158 Missouri State Horticultural Society. 



were ready for use they were swimming in their own liquor, in the 

 massive wash-tubs in which they usually had been picked. 



Usually conveyed in the farm wagon several miles over very 

 rough roads they were of little use for culinary purposes. They 

 were allowed to ferment, and ''Cherry Bounce" was about all that 

 was made from the product. Let any one go back but a few years 

 and they will be surprised to see the change that has been brought 

 with this now popular variety. It is less than twenty-fivB years ago 

 that I saw the cherries upon the table except as in pies. And even 

 now I feel a repugnance when I think of those pies. You gentle- 

 men must remember I am of Dutch extraction. The custom was 

 to make the crust very plain, very little shorting allowed, for the 

 M. D's. of that day said they were very unhealthy if containing 

 lard. The crusts therefore were usually an inch in thickness ; while 

 the cherry was sandwiched between so flat and lonesome that a 

 search warrant was necessary to find one. The juice, what little 

 was in them, had gone into the crusts, and they became so tough 

 that I have no doubt that had any Yankee encountered one of these 

 ancient cherry pies upon which I was fed, would have made the 

 product of "aoutchouc" or rubber tree of South America, a use- 

 less commodity. Mr. President, would you believe me when I say 

 that at this date, 4 a. m., Monday, December 8, 1 have just awaked 

 from a terrible night-mare, the result of my remembering that I 

 was booked for a paper on that cherry. Having retired with the 

 intention of getting up early, to prepare this paper. I had 

 dreamed of those ancient pies ; hence the disturbed condition of 

 my night's repose. And should I not be able to do the cherry 

 justice, it will be, in a measure, owing to the etfect of those ^;ie6-. 



Until recently, as I was saying, the cherry was much neglected 

 by the orchardists of the west. But a new era has dawned, and 

 •now the cherry ranks as the first dessert fruit (strawberry excejoted). 

 Of those possessing the greatest value in the west are the Keds or 

 Acids. The Blacks and Hearts, while making fine, showy trees, 

 and excellent varieties, arc not, as yet, a success with us ; therefore 

 we must accept the Acids, though not so good a tree, usually be- 

 ing scraggy in appearance, and not so vigorous in growth. 



In early spring they gladden us with a profusion of white 

 blossoms. They are usually the first to appear and inform us that 

 the icy king has lost his grip, aiid that spring is really here. 



They are the fit-st dessert fruit that we welcome (excepting the 

 strawberry.) They are the most palatable of the orchard product. 

 And what can be more beautiful than a tree loaded with this 



