THE CHERRIES OF NEW YORK 9 



how the varieties we are dealing with in The Cherries of New York 

 have come into existence. The following is a summary of their manner 

 of origin: — 



No case is recorded in The Cherries of New York of a variety known 

 to have come from self -fertilized seed. 



The seed parent is given for 61 varieties. The statements as to seed 

 parents are probably accurate, for a man planting cherry seeds would 

 record the name of the seed parent correctly if he knew it. 



The seed and pollen parents of twenty of the cherries described in this 

 work are given. Sixteen of these are hybrids originating with Professor 

 N. E. Hansen of South Dakota, leaving but fotir sorts the parents of which 

 were known before the recent work of Professor Hansen. 



No cherry cultivated for its fruit is reported to have come from a sport 

 or a bud-mutation. 



Cherries arising from seed sown without knowledge of either parent or 

 from natural seedlings are put down as chance seedlings; of these there 

 are 147. 



The origin of 917 of the varieties here described is unknown. 



The total number of cherries under discussion is 1,145. 



To improve the cherry the breeder must know the material with which 

 he is working. The following is a brief discussion of the characters of this 

 fruit to be found in the technical descriptions of species and varieties. 



TREE AND FRUIT CHARACTERS OF THE CHERRY 



Species of cherries have very characteristic trees. The merest glance 

 at the tree enables one to tell the Sweet Cherry, Prunus avium, from the 

 Sour Cherry, Prunus cerasus. The first named is the larger of the two, 

 especially reaching a greater height, is pyramidal in shape, with branches 

 erect and bearing much less foliage than the Sour Cherry. The Sweet 

 Cherry often lives for a century or more — the Sour Cherry attains but 

 the three score years and ten of man. Prunus cerasus is easily distin- 

 guished from Prunus avium by its comparatively low, roundish and never 

 p3rramidal head. So, too, many of the varieties of either of these two 

 species are readily told in the orchard by the size or habit of the plant. 

 Other species are either shrubby or tree-like and their varieties may often 

 be identified from the spaciousness or dwarfness of its trees. Size is rather 

 more variable than other gross characters because of the influence of 

 environment — food, moisture, light, isolation, pests and the like — yet 



