wide, long-oval, thin; upper surface dark green, strongly rugose
giving a crumpled appearance; lower surface dull, light green,
with slight pubescence; apex varies from abrupt to taper-pointed,
base abrupt; margin glandular, coarsely serrate; petiole long,
averaging one and one-half inches, slender, tinged with red, with
from one to four reniform glands of medium size on the petiole.
Buds intermediate in size and length, plump, pointed, arranged
singly as lateral buds or in clusters of various sizes on both
long and short spurs; leaf-scars prominent; season of bloom
intermediate; flowers one and seven-sixteenths inches across, well
distributed in scattering clusters in twos and threes; pedicels
one and one-eighth inches long, medium in thickness, glabrous,
greenish; calyx-tube with a slight tinge of red, campanulate,
glabrous; calyx-lobes long, medium in width, acute, slightly
serrate, glabrous within and without; petals somewhat obovate,
crenate, nearly sessile, with a very shallow notch at the apex;
anthers yellow; filaments shorter than the petals; pistil
glabrous, shorter than the stamens, often defective.
Fruit matures in mid-season; large, seven-eighths inch long,
thirteen-sixteenths inch wide, cordate, compressed, the surface
markedly irregular and broken into ridges; cavity very deep,
wide, irregular, abrupt; suture variable, shallow to very deep
and wide and at times double; apex blunt-pointed, usually not
depressed; color attractive purplish-black; dots numerous, very
small, somewhat russet, obscure; stem medium in thickness, long,
averaging two and one-eighth inches, adheres well to the fruit;
skin medium in thickness, rather tender but not inclined to crack,
adheres slightly to the pulp; flesh purplish-red, with abundant
dark red juice, tender, meaty, mild, very pleasant, sweet; very
good to best in quality; stone clinging, large, strongly ovate,
with slightly roughish surface.
MONTMORENCY
_Prunus cerasus_
=1.= Duhamel _Trait. Arb. Fr._ =1=:181, 182. 1768. =2.= Kraft
_Pom. Aust._ =1=:6, Tab. 15 fig. 1. 1792. =3.= Christ _Wörterb._
292. 1802. =4.= Truchsess-Heim _Kirschensort_. 656, 657, 691.
1819. =5.= Kenrick _Am. Orch._ 281. 1832. =6.= Poiteau _Pom.
Franc._ =2=: No. 14, Pl. 1846. =7.= Mas _Le Verger_ =8=:53, 54,
fig. 25. 1866-73. =8.= _Pom. France_ =7=: No. 3, Pl. 3. 1871.
=9.= Leroy _Dict. Pom._ =5=:361, 362 fig., 363, 364. 1877. =10.=
Mathieu _Nom. Pom._ 369. 1889. =11.= _Guide Prat._ 9, 196. 1895.
=12.= _Del. Sta. An. Rpt._ =12=:112 fig. 4, 113, 114. 1900. =13.=
_Am. Gard._ =22=:266, 267. 1901. =14.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 27.
1909.
_Kleine Glaskirsche von Montmorency._ =15.= Truchsess-Heim
_Kirschensort_. 463, 464, 465. 1819.
_Long Stem Montmorency._ =16.= Prince _Pom. Man._ =2=:139. 1832.
_Amarelle Royale._ =17.= Mortillet _Le Cerisier_ =2=:191-195, fig.
53. 1866.
_Montmorency Ordinaire._ =18.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 17. 1897.
=19.= _Ia. Sta. Bul._ =73=:75, fig. 15. 1903. =20.= _Am. Pom. Soc.
Sp. Rpt._ 33, 34, Pl. 2. 1904-05.
Montmorency is the most popular Sour Cherry grown in America. No one
questions its supremacy. Probably half of the cherry trees in New York,
Sweet or Sour, are Montmorencies and at least three-fourths of all the
trees of the Sour Cherry are of this variety. It leads in the demands
for this fruit in the markets, for the cannery and for home use as a
culinary cherry. Several characters give it first place. It is surpassed
by no other Sour Cherry, in New York at least, in vigor, health and
productiveness of tree. In the last character, in particular, it is
supreme. Year in and year out, Montmorency trees are fruitful. Possibly,
too, no other Sour Cherry is adapted to a greater diversity of soils
than Montmorency, which, with capacity to stand heat and cold, makes the
variety suitable to wide variations in environment. The cherries are in
no way remarkable--not much above the average for an Amarelle in size,
appearance or quality, in all of these characters being much inferior to
Large Montmorency. The fruit has the advantage of being presentable in
appearance and fit for culinary purposes several days before it is fully
ripe and this adds to the value of the variety for the market. Brown-rot
takes less toll from this cherry than of others of its kind probably
because of relatively firm flesh and thick skin. These characters, also,
make the fruit stand handling well in harvesting, shipping and on the
markets. The preserved product, whether canned at home or commercially,
is attractive in appearance and very good. Montmorency is not a dessert
cherry but for those who like Sour Cherries it may be eaten out of hand
with relish when it is fully matured. Some maintain that the variety
falls short in the size of the tree, which is seldom more than medium,
but the head is spreading and much-branched and the fruit is borne in
clusters thickly scattered throughout the whole head so that the total
yield from a tree is greater than would be thought from its size. For
any and all purposes to which Sour Cherries are put Montmorency may be
recommended as the best in its season.
Unfortunately several quite distinct cherries bear the name Montmorency
and it has been most difficult to separate them in pomological
literature. To make matters worse, all of them have been much confused
with other varieties, Early Richmond in particular. The different
Montmorencies and Early Richmond originated in the Montmorency Valley,
France, several centuries ago, at least before the Seventeenth Century,
probably as seedlings of Cerise Hâtive or of Cerise Commune. These
Montmorency cherries differ from each other principally in their stems
and fruit, one having long stems and moderate-sized, regular fruit; one
shorter stems and larger fruit; and the third, very short, thick stems
and oblate, irregular fruit showing a distinct suture. The first cherry
has been generally known, particularly among the French, as Montmorency
à Longue Queue or sometimes Cerise de Montmorency. This is the
Montmorency of this sketch. Duhamel, in 1768, was the first writer to
mention this cherry directly and according to his statement it was then
esteemed around Paris, being superior in productiveness to the Large
Montmorency.
Montmorency early found its way into England, where it soon became
confused with its probable parent, the French Cerise Hâtive or the
English Kentish. In a short time it had replaced Kentish in many
nurseries and came to be called Kentish in much of the literature of the
time. Just when Montmorency was introduced to this country is not known
but it has been cultivated here under various names for many years.
William Prince spoke of it in 1832 as the Long Stem Montmorency and it
has long and commonly been known here as Montmorency Ordinaire.
Montmorency is to be found in nearly every nursery in the United States
under various names, some nurserymen using the French name, others the
English, while still others are selling the variety as Large
Montmorency. Many supposed strains have been given new names but it is
doubtful if any distinct strains of this cherry exist. The American
Pomological Society added Montmorency to its fruit catalog list in
1897 using the qualifying term Ordinaire which was dropped in 1909.
[Illustration: MONTMORENCY]
Tree large, vigorous, upright-spreading, with the lower branches
inclined to droop, round-topped, productive; trunk and branches
smooth; branches reddish-brown tinged with light ash-gray, with a
few lenticels of medium size; branchlets slender, reddish-brown
partly overspread with ash-gray, smooth, with a few small,
inconspicuous lenticels.
Leaves three inches long, one and one-half inches wide, folded
upwards or flattened, oval to obovate, leathery; upper surface
dark green, smooth; lower surface pale green, with a few
scattering hairs; apex and base variable in shape; margin doubly
crenate, glandular; petiole one inch long, tinged with dull red,
glandless or with from one to three small, globose, brownish or
yellowish glands, usually at the base of the blade.
Buds obtuse, plump, free, arranged singly or in clusters on short
spurs; leaf-scars obscure; season of bloom intermediate; flowers
white, one and one-fourth inches across; borne in scattered
clusters in twos and threes; pedicels one inch long, glabrous,
greenish; calyx-tube green, obconic, glabrous; calyx-lobes tinged
with red, broad, serrate, glabrous within and without, reflexed;
petals roundish to obovate, crenate, with short, blunt claws and
shallow, crenate apex; filaments one-fourth inch long; pistil
glabrous, equal to or slightly longer than the stamens.
Fruit matures in mid-season; three-fourths of an inch in diameter,
roundish-oblate, slightly compressed; cavity abrupt; suture very
shallow; apex roundish; color light to rather dark red; dots
numerous, small, russet, inconspicuous; stem thick, usually with
a faint tinge of red, one inch long, adhering well to the fruit;
skin thin, tender, separating from the pulp; flesh pale yellow,
with a reddish tinge, with abundant light pink juice, tender and
melting, sprightly, tart; of very good quality; stone free, small,
roundish-ovate, flattened, pointed, with smooth surfaces which are
tinged with red.
NAPOLEON
_Prunus avium_
=1.= Prince _Treat. Hort._ 30. 1828. =2.= Kenrick _Am. Orch._ 273,
274. 1832. =3.= Downing _Fr. Trees Am._ 183. 1845. =4.= Thomas
_Am. Fruit Cult._ 365. 1849. =5.= _Ann. Pom. Belge_ =1=:27, 28,
fig. 2. 1853. =6.= Elliott _Fr. Book_ 215. 1859. =7.= Thompson
_Gard. Ass't_ 527. 1859. =8.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 74. 1862. =9.=
Mortillet _Le Cerisier_ =2=:132. 1866. =10.= Downing _Fr. Trees
Am._ 470. 1869. =11.= _Pom. France_ =7=: No. 9, Pl. 9. 1871. =12.=
Leroy _Dict. Pom._ =5=:219, 220 fig., 221. 1877. =13.= _Flor. &
Pom._ 57, Pl. 465. 1878. =14.= Mas _Pom. Gen._ =11=:109, 110, fig.
55. 1882. =15.= _Cornell Sta. Bul._ =98=:493, fig. 87. 1895. =16.=
_Ont. Fr. Gr. Assoc. Rpt._ =5=:38 fig. 1898.
_Gros Bigarreau Blanc._ =17.= Duhamel _Trait. Arb. Fr_. =1=:165.
1768. =18.= Truchsess-Heim _Kirschensort_. 308-310. 1819. =19.=
Mortillet _Le Cerisier_ =2=:123-126, fig. 29. 1866. =20.= Leroy
_Dict. Pom._ =5=:179, 180 fig., 181. 1877. =21.= Mathieu _Nom.
Pom._ 354. 1889.
_Lauermannskirsche._ =22.= Christ _Handb._ 664. 1797. =23.=
Christ _Wörterb._ 280. 1802. =24.= Truchsess-Heim _Kirschensort_.
292-295, 323-328. 1819. =25.= Mathieu _Nom. Pom._ 367. 1889.
_Lange Marmorkirsche._ =26.= Christ _Handb._ 655. 1797. =27.=
Truchsess-Heim _Kirschensort_. 330-333. 1819.
_Holländische Grosse Prinzessinkirsche._ =28.= Christ _Wörterb._
281. 1802. =29.= Truchsess-Heim _Kirschensort_. 295-299. 1819.
=30.= _Ill. Handb._ 125 fig., 126. 1860. =31.= Mas _Pom. Gen._
=11=:117, 118, fig. 59. 1882. =32.= Mathieu _Nom. Pom._ 357. 1889.
_Harrison's Heart._ =33.= Forsyth _Treat. Fr. Trees_ 42. 1803.
=34.= Brookshaw _Hort. Reposit._ =1=:69, 70, Pl. 34 fig. 2. 1823.
=35.= Mas _Le Verger_ =8=:145, 146, fig. 71. 1866-73. =36.=
Mathieu _Nom. Pom._ 362. 1889.
_Grosse Weisse Marmorkirsche._ =37.= Truchsess-Heim
_Kirschensort_. 316, 317, 682. 1819.
_Holland Bigarreau._ =38.= Downing _Fr. Trees Am._ 181 fig., 182.
1845.
_Bigarreau d'Esperen._ =39.= Mortillet _Le Cerisier_ =2=:119, 120
fig., 121. 1866. =40.= Downing _Fr. Trees Am._ 463. 1869. =41.=
Mas _Le Verger_ =8=:11, 12, fig. 4. 1866-73. =42.= Leroy _Dict.
Pom._ =5=:198 fig., 199. 1877. =43.= Mathieu _Nom. Pom._ 347.
1889. =44.= _Rev. Hort._ 321, 322. 1912.
_Bigarreau Gros Coeuret._ =45.= Mortillet _Le Cerisier_
=2=:126-129, fig. 30. 1866. =46.= _Pom. France_ =7=: No. 23, Pl.
23. 1871. =47.= Leroy _Dict. Pom._ =5=:208, 209 fig., 210. 1877.
_Royal Ann._ =48.= _Cal. Bd. Hort. Rpt._ 59, Pl. 18. 1893-94.
=49.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Rpt._ 192. 1907. =50.= _Wash. Sta. Bul._
=92=:31, fig. 8. 1910.
