94 An American Fruit- Farm 



must be headed low, and, if possible, the whole 

 orchard should be sheltered by wind-breaks, by 

 woods, or by the lay of the land. Of sweet cherries 

 the standard are Napoleon, Elton, Black Tartarian, 

 Oxheart, Windsor, Rockport, Yellow Spanish; of 

 sour cherries, the Early Richmond, Montmorenci, 

 May Duke, Reine Hortense, Kentish, and Morello/ 

 Early Richmond ripens first, Morello last, with 

 an interval of a month, in some seasons, between 

 first and last picking. Of sour cherries the Mont- 

 morenci is best, both for tree and for fruit. The 

 tree is compact and a prolific bearer ; the Richmond 

 is a sprawling tree, weaving about in the wind and 

 less prolific. The old-fashioned cherry tree by the 

 kitchen door peeped over the roof and its best fruit 

 was picked from the shingles on the tip-top 

 branches. We are learning to head our cherry 

 orchards low so that much of the fruit may be 

 gathered while the picker stands on the ground, 

 and the remainder from short ladders made for the 

 purpose. 



The care of sweet cherries and of sour is not quite 

 the same. The trees have unlike habits and must 

 be trimmed differently. Just how this trimming 

 shall be made is also a matter of opinion. Some 

 orchardists, highly successful with cherries, trim 

 the sweet varieties vigorously, opening up the 

 center of the tree to the sun, and cutting back 

 boldly. Sour cherries do not readily bear such 



* Cherries are budded in the nursery on Mazard, or on Mahaleb root- 

 stalk, opinions vary as to relative value of these root-stalks. 



