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.
[Illustration: EARLY RICHMOND]
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.
[Illustration: ELTON]
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.
[Illustration: EMPRESS EUGENIE]
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.
[Illustration: 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.
[Illustration: FLORENCE]
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.
[Illustration: GEORGE GLASS]
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.
[Illustration: IDA]
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.
[Illustration: 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.
[Illustration: KNIGHT]
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.
[Illustration: LAMBERT]
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.
[Illustration: 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.
[Illustration: LATE DUKE]
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.
[Illustration: LOUIS PHILLIPE]
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.
[Illustration: MAY DUKE]
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.
[Illustration: MEZEL]
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.