148 



LYONS 



MERCER 



origin. Lutovka was introduced into this 

 country by J. L. Budd, Ames, Iowa, in 1883, 

 and, according to the introducer, was well 

 known in Poland and Silesia as a roadside 

 tree. As was the case with many of Budd's 

 importations, this variety did not stand the 

 test of culture. It is a shy bearer and is now 

 seldom recommended. 



Tree large, upright-spreading ; leaves large, ovate, 

 leathery, produced from short spurs along the main 

 branches. Fruit midseason ; medium in size, round- 

 oblate ; suture often a line, sometimes lacking ; stem 

 short, stout, set in a large, deep cavity ; skin dark, clear 

 red, thin, tough, translucent ; flesh colorless, meaty, juicy, 

 slightly acid ; quality good ; stone large, round, free. 



LYONS. P. avium. Early Lyons. Early 

 Jaboulay. Although commonly classed as a 

 hard-fleshed Bigarreau, Lyons is really an in- 

 termediate between the firm-fleshed cherries 

 and the soft-fleshed Hearts. The tree is a 

 typical Bigarreau. The Heart-like cherries are 

 extra early, large, handsome, and well flavored. 

 The tree-characters are about all that could 

 be desired. The blossoms of this variety are 

 conspicuously large and showy, with pistils 

 unusual in being longer than the stamens. 

 Lyons is recommended for both home and 

 commercial orchards. Lewis B. Eaton, Buffalo, 

 New York, in importing cherry-trees from 

 France in 1842, found among them one without 

 a label, which turned out to be Lyons, an old 

 French sort. 



Tree vigorous, a rapid grower, upright-spreading. 

 Leaves numerous, 5% inches long, 2% inches wide, 

 long-elliptical, thin-, margin coarsely serrate, with small, 

 dark glands ; petiole often 2 inches long, thick, glandless 

 or with 1-6 large, reniform, reddish glands. Flowers 

 midseason, large, often 1 ty inches across, white ; borne 

 in dense clusters, in twos and threes. Fruit early ; 

 1 inch in diameter, cordate, compressed ; cavity flaring ; 

 suture shallow, or a mere line, often extending around 

 the fruit ; apex rounded or pointed ; color very dark red ; 

 dots numerous, small, russet; stem thick, 1% inches 

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

 reddish, with dark-colored juice, meaty, sprightly, sweet ; 

 of very good quality ; stone semi-clinging, large, ovate, 

 plump, with smooth surfaces. 



MAGNIFIQUE. P. avium X P- Cerasus. 

 Belle Magnifique. A generation ago, when 

 American fruit-growing was in the hands of 

 connoisseurs, Magnifique was more popular 

 than now. It has failed as a commercial cherry 

 because the crop ripens very unevenly, for 

 there are sometimes green and fully ripe cher- 

 ries on the tree at the same time. The cherries 

 are very good in quality, although too acid to 

 make a first-rate dessert fruit. The trees are 

 vigorous and usually fruitful. Magnifique has 

 been grown so long that its place in the 

 orchard would seem to have been fixed; yet 

 it might be made more than a cherry for the 

 home, if commercial growers would plant it in 

 a shaded place and a cool soil, and thereby 

 retard ripening until other cherries are gone. 

 This valuable cherry was brought to notice in 

 1795 by a nurseryman near Paris, France. 



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

 tive. Leaves numerous, 3 % inches wide, obovate, thick ; 

 margin finely serrate, with small, dark glands ; petiole 

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

 greenish glands. Flowers late, white, 1 inch across, 

 wide open ; borne in dense clusters on short spurs, 



132. May 

 Duke. (XI) 



MAY DUKE. Fig. 132. P. avium X P. 

 Cerasus. Duke Cherry. May Cherry. May 

 Duke is one of the oldest, and, the world over, 

 one of the most popular cherries. There are 

 several reasons why it has 

 attained and holds its popu- 

 larity. The fruit is finely 

 flavored, especially when 

 prepared for the table, and 

 even before ripe; it is also 

 delicious to eat out of hand, 

 if the cherries are dead ripe ; 

 and it may be left to hang 

 for a month or six weeks, 

 becoming daily sweeter and 

 more aromatic. Despite 

 tender flesh, the fruits ship 

 well, although grown only 

 for local markets, since the 

 long period of ripening 

 makes necessary several 

 pickings a fatal defect for 

 a canning cherry or one for 

 the general trade. The 

 trees are as fruitful as any; 

 are hardy, vigorous, and 

 healthy; and few cherries 

 thrive in greater variations 

 of soil and climate. This 

 fact accounts for the world-wide distribution 

 of the variety in temperate regions. The fruit 

 is well distributed in dense clusters on trees 

 characteristically upright and vasiform, which 

 bear a heavy canopy of dark-green luxuriant 

 foliage. May Duke fills a particular place in 

 the orchard as a fruit for the local market, and 

 hundreds of newcomers have not been able 

 to supplant it. May Duke is supposed to have 

 originated in a district in France known as 

 Medoc, and the name to have been derived 

 from the place. In 1832, William Prince men- 

 tioned May Duke as being among the first of 

 the cherries introduced to America from Eu- 

 rope. 



Tree large, upright, vasiform, open-topped, very pro- 

 ductive. Leaves numerous, 3V 2 inches long, 2 inches 

 wide, obovate ; margin finely serrate, with small, dark 

 glands ; petiole 1 inch long, slender, glandless or with 

 1 or 2 small, globose, brownish glands. Flowers mid- 

 season, white, 1 & inches across ; borne in dense clusters, 

 in twos and threes. Fruit early ; % inch in diameter, 

 cordate to conical, compressed ; cavity abrupt, regular ; 

 suture indistinct; apex rounded with a small depression 

 at the center ; color light changing to dark red at full 

 maturity ; dots numerous, russet, obscure ; stem slender, 

 1% inches long, adhering strongly to the fruit; skin 

 thin, tender, separating from the pulp ; flesh dark red 

 with pinkish juice, tender and melting, sprightly sub- 

 acid, pleasantly flavored ; of very good quality ; stone 

 nearly free, small, round, with smooth surfaces. 



MERCER. P. avium. This comparatively 

 new Bigarreau is on probation in many parts 

 of the country, but the variety is all but worth- 



