THE DUKE CHERRIES 



SAND CHERRY 



129 



ties with reddish juice and light-colored sorts 

 with colorless juice. Typical light-colored 

 Geans are Coe, Ida, Elton, and Waterloo; 

 dark-colored ones are Black Tartarian, Early 

 Purple, and Eagle. The second group is dis- 

 tinguished by the firm, breaking flesh of the 

 fruits, the Bigarreaus of several languages, the 

 name originally having reference to the di- 

 verse colors of the fruits. (French bigarrer 

 means to streak.) This group is further di- 

 visible in accordance with color of fruit and 

 juice into black Bigarreaus and light Bigar- 

 reaus. Chief of the black cherries falling into 

 this division are Windsor, Schmidt, and Mezel ; 

 of the light ones, which are much more nu- 

 merous, Yellow Spanish and Napoleon are 

 representative sorts. 



The Duke Cherries 



The Duke cherries, long placed by most 

 pomologists and botanists in a botanical va- 

 riety of P. avium, are unquestionably hybrids 

 between the sweet cherry and the sour cherry. 

 A study of the characters of the varieties of 

 Duke cherries shows all gradations between 

 P. Cerasus and P. avium, though, in the main, 

 they resemble the latter more than the former, 

 differing from the sweet cherries most notice- 

 ably in having acid flesh. Sterility is a com- 

 mon attribute of hybridism. In this respect, 

 the Dukes behave like hybrids; most of the 

 seeds being sterile, and in none are the seeds 

 so fertile as in varieties known to be pure-bred 

 as to species. So, too, shrunken pollen-grains 

 indicate hybridity. A study of the pollen of 

 Duke cherries shows many grains, the greater 

 proportion, to be abnormal, a condition not 

 found in the pollen of varieties true to species. 

 Crosses between sweet and sour cherries at the 

 New York Experiment Station have given 

 many Dukes. May Duke, Reine Hortense, 

 and Late Duke are the leading hybrid varieties. 



There are dark-colored Duke cherries with 

 reddish juice and light-colored sorts with un- 

 colored juice, just as in the two parent species. 

 May Duke is a typical variety with colored 

 juice, while Reine Hortense is probably the 

 best-known cherry among these hybrids with 

 uncolored juice. There are about 65 cherries 

 listed as "Dukes." The name Duke comes 

 from the variety May Duke, which is a cor- 

 ruption of Medoc, a district in France, whence 

 this variety came. The cherries of this group 

 are known as Dukes only in England and the 

 United States; in France, the name Royale is 

 similarly used. 



The Mahaleb Cherries 



3. Prunus Mahaleb, Linn. St. Lucie Cherry. Per- 

 fumed Cherry. Tree small, slender, vigorous, open- 

 topped ; branches roughened, ash-gray over reddish- 

 brown ; branchlets numerous, slender and firm-wooded, 

 dull gray, glabrous, with many large, raised lenticels. 

 Leaves numerous, 1 inch in length, 1*4 inches wide, 

 obovate, thick, leathery ; upper surface glossy, smooth ; 

 lower surface light green ; pubescent along the midrib ; 

 apex and base abrupt ; margin finely crenate, with 

 reddish-brown glands ; petiole % inch long, slender, 

 greenish, with 1-3 small, globose, greenish glands. 

 Flowers appearing after the leaves, small, >& inch 

 across, white, fragrant ; 6-8 scattered on a stem 1 inch 



in length ; terminal pedicels % inch long and basal 

 pedicels % inch long. Fruit very small, round-ovate; 

 suture a line ; apex pointed, with stigma adherent ; 

 color black ; flesh reddish-black, very astringent, sour, 

 not edible ; stone free, very small, ovate, with pointed 

 apex ; ventral suture prominent. 



P. Mahaleb is a wild inhabitant of all south- 

 ern Europe as far north as central France, 

 southern Germany, Austria-Hungary; and east- 

 ward through Asia Minor and Caucasia to 

 and within the borders of Turkestan. Wild or 

 cultivated, the Mahaleb is a shallow-rooted 

 plant, a fact that must be taken into consid- 

 eration in its use as a stock. P. Mahaleb is a 

 common escape from cultivation in eastern 

 North America, especially about the nursery 

 centers of central New York. The Mahaleb 

 is of no importance to fruit-growers for its 

 fruit, but as a consort with nearly all of the 

 sweet and sour cherries now being propagated 

 in North America, it becomes of prime im- 

 portance and so receives consideration here. 

 Mahaleb stocks are usually grown as seedlings, 

 but may also be propagated from root-cuttings. 



The Tomentose Cherry 



4. Prunus tomentosa, Thunb. A dwarfish bush-like 

 plant, vigorous, dense-topped, hardy ; trunk and branches 

 stocky ; branches smooth, grayish-brown ; branchlets 

 many, thickly overspread with short pubescence, with 

 short internodes. Leaves numerous, 2% inches long, 

 1% inches wide, obovate, velvety; upper surface dull, 

 dark green, rugose ; lower surface thickly pubescent, 

 with a prominent midrib and veins ; apex abruptly 

 pointed ; margin serrate ; petiole %e inch across ; borne 

 singly or in pairs ; pedicels short, thick, glabrous. 

 Fruit % inch in diameter, round ; cavity deep, narrow, 

 abrupt ; suture shallow ; apex depressed, with adherent 

 stigma ; color currant-red ; dots numerous, small, gray, 

 obscure ; stem thick, ^4 inch in length, pubescent ; 

 skin thick, tender, covered with light pubescence ; flesh 

 light red, with light red juice, stringy, sprightly, sour; 

 stone clinging, pointed, with smooth surfaces. 



The habitat of P. tomentosa is central Asia, 

 though it is now to be found growing spon- 

 taneously in East Tibet and eastern China. 

 This shrub-like cherry is very generally culti- 

 vated in central, eastern, and northern China 

 and in Japan for its fruit and as an ornamental. 

 It has been introduced in many widely sepa- 

 rated places in North America, and appears to 

 be promising for cold regions. The plant is 

 twiggy, close-jointed, usually with many stems 

 springing from the ground which bear branches 

 quite to the base. Frequently these low- 

 growing branches bend to the ground and take 

 root, forming new plants. The bushes are 

 thickly clothed with leaves densely tomentose 

 on the underside in this respect and in shape 

 very unlike the foliage of common cultivated 

 cherries. The fruit ripens in midseason, set- 

 ting profusely from the many blossoms. The 

 cherries are a half-inch in diameter, bright 

 currant-red, covered with inconspicuous hairs, 

 are pleasantly acid, very juicy, and a great 

 addition to cultivated cherries. P. tomentosa 

 seems a most promising plant for domestica- 

 tion and of particular merit for small gardens. 



Sand Cherry 



5. Prunus pumila, Linn. Plant a shrub 6-8 feet In 

 height, decumbent ; trunk slender, smooth except for 

 the raised lenticels; branches slender, smooth, twiggy, 



