8o 



THE CHERRIES OF NEW YORK 



A necessary accompaniment to a discussion of climate is a statement 

 of the dates of blooming of the various sorts of cherries; for often, through 

 selection with reference to this life event of the plant, injurious climatal 

 influences may be escaped at blooming-time. In the accompanying table 

 averages of the blooming dates of varieties of cherries for the years just 

 past, 191 2 to 19 14, are given. 



In making use of these dates, consideration must be given to the 

 environment of the orchards at Geneva. The latitude of the Smith 

 Astronomical Observatory, a quarter of a mile from the Station orchards, 

 is 42° 52' 46.2"; the altitude of the orchards is from five hundred to five 

 hundred and twenty-five feet above the sea level. The soil is a stiff and 

 rather cold clay; the orchards lie about a mile west of Seneca Lake, a body 

 of water forty miles in length and from one to three and one-half miles 

 in width and more than six hundred feet deep. The lake has frozen over 

 but a few times since the region was settled, over a hundred years ago, 

 and has a very beneficial influence on the adjacent country in lessening 

 the cold of winter and the heat of summer and in preventing early blooming. 



The dates are those of full bloom. They were taken from trees grown 

 under normal conditions as to pruning, distance apart, and as to all other 

 factors which might influence the blooming period. An inspection of 

 the table shows that there is a variation of several days between the time 

 of full bloom of the different varieties of the same species. These differ- 

 ences can be utilized in selecting sorts to avoid injury from frost. 



Table Showing Blooming Dates and Season of Ripening 



