CHERRIES. 47 



THE CHERRY FOR CANNING. 



Mr. Downing says : 



"When canned they retain their character and are very delicious. The 

 Dukes or Morellos are best for the purpose." 



SOIL AND CLIMATE. 



The light sandy soil of our Lake Shore region appears to be peculiarly 

 adapted to the cherry tree, and the cool climate of the Lake Shore is peculiarly 

 a cherry atmosphere. I should prefer shade and protection from too much 

 sun as a general thing for producing perfect cherries, as the slower in arriving 

 at maturity, the larger and better is the fruit. 



The planting, pruning and cultivation of the cherry diifer but little from 

 those of the peach, and no special directions are needed to a society composed 

 of peach-growers. The cherry is so much at home in Michigan that nothing 

 but ordinary care and culture are necessary, and no tree perhaps suffers so 

 little from neglect as the cherry. It will grow on the roadside, on the lawn 

 surrounded by grass, or anywhere where an ordinary maple tree will grow, and 

 thrive as well. 



THE CHERRY FOR SHADE. 



For ornamental purposes and for shade, the cherry is superior to almost any 

 other fruit-bearing tree. Its beautiful and graceful form; its early sheet of 

 white blossoms coverning it as with a mantle of snow ; its dense green foliage 

 which soon follows the fall of the blossoms, and then its beautiful pendent 

 fruit in red or jet clusters, nestled in delightful contrast with the emerald 

 foliage, what can be more charming to the eye or more provocative of appetite ? 

 Had the forbidden fruit been the cherry, I think Eve herself should be for- 

 given for her transgression. What boy or girl can resist the temptation to 

 take the cherry as it hangs in all its beauty and glory? The question of 

 ownership is forgotten in the presence of a cherry tree laden with its rich and 

 luscious ripe fruit. This very temptation is used as an argument against 

 planting the cherry as a shade tree along our highways. Beauty so trans- 

 cendant, as in the human form, should be its own protector. I would like to 

 see cherry trees so common that there would be enough for boys and girls, 

 birds and insects, and yet leave ample for profitable marketing. 



It may be asking too much of fruit-growers to plant for the good of the 

 public, but as shade trees of maple and other forest trees are generally quite 

 as costly as cherry trees, and no more easily grown, there seems no serious 

 objection to planting the cherry for shade along our streets and highways, 

 securing for them all 'the protection that law and police regulations can 

 secure. The sour varieties, although almost as beautiful, would be less liable 

 to depredation than the sweet, and could be planted, I think, without fear of 

 serious injury by boys. They might be alternated with maples with very pretty 

 eflfect. 



Mr. Downing's views on this subject are expressed as follows : , 



" The larger growing sorts of black cherry are the finest of all fruit trees for 

 shade, and are, therefore, generally chosen by farmers, who are always desirous 

 of combining the useful and the ornamental. Indeed, the cherry, from its 

 symmetrical form, its rapid growth, its fine shade, and beautiful blossoms, is 

 exceedingly well suited for a road-side tree in agricultural districts. We wish 

 we could induce the planting of avenues of this and other fine-growing fruit 

 trees in our country neighborhoods, as is the beautiful custom in Germany, 



