246 
THE CHERRY. 
other fine growing fruit trees in our country neighbourhoods, as 
is the beautiful custom in Germany, affording ornament and a 
grateful shade and refreshment to the traveller, at the same 
moment. Mr. Loudon, in his Arboretum, gives the following 
account of the cherry avenues in Germany, which we gladly lay 
before our readers. 
“ On the continent, and more especially in Germany and 
Switzerland, the cherry is much used as a roadside tree ; par- 
ticularly in the northern parts of Germany, where the apple 
and the pear will not thrive. In some countries the road passe? 
for many miles together through an avenue of cherry trees. In 
Moravia, the road from Brunn to Olmutz passes through such 
an avenue, extending upwards of sixty miles in length ; and, 
in the autumn of 1828, we travelled for several days through 
almost one continuous avenue of cherry trees, from Strasburg 
by a circuitous route to Munich. These avenues, in Germany, 
are planted by the desire of the respective governments, not 
only for shading the traveller, but in order that the poor pedes- 
trian may obtain refreshment on his journey. All persons are 
allowed to partake of the cherries, on condition of not injuring 
the trees ; but the main crop of the cherries, when ripe, is 
gathered by the respective proprietors of the land on which it 
grows ; and when these are anxious to preserve the fruit of any 
particular tree, it is, as it were, tabooed ; that is a wisp of 
straw is tied in a conspicuous part to one of the branches, as 
vines by the roadsides in France, when the grapes are ripe, are 
protected by sprinkling a plant here and there with a mixture 
of lime and water, which marks the leaves with conspicuous 
white blotches. Every one who has travelled on the Continent 
in the fruit season, must have observed the respect that is paid to 
these appropriating marks ; and there is something highly gra- 
tifying in this, and in the humane feeling displayed by the 
princes of the different countries, in causing the trees to be 
planted. It would indeed be lamentable if kind treatment did 
not produce a corresponding return.” 
Soil and Situation. A dry soil for the cherry is the uni- 
versal maxim, and although it is so hardy a tree that it will 
thrive in a great variety of soils, yet a good, sandy, or gravelly 
loam is its favourite place. It will indeed grow in much thin- 
ner and dryer soils than most other fruit trees, but to obtain the 
finest fruit a deep and mellow soil, of good quality, is desirable. 
When it is forced to grow in wet places, or where the roots are 
constantly damp, it soon decays, and is very short-lived. And 
we have seen this tree when forced into too luxuriant a growth 
in our over-rich western soils, become so gross in its wood as to 
bear little or no fruit, and split open in its trunk, and soon per- 
ish. It is a very hardy tree, and will bear a great variety of ex- 
posures without injury. In deep warm valleys, liable to spring 
