144 Encyclopaedia of Gardening 



FRUIT continued. 



much sought after in late summer for stewing purposes, and also 

 for making jelly. The improved varieties are well worth growing 

 in gardens where the soil is deep, fertile, and moist; but they are 

 of little use in dry, shallow soils. As they are often shy in starting 

 it is wise to adopt the plan generally practised with Raspberries, 

 and prune them hard back at planting time in autumn. This 

 generally induces them to break from below. Thereafter they can 

 be kept in order by thinning out old fruited wood. If more are 

 wanted they can be got by bending the canes over and pegging down 

 the tips in late summer, or by dividing the stools in autumn. 

 Parsley-leaved is a good variety, with large, richly flavoured fruit. 



Cherry (Prunus Cerasus). The Cherry is suitable for culture as 

 a standard or half-standard on the Gean stock, and also as a trained 

 tree for walls on the Mahaleb stock. It is not often grown as a 

 bush, pyramid, or cordon. It likes a loamy soil on limestone. On 

 rich, deep, substantial " brick-earth " loams with ragstone beneath 

 it grows to a great size and crops heavily. The general remarks 

 under Fruit apply. With regard to pruning, while early cutting 

 back and shaping is necessary, little subsequent pruning should be 

 done, otherwise the trees may throw out gum and die. If they 

 get too thick, thin them while full of leaf in summer to avoid gum- 

 ming ; they do not, however, make a thick mass of wood, as a rule, 

 if the early pruning has been done judiciously; on the contrary, 

 they make fruiting spurs. The Morello Cherry bears on the young 

 shoots, so that only old fruited pieces should be cut out. The new 

 wood should be left. Cherries are not troubled much with canker, 

 but they may be attacked by caterpillars and silver leaf (see under 

 Fruit and Plum). Trees on walls are sometimes attacked by 

 black fly, which clusters in the tips of the young shoots. It may 

 be destroyed by syringing with a solution of paraffin and soft soap 

 (see Paraffin oil), or with almost any of the proprietary insecticides 

 sold by seedsmen. Very hot water, with an ounce of washing soda 

 to the gallon, syringed on forcibly, is efficacious. Some growers 

 pinch out the tips of the shoots in May to avoid the fly. When the 

 Cherry is grown as a trained tree it is found that it does better with 

 the branches fastened horizontally than diagonally or vertically. 

 Bone meal and sulphate of potash, 2 oz. of each per square 

 yard in March, will do good. Varieties: Black Eagle, Governor 

 Wood, Napoleon Bigarreau, Morello, and Kentish, the last two for 

 cooking. 



Crab, Ornamental (Pyrus acerba). The ordinary Crab is only of 

 value to fruit growers as a stock (see Apples), but the better species, 

 which are generally described as " Ornamental Crabs " by fruit 

 dealers, are worth growing, alike for their beauty and for the use of 

 the fruit for jelly. They are generally grown as standards, and 

 will thrive under the conditions recommended for Apples. The 

 fruit is small, but it is borne in considerable quantities and is bril- 

 liantly coloured. The four most popular varieties are Dartmouth, 

 John Downie, Siberian, and Transcendent. 



Currant (Ribes nigrum rubrum and album). The reader must 



