Page 4 



wooden 

 and the 

 quite ex 

 h:i(l a 

 cheii'ies 



boxes, as shown in Figure 2, 

 twenty-pound box is also used 

 tensively. Growers who liave 

 wide experience in shipping 

 however, recommend tlie eight 



BETTER FRUIT 



and ten-pound box for long-distance 

 shi])ments. It has been found that the 

 New York and other Kaslern trade pre- 

 fer these smaller box packages, and that 

 the fruit arrives in nmch better condi- 

 tion than when sliipped in the larger 

 twenty and thirty-pound boxes. For the 

 trade in Pacific Coast cities the larger 

 boxes are more popular. 



The ten-pound box, now more gen- 



Junc igip 



erally used in shipping cherries than 

 the others, has a partition in the center 

 of it and is more expensive on that 

 account, requiring more lumber and 

 more labor in the making, but so far 

 has been found to be the best carrier 

 with the exception of the extra fancy 

 carton packed box. Figure 3 shows the 

 carton packed box in contrast with the 

 straight fcn-pound-box package. 



I'lGliiL 2 Eight, ten and tlliity-lxnuul iniuy 

 packed boxes of cherries. 



Figure 3— Showing the contrast in appearance between a ten-poiuul box of cherries, straight 



pack, and a carton packed box. 



Growing and Pruning the Sweet Cherry Tree 



By Prof. 0. M. Morris, Horticulturist, State College of Washington 



THE sweet cherry tree is usually set 

 when one year old, although two- 

 year-old trees are frequently used. At 

 the time of setting they are trimmed to 

 straight whips and headed about two 

 feet high. After the first season's 

 growth in the orchard the branches that 

 are to form the framework of the tree 

 are selected and all others are removed. 

 If the selected branches are 'long and 

 slender they should be cut back enough 

 to make them stocky. The system of 

 handling the sweet cherry tree up 

 to the beginning of fruit production 

 should be about the same as that ordi- 

 narily given young pear trees. The 

 long, slender branches should be 

 headed back some each year, but it is 

 not -wise to undertake to compel the 

 tree to grow a low top by constant 

 heading, since heavy pruning stimulates 

 the production of new shoots that are 

 as vigorous as those cut back. The 

 growth may be checked, more satisfac- 

 torily checked, by growing other crops 

 on the ground than by use of the prun- 

 ing shears. 



The fruit of the sweet cherry is borne 

 on wood of the previous season's 

 growth, on the spurs and on the twigs. 

 The spurs are usually short and make 

 only an inch or so of growth each year; 

 but they must receive nourishment from 

 the tree, and sufficient sunlight to make 

 them thrifty and vigorous if they are to 

 produce fruit more than one or two 

 years. 



The tree, even in full-crop produc- 

 tion, does not cease its tendency to 

 grow tall. It must be held in check 

 constantly by cutting back to the side 

 branches the strong limbs that extend 

 beyond the height desired. The tree, 

 in its natural form, is tall; consequently 

 it is difficult to make it grow a low, 

 broad top like the peach or prune; but 

 the extreme height can be avoided by 

 judicious pruning. Although the sweet 

 cherry responds well to careful pruning 

 and the removal of surplus wood, this 

 is usually neglected because the tree 

 will continue to bear a crop of fruit 

 when no pruning is given. 



In many localities, several varieties 

 of the sweet cherry have shown a 

 strong tendency to be self-sterile; and 

 the most popular varieties — the Bing, 

 the Lambert and the Napoleon (Royal 

 Ann) — are inter-sterile also. Crop pro- 

 duction is maintained in these cases by 

 planting inter-fertile varieties for pol- 

 lenizers. The varieties most frequently 

 used are the Waterhouse and the Black 

 Republican. In small planting like the 

 home orchard, pollination will be sat- 

 isfactorily accomplished if one or two 

 limbs of the trees are top-worked to the 

 pollinating variety. 



Cherry trees, like other stone-fruit 

 trees, are not easily top-grafted by the 

 common methods. One of the most suc- 

 cessful methods is budding. The ordi- 

 nary shield bud is used. This can best 

 be done while the tree is young. Buds 



of the desired variety should be set on 

 a one or a two-year-old branch of the 

 tree. 



Season of Pruning. 

 In most sections of this state, the an- 

 nual winter pruning can be done at any 

 time during the late fall, winter or 

 early spring without any injurious re- 

 sults following. If the wood is not 

 frozen at the time the pruning is done, 

 the tree responds in the same manner 

 whether the pruning is done in the fall, 

 in midwinter or in early spring. Win- 

 ter pruning of peaches may often be 

 wisely delayed until it can be ascer- 

 tained whether or not the crop of buds 

 has been winter-killed. Summer prun- 

 ing can be done with profit, sometimes, 

 where it is used to modify the shape of 

 the tree without changing the activities 

 of growth that are taking place. And 

 sometimes it can be used to induce fruit 

 production. But it must be remembered 

 that this is only one of the forces to 

 which the tree responds; that climate, 

 weather, soil moisture, plant food sup- 

 ply, and the general condition of the 

 tree are influential factors, and that the 

 exact influence which each of these may 

 exert on the life of the tree at any one 

 time is not easily determined. 



Healing of Wounds. 



Wounds do not heal as easily on 

 stone-fruit trees as on apple and pear 

 trees. Large wounds frequently cause 

 trouble, since they afford a place of 

 entrance for the rot fungi. The decay 

 which follows soon extends down into 

 the heart wood and weakens the tree. 

 This trouble can be prevented by using 



