franc._ =2=: No. 21, Pl. 1846. =4.= _Ann. Pom. Belge_ =1=:103, 104, Pl. 1853. =5.= Mortillet _Le Cerisier_ =2=:205, 308. 1866. =6.= Leroy _Dict. Pom._ =5=:305, 306 fig., 307, 308. 1877. =7.= _Rev. Hort._ 250. 1906.
_Stäts Blühender Kirschbaum._ =8.= Krünitz _Enc._ 42, 43. 1790.
_All Saints._ =9.= Truchsess-Heim _Kirschensort_. 661-668. 1819. =10.= Prince _Pom. Man._ =2=:152, 153. 1832. =11.= Dochnahl _Führ. Obstkunde_ =3=:72. 1858. =12.= Hogg _Fruit Man._ 277. 1884. =13.= Mathieu _Nom. Pom._ 332. 1889.
Toussaint is a marked deviation from its species. Instead of bearing blossoms normally this variety sends out small branches from the buds. In the axis of the first four leaves are borne the buds destined to produce similar branches the following spring. As the branches elongate these buds remain dormant but others are borne which produce flowers in umbel-like clusters of two or three. The trees begin blooming three or four weeks later than other cherries and new buds and flowers appear continually until August or thereabouts. The tree, too, is most striking in appearance, being dwarfish in stature, thickly set with pendant branchlets and, all in all, attractive enough to make it a rather handsome ornamental. The cherries are of little or no value, being quite too acid to eat out of hand but furnishing very late fruit which may be used for culinary purposes. The description given is compiled.
The history of the variety is uncertain. Leroy says that it was mentioned by Daléchamp, a French writer, as early as 1586. Duhamel seems to have been the first pomologist to describe it which he did in 1768 under the name Cerisier de la Toussaint. The variety is well known in Europe, being widely distributed in Austria, Germany, Belgium, France and England, pomologists and nurserymen in all these countries seeming to be well acquainted with it. There are no records of its culture in America, although Prince and Elliott describe it from European fruit books.
Tree small, hardy, moderately productive; branches slender, numerous, pendant.
Fruit small, flattened on the ends and sides; stem long; color clear red, darker on maturing, rather transparent; flesh white somewhat red at the center, with reddish juice; flavor, if mature, sour, though not excellent; stone large, long, clings to the flesh more than to the stem. The fruit borne in October never reaches maturity.
VLADIMIR
_Prunus cerasus_
=1.= _Ia. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 84, 85. 1882. =2.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Rpt._ 75. 1883. =3.= _Ia. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 327, 328. 1885. =4.= _Ia. Sta. Bul._ =19=:550. 1892. =5.= _Ia. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 454. 1895. =6.= _Del. Sta. An. Rpt._ 12:128, 129. 1900. =7.= _Ia. Sta. Bul._ =73=:87. 1903. =8.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 27. 1909.
Vladimir is a Morello-like cherry not more promising in New York, at least in the orchard of this Station, than any other of the many competitors of English Morello. The cherries are large, very similar in size and appearance to those of English Morello; the pit is small, the skin very thin and separating readily from the pulp. The variety is further characterized by the very dark red flesh and dark colored juice which is too astringent and sour to eat out of hand but does very well for culinary purposes. The tree is much like that of English Morello but is far more dwarfish and not as productive, these being fatal faults for commercial planting in New York. It falls short of English Morello in another respect--the fruit ripens very unevenly. Vladimir has the reputation of being one of the hardiest of all cherries. It is said to come true from seed and does better on its own roots than on either Mazzard or Mahaleb. The Russians, according to Budd, succeed best with it when it is propagated from sprouts and allowed to form a bushy plant with several stems, the oldest of which are cut from time to time. There seems to be little in the variety to commend it for either home or commercial plantings in New York.
