50 PRUNING CHERRY TREES 
Pruning the second and third years after planting. Cut out excess 
and crowding wood, selecting new main branches and preventing weak 
crotches by heading back the branches. When two or more branches 
grow out close together the one cut back the least will make the greatest 
terminal growth. The leader should be cut back the second or third 
season by cutting the last season's growth back to a lateral branch. 
After 5 or 6 years the tops should be thinned out to admit sufficient 
sunlight to keep the inner spurs and lower fruiting wood alive. Head 
back the lateral branches and those which grow toward the center of the 
top. Annual pruning should bo done to avoid heavy cutting at any one 
time. The amount to prune varies with each tree. The Montmorency 
is a more upright grower than the Early Richmond and is therefore 
more difficult to train into a spreading top. Some growers want their 
trees to bear a crop when very young. This practice is bad in the end, 
though it may give earlier returns. 
Sweet Cherries. The sweet cherry can be grown in many different 
parts of the country, but is very particular as to soil and location, and 
not as hardy and dependable as the sour cherry. They must be planted 
on well-drained ground. They require a deeper and more fertile soil 
than the sour cherry. They bloom earlier and are most apt to be in- 
jured by spring frosts. Sweet cherries are grown very successfully in 
California, Oregon, Washington, and along the eastern shores of Lakes 
Michigan, Huron, Erie and Ontario, and in certain sections of Vir- 
ginia, Pennsjdvania, etc. The tree is an upright and more rapid grower 
than the sour cherry. As they come from the nursery, even the larger 
sizes are often poorly branched, although they may have good roots 
and heavy bodies. 
When the tree is set, cut out the central leader about 18 to 30 
inches above the ground. Some growers shorten back the side branches 
about a third. In ease there is not a good number of side branches, they 
wiU be forced out the first season's growth. During the first four or five 
years the top can be shaped as the grower wants it, but as the tree gets 
older the less pruning the better. 
Planting Distance. This depends on the soil, the location and the 
variety. A good average distance for small-growing sour cherries, such 
as English Morello and Wragg, is 16 or 18 feet apart each way. The 
stronger-growing cherries, such as Montmorency, Elarly Richmond, 
etc., 18 or 22 feet apart. The sweet cherries should be planted 24 to 30 
feet apart each waj'. For spraying, see page 74. 
Grape 
Grapes grow wild in all parts of America, from Central Canada to 
Mexico, and there are varieties adapted to all situations and to all pur- 
poses. However, the greatest development in this country is producing 
table grapes. There are successful wineries in many states, but only a 
very small per cent of the total crop is used in making wines, and most 
of the wines which are made in the East are from the second-grade 
grapes. The quality of the grape is good, but the bunches are usually 
imperfect. The grape juice industry has grown to immense proportions, 
and thousands of tons of the Concord are used every year for unfer- 
mented grape juice. 
Grapes will grow on almost any well-drained soil. They do sur- 
prisingly well in very poor, dry soil where an apple-tree would be a 
failure. However, if the soil holds moisture and is also well drained, it 
will produce large crops. It should be moderately fertile for best results, 
but grapes will succeed on shallow, rocky land where no other fruit 
can be grown. The early varieties ripen the first part of the summer, so 
they are seldom injured by drouth. 
Some years ago the Experimental Station of Alabama planted a vine- 
yard on a tract of land which was worn out by cotton farming, and was 
