388 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



December 7, 1912. 



FRUITS AND FRUIT TREES. 



THE CBERIMOYER. 



CLIMATIC REQUIREMENTS. That the cherimoyer is not 

 highly successful in strictly tropical countries is conclusively 

 shown by the facf that even when it has been grown for some 

 time in such regions and is com|:aratively well known, it is 

 not held in high esteem. It is reported that it succeeds in 

 some parts of Ceylon, and is popular with the natives 

 Obviously it is not at its best or it would call for a greater 

 degree of enthusiasm. In Jamaica it is only a success in the 

 coolest and driest parts of the island. Writers in other parts 

 of the Wi st Indies, and in Reunion, have remarked that it is 

 not as fine a fruit as some other members of the genus. 



But a glance at its popularity in the Mexican highlands, 

 Madeira, the Canary Islands, and Peru shows a contrary state 

 of aflfairs. It has reached a degree of perfection never 

 attained in tropical lowlands, and is esteemed as one of the 

 finest of all fruits 



The great central plateau of Mexico may be taken as an 

 example of climatic conditions best suited to this fruit, since 

 it is there found in perfection, and has been cultivated from 

 the remotest antiquity. 



The hardiness of the tree has been so thorougly tested 

 in this state [California] as to leave no room for dispute, and 

 it can be relied upon to succeed in locations suited to citrus 

 fruits, with the same amount of protection. The same provi- 

 sion must be made as with the citrus fruits, however, that 

 some localities will produce finer fruit than others. And it 

 must be recognized and remembered that varieties introduced 

 from other countries will not necessarily be successful here — 

 if from climates widely different from our own— without 

 undergoing a process of acclimatization. 



PROPAGATION. Although the majority of cherimoyers 

 in this state are seedlings, the tree can be readily budded. 

 It is only through this or some other asexual means of 

 propagation that desirable forms, originated as chance seed- 

 lings, can be perpetuated, and cherimoyer culture on a com- 

 mercial scale made profitable. 



For germinating the seeds an excellent medium is 

 a mixture of two-thirds silver sand and one- third o^fZ redwood 

 sawdust: lacking this, any light, well drained soil can be 

 used with good results. The seeds tliould be covered to 

 a depth of i-inch, and if conditions are favourable, they 

 will germinate within four or five weeks. The young plants 

 should be potted off when they have attained a height of 



3 or 4 inches, using pots of a diameter not less than 2i inches. 

 The plants are not particular as to soil, it only being neces- 

 sary that it is light and porous. 



Budding is best done in early spring, shortly after the 

 sap has begun to flow. In some seasons this will be as 

 early as the first of .March, but more frequently late in 

 March or early in April. The trees should be watched and 

 the work begun as soon as it is found that the bark will 

 slip readily. 



The most advantageous method of budding the cheri- 

 moyer is that known as shield budding, the operation being 

 practically the same as with the citrus fruits. 



The stocks should be free from -|- to J-inch in diameter — 

 seedlings of this size being usually from a year to a j-ear and 

 a half old, Wood from which the leaves have dropped and of 

 about a year's growth is the most desirable for budwood, and 

 Mr. Wester advises cutting the buds not less than 1| inches 

 in length. If cut smaller than this, on account of the rapid 

 callousing and thick bark of the Anonas, the buds have 

 difficulty in starting and are choked out. Insert the buda 

 exactly as in budding citrus fruits, and tie with waxed tape. 

 At the end of three or four weeks they should be unwrapped, 

 and if alive, the tree should be lopped back and the bud 

 rewrapped loosely, leaving the 'eye' exposed so that it may 

 start into growth. The buds of the cherimoyer are sunk 

 into the bark tissues, and there is not the danger of their 

 dropping and leaving a 'blind' bud that there is with the 

 avocado. 



CULTURE. Experience in California has shown that the 

 cherimoyer thrives under the same treatment as is accorded the 

 citrus fruits. The seedlings grow to much larger size than 

 any of the citrus trees, however, and should be planted at 

 least 25 feet apart. Budded trees will probably require less 

 room, as budding dwarfs the tree to a certain extent. 



The tree has proved to be about as hardy as the 

 orange — though this must be largely a matter of variety — 

 and is semi deciduous in nature, the extent being dependent 

 upon the severity of the climate. 



Whether .seedling or budded, the tree ordinarily comes 

 into bearing about the fourth year. The fact that large 

 trees are quite frequently unproductive, though blooming 

 l>rofusely, has led to a series of investigations by P. J. 

 Wester of the United States Department of Agriculture, 

 \Oiich throw considerable light on the matter, although there 



