(iHENOPODIUM 



CHERRY 



291 



are used as greens. In American gardens it is usually 

 known as Mercury (the name is sometimes corrupted to 

 Markery). Lvs. triangular-ovate, with very long, wide- 

 spreading basal lobes ; margins entire ; plant mealy. 

 The plant is of the easiest culture; 1-2 ft. high. Other 

 Chenopodiums of economic interest are the Quinoa {C. 

 Quinoa, Willd.), of S. Amer., of which the large seeds 

 are used as food (it is an annual, with aspect of the 

 common pigweed, 6'. album; seeds sold by European 

 dealers. B.M. 3641); C. ambrosioides, Linn., Mexican 

 Tea, affords a medicinal extract ; C. anthelmititicnm, 

 Linn., Wormseed, affords a vermifuge. The Feather 

 Geranium or Jerusalem Oak of florists is C. Botrys^ 

 Linn. It is annual, glandular-pubescent and aromatic, 

 1-3 ft. high, with pinnatifid lvs. and long, feather-like, 

 enduring spikes, for which it is used in vases and 

 baskets. Pretty. L jj g 



425. Chcrimoya. 



CHEKIMOYA, CHEHIMOYEK (Anona Cherimolia, 

 Mill.). Fig. 425. The Cherimoya is considered by many 

 to be the finest of the subtropical fruits, and that not 

 only by the natives of the countries where it grows, but 

 also by Europeans. It is somewhat like the Sweet Sop 

 [A. squamosa); both are excellent when grown in cli- 

 mates that suit them ; but the Cherimoya has a decided 

 acidity, which is most agreeable and grateful to the taste. 

 See Anona. The fruit is rounded, but irregular in shape, 

 weighing from 3 to 5 lbs., and even double that under 

 cultivation. There is a thin, greenish rind, marked off 

 by somewhat raised lines into pentagonal or hexagonal 

 spaces. Beneath is a white pulp, embedded in which are 

 the black seeds, radiating from an internal central stalk. 

 The white pulp is the edible portion ; it is of the con- 

 sistence of a corn-flour pudding. If picked when full- 

 grown, they will ripen gradually, and can be kept 7 or 

 8 days before eating. 



The tree is from 15 to 30 feet in height, with a broad 

 spreading head and pendent branches. The leaves are 

 oblong, with velvety down on the under surface. The 

 flowers have 3 outer petals, which are oblong-linear 

 In shape, and keeled on the inner side ; the 3 inner 

 petals are minute, alternate with the outer. It is found 

 growing spontaneously at certain elevations in Central 

 America, and western South America, as far south as 

 Chile, but it is quite uncertain where it is truly wild in 

 all this region. De Candolle, in his " Origin of Cultivated 

 Plants, "considers it most probable that it is indigenous 

 in Equador, and perhaps in the neighboring part of 

 Peru. It was introduced into Jamaica in 178G by Mr. 

 Hinton East, and is now of spontaneous growth in a 

 limited area at a certain elevation on the southern slopes 

 of the Blue mountains, corresponding fairly well with 

 the district in which the far-famed Blue Mountain coffee 

 is cultivated. The altitude at which it is found is be- 

 tween 2,500 and 5,000 feet. In Madeira, the Cherimoya 

 has taken the place of the grape vine on many of the 

 estates on the warm southern slopes of the island. The 



cultivation is systematic. The 2-year-old seedlings 

 are grafted. The trees are pruned and trained, and 

 manure is regularly supplied. The result of careful 

 selection is that there are varieties with scarcely any 

 seeds, and weighing 12 to 16 lbs. Ordinary fruits, 

 weighing 3 to 8 lbs., are sold in the London market at 

 $1.50 ; large ones are sold at $2.50, and even $3. 



W. Fawcett. 



CHERRY. Cultivated tree Cherries have probably 

 sprung from two European species, Prunus Ai'iunif 

 Linn., and Prunus C'erasus, Linn. The domesticated 

 forms of Prunus Avium are charac- 

 terized by a tall, erect growth (Fig. 

 426); reddish brown, glossy bark, 

 which separates in rings ; flowers 

 generally in clusters on lateral spurs, 

 appearing with the limp, grad)ially 

 taper-pointed leaves ; fruit red, yel- 

 low, or black, generally sweet, spher- 

 ical, heart-shaped, or pointed ; flesh 

 soft or firm. Sour Cherries are low- 

 headed and spreading (Fig. 427); 

 flowers in clusters from lateral buds, 

 appearing before the hard, stiff, rather 

 abruptly pointed, light or grayish 

 green leaves. The following is the 

 latest classification (Bailey, Bull. 98, 

 Cornell Exp. Sta. ) : 



Prunus Avium has four represent- 

 atives in the United States: 



I. The Mazzards, or inferior seed- 

 lings; fruit of various shapes and 

 colors; common along roadsides. In 

 the middle Atlantic states, the wild 

 Mazzard trees often attain great age 

 and size, particularly in the Dela- 

 ware-Chesapeake peninsula (Fig. 



II. The Hearts, or heart-shaped, ^„^ _ ,~'~ 



soft, sweet Cherries, light or dark, ^^e. Tall, erect growth 

 represented by Black Tartarian and °* Sweet Cherry. 

 Governor Wood. 



III. The Bigarreaus, or heart-shaped, firm-fleshed, 

 sweet Cherries, like the Napoleon and Windsor. 



IV. The Dukes ; light-colored, somewhat acid flesh, 

 such as May Duke and Reine Hortense. 



From Prunus Cerasus two classes have sprung: 



I. The Araarelles, or 

 light - colored sour 

 Cherries, with color- 

 less juice, represented, 

 by Early Richmond 

 and Montmorency. 



II. The Morellos, or 

 dark-colored sour Cher- 

 ries, with dark-colored 

 juice, like the English 

 Morello and Louis 

 Philippe. 



The following spe- 

 cies also have horticul- 

 tural value : Prunus 

 Mahaleb, an Old World 

 type, hardier and 

 smaller, on which other 

 Cherries are largely 

 worked ; Prunus Penn- 

 si/lvanica, the native 

 wild red, pin, or bird Cherry, whose hardiness may adapt 

 it as a stock for the Plains states; Prunus Besseyi and 

 Prunus pumila, the native sand or dwarf Cherries, the 

 former represented by the Improved Dwarf Rocky 

 Mountain Cherry. See Prunus. 



The Cherry is not cultivated as a leading industry east 

 of the Rocky mountains, except in western New York, 

 where the sour varieties are grown for canning. The 

 sweet Cherry is confined mostly to door-yard and fence- 

 corner plantings. Sour kinds are found in orchard blocks 

 in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio. Michigan, 

 Indiana, Illinois, Kansas and Nebraska. Sweet Cherry 

 culture, however, is adapted to the states between the 



427. Low-headed and spreadli 

 fifrowth of Sour Cherry. 



