274 VILLA GARDENING part hi 



wall will ripeu its fruit early, aud a dish of well-ripened Cherries is 

 always a welcome addition to the dessert. Tlie Morello Cherry, 

 again, on the north side of the wall, may be kept in good con- 

 dition till October, and at that season used in the dessert, 

 though it is more thought of when preserved in brandy. The 

 Cherry submits readily to training. To cover a high wall quickly 

 there is no better way than planting Palmettes 7 or 9 feet 

 apart The fan system also succeeds well, but the less the knife 

 is used the better, for wounds or injm'ies of all kinds are just so 

 many openings for gumming. If the cuts could be dressed with 

 Stockholm tar or i)ainters' knotting, or even a little cement rubbed 

 into tlie wound to close up the lacerated celLs, it would, by keeping 

 out air, encourage healing. 



Pruning Cherries. — The safest time to prane Cherries is in 

 siunmer, and all pruning, as far as possible, should be done at that 

 season, cutting the young foreright shoots back to three buds or 

 leaves, and laying in a young shoot wherever there is space to fill 

 up. It is very essential, to keep up the vigour and bearing capa- 

 cities of the tree, to lay in young shoots occasionally. Cherries on 

 the spm- system are constantly getting farther from the wall, and 

 the old spurs become a receptacle for canker. 



liENOVATiNG Old Trees. — I havc seen all the old spurs cut 

 off, the wounds dressed with some impervious substance, doing the 

 work in March, thinning out the young shoots which started freely, 

 and laying in those reserved at full length without any shortening ; 

 the wood ripened well, and bore wonderfully the next season, the 

 fruit being very fine. This system in the case of old trees may be 

 adopted and continued with profit. Of course after the first 

 season only a limited number of the shoots will be removed an- 

 nually, their places being filled with others of the new growths. 

 The Morello Cherry is always treated in this manner, only thin- 

 ning the young shoots in summer so as to ensiure the thorough 

 maturation of those left for the following year's crop. Overcrowd- 

 ing of the branches is one of the greatest evils of fruit cultm-e, 

 especially with such trees as Morello Cherries and Peaches. 



Bush Cherries. — These are usually budded on the Mahaleb 

 stock, and in some situations succeed very well. It is a system 

 better adapted to the early and late Dukes than others, such as 

 the Bigarreaus. These later varieties do not like a dwarfing 

 system ; they succeed best when permitted to strike out with but 

 little knife work. The Morello succeeds very well on the Maha- 

 leb, being lifted occasionally to check over-luxuriance, shoidd any 

 manifest itself. Heavy clay soils require a good deal of lightening 

 before Cherries are planted. The best way of doing this is to burn 



