2 BULLETIN 350, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTUBE. 
material which has not only been discarded as valueless, but has 
actually been a source of expense, due to charges for hauling it away. 
Xew York. Michigan. Wisconsin, and California produce the bulk 
of the cherries grown for canning purposes, and in preparing the 
fruit for canning large quantities of pits and juice accumulate. 
RELATION OF THE CHERRY TO SWEET AND BITTER ALMONDS AND 
ALLIED PLANTS. 
The cherry belongs to the natural order Drupacea?. which includes 
a number of our most important fruits, such as peaches, apricots, 
and prunes. It is a native of Asia Minor and has been introduced 
into Europe and the United States. 
The fruit of the red sour cherry furnished the material for the 
following investigation, since it is mostly the fruit of this variety 
which is pitted for commercial use. The red sour cherry is designated 
botanically as Primus cerasus L. Among the principal varieties 
grown commercially are the Montmorency Ordinaire, the Biehmond, 
and the English Morello. the first named being the most important 
variety and producing the bulk of the fruit grown, 
The peach, known botanically nsAmygdalus persica L.. the apricot, 
Ami/gdaJus armeniaca L.. and the prime. Primus domestica L.. are 
closely related to the cherry, as are also the sweet almond. Amy g dolus 
communis dulcis DC. and the bitter almond, Amy g dolus communis 
amara DC. All of these species, including the cherry, produce drupa- 
ceous fruits which, although of somewhat different sizes and shapes, 
possess the same general characteristics. 
The kernels of both the sweet and bitter almonds yield products of 
commercial value, as do also the kernels of the peach, apricot, and 
prime. From the standpoint of chemical composition the kernels of 
these various species, and also of the cherry, are for the most part 
identical. All consist principally of a fatty oil and protein, with 
smaller quantities of sugar, mucilage, and the glucosicl amygdalin. 
It is generally known that bitter almonds yield two important com- 
mercial products, namely, fixed oil and volatile oil. The fixed oil is 
obtained from the kernels by expression, while the volatile oil is the 
result of a chemical process induced by the action of the enzym emul- 
sin upon the glucosid amygdalin. It has been foimd that peach, 
apricot, and prune kernels also yield oils very similar to those obtained 
from bitter almonds. 1 The present investigation has shown that 
cherry kernels likewise are capable of yielding similar oils. 
COMMERCIAL IMPORTANCE OF CHERRIES. 
As has been stated, the pitting and canning of cherries is restricted 
almost entirely to the red sour cherries. A variety of sweet cherry, 
1 Rabak, Frank, op. cit., 1908. 
