THE CHERRY. 



203 



cultivation of the Cherry in this country is 

 said to have been started in the time of 

 Henry VIII., when several varieties were in- 

 troduced from Italy into Kent. There are 

 now more than one hundred named varieties 

 grown in England alone; some of the best of 

 these were raised by Mr. Rivers of Sawbridge- 

 worth. The Cherry Orchards of Kent have 

 long been famous for the quantity and quality 

 of the fruit produced in them. In some parts 

 of Germany, Belgium, and Italy they are not 

 uncommon as roadside trees, where they afford 

 shade and yield copious crops of fruit. 



The fruit of the Cherry is ripe earlier 

 than any other hardy fruit. The sweet kinds 

 are highly valued for dessert, their bright 

 colour and glossy skin being very ornamental. 

 The acid or sub-acid varieties are much used | 

 for pies, tarts, and in confectionery. The 

 Morello is excellent for bottling, or preserving 

 in brandy; and from a small black variety, 

 largely grown in the district of the Upper 

 Rhine, the Germans make the well-known 

 kirschwasser. Griotte de Ratafia, a small sort 

 of Morello, is employed for making the cordial 

 ratafia; and a small, black, wild Cherry is 

 used in the distillation of the Italian liqueur 

 maraschino. It may, however, be well to re- 

 mark that in the manufacture of the above 

 liquors the stones and kernels are pounded and 

 distilled, or fermented with the pulp; and, as 

 the kernels contain more or less of the prussic 

 acid principle — that is to say, prussic acid, 

 although in a diluted form — due caution should 

 be exercised in their use. The Kentish, Flem- 

 ish, and Montmorency varieties have the stalk 

 so firmly attached to the stone that the latter 

 may be drawn out by it, so that the fruit 

 may then be dried like raisins, in the sun, 

 or in an oven. 



The varieties of the Cherry are divided by 

 the French into three groups, namely, Meri- 

 siers and Guigniers', Bigarreautiers ; Cerisiers and 

 Griottiers. 



Merisiers are the wild Cherries of the woods 

 the tree is tall and pyramidal, the branches 

 horizontal, the fruit red, black, or white, with 

 some degree of bitterness. Guigniers are con- 

 sidered to be improved varieties of these, the 

 fruit being larger, heart-shaped, with a soft, 

 very sweet flesh. 



Bigarreautiers do not naturally assume a 

 pyramidal form, and the extremities of the 

 shoots are rather inclined to become pendulous, 

 whilst the fruit differs from that of the Gui- 

 gnier in the flesh being crisp and firm. This 



> 



division includes the Bigarreau, and many of 

 the Heart Cherries. 



Cerisiers are not so strong -growing a.s the 

 preceding, and the fruit is more or less acid, 

 the pulp being tender and juicy. Griottiers are 

 scarcely distinguishable from them, except by 

 a bitterness which is combined with the acidity 

 of the fruit. The May Duke, Kentish, and 

 Flemish Cherries belong to the Cerisiers; the 

 Morello to the Griottiers. 



Another and perhaps simpler classification 

 of Cherries was proposed in the Hwticultv/ral 

 Transactions, 2nd series, vol. i., p. 251, and is 

 as follows: — 



The first class consists of Cherries of which 

 the Bigarreau and Black Heart may be in- 

 stanced as typical of the better kinds. The 

 leaves are generally large, pendent, coarsely 

 serrated, undulated, the veins prominent be- 

 neath, of thinner texture and of a more 

 yellowish green than those of the second 

 class; buds pointed; flowers large, produced 

 on wood not less than two years old; petals 

 loosely set, not forming a well-expanded cup- 

 shaped flower, like those of the May Duke, 

 Kentish, &c. ; stamens slender, and irregular 

 in length, some being longer and others shorter 

 than the style. 



The second class is composed of aqueous 

 Cherries, such as the May Duke, Kentish, and 

 Morello. The leaves are generally smaller than 

 those of the first class, and are not toothed or 

 undulated; the veins are less prominent, whilst 

 the texture is thicker. The petioles are thicker, 

 and keep the leaves from hanging loosely and 

 pendent. The flowers expand widely, and the 

 petals form a regular cup-shaped flower, with 

 strong stamens, generally shorter than the style. 



The subdivisions of the first class are taken 

 from the form and colour of the fruit, and re- 

 quire no further explanation. 



In the second class, as all the varieties are 

 coloured nearly alike, no white, nor white and 

 red fruit having yet been met with among 

 them, the form of the fruit, the sweetness or 

 acidity of its flesh, and the colour of the juice 

 constitute the distinctions of the sections. 



Glass I. — Geans. — Leaves Undulated. 



Division 1. — Fruit heart-shaped or oral. 



A, Colour uniform, dark-red or black, 



B, Colour pale-yellow and red. 



C, Colour uniform, pale-yellow. 



Division 2. — Fruit round or oblate. 



A, Colour uniform, dark-red or black. 



B, Colour pale-yellov\- and red. 



C, Colour uniform, pale-yellow. 



