76 



NOTES ON CHERRIES. 



try is well adapted to the growing of fine 

 peaches. We only want the proper varieties. 

 Where can we get them from ? We must 

 raise them from seed. We have the Creole 

 peach here — some well flavored and of good 

 color, but Liliputian in size ; with others 

 large enough to please the eye of the giant of 

 Brobdignag, but coarse and ill flavored. I 

 should like very much, to get seeds from sev- 

 eral northern orchards. I want choice seeds. 

 I believe in like producing like. From whom 

 can I get ? I should like to procure cherry 

 and plum stones, also. 



One word about grape vines. I found no 



difficulty in grafting them early in the sprin . 

 3Iy plan is, to cut ofi" in the winter, and cleft 

 graft ; or in very large stocks, I split only the 

 bark of the stock, and sloping my graft, press 

 it in, and secure with a small thread. If it 

 bleeds, wrap all for a short distance with old 

 cotton rags, above and below the wound ; ap- 

 ply the wax quite warm, so as to make the 

 whole air tight. One of my finest vines this 

 year, was one from accident left without wax 

 or ties. A second one has a fine bunch of 

 grapes. Yours, very respectfully, 



W. A. Whitfield. 



Shelby, Bay of St. Louis, Miss., June 15, 1850. 



NOTES ON CHERRIES. 



T. Eeine Hortense. — A French cherry, 

 of considerable reputation, lately introduced 

 into this country. It has fruited here this 

 year, and is quite a distinct variety. It be- 

 longs to the Duke class of cherries, but ripens 

 about the height of the cherry season. The 

 flavor is slightly sub-acid, like the May Duke. 

 This variety is remarkable for its long and 

 slender stalk, (measuring a little more than 

 2^ inches in length,) and the oval shape of 

 the fruit. The skin is pale red and semi- 

 trausparent — the suture distinctly marked by 

 a dark line, without any depression ; the flesh 

 tender, juicy, and of agreeable flavor ; and 

 the stone (unless the fruit is very ripe) ad- 

 lieres to the stalk. The pit is also of a long- 

 ovjtl figure. This variety will, we think, be 

 n)ore valuable at the west, from its hardiness, 

 joined to other good qualities, than here, 

 where all the other sorts flourish so well. 



II. Roberts' Bed Heart. — In our work 

 on Fruits, we have not done justice to this 

 cherry, which originated in Salem, Mass. It 

 is remarkable for productiveness, for good 

 flavor, and for uniformly bearing a good crop. 



The following is an accurate description of the 

 fruit : 



A heart cherry : fruit of 

 medium size, and roundish 

 heart shape ; skin of a pale 

 amber ground, but nearly 

 overspread with pale red, 

 mottled with deeper red, and 

 with some pale amber specks. 

 Suture quite distinct. Flesh 

 white, juicy, sweet, and well 

 flavored. Stalk long and 

 slender, set in a depression 

 of moderate depth. A very 

 prolific bearer. Ripens last 

 of June. 



III. Champagne. — A 



. , -in 1 Fi?- 17.— Roberts^ Red 



new variety, raised irom seed Heart. 



by Mr. C. Downing, of Newburgh. It is a 

 very distinct variety ; and after waiting four 

 years to satisfy ourselves of the constancy of 

 its good qualities, we do not hesitate to say 

 that it will prove one of the most valuable 

 standard cherries. It is neither very large 

 nor strikingly handsome ; but it has the great 



