PESTS AND DISEASES OF THE CHERRY 229 



down with the hoe. As a rule, however, the cherry thrives with good 

 cultivation. 



Die-back of the Cherry. The dying back of cherry branches is 

 more or less common in all regions, and the immediate cause thereof 

 is not known. It is apparently sometimes a root trouble, as is the 

 dying back of other fruit trees. This might have resulted from 

 standing water in the winter in the soil, although the same condition 

 may result from lack of sufficient moisture during the late summer and 

 autumn. Anything which causes destruction of the root hairs is apt 

 to cause die-back and other forms of unthrift in the top. Early 

 vegetative activity in the branch, followed by frost, seems also to 

 occasion die-back in some cases. Fortunately, this can occur without 

 injury to the rest of the tree, though it is sometimes and in some places 

 destructive to the tree in the end. The only treatment is removal of 

 the affected wood, and if this can be done during the growing season, 

 as soon as signs of injury appear, it is all the better. 



The Gopher. One of the most dangerous foes of the cherry is 

 the gopher, for he seldom takes less than the whole tree, young or 

 old. Traces of his presence should be constantly watched for, and 

 killing methods described in a later chapter adopted. If a tree is 

 seen to wilt suddenly, the probability is that a gopher has girdled 

 it. Covering the wound sometimes saves the tree, but not usually. 



Insects injuring the cherry will be mentioned in a subsequent 

 chapter. 



VARIETIES OF THE CHERRY 



Many varieties of the cherry have been tested in this State, and 

 many have been abandoned from one cause or another. Those most 

 frequently starred in our table are the survivors in public esteem. 

 As our reports have come from those who grow for market, possibly 

 some sorts are too tender for shipment, but excellent for family use, 

 are omitted, but will be included in the descriptions which follow the 

 table. The claims to value upon which a variety is judged are several: 

 Extra earliness, an important consideration in early districts for ship- 

 ment, and elsewhere for local sale or family use ; firmness to withstand 

 mechanical injury by jarring in transit and durability to escape decay 

 during the long journey to distant markets; firmness and fixed color 

 to stand processing in the cannery, and- to prevent coloring the juice; 

 lateness to extend the cherry season. 



In classification of cherries it was originally considered that there 

 were four classes of cherries. The Hearts were the tender and 

 half-tender sweet cherries, while the Bigarreaux were the firm-fleshed 

 ones; but these have been so intermingled and blended together by 

 hybridization that no distinct line can now be drawn separating them. 

 There is really but one class of these, whose main characteristic is 

 the large, vigorous growth of the tree. The Duke and Morello 

 cherries, also wanting a natural division, really constitute but one 

 class. 



