2 
THE FLORIST AND POMOLOGIST. 
[ January, 
the opportunity and privilege to do so, but when the demand for fruit is urgdnt ? 
application should be made to those who make such things a speciality. 
There are different varieties of the Cherry suitable for forcing, but among 
them all I prefer the May Duke and Black Tartarian. Whether we purchase 
established or maiden trees, the stock is a most important matter, for unless it is 
vigorous and free from disease, the duration of life in the tree will be short and 
struggling. The best are raised from the seeds or stones of our wild varieties, as 
they possess an inherent vigour beyond that of our cultivated kinds. The 
Cerasus Mahaleb , or what is called the perfumed Cherry, has been strongly re¬ 
commended as a stock, owing to its dwarfing property, but this is a quality quite 
unnecessary in the case of pot-culture, where the roots are constantly con¬ 
fined. Soil exercises a greater influence over plants, either for good or evil, 
than we are at all times willing to admit. So far as the mere production of 
wood is concerned, the Cherry-tree is by no means fastidious; but as a fruit- 
bearing tree, the soil should possess a considerable amount of lime, to assist in the 
formation of the Cherry-stone. It is by no means uncommon to observe, in the 
course of a week or so after the shedding of the flowers, a large portion of the 
newly-formed fruit shrivel and drop. Some, indeed, may adhere till the stoning 
period, when they, too, fall off, leaving not more than a third or fourth part of a 
crop. There may be other operating causes, but I feel persuaded that a deficiency 
of calcareous matter is the major evil; and further, with a calcareous soil there 
is less production of gum. 
Whatever the system of forcing, and however exactly the modus operandi may 
be carried out, failure is certain, unless the fruit-buds are fully matured. I have 
in some instances seen the trees turned out-of-doors, fully exposed to whatever 
weather may occur, crippling, if not destroying, the foliage before it has performed 
its allotted work. We cannot much depend on a crop from wood of the preceding 
year, although it may be thickly set with fruit-buds, unless it be at the bottom 
of the shoot. Natural spurs two years old set fruit more freely, and usually of 
a larger size. Little or no pruning will be required beyond removing worn-out 
spurs, and providing for a new supply, which is readily obtained by judiciously 
pinching and thinning the young growths. 
In cases where fruit is required early, fire-heat may be applied towards the 
beginning or middle of February, but let the progress of forcing be slow, and 
under no condition allow any undue excitement, or the flowers will be produced 
without substance, and the fructifying organs will be deformed, and incapable 
of performing their office. At this stage it is rather uncertain what to advise as 
to the proper temperature, as it may happen that the warmth of the external air 
is as high as that degree I should recommend to start with. All that can be said 
on this point is, to keep the heat of the house slightly in advance. As a general 
rule, a temperature of 42° will be found sufficient, and in the course of two 
weeks it may be advanced to 45°, allowing an advance of 10° by sun-heat, but 
confined to that limit by ventilation till the fruit is fully set. Even before, but 
