29 
Sherman Nursery Company, Charles City, Iowa 
Cherries 
No fruit hardy in the middle west is receiv¬ 
ing' more attention at this time than the sour 
cherry. In some parts of Wisconsin growers 
have had returns of from $800.00 to $1,000.00 
an acre. Cherry trees bear young when prop¬ 
erly cared for. It is not uncommon for an 
orchard three years after planting to yield 
enough fruit to pay for the cost of the trees, 
planting and cultivating up to that time. The 
cherry is the ideal tree for planting in the door- 
yard. It is free from insect pests to a greater 
degree than any other fruit tree and when in 
bloom is one of the most beautiful of all trees. 
We list only those that we have found of excep¬ 
tional value in quality and hardiness. Sweet 
cherries, as a rule, should not be planted north 
of Des Moines, Iowa. 
BLACK TARTARIAN —A sweet cherry. Very 
large, bright purple, glossy black; juicy, rich 
and fine. Tree a rapid, vigorous upright 
grower and a great bearer. Very popular. 
Ripens last of June and early July. 
COMPASS CHERRY —(See Plum Cherry Hy¬ 
brids, page 2 8.) 
EARLY RICHMOND —The standard early red 
sour cherry. Fruit bright red, very juicy, 
snappy flavor; relished for home or market. 
As a pie cherry, Early Richmond and Mont¬ 
morency are preferred by canning factories 
everywhere. In tree, Early Richmond grows 
large, and is hardy in wood and bud; pro¬ 
ducing abundantly. An ideal variety for 
home or market. 
LARGE MONTMORENCY —The best mid-sea¬ 
son cherry, and of large commercial import¬ 
ance. Its fruits are large, deep cherry red, 
very tender and juicy. It ripens at the close 
of the Early Richmond season, and is of 
better size than that variety; more meaty and 
of richer flavor. It is a favorite of children; 
an excellent shipper and in big demand by 
canning factories. The tree grows more erect 
than the Early Richmond and is very pro¬ 
ductive. 
ZUMBRO CHERRY —(See Plum Cherry Hy¬ 
brids, page 28.) 
Pears 
The melting, juicy texture, the refined flavor 
and the delicate aroma of the pear give it 
high rank among fruits. 
One of the most important facts to remem¬ 
ber about pears is that their flavor and juici¬ 
ness may be improved if they are gathered 
ten days or two weeks before they are ripe and 
ripened indoors. Summer pears should be 
gathered at least ten days before they are ripe 
and autumn pears at least two weeks. Winter 
varieties may hang until the leaves begin to 
fall, then should be placed in a cool place to 
ripen. 
The Patten pear is the only pear in the list 
below that we can safely recommend as being 
hardy enough to plant north of Charles City. 
PEAR CULTURE 
The directions for caring for Apple orchards 
will in general answer for Pears also. We do 
not recommend the planting of Pears north 
of Northern Iowa with the exception of the 
Patten Pear which may be safely planted as 
far north as the latitude of St. Paul, Minn. 
Pears do best on well drained clay soil. We 
list below only the few varieties that have 
proven of value in the northern part of the 
Mississippi Valley. 
BARTLETT — This pear is more extensively 
grown for home use and for market than 
any other kind. The fruit is of distinct 
“pear shape,” sweet, very juicy, tender and 
of excellent flavor. The skin is clear, golden 
yellow, with a red cheek. The trees are good 
growers and good bearers. The fruit is of 
much better quality if gathered a few days 
before it ripens, and is let ripen in a cool 
cellar. 
FLEMISH BEAUTY —A large, beautiful, melt¬ 
ing sweet pear. Tree very hardy, vigorous 
and fruitful; succeeds well in most parts of 
the country. September and October. 
KIEFFER (Ivieffer’s Hybrid) —Said to have 
been raised from seed of the Chinese Sand 
Pear, accidentally crossed with Bartlett or 
some other kind. Large; skin rich golden 
yellow, sprinkled thickly with small dots, 
and often tinged with red on one side; flesh 
coarse, juicy, melting, with a pronounced 
quince flavor. Tree very vigorous, and an 
early and great bearer. October to January. 
PATTEN PEAR —This pear was originated by 
C. G. Patten and named by the Iowa Agri¬ 
cultural Experiment Station. It is a cross¬ 
bred seedling of Orel and Anjou. The for¬ 
mer is an extremely hardy, blight resistant 
Russian Pear, while Anjou is one of the 
highest in quality of our commercial sorts. 
Growing on the State Fruit Breeding Farm 
at Charles City, the Patten Pear has been 
quite regularly productive, sometimes over- 
productive. Fruit hangs well, good size and 
attractive. Not rivaled in quality by any 
other pear grown north of Central Iowa. 
Color, green with reddish blush. Flesh, very 
tender, very juicy, sweet and rich. It is 
ready for use last of September and October. 
The tree is an upright, vigorous grower, 
blight resistant, and is entirely hardy in 
Northern Iowa. 
