_The Cherries of New York_ contains an historical account of cultivated
cherries, the botany of this fruit, a statement of its present economic
status in America, descriptions of all known varieties of cherries, the
synonymy and bibliography of the species and varieties, and biographical
sketches of the persons who have contributed materially to cherry
culture in America. The most important varieties are illustrated in
colors. Everything that was thought would be helpful in breeding
cherries has been included, and special search has been made for such
material. So, too, whatever was thought to be of interest to students of
ecology and of plant distribution has been added.
In the monographs on grapes and plums it was necessary to devote much
space to the botanical relationship of these fruits since each contains
more than a score of species under cultivation, some of which are
scarcely known and most of which are extremely variable. The botany of
cultivated cherries is comparatively simple and has been made plain by
botanical writers. Yet the contemplation of the several species from a
horticultural standpoint adds something, we believe, to the botany of
cherries, especially as concerns the forms of the Sweet Cherry and the
Sour Cherry which have been variously treated by botanists.
As compared with their congeners, especially the plums, the economic
species of cherries are remarkably well delimited, showing far less
responsiveness to environment and having seemingly less inherent
variation, so that there need be little confusion in botanical
classification. On the other hand varieties are so similar that it is
only with the greatest difficulty that closely related sorts are
distinguished and there is great confusion in the synonymy, the chief
task of the present work being to distinguish the true names from the
synonyms of the varieties described.
In _The Cherries of New York_, as in the preceding fruit books from
this Station, effort has been made to give as accurately as possible
the region in which the species and varieties grow best and to set forth
fully the local prejudices of the fruits. Such knowledge cannot but be
of value in determining the factors which govern the distribution of
plants. The establishment of community relationships and description of
plant communities now constitute an important part of botany on the one
side and of geography on the other. No phenomena give better expression
of the climate and the soil of a region than plant communities. When
monographs of several of the fruits of temperate North America shall
have been completed, with statements of likes and dislikes of the fruits
and their varieties as to climate and soil, material should be available
to establish plant communities from which can be drawn valuable
generalizations.
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