OP FRUIT TREES. 213 



" In the choosing and planting of young cherry 

 trees, the same rules are to be observed that are 

 given for apricots, peaches and nectarines; and 

 they must in like manner be headed down the first 

 year. 



" In pruning cherries never shorten their shoots ; 

 for most of them produce their fruit at the extre- 

 mities, the shortening or cutting off of which very 

 frequently occasions the death of the shoot, at least 

 of a great part of it. The branches, therefore, 

 should be trained at full length. I have often seen 

 the whole tree killed by injudicious pruning. Wher- 

 ever the knife is applied, it is sure to bring on the 

 gum, and afterwards the canker, which will inevita- 

 bly kill the trees, if no remedy be applied to the 

 wounds. I have headed down a great many cherry 

 trees, which were almost past bearing, arid so eaten 

 up by the gum and canker, that the few cherries 

 they bore were very bad. 



" In the years 1790 and 1791, I headed down 

 fifty trees. The operation should be performed in 

 the month of April in each year. These trees 

 made shoots from three to five feet, the same sum- 

 mer, bore fine cherries the next year, and have con- 

 tinued to bear good crops ever since. 



" To the above trees I applied the composition, 

 At the same time I cut down twelve trees in the 

 same row, but did not apply the composition : these 

 twelve trees all died in the second and third years 

 after. One tree where the composition was appli- 

 ed, now produces more fruit than Ihe whole num- 

 ber formerly, also much finer and larger. 



" When cherry trees are very old and much in- 

 jured by large limbs having been cut or blown off 

 (which will bring on the canker and gum) the best 

 way to bring them to have fine heads, and to fill the 

 vacant space, is to head them down as low as pos- 



