CERASUS, CHERRY TREE. 179 



of the calyx are large (some are more than six lignes long by three lignes wide). They 

 look like small leaves, with finely & uniformly dentate margins. They're reflexed onto the 

 calyx & turn bright red when the petals fall off. 



Since the first flowers only bloom in June, the fruit generally sets extremely well. 

 It's round, flatter near the stalk & a little along one side. Often a very discernible groove 

 extends from the tip to the stalk. The large diameter is eight lignes, the small diameter is 

 seven lignes^ & it's six-&-a-half lignes high. The stalk is quite big, fifteen to thirty lignes 

 long, and inserts into a not very hollow recess. 



The skin is firm and more of a light than a deep red. 



The flesh is white, although it has a small reddish eye. It's intensely red along the 

 ridges of the pit. 



The juice is extremely sour. 



The pit is white, four lignes long, almost the same width, & at most three lignes 

 thick. 



The fruiting branch doesn't stop producing new fruit until the summer ends. As a 

 result, flower buds, flowers in bloom, fruit that's already set, some still green, others 

 starting to redden & others that are already ripe all appear at the same time. And when 

 this cherry tree is planted on an espalier with a northern exposure, the last of its fruit only 

 ripens in November. In that season it's a pleasure to enjoy a cherry compote, even if the 

 cherries from a northern exposure are a little too tart, even for a compote. 



Because of the large number of these fruiting branches that make this tree bushier 

 than any other cherry tree, some of them get covered too much by the others, make very 

 little progress, & yield no fruit at all. There are others that produce only three or four 

 fruits 



