Ida is a handsome, large, light red cherry resembling Napoleon in shape and Rockport in color, but differing from both in having soft flesh which places it among the Hearts rather than the Bigarreaus. Because of beauty of the fruit, earliness and good tree-characters, Ida promises to become a rather general favorite in home orchards though it falls short of several others of its near of kin in flavor and flesh-characters. It can never take a high place among commercial kinds because the cherries are too soft to handle well, show bruises plainly, are somewhat susceptible to brown-rot and come when better cherries are plentiful. The trees are vigorous, hardy and bear full crops regularly and in various environments. The variety is readily told by the upright habit of growth and by the large lenticels on trunk and branches. Ida has been very well tried as a commercial variety in this State but in the ups and downs of the industry has not held its own with other sorts and can be recommended only for home plantations.

E. H. Cocklin of Shepherdstown, Pennsylvania, grew this variety as a seedling of Cocklin's Favorite, another of his cherries. The cherry was named after his daughter, Ida. It seems to have proved worthy of general culture, as it is now listed by many nurserymen. The American Pomological Society placed Ida on its fruit list in 1909.

IDA

Tree large, vigorous, upright, open-topped, somewhat vasiform, very productive; trunk stout; branches very stocky, smooth, light ash-gray over brown, with large, much-raised lenticels; branchlets very stout, short, brown partly covered with ash-gray, roughish, with a few raised lenticels.

Leaves five and one-half inches long, two and one-half inches wide, folded upward, elliptical to obovate, thin; upper surface dark green, smooth; lower surface light green, pubescent along the midrib and larger veins; apex taper-pointed, base acute; margin doubly crenate, with small, black glands; petiole two and one-fourth inches long, thick, tinged with red, somewhat hairy along the grooved upper surface, usually with two large, reniform, reddish glands on the stalk.

Buds large, long, pointed, plump, free, arranged singly as lateral buds and in dense clusters on numerous short spurs, also with many small, round, lateral leaf-buds on the secondary growth; leaf-scars not prominent; blooming in mid-season; flowers white, one and one-fourth inches across; borne in clusters usually in twos; pedicels three-fourths of an inch long, glabrous, greenish; calyx-tube green, whitish within, campanulate, glabrous; calyx-lobes with a tinge of red, acute, reflexed; petals roundish, entire, dentate at the apex, nearly sessile; filaments nearly one-half inch long; pistil glabrous, shorter than the stamens.

Fruit matures early; three-fourths of an inch in diameter, cordate, slightly compressed; cavity deep, flaring, regular; suture a distinct line; apex variable in shape; color amber overspread with light red, mottled; dots numerous, rather large, yellowish, somewhat conspicuous; stem one and one-half inches long; skin thin, separating readily from the pulp; flesh whitish, with colorless juice, tender and melting, mild, sweet; of good quality; stone free or semi-free, roundish, slightly flattened, blunt, with smooth surfaces; with distinct ridges along the ventral suture.

JEFFREY DUKE

Prunus avium × Prunus cerasus

This old variety, which has almost passed from cultivation, may have had its origin in France about the middle of the Eighteenth Century, though more likely it originated in England much earlier. Leroy mentions a Royale cherry which was introduced from England to France about 1730 and was first grown by M. le Normand in the garden of Louis XV. The name Royale was first used by the French about 1735 from the fact that it was grown in the royal gardens and since that time this name has clung to the variety in most of the French plantations. According to English writers, the variety was brought to notice in England by Jeffrey, proprietor of the Brompton Nursery at Brompton Park, England, and from that time it was known as Jeffrey's Duke. English pomologists maintain that Jeffrey renamed the old Cherry Duke of England, giving it his name. Jeffrey Duke appeared on the American Pomological Society's fruit catalog list in 1862 but was dropped in 1871. It is doubtful if the variety can now be found in America. The following description is compiled from the authors given in the references:

Tree large, vigorous, very upright, unusually compact, slow-growing, productive; branches very numerous, stocky, straight, thickly set with fruit-spurs; internodes short; branchlets very short; buds closely set; leaves numerous, medium in size, oval or obovate, acuminate; margin finely and irregularly serrate; petiole short, slender, with small, flattened or globose glands; blooming season late; flowers small, very open.

Fruit matures in mid-season, usually attached in pairs; medium in size, roundish, slightly flattened at the apex and base; suture a well-marked line; color lively red becoming dark red or almost black when fully ripe; stem slender, inserted in a moderately broad, deep cavity; skin thin; flesh firm but tender, yellowish-amber, with abundant colored juice, slightly stringy, highly flavored; good in quality; stone small, roundish, tinged with red.