Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1904-11-25
agricultural.
CHERRY GROWING.

CHERRY GROWING.
In an address before the Missouri Hor
ticultural Society some time ago, on the
subject of cherry growing, Mr.. W. Il.
Skinner, of Bethany, Mo-, among other
things, said that the cherry would grow
on almost any kind Of soil except a very
wet one, but does best in a good sandy
clay loan with a gravelly subsoil. This
seems to furnish the necessary drainage
and sustenance to produce the hardest
tree and best fruit. Before planting the
ground should be deeply and thorough
ly plowed and pulverized. The roots
Of the trees where cut or broken in dig
ging should be smoothly cut and the
hole in which the trees are planted
should be large enough to admit the
roots without bending; if it we're posi-
BILE TO pillow that deep, the hole should
not be deeper than the ground is plowed
The roots should be puddled in soft mud
before setting the tree in its place; the
tree should be planted deep enough so
that the bud or graft is at least two
inches below the top OF the soil when
the hole is filed. The hole should be
filed around the tree with fine, mellow
earth, carefully packed and tramped
around the roots until they are we'll
covered, and the earth should then be
piled above the top of the surrounding
soil to allow for settling, but the top
two or three inches should not be
packed.
In March Of the next year after plant
ing the trees should be gone over and
pruned to shape the head. clip in the
ends of the long shoots, Keep the heads
round in the case Of trees that grow
like the Richmond, or conical with trees
of more upright growth, and il the
branches have not started thick enough
to make good head, cut back heavy
enough TO make them thicker, the aim
being to shape the head as near as pos
sible to the shape of some well-grOwn
tree of the same variety. The follow
ing March when the trees are two years
planted they should be again gone over
and pruned with the end in view; that
is, TO make well-shaped head, cutting
out cross-limbs, heading back too ram
pant growing branches and where
branch crooks or grows in wrong d.
rection it can usually be remedied, il
taken in time, by cutting back 10 bud
that will start and carry its growth in
the right direction. The third year the
same treatment should be given, after
which but little pruning will be needed,
except TO remove dead limbs, but these
should not. and, with proper treatment
will not, be abundant for many years.
In pruning the cherry, like all other
trees, no Fixed rule can be made that
will apply to all, as no two trees are
exactly alike but the cherry being one
Of the most perverse Of all fruit trees,
il is best for the primer to have we'll
grown, full-siged specimen of the va
riety he liz pruning in his mind this
gives him the natural shape Of the tree
and he should SO train his young sprout
as to cause it to assume its natural
shape and at the same time make a
well-formed tree Of its kind
One Of our modern horticulturists has
said that the shape Of the tree makes
little difference with the bearing quail :
ties and that each grower may form his
own ideal shape Of tree, and prune &C.
cOrdingly but in pruning the cherry
the primer should have many ideals, as
il is much easier TO make an ideal to ct
particular tree than it is to make all
cherry trees grow to ft a particular
ideal No man should undertake to
prune and shape the head Of young
tree until he has studied the bed arrange
ment and growing characteristics Of the
family of trees be is about to prune, as
the shaping Of the top depends materi-
ally on the position Of the upper head
left after the branch is clipped and in
shaping the heads of young trees par
ticular attention should be given that
the cut is made so as to leave the
upper cut in position to start the new
branch of in the right direction.
The cherry should not be gathered
until fully ripe. and then only when it
is dry. for. il it is wet or even damp
from rain or dew, it will quickly spoil.
In oil cases the fruit should be carefully
handled, and the stem should be left at
tached to the fruit, as the removal Of
the stem from the fruit will break the
skin. allow the juice to run out and
quickly injure the fruit. All defective
berries should be thrown out, as they
will injure the sale of the remaining
fruit. and it pays to pack only the best
fruit and to put it up in 4 manner that
will be attractive. as there is about as
much in the packing of the fruit to-
ward selling as in the fruit itself-per-
hAps more Cherries should be packe
in small, shallow boxes or baskets which
in no case should hold over one gallon,
aud handled so that they will not bruise
or mash As to the marketing Of cher.
ries away from home. all the questions
offreight charges, commissions and com
mission men, and Of markets applicable
Il