242 THE EVOLUTION OF OUR NATIVE FRUITS 



in fact, I picked them off the bushes and exhibited 

 at our county fair September 23, 24 and 28, where 

 they attracted a great deal of attention. I have 

 learned since I have had these cherries that other 

 residents of the county had them in their gardens 

 more than twenty years ago, and have them yet, so 

 I do not claim to be the discoverer of them, but I 

 believe I am the first to improve them and make 

 their value known to the public. They are very 

 scarce in their wild state here. There are two kinds 

 of them one that grows outside the mountains in the, 

 foot-hills, and is in every way inferior to the one 

 that grows near the bank of the Cache la Poudr-5 

 river. There are not 2,000 of these cherries of inins 

 in existence. I could sell wagon loads of these 

 cherries at 10 cents per quart. I have kept 200 of 

 the young trees, which I intend to send to respon- 

 sible parties who desire them for testing. The young 

 trees I have are one year from seed. I have had 

 them loaded down at two years of age from seed. 

 They have never failed to bear fruit every year ; late 

 frosts never affect them ; they are entirely hardy, 

 having endured 40 degrees below zero without injury ; 

 ripen when all others are gone ; would grace any 

 lawn when in blossom ; are easier pitted than other 

 cherries." 



Bessey writes as follows of the merits of this 

 cherry:* "No native fruit appears more promising 

 than this. Even in a wild state it is very prolific, 

 and when fully ripe it is edible in the uncooked state. 

 The astringency which is present in the unripe fruits 

 almost or entirely disappears at maturity. Plants 



*Rept. Nebr. Hort. Soc. 1895, 168. 



