THE CHERRIES OF NEW YORK l8l 



REPUBLICAN 



Prunus avium 



I. Am. Pom. Soc. Cat. 26. 1909. 



Black Republican. 2. Cult. & Count. Gent. 35:534. 1870. 3. Am. Pom. Soc. Cat. 20. 1875. 

 4. Am. Card. 9:357 fig. 1888. 5. Wiokson Cal. Fruits 289. 1889. 6. Wash. Sta. Bui. 92:23, 25. 1910. 



Lewelling. 7. Am. Pom. Soc. Rpt. 127. 1875. 8. Card. Mon. 17:336. 1875. 9. Am. Pom. Soc. 

 Cat. 26. 1909. 10. Wash. Sta. Bui. 92:28, 29, fig. 7. 1910. 



For some reason Republican does not make headway in the favor 

 of cherry-growers though all who have described it speak well of it. Judged 

 by the palate, Republican is one of the best of the Bigarreaus. The cherries 

 are rich and sweet in flavor, firm of flesh and with an abundance of 

 refreshing juice. Judged by the eye, too, it holds its own with the best of 

 its class, the fruit having a pleasing rotundness of shape and a beautiful 

 dark red, almost black, glossy color. In size the variety very often falls 

 short; for, though often given as one of the largest, it ttims out to be, in 

 many orchards, but of mediimi size and sometimes is small. Here seems 

 to be its fatal defect. It is exceedingly capricious as to soils, failing wholly 

 or in part in all but the very choicest cherry environments. The trees 

 are large, spreading and vigorous but on the grounds of this Station are 

 more susceptible to the shot-hole fungus than any other Sweet Cherry. 

 It has been reported to be very subject to this disease at the Washington 

 Station also. The failure of this cherry to meet the demands of commercial 

 cherry-growers during a probationary period of nearly a half a century 

 means that it is, at most, of but local value. 



This variety, known under two other names, Black Republican and 

 Lewelling, originated about the middle of the Nineteenth Century in the 

 orchard of Seth Lewelling, Milwaiikee, Oregon. In traveling across the 

 continent in 1849, Mr. Lewelling took with him to Oregon, Bigarreau, 

 Morello and Mahaleb cherries and from seeds of one of the Bigarreaus 

 sprang several seedlings, among them one which was named Black 

 Republican. The parentage of the sort is not known though it was thought 

 to be a cross between Napoleon and Black Tartarian, having sprung 

 up near these two trees. Some cherry-growers and niorserymen describe 

 a cherry which they call Lewelling but in every case the descriptions agree 

 very closely with Republican. Many list the two names separately as 

 designating two distinct varieties of diverse origin. Of these, some have 

 supposed Republican to be a seedling of Eagle originating in i860. The 

 American Pomological Society for many years listed Black Republican 



