302 FRUIT-GROWING 



that you must slip up on them in the dark, but 

 merely escaped from cultivation, gone vag- 

 abonding down country lanes and along neg- 

 lected fence lines. 



J The sweet cherry too has escaped from culti- 

 . vation in the older parts of the country, and in 

 Europe it grows spontaneously over the whole 

 continent south of Sweden. 



Cherries were brought to America by the 

 first French settlers in Canada and by them 

 were distributed over the territory under 

 French control. Even at an early day these 

 fruit-loving people had established cherry trees 

 at such remote points as Kaskaskia and Vin- 

 cennes. In one of Maurice Thompson's novels 

 which is said to be historically accurate, a 

 cherry tree in old Vincennes plays an important 

 part and makes a graceful picture of pioneer 

 life in the early colonies. Later Vincennes be- 

 came rather famous in the cherry world by vir- 

 tue of its being the center of production for 

 young cherry trees. The largest cherry nur- 

 series in the world were said to be located there. 

 The English brought cherries to the old Ply- 

 mouth Colony during the first few years of 

 its existence and from this start we really trace 

 our cherry industry in this country to-day. As 

 early as 1629 "Red Kentish" cherries are men- 

 tioned as being cultivated in this place. An old 

 reference by one John Josselyn, an English 



