THE CHERRY. 251 



To Form a Hound Open Mead. — We will take for ex- 

 ample a young tree two years old, having three or four 

 top branches. These at the time of planting should be 

 cut back to within four or five buds of their base, and 

 when growth has commenced, the requisite number of 

 shoots, say four or five, to form the framework of the head, 

 are selected, evenly distril)uted on all sides, and all the 

 others pinched or rubbed off. 



The following season these shoots may again be short- 

 ened to produce secondary branches to fill up spaces, and 

 those arising fromtlie centre should be pinched out, for the 

 head must be kept open and accessible to the sun and 

 light. In about three years of such treatment tlie head 

 of the tree assumes a permanent form, and thereafter may 

 be left to itself, except to remove occasionally branches 

 that may cross or intei-fere with one another. 



Pyramidal-headed Sta?idards. — Certain varieties, for 

 instance, Sparhaick''s Honey^ Downer, China Bigar- 

 reaii. Black Tartarian, Black Heart, and some others, 

 make fine pyramidal-shaped heads without pruning, more 

 than to give the leader its due superiority at the begin- 

 ning, and to remove afterwards, crossing and superfluous 

 branches. 



Such varieties as the Yellow Spanish, Black Eagle, 

 Knight's Early Black, Elton, and all the spreading sorts, 

 should have round, open lieads, l)uilt upc^i three or four 

 main branches, as described. 



PnmliKj the Cherry as a Pyramid. — The same process 

 recommended for the pyramidal training of the pear and 

 apple may be applied with complete success to the cherry. 

 We have now in our specimen grounds a collection of all 

 the classes trained according to the method described, 

 and their condition is in every respect satisfactory; they 

 have all given fruit the third year. 



In most cases the trees were taken from the nursery 

 rows at the end of their first season's growth from the 



