190 
SUPPLEMENT  TO 
March  9,  1899. 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER. 
CHERRIES  FOR  GARDENS. 
These  delicious  fruits  are  so  much  appreciated  both  for  dessert  and 
for  preserving,  that  it  is  a  matter  of  surprise  that  greater  efforts  are 
not  made  to  grow  them  more  largely  in  many  gardens.  They  will  not, 
of  course,  succeed  everywhere,  but  undoubtedly  there  are  numerous 
gardens  in  which  they  might  be  successfully  grown  in  considerable 
quantities.  This  matter  has  forced  itself  upon  my  mind  at  various 
times  when  living  in  different  parts  of  the  country,  as  in  every  county 
in  which  I  have  sojourned  I  have  always  met  with  a  few  trees  which 
were  thriving  satisfactorily,  and  I  fully  believe  that  if  a  suitable  site 
is  selected  where  the  soil  is  a  fairly  deep  loam  resting  on  a  sandstone 
or  calcareous  strata.  Cherries  may  be  weU  grown  in  all  counties  south  of 
the  Trent.  In  the  noted  orchards  of  Kent  the  soil  is  a  good  brown  loam, 
resting  on  the  Kentish  rag,  which  insures  ample  draina'ge  ;  and  one  of 
the  most  important  points  to  observe  in  Cherry  growing  is  to  see  that 
the  drainage  is  thorough.  In  low-lying  water-logged  land  they  will  not 
thrive,  neither  will  they  on  land  which  has  a  clay  subsoil,  even  though 
the  position  is  undulating.  For  preference  a  site  with  a  gentle  slope 
to  the  south  should  be  selected,  but  in  some  parts  of  Kent  Cherries 
succeed  splendidly  on  sites  which  slope  sharply  to  the  north. 
Having  now  indicated  the  character  of  the  soil  and  the  situation 
to  be  preferred,  t/otir/mZ  readers  will,  I  think,  agree  with  me  that  these 
favourable  conditions  may  be  met  with  in  numerous  gardens  through¬ 
out  the  country,  and  I  trust  that  many  gardeners  who  have  not  yet 
made  an  attempt  at  Cherry  growing  will  begin  at  once  while  there  is 
yet  time  to  plant  this  season. 
An  open  situation  should  be  selected,  and  if  it  is  intended  to  plant 
small  fruits  between,  standards  worked  on  the  Morello  stock  should  b  ■ 
obtained,  as  those  worked  on  the  wild  Cherry  resent  disturbances  at 
the  root.  This  fact  probably  accounts  for  the  Kentish  practice  of 
growing  Cherries  almost  exclusively  in  orchards.  If  the  trees  are 
planted  30  feet  apart,  ample  of  room  is  allowed  fur  them  to  develop 
into  fine  specimens  capable  of  bearing  many  bushels  of  fruit.  In  the 
majority  of  gardens,  however,  a  large  breadth  cannot  be  devoted  to 
Cherries.  What  is  required  are  a  few  trees  of  several  varieties  which 
will  give  a  succession  of  fruit.  In  such  cases  bushes  meet  the  require¬ 
ments  in  every  way,  and  I  prefer  them  to  pyramids,  because  they  may 
be  kept  in  proper  form  without  much  pruning,  and,  moreover,  prove 
extremely  prolific.  If  bushes  are  planted  on  either  side  of  a  walk, 
12  feet  apart  is  a  suitable  distance,  if  in  a  separate  quaiter  15  feet. 
If  the  whole  of  the  ground  is  trenched,  so  much  the  better;  but 
when  this  cannot  be  done,  holes  5  feet  in  diameter  ought  to  be  taken 
out  to  a  depth  of  2  feet,  the  subsoil  broken  up,  and  the  hole  partially 
filled  with  some  of  the  best  .soil  at  hand.  As  a  matter  of  course  the  points 
and  broken  portions  of  roots  should  be  removed,  those  remaining  being 
spread  out  in  layers  and  covt-red  with  soil,  the  uppermost  layer  being 
about  2  inches  below  the  ground  line.  After  the  planting  is  completed, 
a  mulching  of  rough  manure  or  leaves  will  do  much  toward  securing  a 
good  start  by  helping  to  keep  the  roots  uniformly  moist.  Bush  trees 
should  be  worked  on  the  Mahaleb  stock. 