Napoleon is the leading firm-fleshed Sweet Cherry. It takes its place by
virtue of the large size, handsome appearance and high quality of the
fruit and the phenomenal productiveness of the trees. The accompanying
plate shows well the large size and beautiful color of the
cherries--unsurpassed in either character by any other Bigarreau and
possibly by any other cherry. The flavor is rich and sweet which, with
the abundant juice and firm, crackling flesh, makes this a most
delicious and refreshing cherry for dessert and, with the great size and
attractive color, gives it preference over all other Sweet Cherries for
culinary purposes. In particular, cherry-canners find that Napoleon
makes a finely finished product. The cherries carry well and keep long
and are, therefore, well thought of by fruit-dealers. Besides being very
productive, the trees come in bearing early and are as vigorous, hardy
and healthy as those of any other Sweet Cherry. They may usually be
known by their upright growth and large, sturdy limbs. Napoleon,
however, is not without its faults. The cherries crack badly in wet
weather and the variety can be grown with certainty only in the dry
summer climate of the Pacific Coast, where, especially in Oregon and
Washington, it reaches truly wonderful perfection. In the East, too,
Napoleon is more susceptible to brown-rot than several of its rivals.
Possibly the greatest fault, however, is in the tree, which is very
fastidious as to soils, thriving only in choice cherry land and in a
congenial cherry climate. Despite these rather serious faults,
cherry-growers agree that Napoleon takes first place among Sweet
Cherries for both home and commercial plantings.
Napoleon is of unknown origin. Early in the Eighteenth Century it was
grown by the Germans, French, Dutch and English, proof that it is a very
old variety. Leroy believes that it was described by Merlet in 1667 but
under another name. The great number of synonyms in several languages
gives some idea of the countries in which the variety has been grown
as well as the esteem in which it has been held. There are several
accounts as to when the cherry was given the name Napoleon. Probably the
best authenticated is that in which it is held that Parmentier, a
Belgian, gave the cherry the name of the famous emperor in 1820. When
the variety was taken to England, where at that time Napoleon was not in
good repute, the name of his conqueror, Wellington, was substituted but
seems to have been little used. As if not content with the score or more
of European names, cherry-growers in America have added at least two
more. In many parts of the country it is locally called the Ox Heart. On
the Pacific Coast it is grown and sold by nurserymen and fruit-growers
alike as Royal Ann, a name given it by its introducer, Seth Lewelling,
of Milwaukee, Oregon, who lost the label bearing the old name in taking
it across the Continent in early days and gave it a new name. With
incomprehensible persistency Western horticulturists maintain this
synonym to the confusion of horticultural nomenclature. The American
Pomological Society placed Napoleon on its fruit list in 1862, it having
been grown in America for at least 40 years before receiving this honor.
[Illustration: NAPOLEON]
Tree large, vigorous, upright-spreading, open-topped, very
productive; trunk thick, shaggy; branches thick, roughened by the
lenticels, dull brown overlaid with ash-gray, with numerous large,
raised lenticels; branchlets thick, long, light brown overspread
with gray, smooth, with a few inconspicuous, small lenticels.
Leaves numerous, five and three-fourths inches long, two and
one-half inches wide, folded upward, elliptical to obovate; upper
surface dark green, rugose; lower surface light green, somewhat
pubescent; apex acute, base variable in shape; margin doubly
serrate, with small, dark glands; petiole one and one-fourth
inches long, thick, tinged with dull red, hairy along the upper
surface, with from one to three large, reniform, reddish-orange
glands, usually on the stalk.
Buds variable in size, conical, free, arranged singly or in thin
clusters from lateral buds and from spurs; leaf-scars prominent;
season of bloom intermediate; flowers white, one and one-half
inches across; borne in scattering clusters in ones or in twos;
pedicels variable in length, averaging one inch long, glabrous,
greenish; calyx-tube green, campanulate, glabrous; calyx-lobes
tinged with red, long, rather narrow, acuminate, serrate,
reflexed; petals oval, entire, dentate at the apex, with short,
narrow claws; filaments one-half inch long; pistil glabrous,
shorter than the stamens, often defective.
Fruit matures in mid-season; over one inch in diameter, conical
to long-cordate, compressed; cavity deep, wide, flaring; suture a
distinct line; apex much pointed; color, varying shades of bright
red over a yellowish background, distinctly mottled; dots obscure;
stem slender, more than one inch long, adherent to the fruit; skin
thin, rather adherent; flesh whitish, with a faint yellow tinge,
with colorless juice, tender, meaty, crisp, mild, the flavor
improving as the season advances, sweet; good to very good in
quality; stone semi-clinging, small, ovate, flattened, pointed,
with smooth surfaces.
NOUVELLE ROYALE
_Prunus avium_ × _Prunus cerasus_
=1.= _Flor. & Pom._ 72, Pl. 1862. =2.= _Gard. Mon._ =7=:248.
1865. =3.= Hogg _Fruit Man._ 70, 88. 1866. =4.= Mas _Le Verger_
=8=:147, 148, fig. 72. 1866-73. =5.= Downing _Fr. Trees Am._ 484.
1869. =6.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Rpt._ 31. 1875. =7.= Gaucher _Pom. Prak.
Obst._ No. 80, Tab. 33. 1894. =8.= _Guide Prat._ 9. 1895.
If this cherry were to be judged by its behavior on the grounds of this
Station, it would be called one of the best of the hybrid Dukes. In
particular, it would be commended by its product, the trees not making
as good a showing as the fruit. The cherries are distinguished by their
large size, dark red color, glossy surface, good quality, lateness in
maturity and, even more particularly, sweetness, keeping in mind that
the variety is a hybrid and not a true Sweet Cherry. The shape, too,
offers a distinguishing character, the fruits being more oblate than in
any other Duke. The long, stout stem is still another characteristic.
Unfortunately the tree, while satisfactory in all other respects, is
unproductive--a fatal fault in these days of commercial fruit-growing.
Nouvelle Royale is not widely known in America and may well be given
trial by those who want a late Duke.
This variety is supposed from its fruit- and tree-characters to be a
hybrid between Early Richmond and May Duke but where, how and when it
came to light is not known. Downing, in 1869, mentions the Nouvelle
Royale as having recently been introduced into this country and it was
noted in the Report of the American Pomological Society for 1875 but has
never received a place upon the Society's fruit catalog list.
[Illustration: NOUVELLE ROYALE]
Tree large, vigorous, upright, compact, moderately productive;
trunk of medium size; branches upright, thickish; branchlets
slender, long, brown partly covered with ash-gray, with very
numerous conspicuous, raised lenticels.
Leaves numerous, three and one-half inches long, two inches wide,
folded upward, obovate; upper surface dark green, glossy, rugose;
lower surface light green, lightly pubescent; apex abruptly
pointed, base acute; margin finely and doubly serrate, glandular;
petiole one and one-fourth inches long, slender, tinged with dull
red, grooved and with few hairs along the upper surface, glandless
or with from one to four globose, greenish-yellow or reddish
glands variable in size usually at the base of the blade.
Buds small, short, obtuse, plump, free, arranged singly as lateral
buds and on short spurs in clusters variable in size; leaf-scars
obscure; season of bloom intermediate; flowers white, one inch
across; borne in dense clusters in threes and fours; pedicels
three-fourths of an inch long, slender, glabrous, greenish;
calyx-tube with a tinge of red, obconic, glabrous; calyx-lobes
somewhat reddish, broad, acute, serrate, glabrous within and
without, reflexed; petals roundish, entire, nearly sessile, apex
entire; filaments one-fourth inch long; pistil glabrous, longer
than the stamens.
Fruit matures in mid-season; nearly one inch in diameter, oblate,
strongly compressed; cavity deep, narrow, abrupt; suture shallow;
apex flattened or slightly depressed; color dark red; dots
numerous, small, russet, inconspicuous; stem one and three-fourths
inches long, adherent to the fruit; skin thin, tender, separating
from the pulp; flesh pale yellowish or with a tinge of red, with
light pink juice, slightly stringy, tender and melting, pleasantly
flavored, mildly tart; of very good quality; stone free,
roundish-oval, plump, blunt, oblique, with smooth surfaces often
tinged with red, with small ridges radiating from the base.
OLIVET
_Prunus avium × Prunus cerasus_
=1.= _Gard. Mon._ =19=:19. 1877. =2.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 20.
1881. =3.= Downing _Fr. Trees Am._ 3rd App. 164. 1881. =4.= _Can.
Exp. Farm Bul._ =17=:11. 1892. =5.= _Cal. Sta. An. Rpt._ 316.
1895-97. =6.= _Va. Sta. Bul._ =133=:27. 1902. =7.= _Ia. Sta. Bul._
=73=:76, 77. 1903. =8.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Sp. Rpt._ 24. 1904-05. =9.=
_Wash. Sta. Bul._ =92=:21. 1910.
Olivet is a large, globular, deep red, glossy cherry with a rich,
vinous, subacid flavor. Some writers call Olivet a Duke while others
place it with the Morellos. The fruit, on the grounds of this Station,
shows many characteristics of the Morellos while the tree appears to be
a Duke, suggesting that it is a hybrid between trees of the two groups.
The fruit, eaten out of hand, would be rated as a very good Morello or a
subacid and somewhat mediocre Duke, a fruit hardly good enough for
dessert and not as good as some of the sourer cherries for culinary
purposes. It is one of the earliest of the Morello-like cherries and
this may give it a place in the cherry flora of the country. The trees
are large and vigorous and their much-branched, round tops would seem to
give the maximum amount of bearing surface, but, unfortunately, the
cherries do not set abundantly. On the grounds of this Station the
variety is not fruitful, this being its chief defect. In other parts of
the country, however, it is reported to be either very productive or
moderately so. The descriptions of this cherry as given by American
experiment stations and nurserymen show plainly that there are several
distinct sorts passing under the name Olivet in this country.
Olivet, of comparatively recent origin, was found at Olivet, Loire,
France. American nurserymen introduced this variety sometime previous to
1877, for in that year the _Gardener's Monthly_ mentioned the cherry as
being "a valuable Duke sort filling an unoccupied place among the list
of early cherries in central New York." Olivet was entered on the
American Pomological Society's catalog list of fruits in 1881 where it
is still retained.
[Illustration: OLIVET]
Tree large, vigorous, upright-spreading, round-topped,
unproductive; trunk thickish, rather rough; branches thick,
smooth, reddish-brown partly overspread with ash-gray, with
numerous small lenticels; branchlets short, brown partly
overspread with ash-gray, smooth, with numerous raised lenticels.
Leaves numerous, three and one-half inches long, one and
three-fourths inches wide, folded upward, obovate to oval, thin;
upper surface dark green, smooth; lower surface light green,
glossy, with a few scattering hairs; apex acute; margin doubly
serrate, glandular; petiole one and one-fourth inches long,
greenish, glandless or with one or two globose, brownish glands
variable in position.
Buds usually pointed, plump, free, arranged singly as lateral buds
and in small clusters on short spurs; leaf-scars prominent; season
of bloom intermediate; flowers white, one inch across; borne in
dense clusters, usually in threes; pedicels one-half inch long,
glabrous, greenish; calyx-tube with a tinge of red, obconic,
glabrous; calyx-lobes with a trace of red, long, of medium width,
acute, serrate, glabrous within and without, reflexed; petals
oval to slightly obovate, entire, nearly sessile; apex entire;
filaments one-fourth inch long; pistil glabrous, equal to the
stamens in length.
Fruit matures in mid-season; nearly one inch in diameter, roundish
to slightly oblate, somewhat compressed; cavity abrupt, regular;
suture a line; apex roundish, with a small depression at the
center; color bright red; dots russet, obscure; stem thickish,
one and one-fourth inches long, adhering well to the fruit; skin
tough, separating from the pulp; flesh light red, with abundant
light red or wine-colored juice, tender and melting, sprightly,
astringent, tart; of fairly good quality; stone free, small,
roundish, slightly flattened, somewhat pointed at the apex, with
smooth surfaces; somewhat ridged along the ventral suture.
OSTHEIM
_Prunus cerasus_
=1.= Christ _Obstbäume_ 159. 1791. =2.= Christ _Handb._ 676. 1797.
=3.= Truchsess-Heim _Kirschensort_. 512-517. 1819. =4.= Prince
_Pom. Man._ =2=:145. 1832 =5.= Dochnahl _Führ. Obstkunde_ =3=:60.
1858. =6.= _Ill. Handb._ 187 fig., 188. 1860. =7.= Leroy _Dict.
Pom._ =5=:295, 296 fig. 1877. =8.= Mathieu _Nom. Pom._ 371. 1889.
=9.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 25. 1899. =10.= _Del. Sta. An. Rpt._
=12=:121, 122. 1900. =11.= _Ia. Sta. Bul._ =73=:78 fig. 18, 79.
1903. =12.= _Wash. Sta. Bul._ =92=:14, 21, 22. 1910.
Ostheim finds considerable favor in the prairie states of the Middle
West but is all but worthless as grown in New York and other eastern
states. It is one of the Morellos and falls far short of the best of its
group, the cherries being too small and of but mediocre quality. The
trees are typical Morellos, round-headed, with slender, drooping
branches and branchlets and very dark green foliage. The fruit is borne
toward the ends of short branches which are not well distributed over
the main branches, leaving much bare wood. Like all Morellos the fruit
hangs long after maturity and since the ripening season is late the
variety may be worth growing because of its lateness; as it may, also,
in cold climates because of great hardiness. The trees on their own
roots throw up many suckers which are often used in propagation. The
variety has the reputation, too, of coming true to name from seeds.
