410 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



to pick and that takes the space of several standards is difficult to say. 

 Stone's Hardy is worthless here. The berries are small and imperfect. 



CHERRIES. 



Cherry Trees by the Roadside. — Hon. E. W. Barber, a lover of trees 

 and an enthusiastic admirer of nature's beauty everywhere, writes in this 

 strain concerning roadside planting: 



Several years ago I saw a row of handsome cherry trees, half a mile long, 

 on the west side of a highway, bordering the entire east front of a well kept 

 farm ; and it occurs to me that there are many places near our cities and 

 markets for the fruit, where soil and circumstances are favorable for a like 

 growth. 



The trees, I observed, were of very uniform size; they were set with care 

 and regularity ; they had been trimmed and trained with a view to effect ; 

 there was not a break in the whole line, and they were then loaded with ripe 

 and ripening fruit which was being picked and shipped to the Chicago mar- 

 ket, some 150 miles away. The ground under the trees was free of weeds, 

 undergrowth and all unsightly things. It was the most attractive farm 

 frontage on a highway I have ever seen. It was at least fifteen years ago 

 that it came under my notice, and I cannot recall the number of bushels or 

 dollars expected from that roadside that year; but it was a comfortable and 

 comforting quantity and sum. The roadway itself was quite hard and free 

 from dust, and the trees were not tall enough to shut out the sun. 



Of course there are many localities not adapted to such a purpose. Where 

 the roads are sandy and much traveled, with our prevailing west and south- 

 west winds a row of trees on the east or north side of the highway would be 

 likely to bear gritty fruit — as gritty perhaps as a defeated candidate for con- 

 stable, after town meeting — and the foliage would look as grimy as rose leaves 

 after spoliation by the pesky insects, although given a diet of hellebore. 

 Generally, however, cherries are ripe and gathered before the dusty portion 

 of summer comes. 



There are pleasant and poetic things, aside from mere utility,, in such a 

 row of trees. Birds, that have keen intuitions for the good and the beauti- 

 ful, will throng such a roadside, and in fruit-bearing seasons will be as de- 

 lighted as the transient visitor, or fortunate owner. With proper attention 

 and selection, frosts excepted, bearing trees can undoubtedly be had every 

 year, and thus disappointments to birds and owners avoided. It is wise not 

 to disappoint the birds. A country without them has a lifeless appearance, 

 and the cherries they gather and take to their bosoms are not a loss. 



The object in placing a row of cherry trees by the roadside is not wholly 

 utilitarian. The person doing it will be as likely to have an eye for beauty 

 as well as utility. Setting them out and letting them take care of them- 

 selves would be barren of satisfactory results. Mulching, training, trimming, 

 keeping the roadside free from burdock, thistles and other hateful growths, 

 would be essential to success. Then selecting the kind of trees for such a 

 purpose, so that a beautiful effect may be produced, requires judgment and 



