THE BLACK EAGLE CHERRY. 



Black Eagle. Horticultural Transactions, vol. ii. pi. 9. 



The Black Eagle is one of the finest cherries in cultivation. It 

 ripens soon after the May Duke, about the same time as the Old Black 

 Heart, and is surpassed by no other variety of its season. The fruit is 

 of good size, with a veiy tender flesh, and a peculiarly rich and luscious 

 flavor. The tree is a good, without being an over-abundant, bearer, and 

 the fruit is less liable to injury from heavy rains than many other kinds. 



Two difierent accounts are given of the origin of the Black Eagle. 

 In the Horticultural Transactions, as above quoted, where it was first 

 figured, it is stated to have been produced by Sir Thomas Andrew 

 Knight ; but in a subsequent notice of this cherry, in the same work, 

 (vol. viii. p. 258,) as well as in Lindley's Guide to the Orchard, its pro- 

 duction is ascribed to Miss Elizabeth Knight. It is, however, of no 

 material consequence whether it was raised by the father or daughter, so 

 long as it originated at Downton Castle, the residence of Mr. Knight. 

 And to him the horticultural world is indebted for its introduction, as 

 well as for several other seedlings of the most superior quality, at the 

 head of which may be named the Elton. 



The Black Eagle was raised in 1806, from the seed of the Ambree, of 

 Duhamel, impregnated with the pollen of the May Duke ; and, as the 

 authors of the Pomological Magazine truly remark, " it really combines 

 all that is worth raising in both these varieties." 



Mr. Knight sent the Black Eagle, with other fruits, to the Hon. John 

 Lowell, in 1823 ; but though introduced so long since, it has not yet 

 found its way into very general cultivation. Its merits, however, are so 

 great, that no collection can be considered complete without it. 



Tree. — ^Vigorous, of an erect and spreading habit, similar to the old 

 Bigarreau, and with rather stout annual shoots. 



Wood. — Strong, short-jointed, dark brown, partially covered with a 

 grayish epidermis ; buds, large, full, short, erect. 



Leaves. — Large, oblong, broadest above the middle, acuminate, thick, 

 wavy on the mai'gin, deep green, doubly, but not very deeply, ser- 

 rated, and slightly pendulous ; petioles, rather long, about one and a half 

 inches in length, moderately stout, with reniform glands. 



Flowers. — ^Medium size ; petals roundish oval, cupped and imbri- 

 cated ; stamens shorter than the style. 



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