202 THE CHERRY. 



will also require pruning, so as to give it a round head, as of an acorn, 

 based on the circle of the trench. 



The Dukes and Morellos need somewhat more pruning than the 

 Heart varieties, but all are impatient of the knife ; yet if to be done, 

 let it be in July, or when the terminal buds are forming. 



Dwarfs are trained to please the fancy of growers, and mostly by 

 the " pinching-in " process. And as they grow with extreme vigor 

 on the Mahaleb, for three or four years, they require not only to have 

 their tops pruned, but also to be root-pruned annually. 



If possible to be avoided, large branches should never be cut from 

 a Sweet Cherry tree. We have examined the results of many cases 

 where large branches were lopped in Spring for the purpose of chang- 

 ing the tree to a different variety by grafting ; the result has almost 

 invariably been death after two summers. When necessary to be 

 done, the wound should be covered with grafting composition or 

 gum-shellac, to exclude the air, and the body wrapped in straw or 

 matting. Encasing the body during the winter and spring months 

 with straw, cloth, or moss, will often prevent injury ; for the cause 

 of bursting of bark is in winter, not summer months, although it does 

 not always exhibit itself until July or August. The atmospheric 

 blight, injuring young shoots, acts at once in Summer. 



Insects and Diseases. The aphis, slug, caterpillar, and curculio, 

 are more or less destructive to the Cherry, but as they are described in 

 other chapters we must refer the reader thereto. The diseases, ac- 

 cording to writers, are, in the West, numerous ; but as they all centre 

 in the bursting of bark and exudation of gum, we shall only note on 

 that. Under the head of Soil, we have given what we term the pri- 

 mary cause of this disease, and if added to what we have said under 

 heads of Cultivation and Pruning, we believe will have effect to 

 check, in great measure, the evil. That it will render the tree en- 

 tirely free of the disease we are not prepared to say ; but if to it be 

 added selections of buds from healthy trees, and growth in nursery 

 on ground well drained and not over stimulated by barn-yard ma- 

 nures, we believe a change for the better will be the result. 



Uses. The wood of the Wild or Virginia Cherry is used by cabinet 

 makers, being susceptible of a fine polish. The fruit of the Sweet 

 Cherries is universally esteemed for the dessert, and that of the tender- 

 fleshed, like Belle de Choisy, is regarded as wholesome. The Sour 

 Cherries, either dried or fresh from the tree, are much esteemed for 

 culinary use, while the Mazard and Wild Virginian Cherries are 

 used in flavoring liquors. " The celebrated German Kirschwasser is 

 made by distilling the liquor of the common black Mazard (in which 

 the stones are ground and broken and fermented with the pulp) ; and 

 the delicious Ratifia cordial of Grenoble is also made from this fruit. 

 Mareschino, the most celebrated liquor of Italy, is distilled from a 

 small Mazard, with which, in fermenting, honey and the leaves and 



