VILLA GAEDENING 273 



CHAPTER VII 



The Cherry. — Kent is undoubtedly the home of the Cherry 

 and the Nut, but the Hazel Nut and the wild Cherry flourish 

 wherever the soil is dry and good, a fertile loam of some depth 

 overlying clay being the best. I have seen healthy and fertile 

 Cherry trees growing over the red-sandstone formation ; and, 

 so far as garden culture is concerned, any fairly good well-drained 

 land will do. The blossoms of Cherries are specially liable to be 

 cut oft' by sirring frosts, and therefore shelter is a matter that 

 shoidd not be neglected. The trees must not be planted in a low- 

 lying situation, as the shelter so obtained from winds will lead to 

 greater damage from the frost, and it is well known that such 

 positions very frequently prove fatal. 



As A Standard on Grass the Cherry is a very profitable 

 tree, but the orchard should not be laid down till the trees are 

 well established and in a free-bearing condition, say from six to 

 ten years after planting. Like the Plum, the Cherry soon begins 

 to bear, as every matured bud will produce fertile blossoms. It 

 is not judicious to overcrowd the trees, as where this is done they 

 lose that beautiful round head which, when loaded with blossom 

 in spring or with fruit in summer, has such an ornamental appear- 

 ance. From 20 to 25 feet in orchard planting will not be too far 

 apart. The land might carry a crop of Black Currants the first 

 ten years, and then be laid down to Grass. Such an orchard 

 would, I have no doubt, pay well. A handsome Standard Cherry 

 tree will be no mean ornament in any conspicuous position in the 

 Villa Garden. There are many trees planted for ornament lacking 

 its beauty, without taking into account its utility as a fruit-bearer. 

 The Cherry dislikes the knife on account of its predisposition to 

 gumming and canker. On some soils this tendency is more ap- 

 parent than on others. The matter should be observed closely, 

 antl where the soil approaches heaviness the knife should be used 

 sparingly, if at all. Standards, after they commence bearing, will 

 require but little pruning, as the crop of fruit which is annually 

 borne in favourable situations will check over-luxuriance. At the 

 same time the trees should be looked over every year, and if any 

 thinning is needed it should be done. 



Cherries on Walls. — To prolong the season and obtain early 

 and late fruit, and for their protection, wherever there is a walled- 

 in garden, a certain proportion of the wall surface wiU be planted 

 with Cherries. The May Duke, for instance, on a south or east 



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