BESSARABIAN 



BLACK EAGLE 



137 



sour cherry. Unfortunately, while the trees 

 bear early and regularly, they are seldom fruit- 

 ful; to offset this fault, however, they are 

 vigorous, hardy, and healthy. The cherries 

 keep and stand the wear and tear of marketing 

 as well as those of any other Duke. All char- 

 acters of Choisy commend it for the home 

 orchard and for a local market. In particular, 

 it may be recommended for cold climates 

 where a true sweet cherry is not quite hardy, 

 as this hybrid is nearly as hardy as the other 

 parent, a sour cherry. Choisy was cultivated 

 in France as early as 1628. It was first de- 

 scribed in America in 1832. 



Tree large, vigorous, spreading, open, hardy, but 

 moderately productive. Leaves numerous, very broad, 

 obovate, rather abruptly pointed ; margin deeply and 

 regularly serrate to rather dentate. Flowers early, white, 

 large, numerous, borne in large clusters. Fruit mid- 

 season ; usually attached in pairs, large, round-oval, 

 flattened toward the base ; cavity shallow, wide ; suture 

 shallow, indistinct ; apex depressed ; color bright red 

 mottled with yellow and amber ; stem thick at the base, 

 l%-2 inches long, generally forking at about ^ inch 

 from the base ; skin thin, firm, semi-transparent, showing 

 the netted texture of the pulp beneath ; flesh pale amber, 

 with abundant colorless juice, tender, melting, sweet ; 

 very good in quality ; stone small, round, pointed at 

 the apex ; surfaces nearly smooth. 



BESSARABIAN. P. Cerasus. Bessarabian 

 has a place in home orchards in the colder 

 parts of the Mississippi Valley and the Great 

 Plains. It is very hardy and is said to thrive 

 even under neglect, standing as much abuse 

 as a forest tree. As compared with standard 

 commercial cherries of the East, the fruit is 

 distinctly inferior in size and quality, hardly 

 fit to eat out of hand, and is sour and 

 astringent even when cooked. The trees are 

 hardy and healthy, but dwarfish and not pro- 

 ductive because of the smallness of the cher- 

 ries. It is an early cherry, but the fruit hangs 

 long. The variety is said to root well from 

 cuttings. If this is true, it might be worth 

 trying as a stock. Bessarabian is a variant of 

 English Morello, brought to America from 

 Russia about 1883 by Professor J. L. Budd, 

 Ames, Iowa. 



Tree of medium size, upright, becoming somewhat 

 spreading, compact, healthy, unproductive, very hardy ; 

 branches drooping, long, slender. Leaves abundant, 

 medium to small, oval, coarsely serrate, dark green, 

 broad, flat ; glands few, on the stalk at the base of 

 the leaf. Fruit early, remaining on the tree a long 

 time in good condition ; medium in size, round-oblate 

 to cordate, irregular, bright red becoming dark red ; 

 stem long, varying from 1% to 2 inches in length, 

 slender, curved ; skin tender ; flesh light to dark red, 

 with abundant colored juice, variable in firmness, 

 sprightly subacid, becoming milder when fully ripe ; 

 fair in quality ; stone round-oval, semi-clinging. 



BING. Fig. 115. P. avium. Bing is one of 

 the best of the several very good cherries from 

 the Pacific Northwest. The fruits are almost 

 unequalled in size, attractiveness, and quality. 

 Other characters commending the variety are 

 that the crop hangs well on the trees and ripens 

 at one time, so that the harvest consists of but 

 one picking. Unfortunately, in the East the 

 trees are not so vigorous, healthy, or produc- 

 tive as they should be in a commercial variety 

 of first rank. The variety, though compara- 



tively new, is no longer on probation. It de- 

 serves a place in the collection of every ama- 

 teur, by virtue of its excellent fruit; and, 

 where it is happy in soil and climate, is bound 

 to become one of the leading commercial cher- 

 ries. Seth Lewelling, Milwaukee, Oregon, 

 grew Bing from the seed of Republican in 1875. 



115. Bing. (XD 



Tree large, vigorous, erect, becoming upright-spreading, 

 open, productive. Leaves abundant, large, obovate ; 

 margin slightly serrate, glandular ; petiole long, pubes- 

 cent, thick, tinged with red, with 1-3 large, reniform, 

 reddish glands on the stalk. Fruit midseason or later ; 

 1 inch in diameter, broadly cordate, somewhat com- 

 pressed, slightly angular ; cavity deep, of medium width, 

 abrupt, regular ; suture a dark line ; apex rounded or 

 slightly depressed ; color very dark red, almost black ; 

 dots small, russet, inconspicuous; stem 1% inches long; 

 skin tough, adherent to the pulp ; flesh purplish-red 

 with dark purple juice, rather coarse, firm, very meaty, 

 brittle, sweet ; of very good quality ; stone semi-free, 

 large, oval, blunt, with smooth surfaces. 



BLACK EAGLE. P. avium. In many re- 

 spects, Black Eagle is one of the best varieties 

 of its species. The trees are usually fruitful; 

 ripen their crop at a good time in the cherry 

 season, just after Black Tartarian; and are 

 as hardy, healthy, and vigorous as those of 

 any sweet cherry. But it is high quality of 

 fruit that gives Black Eagle such merit that it 

 ought not to be forgotten; makes it worthy 

 a place in every home orchard, and commends 

 it highly to commercial growers of cherries 

 who want a finely finished product for either 

 local or general market. The fruit-stems of 

 this variety are characteristically long. Black 

 Eagle was grown about 1806 by Thomas An- 

 drew Knight, Downton Castle, Wiltshire, Eng- 

 land, from seed of Yellow Spanish fertilized 

 with pollen of May Duke. 



Tree large, vigorous, upright-spreading, dense, unpro- 

 ductive at first but improving with age. Leaves numer- 

 ous, 5 inches long, 2 % inches wide, elliptical, thin ; 

 margin coarsely and doubly serrate, with dark glands ; 