Vladimir is a generic name for a group of varieties grown in Russia, principally in the province of Vladimir east of Moscow. Most of these cherries are large, black fruits with highly colored juice and good quality, much valued for market use in their native country. Professor J. L. Budd imported a number of these Vladimir cherries from Orel in Central Russia and grew them at the Experiment Station grounds in Iowa, giving to each a seedling number as a distinguishing characteristic. One, Orel No. 25, was selected as being superior in many respects to the others and was finally named Vladimir. This variety, typical of these Russian cherries, has been considerably propagated and is generally distributed throughout this country. The American Pomological Society added Vladimir to its list of recommended fruits in 1909.
Tree dwarfish, round-topped, very hardy, productive; trunk medium or below in size; branches willowy, drooping, reddish-brown slightly overspread with ash-gray; branchlets slender, long, smooth, with a few small, raised lenticels.
Leaves numerous, three inches long, one and three-fourths inches wide, folded upward, oval, thick; upper surface dull, dark green, smooth; lower surface light green, with a few scattering hairs; apex acute, base slightly abrupt; margin finely serrate, with dark colored glands; petiole one-half inch long, tinged with red, with a few scattering hairs along the stalk, glandless or with from one to four small, reniform, greenish-yellow glands at the base of the blade.
Buds small, short, very obtuse, plump, free, arranged singly as lateral buds and in small clusters on small spurs; leaf-scars obscure; season of bloom intermediate; flowers white, one and one-fourth inches across; borne in scattering clusters in twos, threes and fours; pedicels three-fourths of an inch long, rather slender, glabrous, greenish; calyx-tube with a tinge of red, somewhat obconic, glabrous; calyx-lobes reddish, broad, obtuse, serrate, glabrous within and without, reflexed; petals roundish or slightly obovate, irregularly crenate, with short, blunt claws, apex entire; filaments over one-fourth inch long; pistil glabrous, shorter than the stamens.
Fruit matures very late; three-eighths of an inch long, seven-eighths of an inch wide, roundish-cordate, slightly compressed; cavity rather shallow; suture a line; apex roundish; color dark red almost black at full maturity; dots numerous, small, russet, inconspicuous; stem slender, one and one-half inches or more in length, adherent to the fruit; skin thin, separating from the pulp; flesh dark red, with very dark colored juice, slightly stringy, melting, sprightly, astringent, sour; of fair quality; stone semi-clinging, rather large, long-ovate to oval, with smooth surfaces, tinged with red.
WATERLOO
_Prunus avium × (Prunus avium × Prunus cerasus)_
=1.= Prince _Treat. Hort._ 29. 1828. =2.= _Lond. Hort. Soc. Cat._ 56. 1831. =3.= Prince _Pom. Man._ =2=:118. 1832. =4.= Downing _Fr. Trees Am._ 178. 1845. =5.= Floy-Lindley _Guide Orch. Gard._ 101, 102. 1846. =6.= Elliott _Fr. Book_ 213, 214. 1854. =7.= Hogg _Fruit Man._ 314. 1884.
This old sort, seemingly well thought of in Europe, has not been popular in America and has only historical value to cherry-growers of this country. It is an interesting cherry resembling the Bigarreaus in tree and leaf-characters while the flowers are more like those of the Dukes, the fruit, too, taking on more the aspect of the Dukes than of the Sweet Cherry. The variety has long since passed from general cultivation in the United States and can now be found only in collections or as an occasional dooryard tree.
This cherry was raised early in the Nineteenth Century by T. A. Knight, Downton Castle, Wiltshire, England, and first fruited in 1815, shortly after the Battle of Waterloo, hence its name. It was supposed to be a cross between Yellow Spanish and May Duke. The variety was brought to this country by Honorable John Lowell of Newton, Massachusetts, though it was described by Prince in 1828 from European fruit books. The following description is compiled:
Tree vigorous, thrifty, rather irregular and spreading, productive; branchlets thick, stocky, grayish; leaves large, drooping, wavy; margin slightly serrate; flowers large; stamens shorter than the pistil.
