Cherries became very popular in Britain towards the end of the Middle Ages, although the Romans had cultivated them much earlier, and they were very common in monastery gardens. They are often mentioned in folklore and have been linked to the cuckoo which reputedly stops singing only after it has eaten three good meals of cherries. The cherry is also associated with poetry, dancing, music and festivals. In some areas the end of the cherry-picking season is still celebrated on the first Sunday in August by baking small cherry pies called bumpers - eaten with a pint of ale. One of the more successful trees taken by the early settlers to America was the cherry and today the American cherry pie epitomises all that is good in American home-making and baking. In the absence of a cherry stoneryou can use a potato peeler - when pushed into the cherry you can usually take out the stone without inflicting too much damage.