1836 The Cornell Reading-Courses 



is an art that requires practice. Women and children do most of this work, 

 and in cherry sections they look forward to the picking season with a 

 great deal of pleasure. The novice can seldom pick more than one hundred 

 pounds a day, but he will gain speed rapidly and should be able to pick 

 two hundred pounds a day by the end of a month if the trees carry a heavy 

 crop. An expert can often average three hundred pounds a day without 

 much difficulty. Pickers are hired either by the day or by piece work, 

 and in the latter case they usually receive a cent a pound, but the price 

 will vary with the size of the crop. If the fruit is to be shipped to the 

 general market the trees should be gone over two or three times, since 

 the fruit should be well ripened before it is picked. Cherries for canning 

 may be allowed to become much more mature, and thus practically all 

 of them can be harvested at once. A pound of fruit with stems will 

 measure about one and one fourth quart. 



YIELDS 



The yields of a cherry orchard will vary from year to year and 

 under different soil and climatic conditions. Sour cherries are usually 

 more productive than sweet, and they come into bearing earlier. The 

 Morello will bear a fair crop about three years after it is planted, if two- 

 years-old xrees are set, whereas a Montmorency tree will usually come 

 into profitable bearing in five years. At this age five hundred to one 

 thousand pounds per acre may be expected if trees are planted twenty 

 by twenty feet apart. A two-acre Montmorency orchard at Westfield, 

 New York, yielded six tons in 191 1. This yield gave a gross return 

 of $300 per acre after the orchard had been planted six years. In 19 10 

 it had yielded one ton, and in 1909 one half ton. After ten years a sour- 

 cherry orchard will frequently average five tons per acre. A thirteen- 

 years-old Montmorency orchard at Hilton, New York, is said to have 

 produced over twelve tons per acre for three years in succession. Sweet 

 cherries frequently give high yields, but the trees are uncertain in bearing. 

 An average of four to five tons per acre for a mature sweet-cherry orchard 

 is a fair estimate. 



As a rule, the profitable life of a cherry orchard may be estimated at 

 twenty-five years, but under good care and management this may be 

 increased. Most of the cherry crop of this State goes to canning factories. 

 Many growers contract their fruit for years in advance at a fixed price 

 of five cents a pound. At this figure cherry-raising is a profitable in- 

 dustry. 



For fruit that is shipped to the canning factory, the package is of no 

 great importance as long as the fruit is delivered in good condition and 

 will keep until it is canned. For this purpose the eight-pound grape 