Fruit matures the last of June or early in July; large, obtuse-cordate, broad at the base, convex on one side, flattened on the other; stem one and one-half to two inches in length, slender; color dark purplish-red becoming nearly black at maturity; skin thin; flesh purplish-red becoming darker next to the stone, firm but tender, juicy, fine flavored, sweet; good in quality; stone separating readily from the pulp, small, roundish-ovate, compressed.
WHITE BIGARREAU
_Prunus avium_
=1.= Thacher _Am. Orch._ 217. 1822. =2.= Prince _Pom. Man._ =2=:125. 1832. =3.= _Mag. Hort._ =8=:283. 1842. =4.= Downing _Fr. Trees Am._ 180 fig., 181. 1845. =5.= Thomas _Am. Fruit Cult._ 366. 1849. =6.= McIntosh _Bk. Gard._ =2=:541. 1855.
_Tradescant._ =7.= Coxe _Cult. Fr. Trees_ 250. 1817.
_White Oxheart._ =8.= Kenrick _Am. Orch._ 278. 1832.
White Bigarreau is a cherry of the past, having been considered one of the good sorts of a century ago. Rivers, the English pomologist, believed it to have come originally from Russia. It is reputed to have been brought to America from France by Chancellor Livingston of Revolutionary fame. Thacher, in 1822, described the variety first under its present name. The variety, as the synonymy shows, has been grown under many names both in America and Europe. In 1845, according to Downing, this cherry was common in the neighborhood of New York and Philadelphia but since Downing's time no one seems to have mentioned it. The variety is usually spoken of in the United States as neither hardy nor productive. The fruit books describe it as follows:
Tree medium in size, spreading, very tender, unproductive; leaves narrow, waved.
Fruit matures the last of June or early in July; large to very large, heart-shaped, somewhat pointed; color yellowish-white with a bright red cheek, mottled; flesh very firm, breaking, pleasantly flavored, sweet; very good in quality; stone separating readily from the flesh.
WHITE HEART
_Prunus avium_
=1.= Bradley _Gard._ 211. 1739. =2.= Downing _Fr. Trees Am._ 173, 174 fig. 1845. =3.= Elliott _Fr. Book_ 216. 1854. =4.= _Horticulturist_ =15=:327, Pl. fig. 1. 1860. =5.= Hogg _Fruit Man._ 315. 1884.
_Amber Heart._ =6.= Miller _Gard. Kal._ 154. 1734. =7.= _Jour. Roy Hort. Soc._ =21=:355. 1898.
_Frühe Bernsteinkirsche._ =8.= Truchsess-Heim _Kirschensort._ 304, 305. 1819. =9.= Dochnahl _Führ. Obstkunde_ =3=:39. 1858. =10.= Mas _Pom. Gen._ =11=:45, 46, fig. 23. 1882. =11.= Mathieu _Nom. Pom._ 348. 1889.
_Kentish Bigarreau._ =12.= Bunyard-Thomas _Fr. Gard._ 43. 1904.
White Heart is mentioned in _The Cherries of New York_ only because of its reputation in Europe and the frequent references, therefore, that American cherry-growers see to it in European publications. Bunyard and Thomas, in the reference given, speak of it as one of the best and most profitable cherries grown in the famous Kent cherry orchards. Early American horticulturists describe it but it seems not to have been widely grown in America and has probably long since passed from cultivation. It failed, according to Elliott, because it was a "variable and uncertain bearer" and while an early cherry "not early enough to compete with many new varieties."
White Heart seems to have been mentioned first by Miller in 1734. A little later it is found to be described in both Germany and France, indicating that it must have been known and widely distributed before the time given. It seems to have been brought to America before the War of the Revolution and to have been grown in this country under the several different names which are given in the list of synonyms. The following description is compiled:
Tree large, vigorous, somewhat erect, very healthy, rather productive; branches stocky, somewhat angular, with large, roundish, light colored lenticels; internodes of unequal length; leaves medium in size, oval or obovate, sharply pointed; margin finely serrate; petiole short, slender, tipped with two reniform, orange-red glands; flowers medium in size; petals obovate.
