84 APRICOT, BERBERRY, CHERRY. 



The Apricot. This truly delicious fruit is of 

 foreign origin, and the great difficulty in its culti- 

 vation in the northern part of the United States is 

 the prevention of injury during the winter. When 

 it finds no such difficulty, deep limestone soils are 

 those in which it delights. But at the north such 

 land would induce too free and late a growth, which 

 would result in the death of the tree. Therefore a 

 gravelly or sandy soil must be selected, which shall 

 in a measure stunt it, and produce a dwarfish habit. 

 Then the growth will be short, and will ripen, 

 although the fruit will not be so fair as in regions 

 where it is not injured by the winter. 



The Berherry. This flourishes on almost any 

 soil, from loamy sands to stifi" clays, but its most 

 natural condition is in a rich, peaty, limey earth. 



The Cherry. The observations already made with 

 regard to the apricot apply equally well to this fruit ; 

 but the morello varieties require clay soils. 



The Currant. A peaty or clayey soil is that 



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