92 



REPORT ON THE 



No. 24 



MAY 



A fine cookinc; cherry. 



DUKE. {Early Duke, Royal Haticc. 



The great productiveness, 



Ma\ Dl-kis. 



health and vigor of the tree, the mild 

 acid of the fruit ripening over a con- 

 siderable season, all tend to make this 

 a favorite variety. The fruit is rather 

 tender for distant shipments, and in- 

 clined to rot in wet seasons. These 

 Duke cherries have green and ripe 

 fruit at the same time, which makes 

 them undesirable for commercial 

 orcharding, as it necessitates several 

 pickings instead of one, increasing the 

 cost of harvest beyond the margin of 

 profit. 



Okigin : Medoc, a Province in 

 France, fronj whence the name is said 

 to be a corruption. 



Tree : upright, a habit especially 

 noticeable in young trees ; vigorous, 

 hardy and productive ; group, Duke. 



Fruit : size small to medium ; form 

 roundish, obtuse, heart-shaped, with 

 traceable suture and distinct indenta- 

 tion to apex ; grows in clusters ; skin 

 bright red, turning darker at full 

 maturity ; stalk 11 to 2 inches long ; 

 stone small. 



Fle>h : red ; te.xture tender, very 

 juicy ; flavor subacid, and very good. 



Quality : good for dessert, first class 

 for cooking. 



Se.\son' : late June. 



MEZEL. — ( J/on.s(cc((se de .Vezd, Bigarreau of Mezel.) 



One of the finest of the late black cherries, of large size and great productiveness. Though 

 a Bignrreau it has not tlie fault of its class of being especially subject to rot ; it is not so black 

 in color as the Elkhorn, but dark enough a red to be 

 classed with the black cherries. 



Origin : Mezel, France ; first introduced in 1846. 



Tree : upright, spreading, a very vigorous grower; 

 one tree at Maplehnrst foi ty years planted was thirty 

 feet in height in Z897, and covered an area about the 

 same number of feet in diameter ; first rate in hardi- 

 ness and in productiveness ; group, Bigarreau. 



Fruit : very large, fifteen-sixteenths of an inch 

 long i)v one inch in width ; form obtuse, heart shaped, 

 slightly flattened, with a clearly-defined suture on one 

 side, ending in a slight nipple ; skin dark red at first, 

 changing to dark purple at maturity ; stalk two inches 

 long, slender, set in good sized cavity. 



Flesh: firm, juicy, breaking; flavor sweet, good. 

 Quality : for dessert very good. 

 Value : for market first class. 

 Season ; mid .July. 



•^iC*? 



Mkzri.. 