Fruit matures early in June; rather small, roundish-cordate, often one-sided, with a distinct suture; color whitish-yellow, tinged and speckled with pale red in the sun; stem long, slender, inserted in a wide, shallow cavity; skin firm; flesh light colored, firm, half-tender, breaking, juicy, sugary, pleasant; first quality; stone rather large, roundish-oval, with a pointed apex.
WINDSOR
_Prunus avium_
=1.= _Gard. Mon._ =24=:208. 1882. =2.= _Cult._ & _Count. Gent._ =49=:636. 1884. =3.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 22. 1885. =4.= _Del. Sta. Bul._ =35=:16 fig. 7. 1897. =5.= _Ont. Fr. Exp. Sta. Rpt._ =5=:41 fig. 1898. =6.= _Am. Gard._ 21:76. 1900. =7.= _Can. Hort._ =25=:3, 262 fig., 263. 1902. =8.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Rpt._ 56, 57. 1907.
Windsor is the standard late Bigarreau and one of the most profitable of the hard-fleshed cherries grown in New York. Both fruit and trees deserve the approbation of cherry-growers. In color the cherries meet the market demand, buyers preferring a dark-colored Sweet Cherry. None would find fault with the appearance of Windsor. The flesh is firm and the product stands harvesting and shipping well and at a season of the year when brown-rot is usually rife this variety is fairly free from this scourge of the Sweet Cherry. The quality is from good to very good, equaled but not surpassed by others of its class. But it is in its tree-characters that the superiority of Windsor is best shown. The trees have the reputation of being the hardiest of the Bigarreaus and of thriving in many soils. They are usually fruitful. To offset these merits, the trees have two or three rather serious faults. Thus, they do not come in bearing early; they are tall and upright in growth, being almost fastigiate, making it difficult to harvest the crop; and the load of fruit is too much clustered. Cherry-growers agree that the worst of all pests of this fruit is the robin and that the Windsor, for some reason or other, is the freest of its kind from this and other thieving birds. From the behavior of the variety in New York, we can heartily join with practically all who are growing this variety in recommending it as a late, market Sweet Cherry.
Windsor originated in the latter half of the Nineteenth Century on the farm of James Dougall, Windsor, Ontario, Canada, and was introduced to fruit-growers in 1881 by Ellwanger & Barry, Rochester, New York. It has been planted extensively in many sections of this country for both home and market use and is now offered for sale by a large number of nurserymen. The American Pomological Society added Windsor to its fruit catalog list in 1885 and the variety still holds a place there. Though rather widely known in the United States the commercial culture of this variety is almost wholly confined to New York. It seems as yet not to have found its way to Europe, a fact to be regretted, for its many good qualities would soon make it known in the Old World where the Sweet Cherry is better grown and more appreciated than in America.
Tree large, vigorous, upright-spreading, open-topped, very productive; trunk thick, shaggy; branches stocky, very smooth, brown nearly overspread with ash-gray, with large lenticels; branchlets thick, rather short, brown overspread with light ash-gray, smooth, with few small, inconspicuous lenticels.
Leaves four inches long, two inches wide, folded upward, obovate to oval, thin; upper surface dark green, slightly rugose; lower surface light green, pubescent; margin doubly crenate, glandular; petiole one and one-fourth inches long, tinged with dull red, with from one to three globose, reddish glands of medium size on the stalk.
Buds conical or pointed, plump, free, arranged singly as lateral buds and in very numerous clusters variable in size, on short spurs; leaf-scars somewhat prominent; season of bloom intermediate; flowers white, one and one-fourth inches across; borne in scattering clusters, in ones and twos; pedicels one inch long, slender, glabrous, greenish; calyx-tube green, campanulate, glabrous; calyx-lobes greenish or with a tinge of red, acute, glabrous within and without, reflexed; petals broad-oval, slightly crenate, with short, blunt claws; filaments five-sixteenths of an inch long; pistil glabrous, shorter than the stamens.
