DOWNER’S LATE RED
The first American variety to enjoy widespread adoption by fruit growers in the nineteenth century, this medium sized light red fruit (amber in the shade) called attention to itself on the tree with a pop of bright red on the sunside cheek. In the nineteenth century some believed that “possibly it is the best of the late Sweet Cherries” [U. P. Hedrick, Cherries of New York, 124). Unfortunately the variety was quite temperamental in terms of growth, requiring very rich soil, protection from extremes of weather; even when these were provided, the trees might be sickly.
Despite these liabilities American growers embraced the fruit, making a mainstay of home orchards from its launch by Samuel Downer of Dorchester, Massachusetts, in the early 1830s well into the 20th century. Downer, an eccentric genius who gained a fortune in the kerosene trade, collaborated in founding the Free Soil Party, founded Melville Garden as a recreation are for the people of Higham, and bred fruit when not raising his eight children [http://hinghampubliclibrary.omeka.net/ exhibits/show/legendary-locals/arts-entertainment/samuel-downer.] The Late Cherry was the most enduring of his hybrids. The variety began to be planted in the upland regions of the South in the 1850s and was highly regarded for its ample crop and its ability to hang on the tree without rotting for some days. Pomologist A. J. Downing supplied the following tasting notes: “Flesh tender, melting, with a sweet and luscious flavor” (Cherries, Grapes, Peaches, Pears, 1876, 461). It paid to leave the fruit on the tree until it was fully ripe, for it was a touch bitter when immature. Extinct? Notes; W. D. Beatie, Catalogue of Fruits, Ornamental Plants and Roses (Atlanta 1895), 5.
Nurseries that offered Downer's Late Red prior to 1920:
Atlanta Nursery, Atlanta, GA 1891-95. Cedar Cover Nurseries & Orchard, Salem, NC 1893. Downer's Nursery, Fairview, KY 1870. Hopewell Nursery, Fredericksburg, VA 1859. Kentucky Nursery, Louisville, KY 1897. Old Dominion Nursery, Richmond, VA 1907. Staunton Nursery, Staunton, VA 1858.
Image: Ulysses P. Hedrick, Cherries of New York (1915)
