258 THE STONE FRUITS 



culture and good cultivation is probably better for the bearing 

 orchard than is either the grass or the mulch system. 



The cultivation of the bearing orchard should start in the 

 spring just as soon as the soil is ready to work. The soil 

 should first be plowed or disked and pulverized by harrowing 

 it until it is firm and smooth. When the soil is prepared in 

 good shape, it should then be harrowed or surface cultivated 

 every two weeks and after every rain until about the middle 

 of July or the first of August. A cover crop should be sown 

 about this time to check the growth of the trees and to ripen 

 up the wood for winter. 



The cover crops used for the cherry vary in different 

 sections and for different purposes. If the trees are making a 

 poor and an unsatisfactory growth the cover crops should be 

 a leguminous crop such as Canada peas, crimson clover or 

 hairy vetch. If the growth of the trees is good and plenty of 

 wood is being made then the cover crop should be fall rye 

 or winter wheat. The following spring the cover crop should 

 be plowed under. 



Pruning. — The first and the most important pruning of the 

 cherry should be done at the beginning of the second year's 

 growth. The lateral branches should be cut close and the 

 top headed back to about 3 feet from the ground. This pro- 

 cedure will establish a well-balanced, low-headed tree. 



Beginning with the third year select from three to five of 

 the best branches for the framework of the tree and remove 

 all of the other branches. The most central branch should 

 be maintained as the leader and should be pruned so that it is 

 5 or 6 inches longer than the other branches. The remaining 

 branches which make up the framework of the tree should 

 be cut back to 5 or 6 inches in length. The scaffold branches 

 should be selected with relation to each other and should be 

 well distributed. 



The fourth and fifth years the pruning should be directed to 

 thinning out of the surplus branches and to establishing a 

 systematical tree. As the tree grows older very little prun- 

 ing is necessary. Usually after the cherry begins to bear, it 

 requires no pruning. 



