156 



WRAGG 



YELLOW SPANISH 



ing and shipping, and are very susceptible to 

 brown-rot. It is one of the first of the sweet 

 cherries large, yellowish-white tinted with 

 shades of crimson a beautiful fruit. The flesh 

 separates readily from the skin, is tender, 

 juicy, with an abundance of colorless juice 

 and a flavor that has given it the reputation 

 of being one of the best in quality. It would 

 be hard to name another cherry better suited 

 for small plantations. Wood was raised by 

 J. P. Kirtland in 1842 at Cleveland, and named 

 in honor of Reuben Wood, Governor of 

 Ohio. 



Tree vigorous, upright-spreading, open, productive. 

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

 folded upward, obovate, thin ; apex acute ; base abrupt ; 

 margin coarsely and doubly serrate, glandular; petiole 

 1% inches long, slender, with from one to three reniform, 

 reddish glands. Flowers 1 inch across, arranged in twos 

 and threes. Fruit matures in early midseason ; 1 inch 

 in diameter, roundish-cordate, compressed ; cavity wide, 

 flaring ; suture distinct, wide ; apex roundish ; color 

 crimson on a yellowish-white background ; dots numer- 

 ous, small, light russet, conspicuous ; stem slender, 1 ^ 

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

 separating from the pulp ; flesh whitish, juice colorless, 

 tender, mild, sweet ; very good ; stone clinging, large, 

 roundish, blunt, with smooth surfaces ; with a broad, 

 ventral suture. 



WRAGG. P. Cerasus. Wragg is either 

 English Morello or a strain of that variety. 

 In Iowa, where the new variety is most largely 

 grown, pomologists claim that it is distinct 

 and that it is an improvement on English 

 Morello. The American Pomological Society 

 calls English Morello and Wragg the same. 

 Those who believe that the two are distinct 

 say that the fruit of Wragg is larger, the 

 trees hardier and that the cherries ripen a 

 little later than those of English Morello. 

 With the information now at hand, it is im- 

 possible to say whether or not Wragg is dis- 

 tinct. A compiled description taken from the 

 texts describing this cherry is so unsatisfactory 

 that we offer none, and refer the reader to that 

 of English Morello, from which it differs but 

 little, if at all. 



YELLOW SPANISH. Fig. 144. P. avium. 

 Ox Heart. White Caroon. Spanish Bigar- 

 reau. For centuries Yellow Spanish was the 

 best of all the Bigarreaus, and it is only in 

 comparatively recent years that it has had 

 rivals. Even yet, in tree-characters it is hardly 

 equaled, surpassing Windsor, which has a 

 notable tree, in several respects, and falling 

 short of it only in hardiness. The trees are 

 the largest of all the varieties of sweet cherries, 

 and have an upright-spreading top, which gives 

 a large bearing surface and forms a canopy of 

 excellent foliage; they are vigorous, bear 

 abundantly and regularly, and come in bearing 

 young, with the crop well distributed. Unfor- 



tunately, the cherries do not come up to the 

 trees in points of superiority; they are smaller 

 than those of Napoleon, the leading competi- 

 tor of Yellow Spanish, and are more subject to 

 attacks of brown- 

 rot. In fruit, Yel- 

 low Spanish is 

 rather the hand- 

 somer of the two 

 cherries; the crim- 

 son color is more 

 evenly distributed 

 and the skin does 

 not have the mot- 

 tled appearance of 

 the fruits of Napo- 

 leon; in quality, it 

 is the better of the 

 two, having ten- 

 derer flesh and a 

 sweeter and richer 

 flavor. Yellow 

 Spanish is notable 

 in the nursery for 

 its strong, upright 

 tree which bears 

 large leaves, the 

 leaves of no other 

 variety attaining 

 so great a size. 

 Despite the great 

 age of the variety, 

 it still remains one 

 of the best, fur- 

 nishing proof that 

 varieties do not 

 degenerate with 

 age. Yellow Spanish is so old and so widely 

 disseminated that its origin can only be con- 

 jectured. From the name, one naturally infers 

 a Spanish nativity, yet the variety is almost 

 equally well known as Bigarreau, of French 

 derivation. Under the latter name, pomol- 

 ogists believe that they trace its history to 

 the first century of the Christian Era. The 

 variety was imported to America from Lon- 

 don by the Princes, Flushing, Long Island, in 

 the year 1802, under the name Yellow Spanish. 



Tree very large and vigorous, upright-spreading, open- 

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

 2 % inches wide, elliptical ; margin coarsely and doubly 

 serrate, with small, dark glands; petiole 1% inches 

 long, with 1-4 large, reniform, reddish-yellow glands. 

 Flowers midseason, white, 1 *4 inches across ; borne in 

 well-distributed clusters, in twos and threes. Fruit 

 midseason ; 1 inch or over in diameter, cordate, com- 

 pressed ; cavity deep, wide, flaring ; suture a mere line ; 

 apex rounded, not depressed ; color bright amber-yellow 

 with a reddish blush, slightly mottled ; dots numerous, 

 small, light russet, obscure ; stem 1 % inches long, 

 adherent to the fruit ; skin thin, tough, separating from 

 the pulp ; flesh white, with colorless juice, tender, meaty, 

 crisp, aromatic, sprightly, sweet ; very good to best in 

 quality ; stone free, ovate, flattened, oblique, with smooth 

 surfaces. 



144. Yellow Spanish. 

 (XD 



