246 THE CHERRY. 



other fine growing fruit trees in our country neighbourhoods, as 

 is the beautiful custom in Germany, affording ornament and a 

 grateful shade and refreshment to the traveller, at the same 

 moment. Mr. Loudon, in his Arboretum, gives the following 

 account of the cherry avenues in Germany, Avhich we gladly lay 

 before our readers. 



" On the continent, and more especially in Germany and 

 Switzerland, the cherry is much used as a roadside tree ; par- 

 ticularly in the northern parts of Germany, where the apple 

 and the pear will not thrive. In some countries the road passes 

 for many miles together through an avenue of cherry trees. In 

 Moravia, the road from Brunn to Olmutz passes through such 

 an avenue, extending upwards of sixty miles in length ; and, 

 in the autumn of 1828, we travelled for several days through 

 almost one continuous avenue of cherry trees, from Strasburg 

 by a circuitous route to Munich. These avenues, in Germany, 

 are planted by the desire of the respective governments, not 

 only for shading the traveller, but in order that the poor pedes- 

 trian may obtain refreshment on his journey. All persons are 

 allowed to partake of the cherries, on condition of not injuring 

 the trees ; but the main crop of the cherries, when ripe, is 

 gathered by the respective proprietors of the land on w'hich it 

 grows ; and when these are anxious to preserve the fruit of any 

 particular tree, it is, as it were, tabooed ; that is a wisp of 

 straw is tied in a conspicuous part to one of the branches, as 

 vines by the roadsides in France, when the grapes are ripe, are 

 protected by sprinkling a plant here and there with a mixture 

 of lime and water, which marks the leaves with conspicuous 

 white blotches. Every one w^ho has travelled on the Continent 

 in the fruit season, must have observed the respect that is paid to 

 these appropriating marks ; and tliere is something highly gra- 

 tifying in this, and in the humane feeling displayed by the 

 princes of the different countries, in causing the trees to be 

 planted. It would indeed be lamentable if kind treatment did 

 not produce a corresponding return." 



Soil and Situation. A dry soil for the cherry is the uni- 

 versal maxim, and although it is so hardy a tree that it will 

 thrive in a great variety of soils, yet a good, sandy, or gravelly 

 loam is its favourite place. It will indeed grow in much thin- 

 ner and dryer soils than most other fruit trees, but to obtain the 

 finest fruit a deep and mellow soil, of good quality, is desirable. 

 When it is forced to grow in wet places, or where the roots are 

 constantly damp, it soon decays, and is very short-lived. And 

 we have seen this tree when forced into too luxuriant a growth 

 in our over-rich western soils, become so gross in its wood as to 

 bear little or no fruit, and split open in its trunk, and soon per- 

 ish. It is a very hardy tree, and will bear a great variety of ex- 

 posures without injury. In deep warm valleys, liable to spring 



