1870.] CULTIVATION OF HARDY FRUITS. 107 



the shoot a little further from the branch — at a distance of about 2 

 inches. 



The Morello is an exception to the rules above given, so it must be 

 treated of separately. The others I have termed spur- fruiting varie- 

 ties ; this I may term non-spur fruiting. The fruit is borne on the wood 

 of the previous summer in the case of the Morello, so the aim of the 

 cultivator should be to keep his tree always well supplied with young 

 fruit-bearing wood. Rules cannot well be laid down on this point, 

 but I will endeavour to be both plain and concise. The first year the 

 tree may be pruned as directed above ; the second year, if the growth 

 be very strong, the same course may be pursued, but where moderately 

 strong wood is produced, it will suffice to lay against the wall as much 

 wood as is considered necessary, removing the rest entirely by a 

 good clean cut. In the case of trees growing remarkably strong, root- 

 pruning may be necessary for the encouragement of fruit-bearing and 

 moderately-sized wood ; but in no case do I consider this desirable if it 

 can be avoided, as it is often the forerunner of gum, unless done with 

 skill and care. To keep up a regular supply of good fruit-bearing 

 wood from the trunk of the tree to the extremities of the branches, it 

 is necessary to encourage young wood, and cut away the old much in 

 the same manner as recommended for the Peach. The trees ought 

 never to become crowded with young wood, as the result of that is 

 inferior fruit. By judicious management a tree may be kept in fruit- 

 bearing condition for many years, without recourse to the laborious 

 task of taking it entirely down and rearranging the branches. Seve- 

 ral Morello trees here are over fifty years of age, yet bearing by far 

 the largest crops and finest fruit I ever saw. They are healthy and 

 vigorous, covering from 700 to 800 superficial feet of surface-wall, and 

 furnished right to the base with fruit-bearing wood. The Morello 

 is not so subject to gum exuding as most of the other varieties. 

 In training the Morello I have found from 3 to 4 inches a good 

 distance between the shoots. The point of the shoot laid in should 

 never be cut out, as it often happens, especially in the case of old 

 trees, that the point is the only wood bearing buds on the whole shoot. 

 The removal of it would therefore not only cause the loss of a shoot 

 for the next year, but also the loss of the fruit for the current season. 



Where the Cherry is intended for an espalier, for which it is well 

 adapted, the mode of pruning and training recommended for the wall 

 will be found to suit very well. The espalier has the advantage over 

 the standard in this respect, that it is more easily secured from the 

 ravages of birds ; in some parts of the country they would attack the 

 fruit long before it was ripe, unless nets were applied. 



Where the Cherry is grown as a rider, the management is the same 



