THE CHERRY. ^■} . 



care must be taken by judicious pruning to prevent the 

 young- shoots from growing all on one side. 



Pruning the cherry except t ) form the head, is rarely 

 needed. When necessary, midsummer is found to be the 

 most favorable season, and least attended with the exudation 

 of gum. 



SOIL. 



In the northern states, the cherry beino- a very hardy tree, 

 will thrive in nearly all good soils. But a dryer soil than 

 for most other species is found preferable ; a sandy or 

 gravelly loam is best. In wet places, or on water-soaked 

 sub-soiis, it does not flourish, and soon perishes. 



DWARF CHERRIES. 



These are, as 3^et, cultivated to a limited extent in this 

 country. They are chiefly adapted to village gardens, or 

 other grounds of limited extent, as they may be set as near 

 each other as five or six feet. They may be easily covered 

 with netting, and thus protected from the birds, and what 

 is most rare and desirable, the fruit permitted to remain un- 

 til fully ripe, so important to the flavor of all cherries of an 

 acid character. 



The stocks used for this purpose are the " l^erfumed 

 Cherry " or Primus Mahaleb, which also possesses the ad- 

 vantage of flourishing on heavy clay ground. The grafts 

 will usually grow quite vigorously for two or three seasons, 

 but they soon form dwarf, prolific bushes ; their branches 

 being so pruned that seven, nine, or more, may come out 

 from the centre of the plant, like a well-managed goose- 

 berrybush. These branches will put forth, earl}^ in sum- 

 mer, as in the horizontal shoots of pyramidal pears, several 

 shoots at their extremities, all of which must be pinched 

 ofT to within two or three buds of their base, leaving the 

 leading shoots untouched till near the close of summer, 

 when they must be shortened to eight or ten buds. The 

 Heart and Bi^-arreau cherries maybe left of one-half great- 

 er length than the Dukes and Morellos, which are of smaller 

 habit of growth; and where the space is small, the trees 

 may be root-pruned and kept wiihiri a very limited space.* 



* Rivers' Miniature Fruit Garden. 93 