Fruit matures in late mid-season; three-fourths of an inch in diameter, slightly oblong to conical, compressed; cavity deep, wide, flaring; suture a line; apex roundish, with a depression at the center; color very dark red becoming almost black; dots numerous, small, russet, obscure; stem slender, one and one-fourth inches long, adherent to the fruit; skin thin, adhering to the pulp; flesh light red, with reddish juice, tender, meaty, crisp, mild, sweet; good to very good in quality; stone semi-free, ovate, flattened, blunt-pointed, with smooth surfaces; ventral suture rather prominent near the apex.
WOOD
_Prunus avium_
=1.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 26. 1909.
_Governor Wood._ =2.= Elliott _Fr. Book_ 196 fig. 1854. =3.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 108. 1856. =4.= Leroy _Dict. Pom._ =5=:324 fig. 1877.
Wood is preeminently a Sweet Cherry for the amateur, having many qualities that fit it for the home orchard and but few to commend it to commercial growers. The trees are a little tender to cold, are not quite productive enough to make the variety profitable and are, too, somewhat fastidious as to soils. To offset these defects, they are vigorous and healthy and bear early. But the chief fault of the cherry from the cherry-grower's standpoint is to be found in the fruit. The flesh is soft and the cherries will not stand handling in harvesting and shipping and are very susceptible to brown-rot and crack badly in wet weather. Wood has special merit in the home collection, however, because of its earliness, its beautiful appearance and delicious flavor. It is one of the first of the Sweet Cherries, is large and, as the color-plate shows, is a beautiful yellowish-white tinted with shades of crimson, with conspicuous russet dots--a beautiful fruit. The flesh separates readily from the skin, is tender, juicy, with an abundance of colorless juice and a flavor that has given it the reputation, wherever grown in America, of being one of the best in quality. It would be hard to name another cherry better suited for small plantations and it is to be hoped that it will long be kept in the gardens of connoisseurs of good fruit.
Wood is one of the best of Professor J. P. Kirtland's[83] seedlings. It was raised by him in 1842 at Cleveland, Ohio, and named in honor of Reuben Wood, at one time Governor of Ohio. In 1856, it was added to the fruit list of the American Pomological Society where it still remains, being changed in 1909 to Wood with Governor Wood as a synonym. Its popularity is shown in the United States by the fact that practically every nurseryman in this country lists this variety.
Tree vigorous, upright-spreading, open, productive; trunk stout; branches thick, smooth, dull reddish-brown covered with ash-gray, with a few small lenticels; branchlets thick, reddish-brown slightly overspread with ash-gray, smooth, glabrous, with a few inconspicuous, raised lenticels.
Leaves numerous, four and one-half inches long, two and one-half inches wide, folded upward, obovate, thin; upper surface light green, smooth; lower surface dull green, lightly pubescent; apex acute, base abrupt; margin coarsely and doubly serrate, glandular; petiole one and one-half inches long, slender, tinged with dull red, with from one to three reniform, reddish glands on the stalk.
Buds large, long, pointed, very plump, free, arranged singly as lateral buds or in small clusters on short spurs; leaf-scars prominent; season of bloom intermediate; flowers one inch across, arranged in twos and threes; pedicels one inch long, slender, glabrous, greenish; calyx-tube tinged with red, obconic, glabrous; calyx-lobes reddish, long, acute, glabrous on both surfaces, reflexed; petals roundish, crenate, with short, blunt claws; anthers yellowish; filaments one-eighth inch long; pistil glabrous, equal to the stamens in length, sometimes defective.
