550 THE CHERRY. 



flowers in May, and the fruit is ripe in October. It is eaten like that 

 of the medlar, but is deemed inferior. There is a pear-shaped variety, 

 one apple-shaped, and a third berry-shaped ; the latter being the form 

 of the fruit in the wild plant. The tree is rarely planted for its fruit 

 in Britain, and is now neglected on the Continent. One may be in- 

 troduced in an orchard or a shrubbery for the sake of variety. 



Pyrus torminalis, the griping-fruited Service-tree, is not cultivated 

 in gardens, but it grows wild in Sussex, and the fruit is sent to 

 Covent Garden market, and eaten in a state of incipient decay, like 

 that of the True Service. 



Pyrus Aria (var. cretica), the Cretan white beam tree, is a mealy, 

 agreeably-tasted fruit, which is eaten when ripe, and before it has 

 begun to decay. This tree is as well worth cultivating for its fruit as 

 the True Service. 



The Cherry. 



The cherry (Cerasus sylvestris and C. vulgaris) is, in its wild state, 

 a middle-sized deciduous tree, a native of most parts of Europe, and of 

 part of Asia, and cultivated for its fruit from the time of the Romans. 

 It is the first hardy fruit that ripens in the open air in Britain, and is 

 grown in every garden and most extensively in Kent and Hertfordshire 

 for the London market. 



Use. The fruit, besides being highly valued for the dessert, is useful 

 in pies, tarts, and other preparations in cookery and confectionery. 

 Steeping cherries in brandy is said to improve its strength and flavour, 

 and brandy -cherries have long been prized j a wine may be made 

 from the pulp, and from the pulp and kernel bruised and fermented, 

 the German spirit Kirschwasser is distilled. The fruit of the Kentish 

 cherry may be stoned, and dried, and used like raisins. The gum which 

 exudes from the tree is said to have all the properties of gum arabic. 

 The wood of the tree is hard, and tough, and is used by the turner, 

 flute-maker, and cabinet-maker : and the wild cherry, as a tree, is 

 an excellent nurse for the oak on light soils, while its fruit is a great 

 encourager of the thrush, blackbird, and other singing birds. 



Varieties. The Romans had eight kinds of cherry, and in England, 

 in the time of Parkinson, there were twenty- four sorts. In France and 

 Germany the sorts were more numerous than in England before the 

 collection made by the Horticultural Society of London. Since then 

 the number of good cherries have rapidly increased. 



Dessert Cherries. 



Earliest Varieties. Werder's Early Black Heart, Knight's Early 

 Black, Bowyer's Early Heart, Early Black Bigarreau, Belle d'Orleans, 

 Early Red Guigne, Waterloo, Early Lamauree, Noir pr6coce de Straus, 

 Bigarreau Jaboulay. Second Earliest. Black Eagle, White Heart, 

 Ox Heart, Governor Wood, Gloire de France, Bedfordshire Prolific, 

 Downton, Elton, Bigarreau Napoleon, Bigarreau White. 



Late Varieties. Late Duke, Florence, Coe's Late Carnation, Late 



