116 ORCHARDS. 



tion of moisture, wholly out of the materials that were stored 

 by the tree during the growth of the previous year. When 

 these vegetable stores are in sufficient supply to do this and 

 nourish theTruit germs also, then we shall hear little about 

 imperfect fertilization. On the other hand, had the food 

 been consumed the previous year by ripening an over-crop of 

 fruit, or by making a very succulent growth, then the tree 

 would not store a sufficient amount of plant food to perform 

 its three-fold office in the production of leave-5, roots with 

 their spongioles, and fruit. In this condition a part of the 

 leaf, and the larger part, or all of the fruit-buds, yield up 

 their nourishment, which goes to the production of root and 

 leaf growth. The tree, therefore, is barren of fruit for the 

 summer; its whole growth being required to recuperate :he 

 growth of the tree. Such trees often bloom freely and cast 

 their bloom. When this occurs, uninformed persons often at- 

 tribute this to want of fertilization, or suppose that the rains 

 have washed away the pollen, and the like. 



Having thus briefly referred to some of the causes of our 

 fruit production and wood growth, we will now return and 

 state how we treat trees bearing alternate crops. Alternate 

 bearing trees are such for the reason we have endeavored to 

 explain, viz: exhaustion. What we have to do, then, is to 

 economize and equalize the forces of the tree. If it be a 

 Hart or Bigarreau cherry on which we are to operate, our 

 first duty will be an inspection of the buds, that we may 

 know what proportion of them are perfect. But before we 

 proceed, we will have to state that the fruit-buds on most 

 cherries are produced on little spurs, as they are called ; these 

 are two, three and four years in forming. Each of these will 

 likely have five, ten or more fruit-buds, and each bud will 

 contain several fruit germs. When all these germs are per- 

 fect, we have known as many as sixty fruits produced from a 

 single spur, when not more than a dozen or fifteen could be 

 properly grown. 



Understanding, as we now do, the position of the buds on 

 the cherry tree, we next determine their condition by an in- 

 spection of them, as detailed in our remarks on buds. Pro- 



