224 Appendix. 



you can get $1.25 to $1.50 f. o. b. railroad station, I don't think you 

 will complain. 



Now, as I have shown how to market the fruit, it will be well to tell 

 how we grow it. I set out 1,500 trees; gave them thorough cultivation, 

 for the first four years. I thought that if cultivation was good for an 

 apple tree it was good for a cherry tree; the consequence was I grew 

 them too fast. The bark would burst and they would bleed to death. 

 I have had trees make the enormous growth of eleven feet in one 

 season. Then I pruned and cut them back, and that also was detri- 

 mental to the tree. It is my opinion, and in so far as my experience 

 goes, you never want to cultivate after the first year. Seed your 

 orchard down to clover and get two crops, and you will not have many 

 dead trees nor any gumoses. Never put a saw or knife to a cherry 

 tree unless it is to cut out a dead limb; for the wood of a cherry tree 

 is not like an apple, it will not heal over, but will rot and the snow 

 and rain will help it along. I set out 100 cherry trees three years ago 

 along a fence where the ground never was plowed. The fii'st year they 

 did not grow much; the second year they did better; this year they have 

 made a fine growth. They never have been pruned nor cultivated in 

 any way. Two years ago I put out fifty trees; the first year I culti- 

 vated up to the first of July, then seeded down to clover. They have 

 done fine, with a loss of only one tree. 



If we will study Nature a little, we shall find that the cherry is first 

 in bloom, first to fruit; and is all picked and marketed by July 10. The 

 tree has borne its fruit; it has made its gi'owth; the laterals have 

 grown to their full length; the fruit buds are settling for next year's 

 crop. Nature has performed her work so far as the cherry tree is 

 concerned, and should rest until another year has come, when she will 

 take up the same routine again. So, if we keep on cultivating and 

 forcing the growth of the tree after it has fulfilled its duty, it is sure 

 to bring disaster and ruin. 



Now, a great many think all they have to do is to plant the tree and 

 sit down and watch it grow, then pick the fruit — yes — but that is not 

 the process that brings the best returns. It is not the kind that brings 

 home the premium from the horticultural fairs, where men of knowledge 

 and experience judge the merits of the fi'uit and quality is the only 

 consideration. 



If the cherry is worth growing, it is worth growing well, and I find 

 the only way is to fertilize, and do it thoroughly; use plenty of potash, 

 spray thoroughly in the winter with the lime and sulphur, also the 

 bordeaux mixture. Keep your trees free from San Jose scale and all 

 other insects pests and fungus, and you will surely have good results.. 

 I use the Niagara gas sprayer; it is always ready. It never gets 

 clogged, and I believe it is the best machine on the market to-day. 



