138 



BLACK HEART 



BRUSSELER BRAUNE 



petiole nearly 2 inches long, tinged with red, with a 

 few hairs, with 2-4 reniform, brownish glands on the 

 stalk. Flowers midseason ; white, 1 % inches across ; 

 borne in scattered clusters in twos and threes. Fruit 

 midseason ; 1 inch in diameter, oblate, somewhat 

 cordate, compressed ; cavity regular, flaring ; suture 

 a faint groove ; apex pointed or slightly depressed ; color 

 dark red almost black ; dots small, russet, medium in 

 number, obscure ; stem slender, 2 inches long ; skin 

 thin, tender ; flesh dark red, with wine-colored juice, 

 meaty, tender, crisp, pleasantly flavored, mild, sweet ; 

 very good to best in quality ; stone free except along the 

 ventral suture, small, ovate, slightly flattened, blunt, 

 with smooth surfaces. 



BLACK HEART. P. avium. Although 

 one of the oldest cherries under cultivation, 

 Black Heart is still largely grown the world 

 over. Prince, in 1832, said that it was more 

 widely known than any other cherry in the 

 country. While this statement would not hold 

 for Black Heart now, it is still, because of 

 the fruitfulness of the tree and the high qual- 

 ity and beauty of the fruit, a variety of much 

 merit. Black Heart fails in commercial fruit- 

 growing since the fruit does not meet mar- 

 ket demands because of two defects: it does 

 not ship well ; and, when brown-rot is rife, it 

 quickly succumbs to this fungus. This cherry 

 was mentioned by John Rea in 1676, but with- 

 out doubt it originated many years previous 

 to that date. 



Tree large, very vigorous, tall, wide-spreading, pro- 

 ductive. Leaves very large, oblong, waved, acuminate, 

 nearly flat ; petiole of medium length, lightly tinged 

 with red, with greenish glands. Flowers very early, 

 medium in size. Fruit early, season long ; large, obtuse- 

 cordate, somewhat compressed ; cavity broad ; suture 

 deep ; surface somewhat irregular ; color dark purple 

 becoming black ; stem 1 % inches long, slender ; skin 

 slightly shrivelled ; flesh dark red, firm to very firm 

 becoming tender at full maturity, with abundant, colored 

 juice, sweet ; good in quality ; stone large, round-ovate ; 

 dorsal suture deep. 



BLACK TARTARIAN. 



Fig. 116. P. avium. Tarta- 

 rian. Black Tartarian is a fa- 

 vorite dooryard and roadside 

 sweet cherry, and ranks sec- 

 ond or third among com- 

 mercial cherries for the 

 whole region east of the 

 Mississippi. The pre- 

 eminently meritorious char- 

 acters which give it so high 

 a place in cherry culture 

 are: the elasticity of its 

 constitution, whereby it 

 adapts itself to widely dif- 

 ferent soils and climates; 

 the fruitfulness, healthful- 

 ness, and robustness of the 

 trees, which also bear regu- 

 larly, live to an old age, and 

 grow to a prodigious size; 

 comparative freedom from 

 the worst of cherry diseases, 

 brown-rot; lastly, the cher- 

 ries, though not large, are tempting to the eye, 

 and are a delight to the palate, the handsome 

 purplish-red flesh being firm and crisp, yet 

 juicy, with a sweet, rich flavor which gives the 

 quality the rank of "very good to best." Un- 



116. Black 



Tartarian. 



(XD 



fortunately, this cherry is a little too soft to 

 handle well in harvesting and marketing, or 

 to hold its shape as a canned product; the 

 small size is also against it for the canner's 

 trade. The several defects noted prevent Black 

 Tartarian from taking first rank in commercial 

 orchards, but for the home plantation it is one 

 of the best. Black Tartarian was introduced 

 into England in 1794 from Circassia. It owes 

 its introduction into this country to William 

 Prince, Flushing, Long Island, probably in the 

 early part of the nineteenth century. 



Tree characteristically large, vigorous, upright, vasi- 

 form, productive. Leaves numerous, 5% inches long, 

 2 % inches wide, obovate to elliptical, thin ; margin 

 varies from serrate to crenate ; petiole 2 inches long, 

 thick, tinged with red, with a few hairs, with 1-3 

 reniform, reddish glands on the stalk. Flowers white, 

 1V4 inches across, borne in clusters in twos and threes. 

 Fruit early ; 1 inch in diameter, cordate, compressed ; 

 cavity intermediate in depth and width, flaring ; suture 

 indistinct ; apex pointed and slightly depressed ; color 

 purplish-black ; dots numerous, small, russet, obscure ; 

 stem slender, 1 *& inches long, adherent to the fruit ; 

 skin thin, separating readily from the pulp ; flesh 

 purplish-red, with dark-colored juice, firm, meaty, 

 crisp, pleasant flavored, mild, sweet ; of very good 

 quality ; stone free, ovate, slightly flattened and oblique, 

 with smooth surfaces. 



BOURGUEIL. P. Cerasus. Bourgueil is 

 of the Montmorency type, hardly differing 

 enough in fruit from Large Montmorency to 

 be distinguished from it; and yet, since the 

 tree seems to be more productive, Bourgueil 

 is possibly worth adding to the cherry flora 

 of the country. The variety is still on proba- 

 tion, but if trees true to name can be obtained, 

 it is worth planting where growers want a 

 cherry of the Montmorency type. The United 

 States Department of Agriculture received this 

 variety from France in 1905, and, in turn, for- 

 warded it to several experiment stations, at 

 which it has been fruiting for the past few 

 seasons. 



Tree vigorous, upright-spreading, vasiform, productive. 

 Leaves numerous, 4 inches long, 2 inches wide, ovate, 

 thick ; margin doubly crenate ; petiole 1 inch long, 

 thick, with a dull tinge of red, pubescent, with 1-3 

 globose, yellow or brownish glands on the base of the 

 blade. Flowers late, white, 1 ^4 inches across ; borne 

 in clusters, usually in threes. Fruit midseason ; % inch 

 long, 1 inch wide, oblate, somewhat compressed ; cavity 

 deep, wide, medium flaring, regular ; suture indistinct ; 

 apex roundish to flattened ; color bright red ; dots 

 small, russet, inconspicuous; stem stout, 1% inches 

 long, adherent to the fruit ; skin tender, free ; flesh 

 yellowish-white, with colorless juice, tender and melting, 

 sprightly, sour ; of good quality ; stone free, large, 

 round-ovate, pointed, with smooth surfaces, tinged with 

 red, with a prominent ventral suture. 



BRUSSELER BRAUNE. Fig. 117. P. 

 Cerasus. Brusseler Braune has little value for 

 commercial plantings. The trees are uncertain 

 in bearing; the cherries are small, sour, and 

 astringent; and the crop ripens very unevenly. 

 It is of the English Morello type, but is far 

 inferior to this well-known sort. Brusseler 

 Braune has been much advertised for cold 

 climates, but there are many better cherries 

 that stand cold quite as well, and are better 

 in both tree- and fruit-characters. The variety 

 has two marked peculiarities: the leaves on 



