88 



Lessons in Fruit Growing. 



precede the leaves, and a decidedl}' acid, 

 roundish, coranionly red fruit. This spe- 

 cies is hardier than the last, and is grown 

 with some success in the colder parts of 

 the United States. Its flower buds are, 

 however, often destroyed in winter in the 

 northern Mississippi Valley. The fruit is 

 chiefly used for pies and canning. 



(c) Prunus Besseyii, the dwarf or sand 

 cherry, is a low straggling shrub which 

 has recently been cultivated in an amateur 

 way. Its fruit more resembles that of the 

 sweet than the sour cherry, and its vari- 

 ability suggests that it may be susceptible 

 to improvement. 



lOr. Fruiting: habit. The fruit of the 

 cherry is mostly borne from lateral buds 

 on short spurs from wood of the preceding 

 year (Fig. 29), i. e., the buds that form in 

 the leaf axils of the young shoots grow out 

 into short branches (spurs) the next year, 

 the lateral buds on these spurs forming 

 flowers that expand the following spring. 

 These spurs may persist two or more years 

 by growth from their terminal buds, which 

 seldom flower, but they commonly perish 

 in a 3'ear or two through lack of light. 

 Sometimes the lower buds on the young 

 shoots form flowers the first season. 



108. Soil for the cherry. The cherry 

 thrives best on a dry, sandy or gravelly 

 loam. It is especially subject to damage 

 from over-wet and poorly-drained soils. 



' Fruiting wood of sour cheri-y. F, flower buds; L, leaf buds. 



