776 
spring the seeds should be planted in 
nursery rows four feet apart and an inch 
or two apart in the rows. Cover with 
an inch or two of fine soil, if the ground 
is not too wet. If the seeds are about 
to sprout and the soil is yet too wet to 
work well, the seeds should be partially 
covered with the wet earth and then a 
dressing an inch thick of well-rotted 
manure spread over the rows. 
The young seedlings should have 
thorough cultivation during the sum- 
mer. About the last week in August or 
the first week in September, or earlier, 
if the bark peels readily, the budding 
should be done. In the South where the 
spring opens much earlier, the seedlings 
may be large enough for budding in June. 
In that event, one year’s time is saved, 
as the tops are cut off immediately, and 
the young trees often grow to transplant- 
ing size the same season. Full details 
for the budding is given under the dis- 
cussion of peaches. When the trees have 
had one year’s growth from the buds, 
they are of the proper age to be trans- 
planted to the orchard. Cherry seedlings 
are sometimes cleft-grafted in spring, 
where the buds the previous fall failed 
to take. 
Pruning the Cherry 
The cherry has the annoying habit of 
occasionally producing strong shoots from 
adventitious buds along the trunk of the 
tree or from near the surface of the 
ground. A close watch should be kept for 
such interlopers in order that they may 
be promptly removed. 
Framework 
During the early years of the growth 
of the cherry care should be exercised to 
secure a proper distribution of the 
limbs which are to form the frame- 
work branches of the tree, particularly 
with the sweet cherries, as this species 
has the unfortunate habit of dividing 
into two shoots of nearly equal size with 
a close angle between, which always forms 
a weak joint. Trees not carefully pruned 
to overcome this bad habit are liable to 
severe injury from splitting when heavily 
loaded with fruit. 
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PRACTICAL HORTICULTURE 
Cutting Back 
In the early period of the growth of the 
sweet cherry, the annual growth will 
need more or less severe cutting back, 
depending upon soil and climatic condi- 
tions, in order to maintain them within 
bounds. On general principles this head- 
ing should be done just before growth 
starts in the spring. 
Fruiting Habits 
The fruiting habits of the cherry are 
more closely allied to those of the apple 
and the pear than to the peach, and for 
that reason the shortening of the annual 
growth is of less moment than with the 
peach. 
Pruning First Four Years 
W. S. THORNBER 
During the first four years of a young 
cherry tree’s life in the orchard it should 
be carefully, systematically and regularly 
pruned. By this time it should be large 
enough and its frame work so well de- 
veloped that the-future pruning would 
consist largely of the removal of dead, 
diseased, broken or crossed limbs and an 
occasional heading back or thinning out 
of the fruiting wood. Pruning for the 
production of wood after a tree starts to 
bear should not be necessary as there is a 
relationship existing between the amount 
of wood produced and the size of the crop 
borne, in the case of most varieties of 
cherries. 
How to Prune 
The first and most essential pruning of 
a cherry tree should take place just previ- 
ous to the beginning of its second year’s 
growth. When one-year-old trees are 
planted in the orchard, immediately af- 
ter transplanting, is a good time to give 
it this pruning. All lateral branches 
should be cut off close and the top headed 
back to from 24 to 86 inches from the 
ground. The purpose of this pruning is 
to establish a low headed spreading tree 
rather than a high upright tree. The 
young tree will require no further prun- 
ing until the beginning of the third 
year’s growth unless a very strong sprout 
springs from the root or on the main 
stem six inches or less from the ground, 
necessitating immediate removal. 
