Sweet Cherries. 483 



however, that the smallness of the indnsiry follows from a lack of 

 appreciation on the part of New York people of this most luscious 

 fruit. It is dne to the fact that the cherry is one of the most diffi- 

 cult crops to handle and market successfully, because of its exceed- 

 ingly delicate character and its susceptibility to the fungus, which 

 causes the brown rot. This fungus spreads so rapidly on the 

 ripening fruit, that a promising crop to-day may be half rotted 

 to-morrow. The comparative ease of handling and marketing a 

 grape, an apple or a pear crop have made those fruits universally 

 popular, while the cherry has lain in obscurity. 



The cherry is one of the most popular dooryard fruits, and its 

 hardiness, its vigorous spreading or ascending branches, its upright 

 form, which often ^attains the height of forty to fifty feet, and its 

 luxuriant, soft drooping foliage make it a most desirable tree for 

 ornamental and fruit-bearing purposes. Amongst the strongest 

 recommendations of the cherry are its hardiness and the fact that it 

 bears annually when properly treated. The trees begin to grow 

 very early in the season, and the fruit of most varieties is harvested 

 by July 1st, thus leaving the tree sufficient time and energy to per- 

 fect the fruit buds for the coming year, and if the wood ripens 

 during the fall the mercury can fall to 20° below zero without 

 injury to the coming crop. There seems to be a general inquiry 

 among fruit growers and farmers concei'uing the care of cherry 

 orchards, the most desirable varieties, the diseases, and methods of 

 handling and marketing a crop. As these matters are more fully 

 understood the cherry industiy may be expected to reach a promi- 

 nent position among the other horticultural industries. 



Soil and loGation. — The cherry tree is a gross feeder and grows 

 with surprising rapidity, the limbs of young trees sometimes increas- 

 ing from four to six feet in one season. This characteristic of the 

 cherry must not be lost sight of in selecting a site for the cherry 

 orchard, for when too rapid growth takes place the trunks and large 

 limbs split open, the sap exudes abundantly, little or no fruit is borne 

 and the life of the tree is short. The cherry will grow in a variety 

 of soils, even where other fruit trees will not thrive, but the ideal 

 soil is a naturally dry, warm, mellow, deep gravelly or sandy loam, 

 of good quality, containing sufficient humus to retain moisture and 

 give lightness, but not enough to make the soil damp and heavy. 

 If the soil is not naturally dry it must be well drained, for dryness 

 is essential to success with the vigorous growing sweet cherries. 



