350 THE CHERRY. 



is quite light, the seeds should be covered with black mould 

 to prevent the formation of a hard crust upon the surface 

 which would prevent the young plants from breaking through 

 But, usually, spring is the best season, if the planting it 

 done the moment the frost is out of the ground ; for th« 

 seeds sprout and grow on the first approach of warm wea- 

 ther. The distance should be the same as for the peach 

 and apple ; and nearly the same directions are applicable to 

 their management in the nursery rows. 



Good seedlings, averaging a foot and a half high, maybe 

 transplanted from the seed beds when a year old, and if well 

 cultivated in good soil, may be budded the same season. 

 Where the buds fail, the trees may be grafted the following 

 spring. 



Budding can only succeed with thrifty, freely growing 

 stocks, and with well matured buds. About the time, or a 

 little after the most vigorous stage of growth, or just as the 

 terminal buds on the shoots commence forming, is the most 

 successful period. If earlier, the buds will usually be too 

 soft ; if. later, the bark will not peel freely, nor the buds ad- 

 here well. This period usually commences about mid-sum- 

 mer, and continues, under the various influences of season 

 and soil, for two or three weeks, and sometimes more than 

 a month. Success will be found to depend also upon cut- 

 ting out with the bud, a larger portion of the wood than 

 common with other budding, or equal to at least one-third 

 the diameter of the shoot. This will be found particularly 

 useful where the buds are slightly immature, retaining in 

 them a larger portion of moisture, and preventing their 

 curling off from the stock. 



Great difficulty is often experienced in successfully graft- 

 ing the cherry. It succeeds well, if performed very early in 

 the spring, before the slightest swelling of the buds, and 

 before the frost has disappeared from the ground. After 

 this period it is greatly liable to failure. 



In propagating the slower-growing, round-fruited varie- 

 ties, good trees are often soonest obtained by grafting or 

 budding them at standard height into large straight stocks. 

 If grafted, they soon form a handsome head; if budded, 



