GRAFTING THE CHERRY 263 



The cherry may be pruned the same as any other deciduous fruit tree until 

 it is about five years old; after that the less pruning the better, except when 

 necessary to cut out a dead or crossing branch. Pruning the cherry is more 

 or less likely to produce gum (and this, decay), and should be avoided as much 

 as possible. Cherry trees, however, should be trained with low heads not to 

 exceed eighteen inches from the ground to the first branches; fifteen inches 

 is better. From three to five branches are enougfr to form the head of the 

 tree; all others should be removed early. Three are better than five; two 

 make a forked tree, which is likely to split down in after years. 



At the end of the first season we have a neat little tree with three to 

 five branches. During the following winter these branches should be cut back 

 to six to eight inches. The next season these should be allowed to produce 

 two branches each (no more) ; then, at the end of the second season from 

 planting out, we have a tree with from six to ten branches. The following 

 winter the new growth should be cut back again to from twelve to eighteen 

 inches according to the amount of growth the tree makes the less the growth 

 the more you cut. The same process should be repeated the following winter, 

 treating each branch as an individual tree, until the tree is about five years 

 old; it takes at least five years to get the head of a cherry well established. 

 After this, as some varieties will persist in throwing out branches near the 

 ground, they should be removed during the summer. At this age the tree, 

 if well grown, will have top enough to shade its body from the sun, and 

 there is no further need of branches on the main trunk. 



It necessary to remove large branches it should then be done in midsummer, 

 as that is the only season when the gum is not more or less exuded. We make 

 it a rule to go over and dress up and prune our cherry orchard immediately 

 after the crop is gathered which in our part of the State is the last of May. 

 All wounds made then by the removal of branches or otherwise will heal 

 over the same season. All large wounds made at any time, however, should 

 be coated over with paint. 



The method thus described by Mr. Smith is that by which 

 probably nine-tenths of the cherry trees of this State are shaped. 



In the cherry there should be the same observation as to cutting 

 inside and outside buds as with other trees; in fact, the outside 

 bud is the rule, because so many varieties make a directly upward 

 growth. In removing limbs, cutting to the collar or swelling at 

 the base of the limb is especially important, also the covering of 

 the wound to prevent checking of the wood. 



GRAFTING OVER THE CHERRY 



Since canning of cherries began on a large scale, there has 

 been a vastly increased demand for white cherries. The Royal 

 Ann ( a local name for Napoleon Bigarreau) has been the favorite. 

 Other white sorts are also used for canning. This rise in favor 

 of the white cherries has vastly increased their proportionate pro- 

 duction as compared with the choice black and red varieties, which 

 are still popular as table fruit. 



It is the experience of growers that the cherry is grafted over 

 as easily as the pear or apple, if the tree is healthy. In large 

 trees as many as fifty or one hundred grafts may be set, choosing 

 the smaller limbs, even if you have to go pretty high in the tree. 

 J. W. Cassidy, of Petaluma, used to advise grafting before the sap 

 begins to flow in the winter, or if not done then, wait until the 



