THE CHERRY 



209 



a mass of white blossom, and are wonderfully 

 beautiful: this gives place to dinginess for a 

 time when the flowers fade. The calyx re- 

 mains round the swelling fruit for a long time 

 and must be removed, as also the scales at the 

 base of the fruit-stalks, which, although they 

 fall off eventually, persist until the fruit is 

 nearly developed, if suffered to do so, and 

 harbour insects, &c. The thinning of the fruits 

 should be done when stoning is finished, and 

 all those fruits which are not going to swell 

 can be detected. Ample room must be allowed 

 to each berry, so that the fruits shall not be 

 overcrowded when ripe. The bunches will 

 have ultimately from six to sixteen or twenty 

 fruits. 



During flowering all the ventilation possible 

 must be given, except when there are cutting 

 winds; a single hot-water pipe running round 

 the house will keep out the frost if necessary. 

 Water will not be required in large quantity, 

 sufficient being given to prevent the earth from 

 becoming over-dry. When the foliage is coming 

 out, and from then onward, water must be 

 given more frequently according to the weather. 

 The amount of water the individual trees re- 

 quire may be easily ascertained by tapping the 

 pot, which will give quite a bell-like note if 

 the earth be dry. When watering, the borders 

 and paths should be thoroughly damped down 

 to ensure moisture in the air. The trees must 

 be syringed morning and evening until the 

 fruit begius to colour, after which it should 

 be discontinued, or the fruit will crack. 



Liquid manure or soot water should be given 

 twice a week after stoning; and as there is so 

 little earth in the pot compared to the crop it 

 ripens, additional food must be given in the 

 shape of a top-dressing of equal parts of kiln- 

 dust and horse-droppings mixed, making a layer 

 of about 2 inches thick near the rim of the 

 pot, sloping down to the stem so as to form 

 a basin to hold the water. Two top-dressings 

 will be necessary: the first when the fruits are 

 stoning, the second when they are colouring, 

 by which time the goodness of the first applica- 

 tion will be exhausted. When the young snoots 

 have made a dozen or so good leaves they 

 should be pinched back to eight or ten. One 

 pinching alone is necessary, subsequent growths 

 being left alone. 



The worst insect enemy to contend with is 

 the black fly, but it may be kept down by 

 watchfulness. The first smoking, with tobacco 

 paper, referred to above, will do much; subse- 

 quently the trees may be smoked at any period 

 vol. ii. 



with the patent vaporizing compounds now 

 sold. X L ALL may be used with perfect 

 safety, even during flowering. For Cherries 

 the glass should be shaded by syringing with 

 whitewash when the fruit is ripe. The direct 

 rays of the sun are too scorching if the summer 

 be hot. 



There are many good Cherries well adapted 

 to pot work when budded on the Mahaleb. 

 Though it is a mistake to have too many 

 varieties, several are needed to cover all the 

 season. 



In mid -June Belle d'Orleans and Guigne 

 Annonay are ripe, the former light-red, the 

 latter black, both excellent Cherries and good 

 croppers, though the fruit is somewhat small, 



| and that of the latter soon becomes dull after 

 ripening. Werder's Early Black ripens next; 



! the fruit of this sort also soon loses its lustre, 

 and it is scarcely worth growing, since Early 

 Rivers ripens almost at the same time. Early 

 Rivers is an ideal pot Cherry, bearing its large 



| black fruits abundantly; they are of excellent 

 flavour, and hang on the tree a month after 

 ripening, perfectly sound and bright to the 

 last. Black Circassian, Bigarreau de Schreken, 

 and Bedford Prolific, three good black Cherries, 

 follow. 



In July we have Bigarreau Xoir de Guben; 

 Governor Wood, an excellent pale-red Cherry, 

 which is, however, very liable to crack if water 

 touches the ripening fruit; Belle de Choisy, a 

 fine Duke; Frogmore Bigarreau, red; May 

 Duke ; Elton, a handsome bright-red Bigarreau ; 

 AVhite Bigarreau, with waxen -yellow fruit, 

 slightly tinged with red next the sun; Turkey 

 Black Heart, a fine pot Cherry with firm, 

 juicy fruit; Reine Hortense, a large Duke; 

 Monstreuse de Mezel, a very large dark -red 

 Bigarreau; Bigarreau Napoleon, deep -red; 

 Black Hawk and Emperor Francis, a very 

 large bright-red Bigarreau. 



In August ripen Late Duke; Large Black 

 Bigarreau; Guigne de Winkler, bright-red; 

 Late Black Bigarreau; and last, but not by 

 any means least, Geant d'Hedelfinger, a 

 brownish -black Cherry of immense size with 

 very firm flesh. 



Diseases and Insects. — The Cherry suffers little 

 from either of these when planted in a suitable 

 soil and situation, and in other respects properly 

 managed. The disease of most frequent occur- 

 rence is that known as gumming, and this is 

 rarely injurious, except in cases where it pre- 

 vails to a very great extent. It is caused 



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