Ostheim is a native of Spain and not of Germany as many have supposed.
The trees were found in the region of the Sierra Morena Mountains,
Spain, and were taken to Germany by a Dr. Klinghammer after the Wars of
the Succession, 1701-1713. The cherry took the name Ostheim from the
German town of that name where it was widely grown. The variety, being
easily propagated, spread throughout Germany and soon became one of the
best-known cherries. Later, the name seems to have come to be a class
term for all cherries similar to the original Ostheim. The names
Ostheim, Ostheimer, Griotte Ostheim and Ostheimer Weichsel are used
interchangeably by foreign writers for this variety. American writers,
however, have given these names to two very similar but distinct
varieties. Ostheim was brought to the United States by William Robert
Prince of the Linnean Botanical Gardens early in the Nineteenth Century.
It has proved very satisfactory in some sections of the West and Canada,
while in the East it is but a mediocre variety at best. At different
times either buds or trees of so-called Ostheims have been imported to
this country which have turned out not to be the true variety. What
these sorts really are will remain uncertain until the several forms can
be brought together and compared. Professor Budd imported a variety in
1883, which since has become known as Ostheim, carrying Griotte
d'Ostheim as a synonym. Whether or not this is the old variety or a
distinct strain of the Ostheim class we are unable to say. The Cerise
d'Ostheim received by this Station has proved identical with this
variety. Ostheim was first listed by the American Pomological Society in
1899. A cherry known as Minnesota Ostheim, introduced into Minnesota
from Germany, is now recognized as a distinct sort. The variety as it is
known in Kansas and Missouri is often called the German Ostheimer though
some believe this to be different from the true sort.
[Illustration: OSTHEIM]
Tree below medium in size, vigorous, upright-spreading,
with drooping branchlets, dense, very productive; trunk
smooth; branches rather slender, smooth, dark ash-gray partly
overspreading reddish-brown, with small, raised lenticels;
branchlets slender, willowy, long, brown partly overspread with
ash-gray, smooth, glabrous, with small, inconspicuous lenticels.
Leaves very numerous, three and one-fourth inches long, one and
one-half inches wide, folded upward, obovate to oval; upper
surface very dark green, smooth; lower surface pale green, with a
few scattering hairs; apex taper-pointed, base variable in shape;
margin finely serrate, with small, dark glands; petiole slender,
one-half inch long, short, tinged with dull red, grooved, with
a few scattering hairs, with from one to three small, globose,
greenish-yellow glands at the base of the blade.
Buds small, short, usually obtuse, plump, free, arranged as
lateral buds and in small clusters on short spurs; leaf-scars
prominent; season of bloom medium; flowers one inch across,
white; borne in scattering clusters, in twos and threes; pedicels
five-eighths of an inch long, rather slender, glabrous, greenish;
calyx-tube green with a faint tinge of red, obconic, glabrous;
calyx-lobes with a trace of red, rather long, serrate, glabrous
within and without, reflexed; petals obovate, entire, nearly
sessile, apex entire; filaments one-fourth inch long; pistil
glabrous, nearly equal in length to the stamens.
Fruit matures very late; nearly three-fourths of an inch in
diameter, roundish to slightly oblate, compressed; cavity very
shallow and narrow, flaring; suture indistinct; apex roundish with
a small depression at the center; color very dark red approaching
black; dots numerous, small, dark russet, inconspicuous; stem
slender, one and one-fourth inches long, but slightly adherent to
the fruit; skin thin, tender, separating readily from the pulp;
flesh dark red, with much very dark colored juice, tender and
melting, sprightly, tart, losing its astringency when fully ripe;
of fair quality; stone free, nearly one-half inch in diameter,
roundish-oblate, somewhat pointed, with smooth surfaces slightly
stained with red.
OX HEART
_Prunus avium_
=1.= Miller _Gard. Kal._ 154, 1734. =2.= Christ _Handb._ 663.
1797. =3.= Brookshaw _Hort. Reposit._ =1=:36, Pl. 18 fig. 2.
1817. =4.= Coxe _Cult. Fr. Trees_ 249. 1817. =5.= Truchsess-Heim
_Kirschensort_. 132-135. 1819. =6.= Downing Fr. _Trees Am._ 176.
1845. =7.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Rpt._ 244. 1858. =8.= Mas _Pom. Gen._
=11=:57, 58, fig. 29. 1882. =9.= Oberdieck _Obst-Sort._ 365, 366.
1882. =10.= Mathieu _Nom. Pom._ 339, 371. 1889.
_Bigarreau Gros Commun._ =11.= _Mag. Hort._ =9=:203. 1843.
Ox Heart is very commonly used as a class name for the large, meaty
varieties of cherries which are cordate in shape. In America the name is
most often given to the light-fleshed cherries, such as Yellow Spanish,
Napoleon or White Bigarreau. At one time, however, the name was applied
to a distinct variety known throughout England, Germany and America,
being first mentioned by Miller, an Englishman, in 1734. Coxe, in 1817,
was the first American writer to list the variety but it never became
popular in the New World. Ox Heart appeared among the fruits rejected by
the American Pomological Society in 1858 and from then on it gradually
gave way to better varieties. The synonyms of the true Ox Heart are
badly confused not only with other dark-fleshed varieties but with those
of the Yellow Spanish type. As some of these varieties are merely listed
while others have but a meager description, it is impossible to separate
or group them with any degree of certainty. In the 1909 catalog of the
American Pomological Society there appears an Ox Heart of American
origin and of recent introduction, known in the West as Major Francis.
There are also in several nursery catalogs a "white-fleshed Ox Heart."
What this variety is we are unable to say. The following is a
description of Ox Heart compiled from European fruit books:
Tree medium in vigor, round-topped, spherical, productive;
branches somewhat curved; internodes of medium length; leaves
obovate, obtusely pointed, margin finely serrate; petiole short,
rather slender, flexible, tinged red, with two reniform glands;
flowers small; petals irregularly elliptical.
Fruit matures the last of June or early in July; medium to large,
cordate, pointed, sides unevenly compressed; color lively red
changing to intense purple or nearly black; stem of medium length
and thickness, usually tinged red, inserted in a broad, deep
cavity; skin tough; flesh dark red, with abundant colored juice,
half-tender but firmer than most Hearts, sweet though slightly
bitter before complete maturity; quality good; stone medium in
size, broadly cordate, adhering to the flesh along the ventral
suture.
REINE HORTENSE
_Prunus avium X Prunus cerasus_
=1.= _Gen. Farmer_ =11=:191 fig. 1850. =2.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Rpt._
55. 1856. =3.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 211. 1856. =3.= Dochnahl
_Führ. Obstkunde_ =3=:54. 1858. =4.= _Ill. Handb._ 167 fig., 168.
1860. =5.= Thomas _Guide Prat._ 17, 204. 1876. =6.= Leroy _Dict.
Pom._ =5=:379-382, fig. 1877.
_D'Aremberg._ =7.= _Lond. Hort. Soc. Cat._ 45. 1831. =8.= Kenrick
_Am. Orch._ 215. 1835.
_Hortense._ =9.= Elliott _Fr. Book_ 196, 197 fig. 1854. =10.= _Am.
Pom. Soc. Cat._ 27. 1909.
Were there not so many good Duke varieties of its season Reine Hortense
would take high rank among hybrid cherries. Several qualities fit it
admirably for home and somewhat for commercial plantations. To begin
with, it is most excellent in quality, its flavor being a commingling of
the refreshing acidity of the Sour Cherry and the richness of the Sweet
Cherry, though to some there may be a little too much acidity for a
first-class dessert fruit. The cherries are also handsome--large, round,
bright, glossy red with a shade of amber and very uniform in size, color
and shape. The fruit is especially attractive on the tree as it hangs on
long stems in twos and threes thickly scattered and never much
clustered. Unfortunately the fruit does not stand handling in harvesting
and marketing quite as well as that of some other Dukes and is a little
too susceptible to brown-rot for a good commercial cherry. The chief
faults of the variety, however, are in the trees rather than in the
fruit. The trees are but of medium size, are not as productive as some
others of the hybrid sorts, are at their best only in choice cherry
soils and demand good care. In Europe, Reine Hortense is much used as a
dwarf and for training on walls. It would seem that its merits and
faults, as it grows in America, are such as fit it preeminently well
only for the amateur.
Of the several accounts of the origin of Reine Hortense the one giving
France as its home and Larose as its originator is here accepted as
authentic. M. Larose of Neuilly-sur-Seine, Seine, a gardener of the
imperial court, grew the original tree early in the Nineteenth Century
from a seed of the Cerise Larose, a seedling of his introduction. Soon
after the first mention of this variety, about 1841, there appeared the
Louis XVIII, Morestin, Guigne de Petit-Brie and several others. The
variety was seemingly rechristened by every nurseryman who got hold of
it. At one time the name Monstreuse de Bavay was acceptable to many, it
having been given to the variety by a Mr. Bavay of Vilvorde, Brabant,
Belgium, about 1826. The theory that Reine Hortense comes true to seed
and therefore has several strains has been discredited. The American
Pomological Society recognized Reine Hortense in 1856, only a few years
after being introduced into this country, by placing it on the
recommended fruit list. In 1909, the Society shortened the name from
Reine Hortense to Hortense but in this text we prefer to use the full
name, thereby indicating clearly the person for whom the cherry was
christened.
[Illustration: REINE HORTENSE]
Tree of medium size, upright-spreading, productive; trunk shaggy;
branches smooth, dark reddish-brown covered with ash-gray, with
a few large lenticels; branchlets rather slender, with short
internodes, brown partly overspread with ash-gray, smooth, with
inconspicuous, raised lenticels.
Leaves numerous, four and one-half inches long, two and one-half
inches wide, folded upward, oval to obovate, thin; upper surface
dark green, rugose; lower surface light green, pubescent along
the midrib; apex taper-pointed, base abrupt; margin coarsely
serrate, with dark glands; petiole one inch long, tinged with red,
pubescent along the grooved upper surface, with none or with from
one to four small, globose, greenish-yellow or brownish glands,
usually at the base of the blade.
Buds large, long-pointed, plump, free, arranged singly as lateral
buds and in small clusters on few long spurs; blooms appearing
in mid-season; flowers white, one and one-fourth inches across;
borne in dense clusters usually in threes; pedicels one inch long,
slender, glabrous; calyx-tube with a tinge of red, campanulate,
glabrous; calyx-lobes long, acuminate, glabrous within and
without, reflexed; petals roundish, entire, sessile, with entire
apex; filaments one-fourth of an inch long; pistil glabrous,
shorter than the stamens.
Fruit matures in mid-season; nearly one inch in diameter,
oblong-conic to obtuse-conic, compressed; cavity somewhat shallow,
narrow, abrupt, often lipped; suture indistinct; apex roundish
with a small depression at the center; color amber-red; dots
numerous, light russet, conspicuous; stem tortuous, slender, one
and one-half inches long, adherent to the fruit; skin tender,
separating from the pulp; flesh pale yellow, with colorless juice,
tender and melting, sprightly subacid; of very good quality; stone
free, rather large, oblong to oval, flattened, blunt, with smooth
surfaces.
REPUBLICAN
_Prunus avium_
=1.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 26. 1909.
_Black Republican._ =2.= _Cult. & Count. Gent._ =35=:534. 1870.
=3.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 20. 1875. =4.= _Am. Gard._ =9=:357 fig.
1888. =5.= Wickson _Cal. Fruits_ 289. 1889. =6.= _Wash. Sta. Bul._
=92=:23, 25. 1910.
_Lewelling._ =7.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Rpt._ 127. 1875. =8.= _Gard.
Mon._ =17=:336. 1875. =9.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 26. 1909. =10.=
_Wash. Sta. Bul._ =92=:28, 29, fig. 7. 1910.
For some reason Republican does not make headway in the favor of
cherry-growers though all who have described it speak well of it. Judged
by the palate, Republican is one of the best of the Bigarreaus. The
cherries are rich and sweet in flavor, firm of flesh and with an
abundance of refreshing juice. Judged by the eye, too, it holds its own
with the best of its class, the fruit having a pleasing rotundness of
shape and a beautiful dark red, almost black, glossy color. In size the
variety very often falls short; for, though often given as one of the
largest, it turns out to be, in many orchards, but of medium size and
sometimes is small. Here seems to be its fatal defect. It is exceedingly
capricious as to soils, failing wholly or in part in all but the very
choicest cherry environments. The trees are large, spreading and
vigorous but on the grounds of this Station are more susceptible to the
shot-hole fungus than any other Sweet Cherry. It has been reported to be
very subject to this disease at the Washington Station also. The failure
of this cherry to meet the demands of commercial cherry-growers during a
probationary period of nearly a half a century means that it is, at
most, of but local value.
