64 MINNESOTA STATJ HORflC JLTURAL SOCIETY. 



When trees are set out, cut off all but four or five side branches, 

 leaving the leader, and being- careful not to leave two branches op- 

 posite each other. Next gather these four or five side branches in 

 the left hand and cut them back to an even length, cutting off one- 

 third to one-half of the wood, but do not cut the leader back unless 

 it is over eighteen inches above the tops of the side branches after 

 they are cut back. 



All after pruning needed will be to cut out weak shoots and cross 

 limbs each spring, and just enough cutting back of the side branches 

 to keep the trees in shape until they commence to bear, after which 

 about all the pruning needed will be to keep the dead limbs cut out 

 each year. 



I prefer a well branched one or two year old tree for planting, 

 as one can get the heads started where they should be, at twenty- 

 four to thirty inches from the ground. 



Cherry trees should be kept well cultivated until they commence 

 to bear, when all they need is to keep the grass and weeds cut three 

 or four times a year, leaving it lie on the ground for a mulch. Such 

 crops as beans, potatoes, cabbage and the vines can be raised be- 

 tween the trees the first three years. 



The trees should be sprayed with Bordeaux mixture just before 

 the buds open, and again with the same, with one-fourth pound of 

 Paris green added to each fifty gallons, when cherries are one-fourth 

 to one-third grown. The curculio, cherry worm and rot are com- 

 mon enemies of the fruit, and the leaves are quite subject to fungi. 

 The Bordeaux mixture will control the fungi and, to some extent, 

 the rot ; and with the Paris green added will keep the curculio some- 

 what in check ; but so far as I know, there is no known remedy for 

 the cherry zuorm, which develops in the cherry — not in the pit. I 

 understand the New York Station has been investigating this worm 

 for the past two years, but have not learned the results, if any. 



Cherries should be picked when thoroughly ripe, picking them 

 with the stems on ; we use the sixteen quart case and quart berry 

 boxes to ship in and have sold them at three-fifty to five dollars 

 a bushel so far. 



Varieties : The varieties to plant in Minnesota are limited, and 

 so far as I have tried consist of the following: Early Richmond, 

 Kentish Red, Wragg, English Morello, Homer and the Mont- 

 morency. 



Kentish Red is about the same as Early Richmond, except that 

 the tree is a more upright grower, fruit a shade lighter red and, per- 

 haps, a little more juicy. 



Some claim Wragg is the same as English Morello, but they 

 are a much earlier and more prolific bearer. I have picked four 

 quarts from a three year old tree. Montmorency is the latest, 

 lart^est fruit, and darkest red of them all. 



Were I to plant another cherry orchard in Minnesota I would 

 plant fifty per cent Early Richmond, forty per cent Wragg and ten 

 per cent Montmorency. 



