WHITE BIGARREAU

Prunus avium

White Bigarreau is a cherry of the past, having been considered one of the good sorts of a century ago. Rivers, the English pomologist, believed it to have come originally from Russia. It is reputed to have been brought to America from France by Chancellor Livingston of Revolutionary fame. Thacher, in 1822, described the variety first under its present name. The variety, as the synonymy shows, has been grown under many names both in America and Europe. In 1845, according to Downing, this cherry was common in the neighborhood of New York and Philadelphia but since Downing's time no one seems to have mentioned it. The variety is usually spoken of in the United States as neither hardy nor productive. The fruit books describe it as follows:

Tree medium in size, spreading, very tender, unproductive; leaves narrow, waved.

Fruit matures the last of June or early in July; large to very large, heart-shaped, somewhat pointed; color yellowish-white with a bright red cheek, mottled; flesh very firm, breaking, pleasantly flavored, sweet; very good in quality; stone separating readily from the flesh.