126 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



Mr. Smith: In regard to May Duke, is it not a fact that they are 

 almost black when thoroughly ripe? 



Mr. Cook: Yes, a dark red, almost black. Early Richmond could 

 perhaps be grown all over the state — inland and everywhere. Perhaps 

 it should be considered the leading variety for all localities. I don't see 

 any on the lake shore, for May Duke will grow there, and I think sur- 

 passes it in every respect. It commences to bear with us at three years, 

 and it grows faster. Some years it bears fuller than others. Black 

 Tartarian is one of our leading varieties. It is put down as a large cherry, 

 and there are few varieties which surpass it in size. Great Bigarreau 

 will surpass it in size but not in quality. I have some seedlings that are 

 fully as large. Great Bigarreau forms a large tree with a spreading 

 habit, not quite. so productive as I would like, but a fine-selling cherry. I 

 don't like it on one account, though; it is not quite so productive as 

 Black Tartarian. That is considered a standard of excellence. In Chicago 

 a large black cherry is like the Crawford peach — anything that is a large 

 yellow peach sells as a Crawford. So a large black cherry will sell as 

 Black Tartarian. There are a good many other varieties I could mention 

 — Yellow Spanish, Governor Wood, and several others, but I would not 

 recommend them particularly. Of course we have English Morello, but 

 it is worse than Richmond for acidity. I don't know but they would sell 

 well in Chicago. It is a slow-growing tree. 



Now, in regard to the pests of the cherry. The curculio will injure the 

 cherry to some extent, though where I grow them, in the open field (and 

 that is where cherries should be grown), they will not be troubled as much. 

 They only trouble me where they grow near a piece of woods, or some 

 other fruit row. As for jarring the cherry tree, I don't think it would be 

 practicable. J think the tree would very likely die in a few years, from 

 bruising of the bark. If the bark is injured it is likely to gum, and when 

 it commences to gum it will die. 



All the varieties I have mentioned will grow on the lake shore, and 

 the May Duke will grow wherever peaches will. It is a hardy tree. 



The curculio, as I said, works most along old fence rows or near the 

 woods. Although the curculio goes into the ground after the cherry or 

 plum is attacked, there it becomes a winged insect, and then, before the 

 winter sets in, it seeks some place to spend the winter, and an old fence 

 row or woods is the place for it. 



Occasionally we have the aphis. That gets on the ends of the young 

 shoots. Of course, I suppose they could be killed by kerosene emulsion; 

 but the year they came so thick, they came all at once, on the ends of the 

 shoots, and I was wondering what I should do. One day I was down 

 on the beach, and there, where the waves washed it, I discovered 

 immense quantities of lady-bugs. They were along there so thick you 

 could see them rods off. They were washed up by the waves and lay 

 there in rows. In a short time they were gone from there, and in a 

 few days I discovered that some of the trees were literally covered with 

 these lady-bugs, and that the lice very quickly disappeared. In less than 

 a week you couldn't find one. They destroyed them at once. The lady-bug 

 is one of the best friends the fruitgrower has. 



Regarding stocks, I don't know whether that will interest you or not. 

 I find there is quite a difference in the productiveness of cherry trees, 



