THE CHERRY 125 



And there are always new additions to the 

 colony that will only come into bearing next sea- 

 son or the season after and reveal what they hold 

 in store. 



Thus it chanced that in the season of 1908 I 

 found among the cherries one that bore quite the 

 largest fruit I have ever seen ; fruit, moreover, of 

 the most inviting color and having qualities of 

 flesh to match. Cions and trees of this new 

 cherry were sent out and will in due course 

 colonize many an orchard with a new variety of 

 fruit that is sure to find great favor. This cherry 

 was named the Giant and honors its name by pro- 

 ducing each season an abundant crop of cherries 

 which measure three inches around. 



But if I thus from time to time have pleasant 

 surprises, I am also too often surprised to find 

 among my patrician cherries offspring that seem 

 wholly unworthy. But of course one hears of 

 black sheep among the scions of even the noblest 

 families, so it is not surprising that the blueblood 

 cherries of Sebastopol offer no exception. 



And as the black member of any human family 

 is always held up as a warning example, I have 

 thought that I might in the same way make the 

 black sheep of my cherry colony serve a useful 

 purpose by explaining somewhat in detail the 

 reason for their appearance. 



