THE CHERRIES OF NEW YORK 1 83 



firm of flesh to withstand harvesting, shipping and the attacks of the 

 brown-rot fungus. To offset the defects of the fruit the flesh is rich, sweet 

 and tender, making it, all in all, as good as any other Sweet Cherry for 

 dessert. The trees, too, are very satisfactory, being large, vigorous and 

 very fruitful, though with the reputation of requiring good soil and the 

 best of care, of lacking a little in hardiness to cold, and of having the period 

 of maturing the crop more or less changed by soil and culture. Rockport 

 has been, and is, more or less popular in New York but it can be recom- 

 mended only for a home orchard. 



Rockport is another of Professor Kirtland's introductions, having been 

 raised by him at Cleveland, Ohio, about 1842, from a seed of Yellow Spanish. 

 It soon won a place, in 1862, on the fruit list of the American Pomological 

 Society where it still remains. It is mentioned by several foreign authors 

 and many American nurserymen ofTer it for sale. Swedish is given as a 

 synonym of Rockport by Hooper. 



Tree large, vigorous, upright, very productive; trunk somewhat slender, roughish; 

 branches smooth, reddish-brown, with numerous small lenticels; branchlets stout, variable 

 in length, with long intemodes, brown almost entirely overspread with ash-gray, smooth, 

 with conspicuous, raised lenticels. 



Leaves ntimerous, three and one-half inches long, one and three-fourths inches wide, 

 folded upward, long-oval to obovate; upper surface dark green, somewhat rugose; lower 

 surface dull, light green, pubescent along the veins ; apex acute to taper-pointed, base abrupt ; 

 margin coarsely serrate, glandular; petiole two inches long, tinged with red, with a few 

 hairs on the upper surface, glandless or with from one to four large, renifonn, reddish 

 glands variable in position. 



Buds large, long, pointed, plump, free, arranged singly and in clusters from lateral 

 buds and short spurs; leaf -scars prominent; season of bloom intermediate; flowers white, 

 one and one-fourth inches across; borne in clusters usually in twos; pedicels one inch long, 

 glabrous, greenish; calj-x-tube green, campanulate, glabrous; calyx-lobes acute, glabrous 

 within and without, reflexed; petals roundish, entire, dentate at the apex, nearly sessile; 

 filaments nearly one-half inch long; pistil glabrous, shorter than the stamens, often 

 defective. 



Fruit matures early; one inch in diameter, cordate to conical, compressed; cavity 

 shallow, wide, flaring, regular ; suture a distinct line ; apex roundish, with a small depression 

 at the center; color bright red over an amber-yellow background, mottled; dots very 

 numerous, small, light yellowish, somewhat conspicuous; stem one and one-half inches 

 long, adhering well to the fruit; skin thin, tender; flesh pale yellowish- white, with color- 

 less juice, tender, somewhat melting, aromatic, mild, sweet; good to very good in quality; 

 stone free, ovate, plump, with smooth surfaces. 



