This section is from the book "Commercial Gardening Vol3", by John Weathers (the Editor). Also available from Amazon: Commercial Gardening, A Practical & Scientific Treatise For Market Gardeners.
For the purposes of classification cherries can be divided into four groups - White Hearts, Black Hearts, Dukes or Guignes, and Acid or Cooking cherries.
The cherries in each class have been arranged in the order of ripening.
Early. A good cropping variety. A soft cherry, and liable to Brown Rot. (See p. 86.)
Second early. Fine large fruit. Crops badly, and fails on moist soils.
Medium. Large, firm, and good-quality cherry. Crops well. Commands a good price. One of the best White Hearts for orchards.
Late. Very large and firm cherry. Crops fairly well. Fruit sells well. It is a good orchard cherry, but the trees often die back.
Very early. Large, handsome black cherry. Crops well. Is the first good-quality English cherry to market, and sells well. A good orchard cherry.
Very early. Good flavour and crops well. Soft flesh.
Early. An old variety, which crops well. Liable to crack and rot in wet seasons.
Fig. 368. - Cherry, Half Standard (Morello) in bloom.
Medium. Large cherry with good flavour and firm flesh. A good-quality cherry, which sells well. Very useful orchard cherry.
Late medium. Similar to Black Eagle, but not so large.
Late. Very fine large fruit. Crops well, and is a firm cherry. A good orchard cherry.
The cherries of this class are not grown commercially to any great extent in England. The best-known variety is May Duke.
Medium. A good cooking cherry. Crops well. Remarkable in that the stones can be pulled out with the strig.
Late. Similar in other respects to Kentish but larger.
Late. Crops well. Used for preserving and bottling. Small fruit.