THB CHEEKY* 16& 



CULTIVATION* The cherry, as a standard tree, may be said 

 to require little or no cultivation in the middle states, further 

 than occasionally supplying old trees with a little manure to 

 keep up their vigour, pruning out a dead or crossing branch, 

 and washing the stem with soft soap should it become hard and 

 bark bound* Pruning, the cherry very little needs, and as it is 

 always likely to produce gum (and this decay,) it should be 

 avoided, except when really required. It should then be done 

 in midsummer^ as that is the only season when the gum is not 

 more or less exuded. The cherry is not a very long lived tree, 

 but in favourable soil the finest varieties generally endure about 

 thirty or forty years. Twenty feet apart for the strong, and 

 eighteen feet for the slow growing kinds is the proper distance 

 for this tree. 



Training the Cherry is very little practised in the United 

 States. The Heart and Bigarreau cherries are usually trained 

 in the horizontal manner, explained in page 40. When the 

 wall or espalier is once filled, as there directed, with lateral 

 branches, it is only necessary to cut off, twice every season in 

 the month of May and July all additional shoots to within an 

 inch or so of the branch from which they grew. As the trees 

 |*row older, these fruit spurs will advance in length, but by cut" 

 ting them out whenever they exceed four or five inches, new 

 ones will be produced, and the tree will continue to keep its 

 proper shape and yield excellent fruit. The Moreljo cherries, 

 being weaker growing sorts, are trained in the fan-manner, 

 (page 38.) 



Gathering ike frwL This tender and juicy fruit is best 

 when freshly gathered from the tree, and it should always be 

 picked with the stalks attached. For the dessert, the flavour of 

 many sorts in our climate, is rendered more delicious by placing 

 the fruit, for an hour or two previous, in an ice-house or refrig- 

 erator, and bringing them upon the table cool, with dew drops 

 standing upon them, 



VARIETIES. For the sake of enabling the amateur the more 

 readily to identify varieties? we shall divide cherries into fbui 

 elasses, viz. 



L Heart cherries* The Common Mazzard and the Black 

 Heart may be taken as types of this division. The trees are 

 rapid growing, with ample and lofty heads, and broad, light 

 green, waved leaves- The fruit is more or less heart-shaped, 

 with rich, tender^ sweet flesh* (This includes the Meriners 

 and Gmniers of the French, which seem to us, practically, not 

 distinct.) This section comprises excellent cherries, univer- 

 sally admired. Colour mostly black, 



II. Bigarreau cherries. This term comes originally from the 

 French bigarrte speckled or variegated skin 4mt it is now in 

 general use by all pomologists, to signify hard, or firm-fleshed, 



