Stone Fruits: Cherries 



121 



can be netted. In the orchard and on a large scale the birds can be 

 checked with the gun. 



Standard orchard Cherries are grafted solely upon the wild Cherry 

 stock. For dwarf or walled trees the perfumed or Mahaleb stock is used, 

 since it induces a slower growth. 



The Cherry is the largest of the English orchard trees, and on this 

 account a Cherry orchard takes a long time to reach full maturity. As 

 a rule, the trees begin to produce marketable crops abou-t the sixth year. 

 The crop gradually increases each year, until at the age of twenty years 

 the trees are in their prime. 



During recent years the methods adopted in the management of Cherry 

 orchards have very materially advanced. New varieties, some more pro- 

 lific and others of better quality, have been introduced. Diseases, which 

 in former times were unknown, have increased in virulence, become 

 epidemic, and now have to be combated by a variety of methods. Greater 

 attention is being paid to packing and marketing to ensure the arrival 

 of the fruit in good order at the markets and thus obtain the top 

 prices. 



The soil most favourable to Cherries is a strong rich loam of consider- 

 able depth overlying a subsoil that allows of a free natural drainage. It 

 is often said that Cherries will thrive wherever Elm trees grow well. To 

 a certain extent this is true; there is no better guide to good land than 

 luxuriant Elm trees, but the second condition, good natural drainage, is 

 not always indicated by their presence. Much of the land in the neigh- 

 bourhood of Sittingbourne and Faversham, a district famous for Cherries, 

 is of the above description a rich loamy brickearth overlying a chalk 

 subsoil at a depth of from 5 to 10 ft. A good strong loamy soil that is 

 wet, but in other respects suitable, may be adapted to Cherry growing 

 by thoroughly draining the land previous to planting. 



One of the best positions in which to plant Cherries is a Hop garden, 

 provided the above-mentioned conditions are obtainable, because not only 

 can a valuable crop of hops be secured from the land whilst the Cherry 

 trees are developing, but the trees will also thrive and grow rapidly under 

 the high state of cultivation and abundant manure normally given to Hop 

 gardens. 



In selecting the situation for a Cherry orchard there are three other 

 points to be considered: (1) The ground should not be subject to late frosts 

 or be exposed to severe winds; (2) birds do great damage by eating the 

 ripe cherries, and since birds are always more numerous in a thickly 

 wooded country it is preferable not to plant a Cherry orchard adjoining 

 a large wood; (3) proximity to a railway station is a matter of importance. 

 Cherries, like all soft fruit, deteriorate rapidly; hence proximity to a 

 railway station with a good service of fruit trains is a great advantage. 



Planting*. The first consideration with regard to planting is the 

 selection and purchase of trees. It must be remembered that the initial 

 cost of the trees bears a trifling proportion to the other expenses of 



