Cherries are among our first luxuries in the line of fruits. We have
cultivated varieties, ripening in succession throughout the cherry
season. There is no necessity for cultivating the common red and very
acid cherry, except in climates too vigorous for the more tender
cultivated varieties. The cherry is an ornamental tree, making a
beautiful shade, besides the luxury of its fruit. It is one of the most
suitable trees we have for the roadside;--it ought to be extensively
planted by the highways throughout all our rural districts, as it is in
some parts of Europe. In northern Germany the highways are avenues,
shaded with cherry-trees for distances of fifty or sixty miles together:
these trees have been planted by direction of the princes, and afford
shade and refreshment to the weary pedestrian, who is always at liberty
to eat as much of the fruit as he pleases; this is eminently worthy of
imitation in our own country.
Extremes of cold and heat are not favorable to the cherry: hence, cool
places must be selected in hot countries, and warm locations in cold
regions. Very much, however, can be done by acclimation; it will,
probably, yet naturalize the cherry throughout the continent. A deep
and moderately rich loam is the best soil for the cherry; very rich soil
causes too rapid growth, which makes the tree tender. It will bear more
moisture than the grape or peach, and requires less than the apple or
pear. It will endure very dry situations tolerably well, while in very
wet ones it will soon perish.
_Propagation_ is generally by budding small trees near the ground. The
best stocks are those raised from the seeds of the common black Mazzard.
It makes a more thrifty tree than any other. The tree grows very large,
and bears an abundance of medium black fruit, smallest at the blossom
end, and having seeds very large in proportion to the size of the fruit.
In White's Gardening for the South, it is stated that the common Morello
of that region does better, by far, for seedling stocks for budding,
than the Mazzard. Use, then, the Mazzard for the North, and the Mahaleb
or common Morello for the South. Pick them when ripe; let them stand two
or three days, till the pulp decays enough to separate easily from the
seed by washing. Immediately plant the seeds in rows where you wish them
to grow; this is better than keeping them over winter in sand, as a
little neglect in spring will spoil them, they are so tender, when they
begin to germinate. Keep them clean of weeds. The next spring, set them
in rows ten inches or a foot apart, placing the different sizes by
themselves, that large ones need not overshadow small ones and prevent
their growth. In the following August, or on the last of July, bud them
near the ground. The stocks are to be headed back the following spring,
and the bud will make five or six feet of growth the same season. The
cherry-tree seldom needs pruning, further than to pinch off any little
shoots that may come out in a wrong place (and they will be very few),
and cut away dead branches. Any removal of large limbs will produce gum,
which is apt to end in decay, and finally in the death of the tree.
Whatever pruning you must do, do it in the hottest summer weather, and
the wounds will dry and prevent the exudation of gum. Trees are
generally trained horizontally. Some, however, are trained as espaliers
against walls, and in fan shape. When once the form is perfected (as
given under Training), nothing is necessary but to cut off--twice in
each season, about six weeks apart, in the most growing time--all other
shoots that come out within four inches of their base. New shoots will
be constantly springing, and the tree will keep its shape and bear
excellent fruit. Trees so trained are usually in warm locations, and
where they can be easily protected in winter; hence, this is adapted to
the finer and more tender varieties. The varieties of cherries are
numerous, and rapidly increasing. They are less distinguishable than
most other fruits. We shall only present a few of the best, and give
only their general qualities, without any effort to enable our readers
to identify varieties. (See our remarks on the nomenclature of apples.)
Downing, in 1846, recommended the following, as choice and hardy,
adapted to the middle states:--
1. Black Tartarean.
2. Black Eagle.
3. Early White Heart.
4. Downton.
5. Downer's Late.
6. Manning's Mottled.
7. Flesh-color'd Bigarreau
8. Elton.
9. Belle de Choisy.
10. May Duke.
11. Kentish.
12. Knight's Early Black.
The National Convention of Fruit-growers recommend the following as the
best for the whole country:--
1. May Duke.
2. Black Tartarean.
3. Black Eagle.
4. Bigarreau.
5. Knight's Early Black.
6. Downer.
7. Elton.
8. Downton.
We recommend the following as all that need be cultivated for profit.
