120 THE FRUIT GROWER'S GUIDE. 



The stones resulting of fertilised flowers may be treated as advised for raising stocks 

 from seed, but for proving the seedling trees by planting, they require to be planted 

 farther apart, lifting them annually after the first transplantation, and increasing the 

 distance so as to expose them fully to light and air until they form blossom buds. 

 Curtailing the roots and inducing a fibrous habit conduce to early puberty, while 

 budding or grafting the seedlings on older trees accelerates the fruiting of the 

 varieties. 



Stones of the Gean and Mahaleb cherry may be stratified in sand or light soil till 

 early spring, or, preferably, sown as soon as the fruit is ripe and can be separated from 

 the pulp, placing them, rather thinly, in drills 1 foot apart, and 1| inch deep, covering 

 with fine soil. Every fifth row may be left out, thus forming beds with alleys between 

 for facility of cleaning. In two years the seedlings will be fit to transplant 18 to 24 

 inches apart, in lines 36 to 42 inches asunder, and the following summer are fit to bud, 

 or graft after a year's growth. 



Layering. Though sometimes practised to induce a dwarf fruitful habit, this method 

 of increase is not generally applicable to the cherry, for the wood is too brittle to admit 

 of bending, and, except for trees to be grown in pots, is not a desirable mode of pro- 

 pagation. Instructions on layering are given in Vol. I., pages 102-105, the ringing 

 method being the most eligible for the cherry. Pigmy trees laden with ripe fruit are 

 attractive for table decoration, and charming for juvenile parties. 



Stocks. These were treated in Yol. I., page 111, but we reiterate the statements 

 that seedlings of the wild cherry or Gean are suitable for the Gean, Heart, and 

 Bigarreau varieties. The common or dwarf, which are seedlings of the Kentish and 

 Morello, are adapted for the Duke, Kentish, and Morello varieties. The Mahaleb is 

 the principal dwarfing stock, though its influence is not great, and it is not suited to 

 the Gean, Heart, and Bigarreau races, for, though they take and thrive on it for a few 

 years, they soon become unhealthy, yet those fine black and light coloured varieties, 

 Early Eivers and Governor "Wood, succeed admirably, and probably others of the cross- 

 bred varieties would thrive on this stock. Seedlings from the red cherries afford 

 greater immunity from gum, because the bark is slightly thicker and more elastic. 

 Indeed, seedling Morellos are the best free stocks for garden trees. 



Budding. "No bud takes more surely and quickly than that of the cherry if the pre- 

 caution is taken to operate before the buds become too plump, and when the sap flows 

 freely. This usually occurs about midsummer, and maybe performed up to mid- July in 