This variety, known under two other names, Black Republican and
Lewelling, originated about the middle of the Nineteenth Century in the
orchard of Seth Lewelling, Milwaukee, Oregon. In traveling across the
continent in 1849, Mr. Lewelling took with him to Oregon, Bigarreau,
Morello and Mahaleb cherries and from seeds of one of the Bigarreaus
sprang several seedlings, among them one which was named Black
Republican. The parentage of the sort is not known though it was thought
to be a cross between Napoleon and Black Tartarian, having sprung up
near these two trees. Some cherry-growers and nurserymen describe a
cherry which they call Lewelling but in every case the descriptions
agree very closely with Republican. Many list the two names separately
as designating two distinct varieties of diverse origin. Of these, some
have supposed Republican to be a seedling of Eagle originating in 1860.
The American Pomological Society for many years listed Black Republican
alone beginning in its catalog of 1875 but in 1909 the catalog contained
the two names, Republican and Lewelling. Inasmuch as the consensus of
opinion is that both names apply to a single cherry this Station has
decided to list Republican only.
[Illustration: REPUBLICAN]
Tree large, vigorous, upright-spreading, open-topped, very
productive; trunk thick, somewhat shaggy; branches stout,
roughened, brown covered with ash-gray, with large, raised
lenticels; branchlets stout, with long internodes, brown nearly
overspread with ash-gray, smooth except near the base, with a few
small, raised, inconspicuous lenticels.
Leaves numerous, five inches long, two and five-eighths inches
wide, folded upward, obovate to oval, thin; upper surface dark
green, smooth; lower surface slightly hairy; apex acute, base
abrupt; margin coarsely and doubly serrate, glandular; petiole one
and one-fourth inches long, thick, tinged with dull red, with two
or three large, reniform, light green or reddish glands on the
stalk.
Buds pointed or obtuse, plump, free, arranged singly on the
branchlets, or in small clusters on spurs of medium length;
season of bloom intermediate; flowers white, one and one-half
inches across; borne in scattering clusters in ones and
twos; pedicels variable in length, averaging one inch long,
characteristically thick, glabrous; calyx-tube tinged with red,
campanulate, glabrous; calyx-lobes variable in width, tinged
with red, long-obovate to acute, finely serrate, glabrous within
and without, reflexed; petals obovate, entire, with short, blunt
claws, with shallow, notched apex; filaments five-sixteenths of an
inch long; pistil glabrous, equal to the stamens in length, often
defective.
Fruit matures late; about one inch in diameter, wide, variable
in shape, cordate or roundish-cordate, compressed, with angular
and uneven surfaces; cavity deep, wide, flaring; suture a shallow
groove, often extending around the fruit; apex with a small
depression at the center; color purplish-black; dots numerous,
small, dark russet, inconspicuous; stem thick, one and one-eighth
inches long, adherent to the fruit; skin thin; flesh purplish-red,
with dark colored juice, tender, meaty, crisp, mild, sweet or with
slight astringency before fully mature; of good quality; stone
semi-free, small, ovate, flattened, rather blunt, with smooth
surfaces.
ROCKPORT
_Prunus avium_
=1.= _Horticulturist_ =2=:59 fig., 60. 1847-48. =2.= Elliott _Fr.
Book_ 201, 202 fig. 1854. =3.= Hooper _W. Fr. Book_ 270, 271.
1857. =4.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 74. 1862. =5.= Mortillet _Le
Cerisier_ =2=:131. 1866. =6.= Oberdieck _Obst-Sort._ 372. 1881.
Rockport is of very doubtful commercial value and has too many faults to
be included with the best sweet sorts for a home orchard. It is more
easily characterized by its faults than its merits. Compared with the
well-known Yellow Spanish, of which it is a seedling and to which it is
similar, the cherries are smaller and the pits are larger than those of
the parent variety,--quite too large for the amount of pulp. Worst of
the faults of the variety is, however, that the cherries are not
sufficiently firm of flesh to withstand harvesting, shipping and the
attacks of the brown-rot fungus. To offset the defects of the fruit the
flesh is rich, sweet and tender, making it, all in all, as good as any
other Sweet Cherry for dessert. The trees, too, are very satisfactory,
being large, vigorous and very fruitful, though with the reputation of
requiring good soil and the best of care, of lacking a little in
hardiness to cold, and of having the period of maturing the crop more or
less changed by soil and culture. Rockport has been, and is, more or
less popular in New York but it can be recommended only for a home
orchard.
Rockport is another of Professor Kirtland's introductions, having been
raised by him at Cleveland, Ohio, about 1842, from a seed of Yellow
Spanish. It soon won a place, in 1862, on the fruit list of the American
Pomological Society where it still remains. It is mentioned by several
foreign authors and many American nurserymen offer it for sale. Swedish
is given as a synonym of Rockport by Hooper.
[Illustration: ROCKPORT]
Tree large, vigorous, upright, very productive; trunk somewhat
slender, roughish; branches smooth, reddish-brown, with numerous
small lenticels; branchlets stout, variable in length, with long
internodes, brown almost entirely overspread with ash-gray,
smooth, with conspicuous, raised lenticels.
Leaves numerous, three and one-half inches long, one and
three-fourths inches wide, folded upward, long-oval to obovate;
upper surface dark green, somewhat rugose; lower surface
dull, light green, pubescent along the veins; apex acute to
taper-pointed, base abrupt; margin coarsely serrate, glandular;
petiole two inches long, tinged with red, with a few hairs on the
upper surface, glandless or with from one to four large, reniform,
reddish glands variable in position.
Buds large, long, pointed, plump, free, arranged singly and in
clusters from lateral buds and short spurs; leaf-scars prominent;
season of bloom intermediate; flowers white, one and one-fourth
inches across; borne in clusters usually in twos; pedicels one
inch long, glabrous, greenish; calyx-tube green, campanulate,
glabrous; calyx-lobes acute, glabrous within and without,
reflexed; petals roundish, entire, dentate at the apex, nearly
sessile; filaments nearly one-half inch long; pistil glabrous,
shorter than the stamens, often defective.
Fruit matures early; one inch in diameter, cordate to conical,
compressed; cavity shallow, wide, flaring, regular; suture a
distinct line; apex roundish, with a small depression at the
center; color bright red over an amber-yellow background, mottled;
dots very numerous, small, light yellowish, somewhat conspicuous;
stem one and one-half inches long, adhering well to the fruit;
skin thin, tender; flesh pale yellowish-white, with colorless
juice, tender, somewhat melting, aromatic, mild, sweet; good
to very good in quality; stone free, ovate, plump, with smooth
surfaces.
ROYAL DUKE
_Prunus avium_ × _Prunus cerasus_
=1.= _Mag. Hort._ =9=:204, 205. 1843. =2.= Downing _Fr. Trees Am._
192. 1845. =3.= Thomas _Am. Fruit Cult._ 369. 1849. =4.= McIntosh
_Bk. Gard._ =2=:543. 1855. =5.= Thompson _Gard. Ass't_ 530. 1859.
=6.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 12. 1871. =7.= Mas _Pom. Gen._ =11=:125,
126, fig. 63. 1882. =8.= Hogg _Fruit Man._ 311. 1884.
_Royale d'Angleterre._ =9.= Christ _Obstbäume_ 159. 1791.
_Cerise Royale._ =10.= Christ _Wörterb._ 284. 1802. =11.= _Cat.
Cong. Pom. France_ 40 fig. 1906.
_Königskirsche._ =12.= Truchsess-Heim _Kirschensort_. 422, 423,
424. 1819.
_Ungarische Süssweichsel._ =13.= Dochnahl _Führ. Obstkunde_
=3=:51. 1858.
_Anglaise Hâtive._. =14.= Mortillet _Le Cerisier_ =2=:161-163,
fig. 42. 1866. =15.= Mas _Le Verger_ =8=:83, 84, fig. 40. 1866-73.
=16.= _Pom. France_ =7=: No. 24, Pl. 24. 1871. =17.= _Guide Prat._
17, 180. 1895.
_Belle de Worsery._ =18.= Mortillet _Le Cerisier_ =2=:181. 1866.
=19.= Mas _Pom. Gen._ =11=:39, 40, fig. 20. 1882.
Royal Duke has a place in the cherry flora to follow in season the
well-known May Duke and to precede another standard sort, Late Duke. It
is so nearly like these two sorts, except in season, and so similar to
Arch Duke, as well, that there is much difficulty in getting the variety
true to name. It is more often taken for May Duke than for the other
kinds named but it differs from this well-known sort in being a little
later in season, and the cherries are larger, a little lighter in color,
do not hang as thickly, being scattered along the branches, often
singly, and are more oblate. The trees are markedly upright and the
foliage is very dense. None of the Dukes are popular in America for
market fruits and this is no exception though, among all, Royal Duke is
as good as any--pleasantly flavored, juicy, refreshing and very good.
The trees, too, are very satisfactory. The variety has a place in home
orchards and for local markets. The French say that the tree makes a
very weak growth budded on the Mahaleb and that it should be worked on
the Mazzard, which is generally true of all Dukes. The buyer will have
difficulty in getting the true Royal Duke in America.
The origin of this variety is unknown but the Royale d'Angleterre,
mentioned by Christ in 1791, was probably the variety now known as Royal
Duke, although the description is too meager to be certain. According to
Thompson, Royal Duke was one of the varieties formerly cultivated in
England under the names Late Duke, Arch Duke, or Late Arch Duke and was
probably introduced by the London Horticultural Society from France
under the name of Anglaise Tardive. When or by whom this variety was
introduced into America is not known but according to Downing it was
very rarely found here in the first half of the Nineteenth Century.
The American Pomological Society placed Royal Duke upon its catalog list
of recommended fruits in 1871.
[Illustration: ROYAL DUKE]
Tree of medium size, vigorous, upright, vasiform, unproductive
at this Station; trunk slender, roughish; branches stocky, with
roughened surface, dark reddish-brown covered with ash-gray, with
lenticels of medium number and size; branchlets stout, long, brown
partly overspread with ash-gray, smooth except for the lenticels
which are inconspicuous.
Leaves numerous, variable in size, averaging four and one-half
inches long, two inches wide, folded upward, oval to obovate;
upper surface dark green, slightly rugose; lower surface medium
green, pubescent along the midrib; apex abruptly pointed, base
acute; margin serrate or crenate; petiole variable in length,
often one and one-half inches long, not uniform in thickness,
tinged with red, glandless or with one or two small, reniform,
greenish-yellow or reddish glands, usually at the base of the
blade.
Buds rather small, pointed, plump, free, arranged singly as
lateral buds and in very dense clusters on numerous short spurs;
leaf-scars obscure; time of bloom mid-season; flowers white,
one inch across; borne in very dense clusters, closely grouped
in fours and fives; pedicels over one-half inch long, glabrous,
green; calyx-tube green or with a tinge of red, obconic, glabrous;
calyx-lobes with a trace of red, acute, serrate, glabrous within
and without, reflexed; petals roundish, entire, sessile, apex
entire; filaments nearly one-fourth inch long; pistil glabrous,
longer than the stamens.
Fruit matures early; three-fourths inch in diameter, oblate,
compressed; cavity rather narrow, abrupt, regular; suture a mere
line; apex flattened or depressed; color bright red becoming
darker at maturity; dots few, small, obscure; stem one and
one-half inches long, adhering to the fruit; skin thin, rather
tough, separating from the pulp; flesh pale yellowish-white with
tinge of red, pinkish juice, tender, sprightly, pleasantly acid;
good to very good in quality; stone semi-free, small, ovate,
slightly flattened, with smooth surfaces.
SCHMIDT
_Prunus avium_
=1.= Dochnahl _Führ. Obstkunde_ =3=:38. 1858. =2.= _Ill. Handb._
37 fig., 38. 1867. =3.= _Jour. Hort._ N. S. =23=:169 fig. 1872.
=4.= _Flor. & Pom._ 121, fig. 2. 1874. =5.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._
17. 1897. =6.= Budd-Hansen _Am. Hort. Man._ =2=:290. 1903.
_Smith._ =7.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 26. 1909.
Schmidt, shortened in accordance with the rules of the American
Pomological Society from Schmidt's Bigarreau, is not new nor can it be
said to be little known, since it has been rather widely planted in
America for a score of years. Yet in New York, at least, it is not
receiving the attention that it deserves from commercial cherry-growers,
being relegated to the rear of ten or a dozen kinds when it should be in
the front rank. Indeed, about Geneva, where many Sweet Cherries are
grown, while not the leading market variety, it is one of the best. The
characters which entitle it to a high place as a money-maker are: large
size, being unsurpassed in this respect by any other black cherry in
this region; its round, plump form and glossy, black color which tempt
the eye; crisp, firm, juicy flesh and sweet, rich flavor, delicious to
the taste; dark ruby-red color under the skin which makes it as pleasing
inwardly as outwardly; freedom from brown-rot, in this respect excelling
any other market sort; and a vigorous, healthy, productive tree. The
tree is further characterized by its abundant, large leaves of dark,
luxuriant green. The fruit is often picked before it is ripe, at which
time it is dark red and not black. There is a good deal of enthusiasm in
New York over several new Sweet Cherries from the Pacific Coast but in
this vicinity none of these is equal to Schmidt.
Schmidt is a seedling of Festfleischige Schwarze Knorpelkirsche and was
raised by Herr Schmidt, Forester at Casekow, Prussia, Germany, about
1841. It was introduced into England by Thomas Rivers of Sawbridgeworth
and eventually found its way to America but how and when is not known.
Schmidt appeared on the fruit list of the American Pomological Society
in 1897 but only for two years when for some reason it was dropped. In
1909, a Smith was listed, with Smith's Bigarreau as a synonym.
