The opening of Preface
This is the fourth of the monographs on the fruits of temperate North America published by the New York Agricultural Experiment Station. The nature and purposes of these treatises have been set forth in the prefaces of preceding volumes, but a summary of the purposes, with needed emphasis on several, is given for the convenience of all readers and the enlightenment of those who may not have the first three books.
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.