CARD ON THE CHOKE CHERRY 229 



it lacks in pronounced flavor rather than that it possesses any 

 strong or unpleasant ones. It does not make a rich sauce, but 

 one which is, on the whole, very cooling and agreeable. 



It is not necessary to cook the fruit in order to dispel its 

 astringency. Those most familiar with its use have learned that 

 when the fruit is fully ripe, if it is put into a cloth sack and rolled 

 back and forth or shaken in a closed vessel, this quality disap- 

 pears. Treated in this way and served with sugar and cream, like 

 peaches or other fresh fruit, it is a dish by no means to be passed 

 by. I do not remember that the fruit was ever used for jelly, but, 

 of course, it might be and perhaps is. 



There are certain qualities possessed by this fruit which seem 

 to make it worthy of being better known than it now is. In the 

 first place, it ripens at a time when other cherries are gone. 

 Furthermore, the tree is uniformly productive, seldom, if ever, 

 failing to yield a crop. Although small, the fruit is borne in 

 clusters, so that it is quickly and easily picked. It also has the 

 quality of remaining a long time on the tree after ripening, which 

 is a desirable feature for home use. The tree is apparently well 

 able to care for itself, for all of those which I have observed have 

 been growing absolutely without care. It seems, further, that it 

 must have few serious enemies, otherwise it would not prove so 

 uniformly productive. As to its longevity I cannot testify. 

 Among the trees of my earliest remembrance several are gone, 

 while others, when I last saw them, were still yielding their 

 annual crop of fruit. 



The chief objection against this little recognized claimant 

 for admission to our gardens is its small size, and the conse- 

 quent number of pits. If the suggestion of one ot your corre- 

 spondents for a pitting machine were to take tangible shape, it 

 would add greatly to the importance of this fruit. Indeed, there 

 seems to be no reason why such a machine should not be as 

 readily devised for cherries of this size as for larger ones. It is 

 possible that the same machine might answer for both, for in 

 size these fruits are about intermediate between the wild choke 

 cherry and the Early Richmond. As commonly served, the pits 

 are left in, and in that case it becomes largely a question of 

 leisure, for while they are easily removed, it takes time to 

 do it. 