Budd-Hansen in the publication of 1903 also mentioned a Smith which is
probably Schmidt. We are inclined to hold to the German spelling,
Schmidt.
[Illustration: SCHMIDT]
Tree large, vigorous, upright-spreading, open-topped, productive;
trunk and branches stocky, smooth; branches dull reddish-brown
covered with ash-gray, with numerous lenticels; branchlets thick,
short, smooth, with rather conspicuous, raised lenticels.
Leaves numerous, six inches long, three inches wide, folded
upward, obovate; upper surface light green, smooth; lower surface
pale green, pubescent along the midrib and larger veins; apex
acute, base abrupt; margin serrate, glandular; petiole one and
one-half inches long, thick, dull red, with a narrow, deep groove
along the upper surface, glandless or with one or two large,
reniform, reddish glands on the stalk.
Buds large, long, obtuse to conical, plump, free, arranged singly
as lateral buds and in numerous small clusters; leaf-scars
prominent; time of blooming mid-season; flowers white, one and
one-half inches across; borne in scattering clusters in twos and
threes; pedicels one inch long, thick, glabrous; calyx-tube green
or with a tinge of red, campanulate, glabrous; calyx-lobes long,
broad, acute, serrate, glabrous within and without, reflexed;
petals oval, crenate, with short, narrow claws; filaments
three-eighths inch long; pistil glabrous, shorter than the stamens.
Fruit matures in mid-season; one inch in diameter, cordate,
compressed, often slightly oblique; cavity deep, wide, flaring;
suture indistinct; apex bluntly pointed; color purplish-black;
dots numerous, small, dark russet, obscure; stem slender, one
and one-half inches long, strongly adherent to the fruit; skin
tough, separating from the pulp; flesh purplish-red, with dark
colored juice, very meaty, crisp, firm, mild, sweet; of good
quality; stone semi-clinging, ovate, slightly oblique, with smooth
surfaces; ventral suture prominent.
SHORT-STEM MONTMORENCY
_Prunus cerasus_
=1.= Christ. _Handb._ 679. 1797. =2.= _Prince Pom. Man._ =2=:141,
142. 1832. =3.= Leroy _Dict. Pom._ =5=:365, 366 fig., 367. 1877.
_Gobet à Courte Queue._ =4.= Duhamel _Trait. Arb. Fr._ =1=:180,
181, Pl. VIII. 1768. =5.= Kraft _Pom. Aust._ =1=:7, Tab. 18 fig.
1. 1792.
_Gros Gobet._ =6.= Truchsess-Heim _Kirschensort._ 634-638. 1819.
=7.= Dochnahl _Führ. Obstkunde_ =3=:71, 72. 1858. =8.= Mortillet
_Le Cerisier_ =2=:204, 308. 1866. =9.= _Mas Le Verger_ =8=:51, 52,
fig. 24. 1866-73. =10.= Hogg _Fruit Man._ 299, 300. 1884. =11.=
Mathieu _Nom. Pom._ 358. 1889. =12.= _Guide Prat._ 9, 190. 1895.
_Flemish._ =13.= Downing _Fr. Trees Am._ 195 fig. 85, 196. 1845.
_Cerise à Courte Queue._ 1=4.= Poiteau _Pom. Franc._ =2=: No. 15,
Pl. 1846.
_Cerise Gros Fruit._ =15.= _Pom. France_ =7=: No. 11, Pl. 11. 1871.
In tracing the history of the Montmorency cherries from Duhamel's time
to the present we have been led to conclude that three distinct types
are now being cultivated. Of these closely related strains, all of which
probably originated about the same time in Montmorency Valley, France,
Montmorency is by far the most important and the one now grown
commercially in all parts of the country. Large Montmorency, while quite
similar to Montmorency, is much less grown because of its
unproductiveness, although in quality it is quite equal or perhaps
superior to Montmorency. Short-Stem Montmorency, under discussion here,
varies considerably both in tree and fruit from either of the other two,
although it is frequently taken for Large Montmorency. The tree is
smaller and more drooping but usually very productive. The fruit,
similar in size to Large Montmorency, differs from it by being more
oblate and irregular, and in having a very deep, wide suture which
becomes an indistinct line towards the apex. The skin seldom becomes as
dark red even at perfect maturity. The flavor is more sprightly but its
quality is not as high. All three varieties have long lists of synonyms,
many of which have been used for each of the three sorts. Many writers
believe that only two distinct strains of Montmorency exist and that
Short-Stem Montmorency is identical with Large Montmorency. The variety
is little grown in North America and is not as worthy for any purpose as
either of the other two better-known sorts.
[Illustration: SHORT-STEM MONTMORENCY]
Tree upright-spreading, round-topped, productive; trunk shaggy;
branches roughish, reddish-brown covered with ash-gray, with
numerous lenticels; branchlets slender, long, brown partly
overspread with ash-gray, smooth, with conspicuous, numerous,
small, raised lenticels.
Leaves numerous, variable in size, averaging four inches long,
one and three-fourths inches wide, long-oval to obovate, thick;
upper surface dark green, smooth; lower surface medium green, with
a prominent midrib; apex taper-pointed, base acute; margin doubly
crenate, glandular; petiole one inch long, tinged with dull red,
variable in thickness, lightly pubescent, glandless or with from
one to three large, raised, reniform glands on the stalk.
Buds small, short, variable in shape, free, arranged as lateral
buds and on few, if any, spurs; leaf-scars obscure; season of
bloom late; flowers white, one inch across; borne in a few
scattering clusters, variable in number of flowers per cluster;
pedicels one-half inch long, thick, greenish; calyx-tube green
or with a tinge of red, campanulate, glabrous; calyx-lobes with
a trace of red, obtuse, serrate, glabrous within and without,
reflexed; petals roundish-oval, crenate, sessile, with a
distinctly notched apex; filaments one-fourth inch long; pistil
glabrous, equal to the stamens in length, often defective.
Fruit matures in mid-season; over three-fourths of an inch in
diameter, decidedly oblate, irregular in outline, slightly
compressed; cavity deep, wide, irregular, flaring; suture very
deep near the stem but shallow at the apex which is flattened or
depressed; color light to dark red; dots numerous, small, russet,
inconspicuous; stem very thick, less than three-fourths of an
inch long, adhering strongly to the fruit; skin rather tender,
separating from the pulp; flesh pale yellow, with colorless juice,
tender and melting, sprightly, sour; of fair quality; stone
clinging along the ventral suture, small, roundish, plump, blunt,
with smooth surfaces, faintly tinged with red; ventral suture very
prominent.
SKLANKA
_Prunus cerasus_
=1.= _Ia. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 330. 1885. =2.= _Mich. Hort. Soc. Rpt._
327. 1888. =3.= _U. S. D. A. Pom. Rpt._ 40, 41. 1895. =4.= _Del.
Sta. An. Rpt._ =12=:116 fig. 6, 117. 1900. =5.= _Ia. Sta. Bul._
=73=:83 fig. 21, 84. 1903.
Sklanka is evidently a cross between a cherry of the Amarelle group and
one of the Morellos--another indication of the frequency of
hybridization in this fruit. The cherries of Sklanka have the
light-colored skin and juice of the Amarelles while the dwarfish,
round-topped trees with pendant branches and abundant, small leaves are
typical of the Morellos. The variety is in no way remarkable unless it
be in hardiness, the pomologists of the colder parts of the Mississippi
Valley holding that it is one of the hardiest of cherries. The fruit is
not on a par with that of a score of other Amarelles and the trees, in
New York at least, are too small and unproductive to be worth planting.
The cherry has value, then, only where hardiness is a prime requisite.
Sklanka was imported to this country from Russia in 1883 by Professor J.
L. Budd of Ames, Iowa. Its parentage and origin are uncertain. It does
not seem to have been grown in continental Europe outside of Russia but
in certain sections of that country it is reported as being one of the
hardiest and most productive of the Sour Cherries. As grown in our
Northern Central States it has proved one of the hardiest of all
varieties but has not, as yet, gained much reputation commercially even
in these cold regions. It is mentioned but seldom in the literature and
is listed by but few nurserymen.
[Illustration: SKLANKA]
Tree of medium size, vigorous, spreading, with drooping
branchlets, open-topped, unproductive; trunk thick and smooth;
branches rather slender, long, slightly roughened, reddish-brown
partly overspread with ash-gray, with numerous rather small
lenticels; branchlets slender and willowy, with short internodes,
brown nearly covered with ash-gray, smooth except for the
lenticels, which are small, numerous, raised, conspicuous.
Leaves of medium number, three and one-fourth inches long, one and
three-fourths inches wide, folded upward, obovate to elliptical,
thick, stiff; upper surface very dark green, glossy, smooth; lower
surface medium green, finely pubescent along the midrib and larger
veins; apex and base acute; margin finely and doubly serrate, with
small, dark glands; petiole three-fourths of an inch long, thick,
tinged with dull red, grooved, with a few hairs along the upper
surface, with from one to four small, globose, orange-colored
glands usually at the base of the blade.
Buds small, short, variable in shape, plump, free, arranged singly
as lateral buds and in few, very small clusters; time of blooming
mid-season; flowers one and three-sixteenths inches across, white;
borne in dense clusters usually at the ends of branches or spurs,
well distributed, usually in threes; pedicels over one-half inch
long, glabrous, greenish; calyx-tube green, obconic, glabrous;
calyx-lobes broad, obtuse, serrate, glabrous within and without,
reflexed; petals roundish, entire, nearly sessile, with almost
entire apex; filaments one-fourth inch long; pistil glabrous,
equal to the stamens in length.
Fruit matures early; about three-fourths of an inch in diameter,
oblate, not compressed; cavity of medium depth, narrow, abrupt;
suture lacking; apex flattened or strongly depressed; color bright
currant-red; dots numerous, light colored, slightly conspicuous;
stem thick, less than one inch long, adherent to the fruit; skin
rather tough, separating from the pulp; flesh pale yellow, with
colorless juice, tender and melting, sour; of good quality; stone
semi-free, clinging only along the ventral suture, about one-third
inch in diameter, roundish, slightly flattened, blunt, with smooth
surfaces.
SPARHAWK
_Prunus avium_
=1.= Kenrick _Am. Orch._ 219, 220. 1835.
_Sparhawk's Honey._ =2.= Downing _Fr. Trees Am._ 177. 1845. =3.=
_Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 74. 1862. =4.= _Mas Le Verger_ =8=:143, 144,
fig. 70. 1866-73.
_Honey Heart._ =5.= Cole _Am. Fr. Book_ 234 fig. 37, 235. 1849.
Sparhawk has little to recommend it for either a home or commercial
orchard; but the rich and honeyed sweetness of the cherries, scarcely
surpassed in flavor, might make it worth planting by plant-breeders and
connoisseurs of choicely good fruits. The name "honey" which appears in
several of the synonyms is indicative of the flavor of the fruit. The
cherries are quite too small and the pits altogether too large for a
commercial product. The tree is upright-spreading, with numerous thick
branches over which the cherries are rather thickly scattered in ones,
twos and threes and never in clusters. The fruit-stems are
characteristically long and slender. Though of the Bigarreau group the
flesh is too tender to well withstand harvesting, shipping and the
brown-rot.
This cherry was introduced by Edward Sparhawk, for whom it was named, of
Brighton, Massachusetts. The variety has been known under a number of
different names, the number being no measure of its merit, however, for
it has never been extensively cultivated. The American Pomological
Society placed it in its fruit catalog list of recommended varieties in
1862 but dropped it in 1871 and for many years but little attention has
been given it. It is now for sale in but few of the nurseries of the
country.
Tree large, vigorous, upright, rather open-topped, hardy,
unproductive; trunk stocky, slightly shaggy; branches thick;
branchlets medium in thickness and length; leaves numerous, five
inches long, two and one-fourth inches wide, long-oval to obovate,
thin, medium green; margin coarsely and doubly serrate, glandular;
petiole two inches long, thick, overlaid with red, with one or two
large, reniform, reddish glands on the stalk; buds intermediate in
size and length; season of bloom intermediate, average length five
days; flowers one and one-fourth inches across; pistil shorter
than the stamens.
Fruit matures in mid-season, average length about nineteen
days; nearly seven-eighths inch in diameter, somewhat conical,
compressed; color dark red over a yellowish background, finely
mottled; stem of medium thickness, one and three-eighths inches
long, adherent to the fruit; skin thin, tough, separates from
the pulp; flesh pale yellowish-white, with colorless juice,
tender, crisp, highly flavored, mild, aromatic, sweet; very good
in quality; stone nearly free, large for the size of the fruit,
ovate, flattened, slightly oblique, with smooth surfaces.
SPÄTE AMARELLE
_Prunus cerasus_
=1.= Christ _Handb._ 679. 1797. =2.= Christ _Wörterb._ 294. 1802.
=3.= Truchsess-Heim _Kirschensort_. 629-632. 1819. =4.= Dochnahl
_Führ. Obstkunde_ =3=:67, 68. 1858. =5.= _Ill. Handb._ 541 fig.,
542. 1861. =6.= Mas _Le Verger_ =8=:149, 150, fig. 73. 1866-73.
