CHERRIES. 



137 



All badly placed or crowded spray growing in the 

 middle of standards must be cut in close during the 

 rest period, and the spurs thus left in out-of-the-w^ay 

 sheltered spots, although badly placed, with insufficient 

 air and light for most seasons, may in bad seasons pro- 

 duce a little fruit which we should otherwise go without. 

 All the superfluous and unruly shoots should be removed 

 young, as the amputation of large branches must always 

 be avoided. 



Wall, espalier, and dwarf trees must be pinched in 

 for the summer pruning. In May or June cut back all 

 the shoots ^vhich tend in a wrong direction, except where 

 a vacancy has to be filled, when an indifferent branch is 

 sometimes better than none, and train in the young 

 branches which are wanted. The distance from each 

 other at which the branches of cherry trees are trained 

 must be regulated by the size of the leaf. Those of a 

 bold foliage, like the Bigarreau, must be from six to 

 nine inches apart ; and those with small leaves, like the 

 Morello, may be closer together. The branches should 

 be trained at their full length, horizontally. In July 

 there may be a second summer pruning ; after that 

 there will seldom be more shoots grow that season. As 

 the trees grow older, the spurs become longer, and must 

 be kept within bounds by cutting them out in the 

 winter, pruning whenever they exceed three or four 

 inches, which will greatly improve the fruit. 



Trained Morello cherry trees are best fan-shaped, 

 training the branches diagonally. Morello cherries grow 

 on year-old shoots, and on spurs from the older branches; 

 but the younger the spurs are, the finer the fruit will be, 

 so that spurs more than two years old should be cut 

 away. The Morello produces many shoots ; but they 

 must not be left too crowded. The branches should be 

 from three to five inches apart, training the outleaders at 

 full length, and those which follow also. These leaders 

 may be cut out annually in the winter pruning, and their 

 place supplied. This will keep the tree within proper 

 limits, and give it strength to mature fine fruit. 



The cherry is an easy tree to prune, because it is not 