Fruit matures in early mid-season; nearly one inch in diameter, roundish-cordate, compressed; cavity of medium depth, wide, flaring; suture variable in depth, distinct, wide; apex roundish; color shades of crimson on a yellowish-white background; dots numerous, small, light russet, somewhat conspicuous, especially just before maturity; stem slender, one and one-half inches long, adhering well to the fruit; skin thin, tender, separating from the pulp; flesh whitish, with colorless juice, tender, meaty, mild, sweet; very good in quality; stone clinging, rather large, roundish, blunt, with smooth surfaces; with a broad, ventral suture.
[83] Jared P. Kirtland, M. D., though now less well known than some of his contemporaries, was one of the great pomologists of his time and a man of notable achievements in other branches of natural history as well. Professor Kirtland was born at Wallingford, Connecticut, November 10, 1793, and died at East Rockport, near Cleveland, Ohio, December 11, 1877. For sixty years of a long life his avocation was the production of new varieties of fruits and flowers and, though a half century has passed since he ceased active work, the results of his labors are yet to be found in the gardens and orchards of the whole country. In pomology he gave special attention to breeding grapes, raspberries, pears and cherries. He achieved success, too, as a hybridizer of peonies and in the introduction of rare foreign magnolias. Professor Kirtland is given credit as being the first horticulturist successfully to bud and graft magnolias, an achievement which has made possible their cultivation under many conditions and to a degree of excellence that otherwise could not be obtained. He was the founder of the Cleveland Society of Natural History and was for many years its president. He was a member of the American Philosophical Society, the highest recognition for scientific work to be obtained in his time in this country. He served as professor in several medical schools and filled other places of honor and trust. From his boyhood we are told that he was interested in natural history and was intimately acquainted with the plants and animals of Ohio, having special knowledge of birds and fishes, the propagation of the latter being one of his hobbies. In pomology we owe him most for the many new cherries he has given us, thirty varieties described in _The Cherries of New York_ having come from his breeding grounds. Among these are Wood, Pontiac, Powhatan, Tecumseh, Osceola, Kirtland and Red Jacket, sorts scarcely surpassed for high quality and grown commonly in America and to some extent wherever Sweet Cherries will thrive. His 84 years seem to have been well ordered, given almost wholly for the good of the public, and his name should be cherished by pomologists among those who have done most for fruits and fruit-growing on this continent.
WRAGG
_Prunus cerasus_
=1.= _Ia. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 171. 1884. =2.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Rpt._ 95. 1887. =3.= _Can. Exp. Farm Bul._ =17=:15 fig. 8. 1892. =4.= _Neb. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 39. 1892. =5.= _Am. Gard._ =20=:178. 1899. =6.= _Del. Sta. An. Rpt._ =12=:119, 120. 1900. =7.= _Ia. Sta. Bul._ =73=:89, fig. 26. 1903. =8.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Sp. Rpt._ 38. 1904-05. =9.= _Wash. Sta. Bul._ =92=:22, 23. 1910.
Wragg is either English Morello or a strain of that variety. Trees on the grounds of this Station are identical with English Morello but it may be that here, and occasionally elsewhere, the older sort has been substituted for Wragg. In Iowa, where the new variety is most largely grown, pomologists claim that it is distinct and that it is an improvement on English Morello. Professor J. L. Budd, an authority on Russian cherries, believed that this sort is distinct and of Russian origin having, according to him, been brought to America by Ellwanger & Barry of Rochester, New York, in an importation of Russian trees. Captain C. L. Watrous of Des Moines, Iowa, another prominent pomologist of that State, was of the opinion that Wragg came to light on the grounds of J. Wragg, Waukee, Iowa, as a sprout from another tree. Colonel G. B. Brackett, pomologist of the United States Department of Agriculture, who visited Mr. Wragg's place some years ago and compared the new cherry with the English Morello, could find no distinguishing characters between the two. On the other hand, Mr. Wragg insisted that they were distinct. The American Pomological Society calls Wragg and English Morello the same. Those who believe that the two are distinct say that the fruit of Wragg is larger, the trees hardier and that the cherries ripen a little later than those of English Morello. With the information now at hand it is impossible to say here whether or not Wragg is distinct. A compiled description taken from the text describing this cherry is so unsatisfactory that we offer none and refer the reader to that of English Morello from which it differs but little, if at all.