After  planting,  cut  the  shoots  back  to  within  9  inches  of  their  base 
and  shorten  the  leaders  again  the  following  year,  till  the  requisite 
number  of  branches  is  obtained  ;  these  leaders  may  then  be  allowed 
to  extend  from  9  inches  to  a  foot  each  year  till  the  desired  height  is 
obtained,  and  from  that  time  be  annually  pruned  to  within  one  or  two 
eyes  of  their  base.  Early  in  J une  the  side  shoots  should  be  pinched  to 
three  leaves,  and  the  leaders  to  ten  or  twelve.  When  this  system  is 
followed,  very  little  autumn  pruning  is  necessary  ;  it  only  amounts  to 
shortening  back  a  few  spurs  here  and  there,  or  removing  others  as  they 
become  old  and  gnarled.  This  spur  system  of  pinching  and  pruning 
is  well  adapted  for  such  varieties  as  Early  Rivers,  Early  Red  Bigarreau, 
Frogmore  Early,  May  Duke,  Governor  Wood,  Late  Duke,  Waterloo, 
Black  Eagle,  and  Coe’s  Late  Carnation. 
The  several  fine  Bigarreau  and  Heart  varieties  do  not  succeed  well 
when  grown  in  the  bush  form  if  closely  stopped  and  pruned,  but  they 
bear  freely  on  young  shoots  of  the  previous  year’s  growth  in  a  similar 
way  to  Morellos.  The  best  way  to  deal  with  varieties  of  this  type  is 
after  the  requisite  number  of  branches  (nine)  are  obtained  to  allow  them 
to  grow  at  will,  simply  thinning  out  the  shoots  freely  each  year  after 
the  crop  has  been  gathered. 
I  have  often  been  surprised  to  find  Morellos  are  not  more  generally 
grown  as  bushes,  for  enormous  crops  may  be  obtained  from  them  when 
grown  in  that  form.  The  fruit  is  not  quite  so  large  as  that  produced 
by  trees  against  walls,  but  if  all  items  of  culture  were  taken  into 
account  over  a  series  of  years,  the  bush  form  would,  I  think,  be  found 
the  more  profitable  method  of  growing  this  popular  sort. 
I  do  not  intend  in  this  note  to  deal  in  detail  with  Cherry  culture 
on  walls,  because  nearly  all  gardens  contain  a  few  trees  grown  in  that 
way,  hut  I  should  like  to  draw  special  attention  to  a  fine  early  variety, 
wh  ch  is  not  so  much  grown  on  walls  as  it  should  be ;  I  refer  to  Black 
Tartarian.  If  fan-shaped  trees  are  planted  and  kept  in  check  by 
summer  pinching  superb  fruits  may  be  obtained,  of  which  any  exhibitor 
might  well  be  glad  setting  up  a  collection  of  fruit  at  some  great  show. 
— H.  Dunkin. 
THE  WEATHER. 
The  Americans  say  we  have  no  weather  in  England,  only 
samples  of  it;  at  any  rate,  it  affords  an  endless  matter  of  interest. 
We  once  belonged  to  the  Continent,  but  I  apprehend  have  got  on 
Fig.  43. — The  Rev.  Alan  Cheales. 
considerably  better  since  the  connecting  link  gave  way,  and  the- 
shallow  200  feet  deep  channel  was  hollowed  out.  It  is  something 
to  escape  such  visitations  as  that  New  York  has  just  had  ;  even  if 
an  April  day  here  can,  and  sometimes  does,  include  samples  of  the 
four  seasons  in  its  twenty-four  hours.  The  Gulf  Stream,  moreover, 
is  something  to  be  thankful  for,  though  it  occasionally  sends  us  a 
long  series  of  damp  depressions.  The  Banks  of  Newfoundland  are 
said  to  be  the  breeding  place  of  half  our  weather.  The  Gulf  Stream 
there  meets  the  Arctic  Stream,  and  something  like  endless  fogs  on 
the  Banks  is  the  consequence.  “Fog,  dog,  and  cod”  are  said  to  sum 
up  Newfoundland.  But  uncertainty  is  the  only  certain  thing  about 
English  weather.  As  some  rude  person  has  said, 
“  Coy  as  a  woman,  and  fickle  as  she. 
No  one  can  tell  what  the  weather  will  be.” 
At  least,  till  it  is  past;  and  then  we  may  moralise.  Last  year  broke 
all  records ;  its  drought,  its  north  winds,  its  hot  September  had  all 
much  unprecedented,  especially  here,  the  seven  days  above  80** 
during  the  month.  For  the  last  three  years  this  portion  of  the 
Thames  Valley  has  been  like  King  Arthur’s 
“  Island  valley  of  Avilion, 
Where  falls  no  hail  or  sleet,  nor  any  snow.” 
And  the  rainfall,  though  doing  its  best,  has  not  yet  recuperated. 
Our  1898  record  was  some  4°  under  the  average,  whilst  the  long 
lack  of  snow  must  have  told  heavily  on  the  springs,  which  may  be 
some  time  in  recovering.  At  this  point,  however,  I  feel  called  to- 
recognise  Mr.  Mawley’s  never  failing  annual  reminder.  Is  it  also  a 
permission  ?  “  De  mortuis  nil  nisi  honum:"  “  Do  not  abuse  the  year' 
till  it  is  passed.” — Alan  Cheales,  Reading. 
