— 
788 
thence to Europe. Hence the specific name of the 
cherry-tree, when it ranked in old systematic 
botany as a species of plum-tree under the desig- 
nation of Prunus cerasus; and hence also the 
generic name by which all sorts of cherry-trees 
are designated in modern botany. ‘The systema- 
tically recognised fruit-tree varieties, according 
to Loudon’s Hortus Britannicus, are a shrubby 
bastard-cherry species, (. pseudo-cerasus, intro- 
duced in 1821 from China, the wild, the long, 
and the pale varieties of C. aviwm, and two vari- 
eties of C. semperflorens, two of C. Juliana, four of 
C. duracina, and ten of C. caproniana. One of 
each of the four last-named is normal; and the 
others are the sessile-flowered of semperflorens, 
the helmeted of Juliana, the heart-bearing, the 
blunted, and the mammillary of duracina, and 
the Montmorency, the pallescent, the gobbetta, 
the polygynous, the double-flowered, the peach- 
flowered, the variegated, the griotte, and the 
| Guigne heart-bearing of caproniana. How some 
or most of these have sprung from the original 
_ types, or have mutually hybridized to produce 
the far more numerous varieties known in nur- 
series and orchards, no man can distinctly tell. 
‘The whole subject of the cultivated cherry-tree, 
like that of the cultivated apple-tree, befits the 
attention far more of the professional cultivator 
than of the scientific botanist. 
The May Duke cherry was one of the best 
known and most esteemed varieties among culti- 
vators in the time of Miller, and it continues to 
| be so among the cultivators of the present day. 
It was introduced from France about 160 years 
ago; and is described by M. Merlet, under the 
highly eulogistic name of Cerise Royale Hative ; 
and it is pronounced by Rogers to deserve this 
name, on account not only of being early, but of 
deserving to be partaken of by the greatest mo- 
narchs that ever swayed a sceptre. It produces 
fruit for use from the middle of June till August ; 
and, though not quite the earliest of the early va- 
rieties, it excels them all in combined richness and 
abundance. It suits any aspect; but, in order to 
prolong to the utmost its supply of fruit, trees of 
it should be planted in every aspect. It serves 
equally well as a wall-tree and as a standard; 
and it is the best of all varieties for forcing. 
When treated as a wall-tree, it should be planted 
at distances of 20 feet; when treated as a stand- 
ard, it should be planted at distances, both ways, 
of 30 feet ; and when treated for forcing, it 
should be grown in a properly constructed cherry- 
house, and may be made to yield fruit for use 
during March, April, and May. Several sub- 
varieties have been brought into cultivation 
under new names; but all are easily referrible to 
the original type.—The Early May cherry is sooner 
ripe than the May Duke; and though decidedly 
| inferior to the latter, one or two trees of it de- 
serve a place in every tolerably large collection. 
The Biggareau cherry is one of the best of 
what are called the heart varieties, and has proved 
CHERRY-TREE. 
a valuable hybridizing source of some of the best 
new kinds. It does not figure in the English 
catalogues till after the middle of last century ; 
and seems to have been many years in Britain 
before its character became appreciated. It pro- 
duces fruit for use from about the middle of 
July till the latter part of August. Its fruit is 
large, rather flat at the eye, of a pale yellowish 
colour, with a fine red toward the sun; its drupe 
is comparatively small; its pulp is firm, and 
slightly adheres to the drupe; and its juice is not 
very abundant in quantity, but has a rich and 
peculiar flavour, sensibly modified by the flavour 
of the kernel. Its tree grows best asa full stand- 
ard, and ranks in that capacity among the se- 
cond class. When intended for a dwarf standard, 
it should be grafted about a foot from the ground, 
and allowed to extend its branches all round; 
and when grown on wall or espalier, it should be 
widely trained, so as to prevent its rampant 
growth and large foliage from over-shading the 
lower branches. The Biggareau is called by the 
Dutch the Graffion; and, in consequence of hav- 
ing originated in Turkey, it was for some time 
known in Britain as the Turkey-Heart. Another 
early, though now disused, name of it was, Belle | 
Chevereuse. . 
Knight’s Early Black cherry is a modern hy- 
brid, and was produced, by the well-known phy- 
tologist whose name it bears, from a male of the | 
It | 
May Duke and a female of the Biggareau. 
begins to yield fruit for use about the beginning 
of July. Its fruit is middle-sized, and somewhat 
irregularly shaped; it has a nearly black colour 
when ripened on a south wall, and a less intense 
colour when ripened on a standard; and its pulp, 
in all circumstances, is firm and juicy. The tree 
requires to be planted at the same distances as 
the May Duke; and when grown on wall or es- 
palier, it needs to be widely trained.—Knight’s 
Elton cherry is another modern hybrid, produced 
by Knight from the May Duke and the Biggar- 
eau. Its fruit ripens about the same time as 
that of the preceding variety; it is heart-shaped, 
of good size, and of a marbled red and yellow 
colour; and its pulp, though not very juicy, is 
firm, rich, and well-flavoured. Its tree bears bet- 
ter on a wall than as a standard; and, in all 
ordinary circumstances, is a vigorous grower. 
When raised as a standard, it requires a sheltered 
situation; and when raised against a wall, it 
should be planted at distances of 24 feet, in either 
an eastern or a western aspect, and trained in 
pretty open order. The editor of the Pomologi- 
cal Magazine, when giving a list of what he es- 
teems the finest varieties of cherry-trees, express- 
es high favour for Knight’s Elton, and omits all 
the “heart” varieties, “ because the Elton of Mr. 
Knight is much superior to them all.”—Another 
excellent hybrid from the May Duke and the 
Biggareau, is the Black Eagle cherry, said to 
have been raised by a young lady of Mr. Knight's 
family. It produces fruit for use from the mid- 