YELLOW SPANISH
_Prunus avium_
=1.= Miller _Gard. Dict._ =1=:1754. =2.= Forsyth _Treat. Fr. Trees_ 42. 1803. =3.= Prince _Treat. Hort._ 28. 1828. =4.= Prince _Pom. Man._ =2=:125. 1832. =5.= Thomas _Am. Fruit Cult._ 372. 1867. =6.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 17. 1897. =7.= Budd-Hansen _Am. Hort. Man._ =2=:291. 1903.
_Biguarre Cherrie._ =8.= Parkinson _Par. Ter._ 572. 1629. =9.= _Rea Flora_ 205. 1676.
_Spanish._ =10.= Gerarde _Herball_ 1503, fig. 3. 1636.
_Bigarreau Commun._ =11.= Duhamel _Trait. Arb. Fr._ =1=:167, 168. 1768. =12.= Prince _Pom. Man._ =2=:128. 1832. =13.= Poiteau _Pom. Franc._ =2=: No. 5, Pl. 1846. =14.= Mortillet _Le Cerisier_ =2=:115-119, fig. 26. 1866. 15. _Pom. France_ 7: No. 2, Pl. 2. 1871. 16. Leroy _Dict. Pom._ =5=:188-191, fig. 1877. 17. _Cat. Cong. Pom. France_ 20, fig. 1906.
_Gemeine Marmorkirsche._ =18.= Truchsess-Heim Kirschensort. 301-303. 1819. =19.= _Ill. Handb._ 123 fig., 124. 1860.
_Graffion._ =20.= Truchsess-Heim _Kirschensort._ 338-340. 1819. =21.= Brookshaw _Hort. Reposit._ =1=:69, Pl. 34 fig. 1. 1823. =22.= Prince _Pom. Man._ =2=:137, 138. 1832. =23.= _Cultivator_ N. S. =6=:21, fig. 6. 1849. =24.= Elliott _Fr. Book_ 208. 1854.
_Bigarreau._ =25.= _Mag. Hort._ =9=:202. 1843. =26.= Downing _Fr. Trees Am._ 179 fig., 180. 1845. =27.= Floy-Lindley _Guide Orch. Gard._ 102. 1846. =28.= _Proc. Nat. Con. Fr. Gr._ 52. 1848. =29.= _Cole Am. Fr. Book_ 233 fig. 31. 1849. 30. Hogg _Fruit Man._ 281, 282. 1884.
For centuries Yellow Spanish must have been the best of all the Bigarreaus and it is only in comparatively late years that it has had rivals. Even yet in tree-characters it is hardly equaled, surpassing Windsor, which has a notable tree, in several respects and falling short of it only in hardiness. The trees are large,--perhaps the largest of all the varieties of _Prunus avium_,--having an upright-spreading top which gives a large bearing surface and forms a canopy of splendid foliage. The trees are vigorous, bear abundantly and regularly and come in bearing young, with the crop well distributed and not in clusters as is the case and the fault of Windsor. Unfortunately, the cherries, though very good in most characters, do not come up to the trees in points of superiority. They are rather smaller than those of Napoleon, the greatest competitor of Yellow Spanish, and are more subject to attacks of brown-rot than several others of the Bigarreaus. As may be seen by comparing the color-plates, however, Yellow Spanish is rather the handsomer of the two cherries, the crimson color being more evenly distributed and the skin not having the mottled appearance of Napoleon. In quality Yellow Spanish is the better of the two, having tenderer flesh and a sweeter and richer flavor. Yellow Spanish is notable in the nursery for its strong, upright growth and its large leaves, the leaves of no other cherry attaining so great a size. In blossoming time the variety may be distinguished by the whiteness of the blossoms as they open and a reddish tint as they drop. It is a mid-season cherry, ripening after Wood and a few days before Napoleon. Despite the great age of the variety it still remains one of the best, furnishing proof, by the way, that varieties of cherries do not degenerate with age. In New York Yellow Spanish cannot be spared from either home or commercial plantings.
