CHERRIES 



The cultivated varieties of Cherries have been derived from 

 two species of Prunus which grow wild in Britain, namely, 

 P. Cemsus, the wild Cherry, and P. Avium , the Gean. The 

 former is the origin of the Morello, Duke, and Kentish 

 Cherries, and the latter of the Geans, Hearts, and Bigarreau 

 varieties. The cultivation of the Cherry in this country is 

 said to have been started in the time of Henry VIII, when 

 several varieties were introduced 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 Sawbridgeworth. 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, Cherries are not uncommon as roadside 

 trees, where they afford shade and yield copious crops of fruit. 



