ELKHORN 



ENGLISH MORELLO 



143 



ELKHORN. P. avium. Elkhorn has 

 served its day, and is now being rapidly 

 superseded by other cherries of the Bigarreau 

 group to which it belongs. It was valued by 

 the old pomologists because of its large fruits, 

 which have firm flesh, ripen late, are rich in 

 flavor, and hang well on the tree long after 

 maturity. But Elkhorn fails in bearing cher- 

 ries quite variable in size, and in being but 

 moderately productive. The bark of the trunk 

 and main branches is so heavily overspread 

 with gray as to make the color a distinguishing 

 mark. The fruit is distinct in appearance by 

 reason of the irregular surface of the skin. 

 Elkhorn is an old English variety first men- 

 tioned in America by William Prince in 1832. 



Tree large, very vigorous, upright, open-topped, mod- 

 erately productive. Leaves numerous, 3% inches long, 

 2 % inches wide, obovate, thin ; margin coarsely serrate, 

 glandular ; petiole with 1-3 raised glands on the stalk. 

 Fruit late midseason ; % inch in diameter, cordate to 

 conical, compressed ; cavity deep, wide, flaring ; suture 

 indistinct ; apex rounded or pointed, with a slight de- 

 pression at the center ; color purplish-black ; dots nu- 

 merous, small, dark russet, inconspicuous ; stem 1% 

 - inches long, adhering to the fruit ; skin thin, tender, 

 adhering somewhat to the pulp ; flesh characteristically 

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

 firm, crisp, sweet ; of good quality ; stone semi-free, 

 ovate, flattened, slightly pointed, with smooth surfaces, 

 tinged with red. 



ELTON. Fig. 122. P. avium. Elton is dis- 

 tinguished by the form, color, flesh, and flavor 

 of its fruit. The cherries are oblong-heart- 

 shaped, too much drawn out for best appear- 

 ance, and often too 

 A. oblique; the color is 



J?b' dark red, mottled with 



amber, very bright, 

 clear, and glossy; the 

 flesh, a little too soft to 

 ship well, is delicate 

 and most pleasing to 

 the palate; the flavor 

 is peculiarly rich and 

 luscious, hardly sur- 

 passed by that of any 

 other cherry. The trees 

 may be as readily rec- 

 ognized as the fruit, by 

 the unusually dark red 

 color of the petioles of 

 the leaves. The branches 

 are stout and bear the 

 crop thickly placed, 

 close to the wood, and 

 in prodigious quanti- 

 ties. Unfortunately the 

 variety has a fault 



which makes it almost 

 unfit for a commercial 

 plantation. Brown-rot, 

 the scourge of the sweet 

 cherry, attacks this va- 

 riety more aggressively 

 122. Elton. (XI) than almost any other 

 sort and for this reason, 



while its merits can hardly be too highly 

 spoken of, Elton must remain a variety for 

 the home orchard. The tree is a little tender 

 to cold. This is another cherry from Thomas 



Andrew Knight, the great English pomologist, 

 who fruited it first about 1806. It was brought 

 to America in 1823. 



Tree large, vigorous, upright-spreading, open-topped, 

 very productive. Leaves numerous, 5V& inches long, 2*& 

 inches wide, long-obovate, thin ; margin doubly serrate, 

 with small dark glands ; petiole 2 inches long, heavily 

 tinged with red, with 2-4 reniform or globose, reddish- 

 brown glands. Flowers midseason, 1% inches across, 

 white ; borne in twos and threes. Fruit early ; about 1 

 inch long, % inch wide, cordate, conical, somewhat 

 compressed and oblique ; cavity abrupt, regular ; suture 

 indistinct ; apex distinctly pointed ; color dark red 

 with an amber tinge, faintly mottled ; dots numerous, 

 small, light yellow, obscure ; stem slender, 1 % inches 

 long ; skin thin, tender, separating from the pulp ; flesh 

 white with a tinge of yellow, with colorless juice, 

 slightly stringy, tender, very mild, sweet ; of good 

 quality ; stone free, long-ovate, flattened, with smooth 

 surfaces. 



EMPRESS EUGENIE. Fig. 123. P. 

 avium X P. Cerasus. Eugenie. This old French 

 cherry, for many years largely advertised and 

 widely sold in America, does not thrive in the 

 New World. The two *& 



faults that condemn it & 



here are that the cher- 

 ries ripen very uneven- 

 ly, making several pick- 

 ings necessary, and the 

 trees are so small that, 

 though loaded with 

 fruit, the total yield is 

 not large. Lesser faults 

 are that the cherries are 

 not uniform in shape, 

 and are borne thickly in 

 closed clusters, so that 

 when brown-rot is rife 

 this variety suffers 

 greatly. The short stem, 

 too, prevents easy pick- 

 ing. In a home planta- 

 tion, where the uneven- 

 ness in ripening can be 

 utilized to prolong the 

 season, and where 

 dwarfness may not be 

 undesirable, Empress 

 Eugenie may well find 

 a place. This cherry 

 appeared in 1845 as a 

 chance seedling near 

 Paris, France. 



Tree small, not very vigorous, upright, becoming 

 round-topped, very productive. Leaves numerous, 3% 

 inches long, 1 % inches wide, obovate, thick ; margin 

 doubly serrate, with small, dark glands ; petiole % 

 inch long, glandless or with 1 or 2 small, globose, 

 greenish-yellow or reddish glands at the base of the 

 blade. Flowers midseason, 1 ^4 inches across, white ; 

 borne in very dense clusters in threes and fours. Fruit 

 midseason ; % inch in diameter, round-conic to oblate- 

 conic, compressed ; cavity narrow ; suture very shallow, 

 indistinct ; apex flattened or depressed ; color dark red ; 

 dots numerous, small, dark russet, obscure; stem 1*4 

 inches long, adherent to the fruit ; skin tough, separating 

 from the pulp ; flesh pale red, with pink juice, tender, 

 meaty, sprightly, pleasantly flavored, tart ; of good qual- 

 ity ; stone semi-clinging, small, ovate, flattened, oblique, 

 with smooth surfaces. 



ENGLISH MORELLO. Fig. 124. P. 

 Cerasus. Morris. Large Morello. Northern 

 Griotte. Colorado Morello. English Morello 



123. Empress 

 Eugenie. (XD 