=7.= Lauche _Deut. Pom._ =III=: No. 24, Pl. 1882. =8.= _Am. Gard._
=9=:264. 1888. =9.= _Ia. Sta. Bul._ =2=:36. 1888. =10.= _Del. Sta.
An. Rpt._ =12=:126, 127. 1900.
_Späte Morello._ =11.= _Ia. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 78. 1890. =12.=
Budd-Hansen _Am. Hort. Man._ =2=:282, 283. 1903.
This is another variety with Amarelle fruit and a Morello-like tree and
is unquestionably a hybrid between varieties of the two groups. Several
references from the Middle West mention Späte Amarelle as very promising
but in New York, where such sorts as Early Richmond and the
Montmorencies thrive, it is unpromising for any purpose. The cherries
are quite too poor in quality, being very sour, and the trees too
unproductive to make the variety even a poor rival of a score or more of
Amarelles and Dukes with which it would have to compete in this State.
The origin of this cherry is unknown but according to Truchsess it was
sent out from Hanover as Späte Morelle in 1785. In 1797, Christ mentions
a cherry under this name the description of which agrees with that of
Späte Amarelle. Lauche states that Truchsess received the variety from
Hanover under the name Späte Morelle and later changed the name to Späte
Amarelle. This cherry was grown in the Paris National Nursery under the
name Cerise Amarelle Tardive and at one time was commonly grown in
gardens in France. In the spring of 1883, Professor J. L. Budd of Iowa
brought to America a large number of cherries from central and eastern
Europe. Somehow there was confusion in the description of these imported
cherries and two kinds were described under the name Späte Amarelle, one
a light-fleshed sort, the other with red flesh and colored juice. The
true variety has light flesh and juice and a pleasant, acid flavor and
is probably identical with the old French sort, Cerise Amarelle Tardive.
The cherry sometimes called Späte Morello can be no other than the Späte
Amarelle.
Tree of medium size, vigorous, upright-spreading, round-topped,
rather unproductive; trunk stocky, somewhat shaggy; branches
smooth, dark brown overspread by ash-gray, with numerous lenticels
variable in size; branchlets slender, rather short, brown nearly
covered with ash-gray, smooth, with slightly raised, inconspicuous
lenticels.
Leaves numerous, small, folded upward, oval to somewhat obovate,
rather stiff; upper surface dark green, smooth; lower surface
medium green, pubescent only on the midrib and larger veins; apex
acute, base variable in shape; margin finely serrate, glandular;
petiole greenish or with a slight bronze tinge, glandless or with
from one to four small, globose, brown or yellowish glands usually
at the base of the blade.
Buds small, pointed, plump, free, arranged singly as lateral buds
and in clusters on long or short spurs; leaf-scars prominent;
season of bloom late; flowers one inch across, white; borne in
scattered clusters, usually in threes; pedicels three-fourths of
an inch long, slender, glabrous, greenish; calyx-tube green with
a tinge of red, obconic, glabrous; calyx-lobes with a trace of
red, rather narrow, acute, serrate, glabrous within and without,
reflexed; petals broad-oval, entire, slightly crenate at the apex;
filaments one-fourth inch long; pistil glabrous, equal to or
longer than the stamens.
Fruit matures in mid-season; one-half inch long, oblate, slightly
compressed; cavity shallow, narrow; suture indistinct; apex
roundish or depressed; color dark red; dots numerous, very small,
obscure; stem slender, one and one-half inches long; skin thin,
tender; flesh light red, with light colored juice, tender, tart;
of good quality; stone free, roundish, flattened, with smooth
surfaces; distinctly ridged along the ventral suture.
SUDA
_Prunus cerasus_
=1.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 27. 1909.
_Suda Hardy._ =2.= _Ohio Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 21. 1892-93. =3.= _Am.
Pom. Soc. Cat._ 25. 1899. =4.= Stark Brothers _Cat._ 1899. =5.=
_Ia. Sta. Bul._ =73=:84 fig., 85. 1903. =6.= _Am. Pom. Soc._ Sp.
Rpt. 36. 1904-05.
Suda has been widely advertised as an improved English Morello but,
while there seem to be some slight differences between the two, the new
variety is not an improvement on the old so far as can be discovered at
this Station. The trees of Suda in general aspect are more upright and
the stems of the cherries longer and more slender than those of English
Morello, being but an inch in length in the one variety and an inch and
three-fourths in the other. The trees on the grounds of this Station are
not as productive as those of English Morello. The cherries, if
anything, are not as high in quality as those of the older and probably
the parent variety. It is doubtful if there is a place for Suda in the
cherry industry of New York.
This cherry originated in the garden of a Captain Suda, Louisiana,
Missouri, about 1880. The American Pomological Society listed Suda in
its fruit catalog of 1899 as Suda Hardy but in 1909 shortened the name
to Suda, a change which has generally been accepted.
[Illustration: SUDA]
Tree vigorous, rather unproductive; branches slender, with
numerous small lenticels; branchlets slender, long; leaves
numerous, four inches long, two and one-fourth inches wide,
obovate to oval, dull, dark green; margin doubly serrate,
with dark glands; petiole one inch long, of medium thickness,
tinged with dull red, glandless or with one or two reniform,
yellowish-brown glands usually at the base of the blade; buds
small, short, obtuse, arranged singly as lateral buds and on but
very few, if any, spurs; season of bloom late; flowers white, one
inch across; filaments one-fourth inch long; pistil shorter than
the stamens.
Fruit matures very late; three-fourths inch in diameter,
roundish-cordate, slightly compressed; cavity flaring; suture
indistinct; color dark purplish-red; stem slender, one and
three-fourths inches long, adherent to the fruit; skin separating
from the pulp; flesh dark red, with dark colored juice, tender,
somewhat meaty, sprightly, astringent, very sour; poor in quality;
stone free or nearly so, ovate, slightly pointed, with smooth
surfaces.
TIMME
_Prunus cerasus_
=1.= _Ia. Sta. Bul._ =73=:85, 86. 1903. =2.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._
27. 1909.
Timme can hardly be distinguished from Early Richmond, differing only in
smaller fruits, and probably is a seed variation of that variety. On the
grounds of this Station the trees of Timme are even more productive
than those of Early Richmond, one of the most fruitful of all cherries,
but the greater fruitfulness of the tree hardly offsets the smaller size
of the cherries. It is doubtful if this new strain can displace the
older Early Richmond, which is well established in the favor of
cherry-growers everywhere.
This variety is supposed to have been brought to America from Germany by
a Mr. Timme of Omaha, Nebraska. It is of some local importance in Iowa
and Nebraska but as yet has not been widely distributed in America.
Possibly it will be found in time that it is some old German variety
renamed. It was placed on the fruit list of the American Pomological
Society in 1909.
[Illustration: TIMME]
Tree medium in size, rather vigorous, upright-spreading,
open-topped, healthy; trunk and branches thick, with numerous
large lenticels; branchlets slender, long, willowy; leaves three
and one-half inches long, one and five-eighths inches wide, ovate
to obovate, thick, stiff, leathery, dark green; margin finely
serrate, tipped with reddish-brown glands; petiole three-fourths
of an inch in length, with one or two large, globose glands
variable in position; flowers one inch across, in dense clusters.
Fruit matures medium early; over one-half inch in diameter,
roundish-oblate; color light red becoming dark red at full
maturity; stem one inch long; flesh yellowish-white, with abundant
pinkish juice, tender and melting, pleasant flavored, sprightly;
good in quality; stone semi-clinging, roundish-ovate, plump;
prominently ridged along the ventral suture.
TOUSSAINT
_Prunus cerasus_
=1.= _Duhamel Trait. Arb. Fr._ =1=:178-180, Pl. VII. 1768. =2.=
Kraft _Pom. Aust._ =1=:7, Tab. 18 fig. 2. 1792. =3.= Poiteau _Pom.
Franc._ =2=: No. 21, Pl. 1846. =4.= _Ann. Pom. Belge_ =1=:103,
104, Pl. 1853. =5.= Mortillet _Le Cerisier_ =2=:205, 308. 1866.
=6.= Leroy _Dict. Pom._ =5=:305, 306 fig., 307, 308. 1877. =7.=
_Rev. Hort._ 250. 1906.
_Stäts Blühender Kirschbaum._ =8.= Krünitz _Enc._ 42, 43. 1790.
_All Saints._ =9.= Truchsess-Heim _Kirschensort_. 661-668. 1819.
=10.= Prince _Pom. Man._ =2=:152, 153. 1832. =11.= Dochnahl _Führ.
Obstkunde_ =3=:72. 1858. =12.= Hogg _Fruit Man._ 277. 1884. =13.=
Mathieu _Nom. Pom._ 332. 1889.
Toussaint is a marked deviation from its species. Instead of bearing
blossoms normally this variety sends out small branches from the buds.
In the axis of the first four leaves are borne the buds destined to
produce similar branches the following spring. As the branches elongate
these buds remain dormant but others are borne which produce flowers in
umbel-like clusters of two or three. The trees begin blooming three or
four weeks later than other cherries and new buds and flowers appear
continually until August or thereabouts. The tree, too, is most striking
in appearance, being dwarfish in stature, thickly set with pendant
branchlets and, all in all, attractive enough to make it a rather
handsome ornamental. The cherries are of little or no value, being quite
too acid to eat out of hand but furnishing very late fruit which may be
used for culinary purposes. The description given is compiled.
The history of the variety is uncertain. Leroy says that it was
mentioned by Daléchamp, a French writer, as early as 1586. Duhamel seems
to have been the first pomologist to describe it which he did in 1768
under the name Cerisier de la Toussaint. The variety is well known in
Europe, being widely distributed in Austria, Germany, Belgium, France
and England, pomologists and nurserymen in all these countries seeming
to be well acquainted with it. There are no records of its culture in
America, although Prince and Elliott describe it from European fruit
books.
Tree small, hardy, moderately productive; branches slender,
numerous, pendant.
Fruit small, flattened on the ends and sides; stem long; color
clear red, darker on maturing, rather transparent; flesh white
somewhat red at the center, with reddish juice; flavor, if mature,
sour, though not excellent; stone large, long, clings to the flesh
more than to the stem. The fruit borne in October never reaches
maturity.
VLADIMIR
_Prunus cerasus_
=1.= _Ia. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 84, 85. 1882. =2.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Rpt._
75. 1883. =3.= _Ia. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 327, 328. 1885. =4.= _Ia.
Sta. Bul._ =19=:550. 1892. =5.= _Ia. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 454. 1895.
=6.= _Del. Sta. An. Rpt._ 12:128, 129. 1900. =7.= _Ia. Sta. Bul._
=73=:87. 1903. =8.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 27. 1909.
Vladimir is a Morello-like cherry not more promising in New York, at
least in the orchard of this Station, than any other of the many
competitors of English Morello. The cherries are large, very similar in
size and appearance to those of English Morello; the pit is small, the
skin very thin and separating readily from the pulp. The variety is
further characterized by the very dark red flesh and dark colored juice
which is too astringent and sour to eat out of hand but does very well
for culinary purposes. The tree is much like that of English Morello but
is far more dwarfish and not as productive, these being fatal faults for
commercial planting in New York. It falls short of English Morello in
another respect--the fruit ripens very unevenly. Vladimir has the
reputation of being one of the hardiest of all cherries. It is said to
come true from seed and does better on its own roots than on either
Mazzard or Mahaleb. The Russians, according to Budd, succeed best with
it when it is propagated from sprouts and allowed to form a bushy plant
with several stems, the oldest of which are cut from time to time.
There seems to be little in the variety to commend it for either home or
commercial plantings in New York.
Vladimir is a generic name for a group of varieties grown in Russia,
principally in the province of Vladimir east of Moscow. Most of these
cherries are large, black fruits with highly colored juice and good
quality, much valued for market use in their native country. Professor
J. L. Budd imported a number of these Vladimir cherries from Orel in
Central Russia and grew them at the Experiment Station grounds in Iowa,
giving to each a seedling number as a distinguishing characteristic.
One, Orel No. 25, was selected as being superior in many respects to the
others and was finally named Vladimir. This variety, typical of these
Russian cherries, has been considerably propagated and is generally
distributed throughout this country. The American Pomological Society
added Vladimir to its list of recommended fruits in 1909.
[Illustration: VLADIMIR]
Tree dwarfish, round-topped, very hardy, productive; trunk medium
or below in size; branches willowy, drooping, reddish-brown
slightly overspread with ash-gray; branchlets slender, long,
smooth, with a few small, raised lenticels.
Leaves numerous, three inches long, one and three-fourths inches
wide, folded upward, oval, thick; upper surface dull, dark green,
smooth; lower surface light green, with a few scattering hairs;
apex acute, base slightly abrupt; margin finely serrate, with dark
colored glands; petiole one-half inch long, tinged with red, with
a few scattering hairs along the stalk, glandless or with from one
to four small, reniform, greenish-yellow glands at the base of the
blade.
Buds small, short, very obtuse, plump, free, arranged singly as
lateral buds and in small clusters on small spurs; leaf-scars
obscure; season of bloom intermediate; flowers white, one and
one-fourth inches across; borne in scattering clusters in twos,
threes and fours; pedicels three-fourths of an inch long, rather
slender, glabrous, greenish; calyx-tube with a tinge of red,
somewhat obconic, glabrous; calyx-lobes reddish, broad, obtuse,
serrate, glabrous within and without, reflexed; petals roundish or
slightly obovate, irregularly crenate, with short, blunt claws,
apex entire; filaments over one-fourth inch long; pistil glabrous,
shorter than the stamens.
