THE CHERRIES OF NE^V YORK 147 



KING AMARELLE 



Prunus cerasus 



I. Christ Worterb. 293. 1802. 2. Truchsess-Heim Kirschensort. 610-615. 1819. 3. Liegel Syst. 

 Anleil. 174. 1825. 4. ///. Handb. 533 fig., 534. 1861. 5. Lauche Deut. Pom. W.: No. 23, PL 1882. 

 6. i4m. Gord. 9:264. 1888. 7. Caw. £.v/). farm Bm/. 2nd Ser 3:62. 1900. 8. la. Sta. Bu!. 73:72. 1903. 

 9. ^m. Pom. Soc. Cat. 27. 1909. 



King's Cherry. 10. Rea /"/ora 205. 1676. 



King Amarelle is an old European cherry that has taken on new Hfe 

 in America. It is of the Early Richmond type, differing from this standard 

 Amarelle in bearing fniit a little earlier, lighter in color and with a longer 

 stem. The fault which all but condemns the variety as a commercial cherry 

 is the small size of the fruit, the cherries running smaller than those of 

 Early Richmond which, in its turn, is rather too small. The tree is very 

 Hke that of Early Richmond — quite as vigorous and productive, the 

 same in size and shape and, if anything, a little more hardy. The variety is 

 told from afar in blossoming-time by the peculiar distribution of the flower- 

 clusters, which are numerous and dense but always separated by several 

 inches or a foot of bare wood. King Amarelle can never displace Early 

 Richmond but might be tried where a somewhat hardier cherry is wanted 

 or it might be planted as a substitute where the better-known sort fails. 



This variety, of old and uncertain origin, sprang up in France about 

 the same time as the Montmorencies and became confused with them. 

 In both fruit and tree-characters, however. King Amarelle is very different 

 from the Montmorencies, being more like Early May but ripening later 

 and making a larger tree. The cultivation of King x\marelle never became 

 extended in Europe because of the inferior qualit}^ of the fruit and poor 

 tree-characters. Professor J. L. Budd brought the variety to America 

 from Russia about 1883. The Royal Amarelle, grown on the Canadian 

 Experiment Station grounds in 1900, is undoubtedly King Amarelle. The 

 American Pomological Society placed it on its list of recommended 

 frtiits in 1909. 



Tree of medium size and vigor, upright-spreading, open-topped, very productive; 

 trtmk roughish; branches rather slender, smooth, reddish-browTi overlaid with dark ash- 

 gray; branclilets slender, of medium length, with short intemodes, brown partly covered 

 with ash-gray, smooth, with numerous conspicuous, small, raised lenticels. 



Leaves three and one-half inches long, one and one-half inches wide, folded upward, 

 obovate, somewhat glossy, thick; upper surface dark green, rugose; lower surface light 

 green, wdth a few scattering hairs; apex acute, base abrupt; margin finely and doubly 



