14 • THE KANSAS CHERRY. 



the Bay of San Francisco, where deep and moist but well-drained 

 alluvial soil fosters strong and sound root growth, and modified at- 

 mospheric aridity favors leaf and fruiting. On similar deep and moist 

 soils, however, the tree enters the hot interior valleys to certain limits, 

 chiefly along the river bottoms. It abhors dry plains. In dry air it 

 usually refuses to fruit, although, if the soil be moist, it may make a 

 stalwart tree grow^th. In foot-hill valleys it sometimes does admirably, 

 both in growth and fruiting, and in mountain valleys, above an eleva- 

 tion of 2000 feet, on good soil, and in greater rainfall, and even with 

 the snow flurries, which are exjDerienced every year at proper eleva- 

 tion, the trees become very thrifty and profltable to the limits of local 

 markets. The tree seems to have no geographical limitations in Cali- 

 fornia ; wherever suitable soil and weather conditions occur it accepts 

 the situation — the Dukes and Morrellos succeeding under conditions 

 too trying for the Hearts and Bigarreaus, but the latter comprise all 

 the varieties that are of commercial account. 



Cherry trees are grown by budding upon Mazzard and Mahaleb 

 seedlings — the latter chiefly imj)orted. It is customary to plant out 

 in orchards at the end of the first year's growth from the bud, though 

 two-year-old cherry trees can be more successfully handled than 

 other two-year-olds. The trees are headed at one to two feet from 

 the ground, cut back to promote low branching for two years, and 

 then allowed to make long branches, and not usually shortened in, so 

 long as thrifty and healthy. The tree, in a good environment, is, 

 however, a very hardy tree, and will endure pruning to almost any 

 degree. We have many trees which have made a very broad but not 

 usually high growth, bearing 1000 jDounds of fruit to the tree, and a 

 few others which have even doubled that figure, while others have 

 been dwarfed and trained en espalier. The commercial orchards are, 

 however, uniformly of low trees, approximately of vase form in ex- 

 terior outline, and with branches curving outward without shortening. 



The cherry is very readily grafted over by the usual top-grafting 

 methods, and large orchards have been thus transformed into varieties 

 more acceptable for canning or shipping. Comparatively few varie- 

 ties are grown. Early Purple Guigne, Guigne Marbre, and Knight's 

 Early Black are grown in early ripening localities. Black Tartarian 

 and Lewelling are the mainstay for black cherries. The Napoleon 

 Bigarreau (locally known as Royal Ann) is the ideal for a white 

 cherry, and almost excludes all others, though the Rockport Bigar- 

 reau has some standing. Of all the varieties grown, the Black Tar- 

 tarian and Napoleon Bigarreau constitute seventy per cent, of the 

 crop and probably ninety per cent, of the amount marketed. 



California-grown cherries attain large size ; the canner's require- 



