Fruit ripens very early, season averaging eleven days; about three-fourths inch in diameter, roundish-cordate, compressed; color purplish-black; stem of medium thickness, often one and one-half inches long, adherent to the fruit; skin thin, tender, separates from the pulp; flesh reddish, with dark red juice, meaty, tender, mild, sweet; of very good quality; stone semi-clinging, three-eighths inch by eleven-thirty-seconds inch in size, roundish-oval, compressed, oblique, with smooth surfaces. CARNATION _Prunus cerasus_ =1.= Rea _Flora_ 205. 1676. =2.= Langley _Pomona_ 86, Pl. 16 fig. 3. 1729. =3.= Forsyth _Treat. Fr. Trees_ 42. 1803. =4.= Coxe _Cult. Fr. Trees_ 251. 1817. =5.= Prince _Pom. Man._ =2=:138, 139. 1832. =6.= Downing _Fr. Trees Am._ 194 fig. 83. 1845. =7.= Thompson _Gard. Ass't_ 529. 1859. =8.= _Am. Pom. Soc. Cat._ 74. 1862. =9.= Mas _Le Verger_ =8=:91, 92, fig. 44. 1866-73. =10.= Hogg _Fruit Man._ 289. 1884. _Cerise d'Orange._ =11.= Knoop _Fructologie_ =2=:36, 41. 1771. _Rothe Oranienkirsche._ =12.= Krünitz _Enc._ 55, 56. 1790. =13.= Truchsess-Heim _Kirschensort._ 456-463. 1819. =14.= _Ill. Handb._ 175 fig., 176. 1860. Carnation is a conspicuous cherry because of its beautiful color--red, a little variegated with white or yellow, hence the name. It is one of the Amarelles, similar to Montmorency except in color in which character it is more pleasing than the better-known sort. The stone separates from the pulp very readily leaving the flesh unusually bright and clean. Because of their sprightly refreshing flavor, the cherries are pleasing to the palate, as well as attractive to the eye. Unfortunately the trees are but moderately vigorous and fruitful and these qualities count so heavily against it as a commercial cherry that Carnation cannot be more than a fruit for amateurs unless under exceptional conditions. For a home plantation, however, it would be hard to name a better cherry of its kind. Carnation is another of the choicely good, old cherries, being first mentioned by John Rea in 1676 and later by Langley in 1729. Having been cultivated for so long and disseminated among so many growers who kept meagre records in early days, this sort became badly confused with other varieties, especially with the "Cerisier à gros fruit rouge-pale," mentioned by Duhamel in 1768. How old the variety truly is or where it originated cannot be said. Carnation seems to have been first mentioned in America by William Coxe in 1817 and a few years later it was growing on the grounds of William Prince, Flushing, New York. Since that time it has been quite widely disseminated throughout the United States but is grown less extensively now than formerly. The American Pomological Society, in 1862, placed Carnation on its list of recommended fruits where it still holds a place. [Illustration: CARNATION]