192 THE CHERRY. 



to supplant the Mayduke. Before it is 

 fit for table use, it is admirably adapted 

 for cooking ; and when fully ripe, it is, 

 perhaps, the richest of the sub-acid cher- 

 ries. In the gardens here, we have no- 

 ticed a peculiar habit of this tree of pro- 

 ducing very frequently some branches 

 which ripen much later than the others, 

 thus protracting for a long time the pe- 

 riod in which its fruit is in use. The 

 Mayduke is remarkable for its upright, 

 or, as it is called, fastigiate head, especi- 

 ally while the tree is young, in distinc- 

 tion to other sorts, which produce many 

 lateral branches. 



Fruit roundish or obtuse heart-shaped, 

 growing in clusters. Skin at first of a 

 lively red, but when fully ripe of a rich 

 dark red. Flesh reddish, tender and 

 melting, very juicy, and, at maturity, Fig. 81. Mayduke. 

 rich and excellent in flavour. This fruit is most frequent jf 

 picked while it is yet red, and partially acid, and before it attains 

 its proper colour or flavour. It begins to colour, about New- 

 York, in favourable seasons, the last of May, and ripens during 

 the first half of June. 



Mayduke is said to be a corruption of Mtdoc, the province in 

 France, where this variety (the type of all the class now called 

 Dukes) is believed to have originated. 



HOLMAN'S DUKE, appears to be only an accidental variety of 

 the Mayduke, ripening from a week to two weeks later. The 

 Late Mayduke, of some gardens, is of similar character, and 

 was obtained by grafting from the late ripening branches of 

 the common Mayduke 



60. ROYAL DUKE. Thomp. 

 Royale Anglaise Tardive. 



Fruit large, roundish, and distinctly oblate or flattened. Skin 

 dark red. Flesh reddish, tender, juicy and rich. A good bear- 

 er. Ripens in the last of June. 



The true Royal Duke is very rare in this country. The 

 fruit is a good deal larger than the May Duke, and more flat- 

 tened at the top and bottom. It is readily known from the Late 

 Duke and Archduke, by its upright growth, which is similar to 

 that of the Mayduke. 