Fruit matures very late; three-eighths of an inch long,
seven-eighths of an inch wide, roundish-cordate, slightly
compressed; cavity rather shallow; suture a line; apex roundish;
color dark red almost black at full maturity; dots numerous,
small, russet, inconspicuous; stem slender, one and one-half
inches or more in length, adherent to the fruit; skin thin,
separating from the pulp; flesh dark red, with very dark colored
juice, slightly stringy, melting, sprightly, astringent, sour; of
fair quality; stone semi-clinging, rather large, long-ovate to
oval, with smooth surfaces, tinged with red.
WATERLOO
_Prunus avium × (Prunus avium × Prunus cerasus)_
=1.= Prince _Treat. Hort._ 29. 1828. =2.= _Lond. Hort. Soc. Cat._
56. 1831. =3.= Prince _Pom. Man._ =2=:118. 1832. =4.= Downing
_Fr. Trees Am._ 178. 1845. =5.= Floy-Lindley _Guide Orch. Gard._
101, 102. 1846. =6.= Elliott _Fr. Book_ 213, 214. 1854. =7.= Hogg
_Fruit Man._ 314. 1884.
This old sort, seemingly well thought of in Europe, has not been popular
in America and has only historical value to cherry-growers of this
country. It is an interesting cherry resembling the Bigarreaus in tree
and leaf-characters while the flowers are more like those of the Dukes,
the fruit, too, taking on more the aspect of the Dukes than of the Sweet
Cherry. The variety has long since passed from general cultivation in
the United States and can now be found only in collections or as an
occasional dooryard tree.
This cherry was raised early in the Nineteenth Century by T. A. Knight,
Downton Castle, Wiltshire, England, and first fruited in 1815, shortly
after the Battle of Waterloo, hence its name. It was supposed to be a
cross between Yellow Spanish and May Duke. The variety was brought to
this country by Honorable John Lowell of Newton, Massachusetts, though
it was described by Prince in 1828 from European fruit books. The
following description is compiled:
Tree vigorous, thrifty, rather irregular and spreading,
productive; branchlets thick, stocky, grayish; leaves large,
drooping, wavy; margin slightly serrate; flowers large; stamens
shorter than the pistil.
Fruit matures the last of June or early in July; large,
obtuse-cordate, broad at the base, convex on one side, flattened
on the other; stem one and one-half to two inches in length,
slender; color dark purplish-red becoming nearly black at
maturity; skin thin; flesh purplish-red becoming darker next
to the stone, firm but tender, juicy, fine flavored, sweet;
good in quality; stone separating readily from the pulp, small,
roundish-ovate, compressed.
WHITE BIGARREAU
_Prunus avium_
=1.= Thacher _Am. Orch._ 217. 1822. =2.= Prince _Pom. Man._
=2=:125. 1832. =3.= _Mag. Hort._ =8=:283. 1842. =4.= Downing _Fr.
Trees Am._ 180 fig., 181. 1845. =5.= Thomas _Am. Fruit Cult._ 366.
1849. =6.= McIntosh _Bk. Gard._ =2=:541. 1855.
_Tradescant._ =7.= Coxe _Cult. Fr. Trees_ 250. 1817.
_White Oxheart._ =8.= Kenrick _Am. Orch._ 278. 1832.
White Bigarreau is a cherry of the past, having been considered one of
the good sorts of a century ago. Rivers, the English pomologist,
believed it to have come originally from Russia. It is reputed to have
been brought to America from France by Chancellor Livingston of
Revolutionary fame. Thacher, in 1822, described the variety first under
its present name. The variety, as the synonymy shows, has been grown
under many names both in America and Europe. In 1845, according to
Downing, this cherry was common in the neighborhood of New York and
Philadelphia but since Downing's time no one seems to have mentioned it.
The variety is usually spoken of in the United States as neither hardy
nor productive. The fruit books describe it as follows:
Tree medium in size, spreading, very tender, unproductive; leaves
narrow, waved.
Fruit matures the last of June or early in July; large to very
large, heart-shaped, somewhat pointed; color yellowish-white with
a bright red cheek, mottled; flesh very firm, breaking, pleasantly
flavored, sweet; very good in quality; stone separating readily
from the flesh.
WHITE HEART
_Prunus avium_
=1.= Bradley _Gard._ 211. 1739. =2.= Downing _Fr. Trees Am._
173, 174 fig. 1845. =3.= Elliott _Fr. Book_ 216. 1854. =4.=
_Horticulturist_ =15=:327, Pl. fig. 1. 1860. =5.= Hogg _Fruit
Man._ 315. 1884.
_Amber Heart._ =6.= Miller _Gard. Kal._ 154. 1734. =7.= _Jour. Roy
Hort. Soc._ =21=:355. 1898.
_Frühe Bernsteinkirsche._ =8.= Truchsess-Heim _Kirschensort._ 304,
305. 1819. =9.= Dochnahl _Führ. Obstkunde_ =3=:39. 1858. =10.= Mas
_Pom. Gen._ =11=:45, 46, fig. 23. 1882. =11.= Mathieu _Nom. Pom._
348. 1889.
_Kentish Bigarreau._ =12.= Bunyard-Thomas _Fr. Gard._ 43. 1904.
White Heart is mentioned in _The Cherries of New York_ only because of
its reputation in Europe and the frequent references, therefore, that
American cherry-growers see to it in European publications. Bunyard and
Thomas, in the reference given, speak of it as one of the best and most
profitable cherries grown in the famous Kent cherry orchards. Early
American horticulturists describe it but it seems not to have been
widely grown in America and has probably long since passed from
cultivation. It failed, according to Elliott, because it was a "variable
and uncertain bearer" and while an early cherry "not early enough to
compete with many new varieties."
White Heart seems to have been mentioned first by Miller in 1734. A
little later it is found to be described in both Germany and France,
indicating that it must have been known and widely distributed before
the time given. It seems to have been brought to America before the War
of the Revolution and to have been grown in this country under the
several different names which are given in the list of synonyms. The
following description is compiled:
Tree large, vigorous, somewhat erect, very healthy, rather
productive; branches stocky, somewhat angular, with large,
roundish, light colored lenticels; internodes of unequal length;
leaves medium in size, oval or obovate, sharply pointed; margin
finely serrate; petiole short, slender, tipped with two reniform,
orange-red glands; flowers medium in size; petals obovate.
Fruit matures early in June; rather small, roundish-cordate,
often one-sided, with a distinct suture; color whitish-yellow,
tinged and speckled with pale red in the sun; stem long, slender,
inserted in a wide, shallow cavity; skin firm; flesh light
colored, firm, half-tender, breaking, juicy, sugary, pleasant;
first quality; stone rather large, roundish-oval, with a pointed
apex.
WINDSOR
_Prunus avium_
=1.= _Gard. Mon._ =24=:208. 1882. =2.= _Cult._ & _Count. Gent._
=49=:636. 1884. =3.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 22. 1885. =4.= _Del.
Sta. Bul._ =35=:16 fig. 7. 1897. =5.= _Ont. Fr. Exp. Sta. Rpt._
=5=:41 fig. 1898. =6.= _Am. Gard._ 21:76. 1900. =7.= _Can. Hort._
=25=:3, 262 fig., 263. 1902. =8.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Rpt._ 56, 57.
1907.
Windsor is the standard late Bigarreau and one of the most profitable of
the hard-fleshed cherries grown in New York. Both fruit and trees
deserve the approbation of cherry-growers. In color the cherries meet
the market demand, buyers preferring a dark-colored Sweet Cherry. None
would find fault with the appearance of Windsor. The flesh is firm and
the product stands harvesting and shipping well and at a season of the
year when brown-rot is usually rife this variety is fairly free from
this scourge of the Sweet Cherry. The quality is from good to very good,
equaled but not surpassed by others of its class. But it is in its
tree-characters that the superiority of Windsor is best shown. The trees
have the reputation of being the hardiest of the Bigarreaus and of
thriving in many soils. They are usually fruitful. To offset these
merits, the trees have two or three rather serious faults. Thus, they do
not come in bearing early; they are tall and upright in growth, being
almost fastigiate, making it difficult to harvest the crop; and the load
of fruit is too much clustered. Cherry-growers agree that the worst of
all pests of this fruit is the robin and that the Windsor, for some
reason or other, is the freest of its kind from this and other thieving
birds. From the behavior of the variety in New York, we can heartily
join with practically all who are growing this variety in recommending
it as a late, market Sweet Cherry.
Windsor originated in the latter half of the Nineteenth Century on the
farm of James Dougall, Windsor, Ontario, Canada, and was introduced to
fruit-growers in 1881 by Ellwanger & Barry, Rochester, New York. It has
been planted extensively in many sections of this country for both
home and market use and is now offered for sale by a large number of
nurserymen. The American Pomological Society added Windsor to its fruit
catalog list in 1885 and the variety still holds a place there. Though
rather widely known in the United States the commercial culture of this
variety is almost wholly confined to New York. It seems as yet not to
have found its way to Europe, a fact to be regretted, for its many good
qualities would soon make it known in the Old World where the Sweet
Cherry is better grown and more appreciated than in America.
[Illustration: WINDSOR]
Tree large, vigorous, upright-spreading, open-topped, very productive;
trunk thick, shaggy; branches stocky, very smooth, brown nearly
overspread with ash-gray, with large lenticels; branchlets thick,
rather short, brown overspread with light ash-gray, smooth, with few
small, inconspicuous lenticels.
Leaves four inches long, two inches wide, folded upward, obovate to
oval, thin; upper surface dark green, slightly rugose; lower surface
light green, pubescent; margin doubly crenate, glandular; petiole one
and one-fourth inches long, tinged with dull red, with from one to
three globose, reddish glands of medium size on the stalk.
Buds conical or pointed, plump, free, arranged singly as lateral
buds and in very numerous clusters variable in size, on short spurs;
leaf-scars somewhat prominent; season of bloom intermediate; flowers
white, one and one-fourth inches across; borne in scattering clusters,
in ones and twos; pedicels one inch long, slender, glabrous, greenish;
calyx-tube green, campanulate, glabrous; calyx-lobes greenish or with
a tinge of red, acute, glabrous within and without, reflexed; petals
broad-oval, slightly crenate, with short, blunt claws; filaments
five-sixteenths of an inch long; pistil glabrous, shorter than the
stamens.
Fruit matures in late mid-season; three-fourths of an inch in
diameter, slightly oblong to conical, compressed; cavity deep, wide,
flaring; suture a line; apex roundish, with a depression at the
center; color very dark red becoming almost black; dots numerous,
small, russet, obscure; stem slender, one and one-fourth inches
long, adherent to the fruit; skin thin, adhering to the pulp; flesh
light red, with reddish juice, tender, meaty, crisp, mild, sweet;
good to very good in quality; stone semi-free, ovate, flattened,
blunt-pointed, with smooth surfaces; ventral suture rather prominent
near the apex.
WOOD
_Prunus avium_
=1.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 26. 1909.
_Governor Wood._ =2.= Elliott _Fr. Book_ 196 fig. 1854. =3.= _Am.
Pom. Soc. Cat._ 108. 1856. =4.= Leroy _Dict. Pom._ =5=:324 fig.
1877.
Wood is preeminently a Sweet Cherry for the amateur, having many
qualities that fit it for the home orchard and but few to commend it to
commercial growers. The trees are a little tender to cold, are not quite
productive enough to make the variety profitable and are, too, somewhat
fastidious as to soils. To offset these defects, they are vigorous and
healthy and bear early. But the chief fault of the cherry from the
cherry-grower's standpoint is to be found in the fruit. The flesh is
soft and the cherries will not stand handling in harvesting and shipping
and are very susceptible to brown-rot and crack badly in wet weather.
Wood has special merit in the home collection, however, because of its
earliness, its beautiful appearance and delicious flavor. It is one of
the first of the Sweet Cherries, is large and, as the color-plate shows,
is a beautiful yellowish-white tinted with shades of crimson, with
conspicuous russet dots--a beautiful fruit. The flesh separates readily
from the skin, is tender, juicy, with an abundance of colorless juice
and a flavor that has given it the reputation, wherever grown in
America, of being one of the best in quality. It would be hard to name
another cherry better suited for small plantations and it is to be hoped
that it will long be kept in the gardens of connoisseurs of good fruit.
Wood is one of the best of Professor J. P. Kirtland's[83] seedlings. It
was raised by him in 1842 at Cleveland, Ohio, and named in honor of
Reuben Wood, at one time Governor of Ohio. In 1856, it was added to the
fruit list of the American Pomological Society where it still remains,
being changed in 1909 to Wood with Governor Wood as a synonym. Its
popularity is shown in the United States by the fact that practically
every nurseryman in this country lists this variety.
[Illustration: WOOD]
Tree vigorous, upright-spreading, open, productive; trunk stout;
branches thick, smooth, dull reddish-brown covered with ash-gray,
with a few small lenticels; branchlets thick, reddish-brown
slightly overspread with ash-gray, smooth, glabrous, with a few
inconspicuous, raised lenticels.
