VARIETIES AND CULTURE OF CHERRIES. 1 23 



have been left without any care, and who will give up raising them 

 on account of root-sprouting? Root-sprouting should not be the 

 reason why we graft on tender stock, but as long as we have no 

 hardy stock I would rather plant hardy sprouts or grafts and bud 

 on hardy sprouts than on tender stock. The greatest effort ought 

 to be made to get hardy stock for grafting upon. 



In planting a cherry orchard it is not advisable to plant a few 

 trees, except on small village lots where the birds are not so bad. 

 On the farm it is best to plant a sufficient number so that the birds 

 can have all they want without shortening the crop too much for 

 the farmer. 



I have planted the trees in one part of my orchard ten feet apart, 

 and the rows thirty-two feet apart, and then grow currants between 

 the rows. In the other part I planted the trees ten feet apart, and 

 the rows twenty feet apart. 



The pruning of young cherry trees is very important. All 

 branches which have a tendency to cross one another ought to be 

 cut off when young. Always have in view to obtain an open head, 

 so that the sun may penetrate through it — and it will also be more 

 convenient for spraying. When the trees become old, very little 

 pruning is necessary. 



As long as the trees afe young, they need a thorough cultivation 

 all through the season. But when the trees become old enough to 

 bear, cultivation must cease in June. The purpose of this is to 

 check the growth, so that they may set blossom buds. Buckwheat 

 may be sown between the trees as a cover crop. In some cases it 

 is well to seed the orchard down, but it must be plowed up again 

 after a few years. 



Mr. Philips (Wis.): Do you know what the Homer is? Is it an 

 early or a late Richmond? 



Mr, Yahnke: It is not either one. 

 Mr. Philips: How do they place it? 



Mr. Yahnke: That is more than I can tell you, but I can tell 

 you something about it. There is an opinion that it originated the 

 cherry. You probably heard of the type of Mr. Freeman, a type of 

 the Morello cherry that brought in such a big crop. It is the same 

 cherry. It is claimed that is the only true Morello cherry. I claim 

 just the opposite. I claim that is an English cherry, and this is dif- 

 ferent. I sent some cherries to a brother in Iowa a year ago last 

 season, and he thought it was a cross between the Morello and the 

 Kentish. It is a distinct cherry from all others that I know. You 

 can get them ripe all at once, and you can pick them all at once, but 

 it will root sprout and be a cherry thicket after a while. 



Mr. Brand : This cherry that is called the Homer was received 

 forty-four or forty-five years ago by mail from the state of Ohio, 



