240 THE EVOLUTION OF OUR NATIVE FRUITS 



"fruit begins to ripen the first week in August. The 

 cherries on most of the bushes were ripe by August 

 20, and some few last into September, showing a sea- 

 son of from four to six weeks in a seedling planta- 

 tion. Classifying roughly according to the fruit, we 

 find yellow and black -fruited sorts. The yellow- 

 fruited sorts, as a class, are earlier than the blacks, 

 and of rather better flavor. They are greenish yellow 

 when fully ripe, and vary in size, the largest being 

 about the size of a medium Early Richmond cherry." 

 The fruits vary greatly in flavor, some being entirely 

 worthless, while others were acceptable for some culi- 

 nary purposes. "While of little value when the 

 quality of the fruit is considered, it would seem that 

 these dwarf cherries should give rise to a race espe- 

 cially adapted to the Northwest. They have withstood 

 all the dry weather of the past three years without 

 injury, and they have been covered with bloom for 

 two seasons, though unprotected during the winter." 

 Professor Green, in Minnesota, had "fruit varying in 

 color from quite light red to almost black, and in 

 form from round -oblate to oval. The largest fruit 

 we have is oval, with three -fourths inch and five- 

 eighths inch diameters, while one other is round and 

 eleven -sixteenths of an inch in diameter ; this is 

 nearly as large as the Early Richmond cherry. The 

 quality varies greatly, some being a mild, not dis- 

 agreeable subacid, others insipid, and still others very 

 astringent. * * * When cooked it makes a nice 

 sauce. The period of ripening varies from July 24 

 to August 15. A peculiarity of the plant is that all 

 the fruit on any plant is ripe at nearly the same time, 

 and can all be gathered at one picking. * * * I 



