302 Dwarf Peachy Plwn^ and Cherry Trees. 



ripened, and consequently better adapted to resist the cold of winter. 

 We would not do this so early as to cause any of the buds left to start 

 into growth the same season, but as early as we could without produ- 

 cing this effect. This would j^romote the formation of fruit buds, and 

 if in spring the shoots were found too long or too full of fruit buds we 

 would then shorten in as far as necessary to reduce them to the proper 

 length or proper number of buds. Of course the head of the tree 

 should be kept even and well-balanced, and every strong shoot which 

 threatens to destroy this balance should be early checked. If the trees 

 showed a disposition to excessive growth, root-pruning once in two or 

 three yeai's will be the best check, but it should only be performed 

 when the tree is in a dormant state. In pruning the peach, it must be 

 remembered that the fruit is borne only on the young wood of the last 

 year, and consequently the object should be to obtain as much of this 

 and as little of old wood as possible. 



For dwarf plums there is probably no better stock than our native 

 Canada plum {Prtimis Americana)^ but as the graft or bud usually 

 outgrows the stock, it should be w^orked at the surface of the ground, 

 in order not to present an unsightly appearance. Such short-jointed, 

 slow-growing kinds as the Green Gage (the best of all plums), are 

 easily grown as dwarfs on any stock, by simply allowing them to branch 

 low ; indeed, it may be said that they are naturally of a dwarfish habit. 

 Besides stocks of small growth, the me.'fns used for dwarfing the plum 

 are summer pinching and root pruning, the later operation to be per- 

 formed in October or November. Varieties which, like the Smith's 

 Orleans, will make shoots three or four feet in length, will also require 

 to be shortened early in spring, or they will soon present a naked ap- 

 pearance. When it is desired to give them the utmost check, they may 

 be shortened just after they have begun their annual growth. 



The dwarf form of the plum will be found a great advantage in fight- 

 ing the curculio. A curculio catcher, or sheet to lay on the ground, 

 would be rather unwieldy if made large enough to catch all that falls 

 from a full-grown standard tree. 



Dwarf cherry trees are generally made by budding on the Mahaleb 

 Stock. Still smaller dwarfs can be pi^oduced on Morello stocks, but thfe 

 heart and bigarreau cherries do not take readily on the Morello. The 

 best form for the hearts and bigarreaus is the pyramidal, and the general 

 treatment should be similar to that recommended in our August number 

 for the pear. Of these classes of cherries, it would be better to avoid 

 the most vigorous growers, and select kinds like the Black Eagle, which 

 do not naturally make so large a growth. Even with this precaution 