Leaves numerous, four and one-half inches long, two and one-half
inches wide, folded upward, obovate, thin; upper surface light
green, smooth; lower surface dull green, lightly pubescent; apex
acute, base abrupt; margin coarsely and doubly serrate, glandular;
petiole one and one-half inches long, slender, tinged with dull
red, with from one to three reniform, reddish glands on the stalk.
Buds large, long, pointed, very plump, free, arranged singly as
lateral buds or in small clusters on short spurs; leaf-scars
prominent; season of bloom intermediate; flowers one inch
across, arranged in twos and threes; pedicels one inch long,
slender, glabrous, greenish; calyx-tube tinged with red, obconic,
glabrous; calyx-lobes reddish, long, acute, glabrous on both
surfaces, reflexed; petals roundish, crenate, with short, blunt
claws; anthers yellowish; filaments one-eighth inch long; pistil
glabrous, equal to the stamens in length, sometimes defective.
Fruit matures in early mid-season; nearly one inch in diameter,
roundish-cordate, compressed; cavity of medium depth, wide,
flaring; suture variable in depth, distinct, wide; apex roundish;
color shades of crimson on a yellowish-white background; dots
numerous, small, light russet, somewhat conspicuous, especially
just before maturity; stem slender, one and one-half inches long,
adhering well to the fruit; skin thin, tender, separating from
the pulp; flesh whitish, with colorless juice, tender, meaty,
mild, sweet; very good in quality; stone clinging, rather large,
roundish, blunt, with smooth surfaces; with a broad, ventral
suture.
[83] Jared P. Kirtland, M. D., though now less well known than
some of his contemporaries, was one of the great pomologists of
his time and a man of notable achievements in other branches
of natural history as well. Professor Kirtland was born at
Wallingford, Connecticut, November 10, 1793, and died at East
Rockport, near Cleveland, Ohio, December 11, 1877. For sixty
years of a long life his avocation was the production of new
varieties of fruits and flowers and, though a half century has
passed since he ceased active work, the results of his labors
are yet to be found in the gardens and orchards of the whole
country. In pomology he gave special attention to breeding grapes,
raspberries, pears and cherries. He achieved success, too, as a
hybridizer of peonies and in the introduction of rare foreign
magnolias. Professor Kirtland is given credit as being the first
horticulturist successfully to bud and graft magnolias, an
achievement which has made possible their cultivation under many
conditions and to a degree of excellence that otherwise could
not be obtained. He was the founder of the Cleveland Society of
Natural History and was for many years its president. He was
a member of the American Philosophical Society, the highest
recognition for scientific work to be obtained in his time in this
country. He served as professor in several medical schools and
filled other places of honor and trust. From his boyhood we are
told that he was interested in natural history and was intimately
acquainted with the plants and animals of Ohio, having special
knowledge of birds and fishes, the propagation of the latter being
one of his hobbies. In pomology we owe him most for the many new
cherries he has given us, thirty varieties described in _The
Cherries of New York_ having come from his breeding grounds. Among
these are Wood, Pontiac, Powhatan, Tecumseh, Osceola, Kirtland and
Red Jacket, sorts scarcely surpassed for high quality and grown
commonly in America and to some extent wherever Sweet Cherries
will thrive. His 84 years seem to have been well ordered, given
almost wholly for the good of the public, and his name should be
cherished by pomologists among those who have done most for fruits
and fruit-growing on this continent.
WRAGG
_Prunus cerasus_
=1.= _Ia. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 171. 1884. =2.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Rpt._
95. 1887. =3.= _Can. Exp. Farm Bul._ =17=:15 fig. 8. 1892. =4.=
_Neb. Hort. Soc. Rpt._ 39. 1892. =5.= _Am. Gard._ =20=:178. 1899.
=6.= _Del. Sta. An. Rpt._ =12=:119, 120. 1900. =7.= _Ia. Sta.
Bul._ =73=:89, fig. 26. 1903. =8.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Sp. Rpt._ 38.
1904-05. =9.= _Wash. Sta. Bul._ =92=:22, 23. 1910.
Wragg is either English Morello or a strain of that variety. Trees on
the grounds of this Station are identical with English Morello but it
may be that here, and occasionally elsewhere, the older sort has been
substituted for Wragg. In Iowa, where the new variety is most largely
grown, pomologists claim that it is distinct and that it is an
improvement on English Morello. Professor J. L. Budd, an authority on
Russian cherries, believed that this sort is distinct and of Russian
origin having, according to him, been brought to America by Ellwanger &
Barry of Rochester, New York, in an importation of Russian trees.
Captain C. L. Watrous of Des Moines, Iowa, another prominent pomologist
of that State, was of the opinion that Wragg came to light on the
grounds of J. Wragg, Waukee, Iowa, as a sprout from another tree.
Colonel G. B. Brackett, pomologist of the United States Department of
Agriculture, who visited Mr. Wragg's place some years ago and compared
the new cherry with the English Morello, could find no distinguishing
characters between the two. On the other hand, Mr. Wragg insisted that
they were distinct. The American Pomological Society calls Wragg and
English Morello the same. Those who believe that the two are distinct
say that the fruit of Wragg is larger, the trees hardier and that the
cherries ripen a little later than those of English Morello. With the
information now at hand it is impossible to say here whether or not
Wragg is distinct. A compiled description taken from the text describing
this cherry is so unsatisfactory that we offer none and refer the reader
to that of English Morello from which it differs but little, if at all.
YELLOW SPANISH
_Prunus avium_
=1.= Miller _Gard. Dict._ =1=:1754. =2.= Forsyth _Treat. Fr.
Trees_ 42. 1803. =3.= Prince _Treat. Hort._ 28. 1828. =4.= Prince
_Pom. Man._ =2=:125. 1832. =5.= Thomas _Am. Fruit Cult._ 372.
1867. =6.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 17. 1897. =7.= Budd-Hansen _Am.
Hort. Man._ =2=:291. 1903.
_Biguarre Cherrie._ =8.= Parkinson _Par. Ter._ 572. 1629. =9.=
_Rea Flora_ 205. 1676.
_Spanish._ =10.= Gerarde _Herball_ 1503, fig. 3. 1636.
_Bigarreau Commun._ =11.= Duhamel _Trait. Arb. Fr._ =1=:167,
168. 1768. =12.= Prince _Pom. Man._ =2=:128. 1832. =13.= Poiteau
_Pom. Franc._ =2=: No. 5, Pl. 1846. =14.= Mortillet _Le Cerisier_
=2=:115-119, fig. 26. 1866. 15. _Pom. France_ 7: No. 2, Pl. 2.
1871. 16. Leroy _Dict. Pom._ =5=:188-191, fig. 1877. 17. _Cat.
Cong. Pom. France_ 20, fig. 1906.
_Gemeine Marmorkirsche._ =18.= Truchsess-Heim Kirschensort.
301-303. 1819. =19.= _Ill. Handb._ 123 fig., 124. 1860.
_Graffion._ =20.= Truchsess-Heim _Kirschensort._ 338-340. 1819.
=21.= Brookshaw _Hort. Reposit._ =1=:69, Pl. 34 fig. 1. 1823.
=22.= Prince _Pom. Man._ =2=:137, 138. 1832. =23.= _Cultivator_ N.
S. =6=:21, fig. 6. 1849. =24.= Elliott _Fr. Book_ 208. 1854.
_Bigarreau._ =25.= _Mag. Hort._ =9=:202. 1843. =26.= Downing _Fr.
Trees Am._ 179 fig., 180. 1845. =27.= Floy-Lindley _Guide Orch.
Gard._ 102. 1846. =28.= _Proc. Nat. Con. Fr. Gr._ 52. 1848. =29.=
_Cole Am. Fr. Book_ 233 fig. 31. 1849. 30. Hogg _Fruit Man._ 281,
282. 1884.
For centuries Yellow Spanish must have been the best of all the
Bigarreaus and it is only in comparatively late years that it has had
rivals. Even yet in tree-characters it is hardly equaled, surpassing
Windsor, which has a notable tree, in several respects and falling short
of it only in hardiness. The trees are large,--perhaps the largest of
all the varieties of _Prunus avium_,--having an upright-spreading top
which gives a large bearing surface and forms a canopy of splendid
foliage. The trees are vigorous, bear abundantly and regularly and come
in bearing young, with the crop well distributed and not in clusters as
is the case and the fault of Windsor. Unfortunately, the cherries,
though very good in most characters, do not come up to the trees in
points of superiority. They are rather smaller than those of Napoleon,
the greatest competitor of Yellow Spanish, and are more subject to
attacks of brown-rot than several others of the Bigarreaus. As may be
seen by comparing the color-plates, however, Yellow Spanish is rather
the handsomer of the two cherries, the crimson color being more evenly
distributed and the skin not having the mottled appearance of Napoleon.
In quality Yellow Spanish is the better of the two, having tenderer
flesh and a sweeter and richer flavor. Yellow Spanish is notable in the
nursery for its strong, upright growth and its large leaves, the leaves
of no other cherry attaining so great a size. In blossoming time the
variety may be distinguished by the whiteness of the blossoms as they
open and a reddish tint as they drop. It is a mid-season cherry,
ripening after Wood and a few days before Napoleon. Despite the great
age of the variety it still remains one of the best, furnishing proof,
by the way, that varieties of cherries do not degenerate with age. In
New York Yellow Spanish cannot be spared from either home or commercial
plantings.
Yellow Spanish is so old and so widely disseminated that its origin can
only be conjectured. From the name we naturally infer a Spanish nativity
and yet it is almost equally well known as Bigarreau, a word of French
derivation. Under the last name French pomologists believe that they
trace its history to the First Century of the Christian Era as the
variety described by Pliny under the name Cerasum Duracinum. The Germans
and Austrians certainly knew this variety in the Eighteenth Century and
probably much earlier, an inference to be drawn from the references
given. Parkinson, the English herbalist, described a cherry in 1629
which he called the Biguarre Cherrie which later came to be known as the
Bigarreau or Graffion by English writers and which we now know to be
Yellow Spanish. Seven years later Gerarde described a Spanish cherry the
description of which is not unlike our Yellow Spanish. Miller and
Forsyth, English writers, also at an early date described a Spanish
cherry which may be the fruit of this discussion.
Fortunately we are well informed as to the history of Yellow Spanish in
America. Prince, one of the most accurate of American pomologists, in
1832, gave the following historical account of the Graffion, or Yellow
Spanish: "This tree was imported from London by the father of the
author, in the year 1802, under the name Yellow Spanish, and one of the
original trees is now growing in his garden, where it produces
abundantly, and there is little doubt that from his stock have
originated most of the trees of this kind now in our country, as he has
taken much pains to recommend it." Why Prince and other Americans came
to call the variety introduced by the elder Prince of Europe as Yellow
Spanish, as Bigarreau and Graffion, does not appear unless the younger
Prince wanted to make the name in this country conform to that in most
common usage in England at the time. Besides the names already given,
Yellow Spanish has been rather widely grown in America as Ox Heart and
White Caroon. This variety was placed on the recommended list of the
National Congress of Fruit Growers, which afterwards became the American
Pomological Society, in 1848, under the name Bigarreau. The name was
changed in 1897 to Yellow Spanish and it now appears on the list of that
organization as Spanish.
[Illustration: YELLOW SPANISH]
Tree very large and vigorous, upright-spreading, rather
open-topped, productive; trunk thick, of medium smoothness;
branches stocky, reddish-brown covered with ash-gray, smooth
except for the numerous large lenticels; branchlets short, brown
nearly overspread with ash-gray, smooth, with small, slightly
raised, inconspicuous lenticels.
Leaves numerous five and one-half inches long, two and one-half
inches wide, folded upward, obovate to elliptical; upper surface
dark green, nearly smooth, grooved along the midrib; lower
surface light green, lightly pubescent; apex acute, base variable
in shape; margin coarsely and doubly serrate, with small, dark
glands; petiole one and three-fourths inches long, thick, heavily
tinged with dull red, grooved along the upper surface, with from
one to four large, reniform, reddish-yellow glands variable in
position.
Buds conical, plump, free, arranged singly or in small clusters
as lateral buds and from short spurs; leaf-scars prominent;
season of bloom intermediate; flowers white, one and one-fourth
inches across; borne in well-distributed clusters, in twos and in
threes; pedicels about one inch long, glabrous, green; calyx-tube
greenish, obconic, glabrous; calyx-lobes acute, reflexed; petals
oval, entire, strongly dentate at the apex, tapering to short,
blunt claws; filaments three-eighths inch long; pistil glabrous,
equal to the stamens in length.
Fruit matures in mid-season; one inch or over in diameter,
cordate, compressed; cavity deep, wide, flaring; suture a mere
line; apex roundish, not depressed; color bright amber-yellow
with a reddish blush, slightly mottled; dots numerous, small,
light russet, obscure; stem one and one-half inches long, adherent
to the fruit; skin thin, tough, separating from the pulp; flesh
whitish, with colorless juice, tender, meaty, crisp, aromatic,
sprightly, sweet; very good to best in quality; stone free, ovate,
slightly flattened, oblique, with smooth surfaces; with two small,
blunt ridges along the ventral suture near the apex.