They are adapted alike to the field and the garden. We omit the
synonyms, and give only the predominant color. The figures in the cuts
refer to our numbers in the list:--
Name. Color. Time.
1. Rockport Bigarreau, red. June 1st.
2. Knight's Early Black, black. June 5th.
3. Black Tartarean, purplish. June 15th.
4. Kirtland's Mary, marbled, light-red. June, July.
5. Delicate, amber-yellow. June 25th.
6. Late Bigarreau, deep-yellow. June 30th.
7. Late Duke, dark-red. Aug. 10th.
8. Cleveland Bigarreau, red. June 10th.
9. American Heart, pale. June 1st.
10. Napoleon, purplish-black. July 5th.
The time is that of their greatest perfection, but varies with latitude
and location.
We know none better than the foregoing. In the long lists of the
fruit-books, there are others of great excellence, some of which are
hardly distinguishable from our list. We recommend to all cultivators to
procure the best in their localities, under the advice of the best
pomologists in their vicinity. Such men as Barry will be consulted for
the latitude of Western New York; Elliott and Kirtland for Cleveland,
Ohio; Cole and others for New England and Canada; Hooker and other
great fruit-growers of Southern Ohio, &c., &c. These gentlemen, like all
scientific men, are happy to communicate their knowledge for the benefit
of others.
[Illustration: Cherries--Natural Size and Shape. (See page 121.)]
We see no reason for cultivating more than ten or twelve varieties; and,
as the above are productive and excellent, including all desirable
colors and qualities, and ripening through the whole cherry season, we
know not what more would be profitable to the cultivator. If you wish
more for the sake of variety, your nurseryman will name them, and show
the quality of each, that renders it "_the best_ that ever was," until
you will become tired of hearing, and more weary of paying for them.
Decayed wood, spent tanbark, and forest-leaves, are good for the cherry.
In removing and transplanting, be careful not to injure the roots, or
expose them to sun and air, as they are so tender, that a degree of
exposure that would be little felt by the apple or peach tree will
destroy the cherry. If you are going to keep a cherry-tree out of the
ground half an hour, throw a damp mat, or damp straw, over the roots,
and you will save disappointment. The rich alluvial soils of the West
are regarded unfavorable to the cherry. We know from observation and
experience that the common red cherry does exceedingly well there, while
the best cultivated are apt to suffer much from the winters. One reason
is, the common cherry is a slow-going, hardy tree, while the cultivated
is more thrifty, and therefore more tender. We give the following as a
_sure method_ of raising the cultivated cherries in great perfection on
all the rich prairies of the West. It is all included in dry locations,
root-pruning, and slight heading-in:--
1. Dry locations. It is known that the rich alluvial soils of the West
are remarkable for retaining water in winter. On level, and even high
prairie land, water will stand in winter, and thoroughly saturate the
soil and freeze up. This is very destructive to the tender, porous root
of the cherry-tree. How shall such locations be made dry, and these
evils prevented? By carting on gravel and sand. Put two or three loads
of sand or gravel, or both, in the shape of a slight mound, for each
cherry-tree. There should first be a slight excavation, that the sand
and gravel may be about half below the level of the surrounding soil,
and half above it: this will so elevate the tree that no water can stand
around it, and none can stand in the gravel and sand below it. The
freezing of such soil will not be injurious to the roots of the tree.
2. Root-pruning is to prevent too rapid growth. Such growth is always
more tender and susceptible of injury from sudden and severe freezing.
(See Root-pruning.)
3. Heading-in puts back the growth and throws the sap into the lateral
twigs, thus maturing the wood already grown, instead of producing new
wood, so young and tender that it will die in winter and spread decay
through the whole tree. Heading-in, with the cherry, must only be done
with small twigs. Cultivators will see at a glance that this method will
certainly succeed in all the West and Southwest.
It is considered difficult to raise cherries at the South; the hot sun
destroys the trees. Plant in the coolest situations, where there is a
little shade from other trees, though not too near, or from buildings;
cut them back, so as to cause shoots near the ground, and then head-in
as the peach, so as to keep the whole covered with leaves, to shade the
trunk and large limbs, and perfect success will crown your efforts. But
in all cutting-back and heading-in of cherry-trees, remove the limbs
when very small.