Yellow Spanish is so old and so widely disseminated that its origin can only be conjectured. From the name we naturally infer a Spanish nativity and yet it is almost equally well known as Bigarreau, a word of French derivation. Under the last name French pomologists believe that they trace its history to the First Century of the Christian Era as the variety described by Pliny under the name Cerasum Duracinum. The Germans and Austrians certainly knew this variety in the Eighteenth Century and probably much earlier, an inference to be drawn from the references given. Parkinson, the English herbalist, described a cherry in 1629 which he called the Biguarre Cherrie which later came to be known as the Bigarreau or Graffion by English writers and which we now know to be Yellow Spanish. Seven years later Gerarde described a Spanish cherry the description of which is not unlike our Yellow Spanish. Miller and Forsyth, English writers, also at an early date described a Spanish cherry which may be the fruit of this discussion.
Fortunately we are well informed as to the history of Yellow Spanish in America. Prince, one of the most accurate of American pomologists, in 1832, gave the following historical account of the Graffion, or Yellow Spanish: "This tree was imported from London by the father of the author, in the year 1802, under the name Yellow Spanish, and one of the original trees is now growing in his garden, where it produces abundantly, and there is little doubt that from his stock have originated most of the trees of this kind now in our country, as he has taken much pains to recommend it." Why Prince and other Americans came to call the variety introduced by the elder Prince of Europe as Yellow Spanish, as Bigarreau and Graffion, does not appear unless the younger Prince wanted to make the name in this country conform to that in most common usage in England at the time. Besides the names already given, Yellow Spanish has been rather widely grown in America as Ox Heart and White Caroon. This variety was placed on the recommended list of the National Congress of Fruit Growers, which afterwards became the American Pomological Society, in 1848, under the name Bigarreau. The name was changed in 1897 to Yellow Spanish and it now appears on the list of that organization as Spanish.
Tree very large and vigorous, upright-spreading, rather open-topped, productive; trunk thick, of medium smoothness; branches stocky, reddish-brown covered with ash-gray, smooth except for the numerous large lenticels; branchlets short, brown nearly overspread with ash-gray, smooth, with small, slightly raised, inconspicuous lenticels.
Leaves numerous five and one-half inches long, two and one-half inches wide, folded upward, obovate to elliptical; upper surface dark green, nearly smooth, grooved along the midrib; lower surface light green, lightly pubescent; apex acute, base variable in shape; margin coarsely and doubly serrate, with small, dark glands; petiole one and three-fourths inches long, thick, heavily tinged with dull red, grooved along the upper surface, with from one to four large, reniform, reddish-yellow glands variable in position.
Buds conical, plump, free, arranged singly or in small clusters as lateral buds and from short spurs; leaf-scars prominent; season of bloom intermediate; flowers white, one and one-fourth inches across; borne in well-distributed clusters, in twos and in threes; pedicels about one inch long, glabrous, green; calyx-tube greenish, obconic, glabrous; calyx-lobes acute, reflexed; petals oval, entire, strongly dentate at the apex, tapering to short, blunt claws; filaments three-eighths inch long; pistil glabrous, equal to the stamens in length.
Fruit matures in mid-season; one inch or over in diameter, cordate, compressed; cavity deep, wide, flaring; suture a mere line; apex roundish, not depressed; color bright amber-yellow with a reddish blush, slightly mottled; dots numerous, small, light russet, obscure; stem one and one-half inches long, adherent to the fruit; skin thin, tough, separating from the pulp; flesh whitish, with colorless juice, tender, meaty, crisp, aromatic, sprightly, sweet; very good to best in quality; stone free, ovate, slightly flattened, oblique, with smooth surfaces; with two small, blunt ridges along the ventral suture near the apex.