THE CHERRIES OF NEW YORK 3 



worthy representatives of Padus are the bird cherry (Prunus padus) of 

 the Old World and the choke cherry {Prunus virginiana) of the New World. 

 These Padus cherries are distingmshed botanically in having their flowers 

 borne in racemes, that is, in long clusters of which those nearest the base 

 of the shoot open first — rather than in the short-clustered fascicles of the 

 Cerasus group. The cherries are small and almost or quite black. The 

 Padus cherries are but sparingly cultivated but undoubtedly they are 

 capable of some improvement tmder more thorough ctiltivation. 



DISTRIBUTION OF CULTIVATED CHERRIES 



The cherry is one of the most commonly cultivated of all fruits and 

 the many varieties of its several forms encircle the globe in the North 

 Temperate Zone and are being rapidly disseminated throughout the tem- 

 perate parts of the Southern Hemisphere. For centuries it has been, as 

 we shall see in the history of the species, one of the most valuable fruit- 

 producing trees of Europe and Asia — an inhabitant of nearly every 

 orchard and garden as well as a common roadside tree in temperate climates 

 in both continents. From Europe, as a center of distribution, the cherry 

 has played an important part in the orcharding in temperate regions of 

 other continents. In North America varieties of the cherry are grown 

 from Newfoiuidland to Vancouver Island on the north, to the Gulf of Cali- 

 fornia, Texas and Florida on the south, yielding fruit in a greater diversity 

 of soils and cHmates in Canada and the States of the Union than any other 

 tree-fruit. 



The Sottr Cherry is very cosmopolitan, thriving in many soils; is able 

 to withstand heat, cold and great atmospheric dryness, if the soil contain 

 moisture; and, though it responds to good care, it grows under neglect 

 better than any other tree-fruit. The Sour Cherry, too, is rather less 

 inviting to insects and fungi than most other stone-fruits, being practically 

 immune to the dreaded San Jose scale. On the other hand the Sweet 

 Cherry is very fastidious as to soils, is lacking in hardiness to both heat 

 and cold and is prey to many insects and subject to all the ills to which 

 stone-fruits are heir; it is grown at its best in but few and comparatively 

 limited areas, though these are very widely distributed. 



USES OF THE CHERRY 



The cherry is a delectable early-summer fruit, especially grateful as a 

 refreshing dessert and much valued in cookery, when fresh, canned, pre- 



