Cultivation.-Standard cherry trees should be set 12-20 feet apart, depending on the varieties. Fifteen feet is a safe distance for common varieties on ordinary soils. Morellos on strong soils should have 20 feet. Cherries may be grown in sod, and will do comparatively better in such circumstances than apples. Still if one is really in earnest is his growing it will pay to cultivate cherries much as the best fruit growers manage apple orchards.1 In brief this consists in a shallow plowing in spring followed by occasional surface cultivations till mid-summer, when some cover crop is sown. Pruning.-Cherries need very little pruning. Some small effort is required during the first few years to secure trees of the best form, but such cutting as is not required in shaping the heads may usually be dispensed with. Certain varieties, especially some the Russians, are inclined to a dwarf habit, and this may be sometimes conveniently encouraged by a moderate heading in. Stocks.-Most farmers buy their cherry trees of the nurserymen and seldom inquire what stocks they are propagated upon. There is, however, some difference to the fruit grower and a great deal to the nurseryman in the different stocks used. Mazzard and Mahaleb are the common stocks, though Morello seedlings are sometimes grown in this country for this purpose. Of these the Morello and the· Mazzard are probably best for the fruit grower, in the order named, though there is an important difference of opinion among horticulturists on this point. Craig has reported2 considerable success in budding on the common wild bird or pin cherry (Prunus pennsylvanica). This stock is not likely to be valuable in nursery practice, but might be worth trying by the farmer and amateur fruit grower. Hardiness.-Practically all the sour cherries are hardy enough for any situation in Vermont. Dr. T. H. Hoskins, of Newport, whose orchard is a famous testing ground for hardy fruits, grows several varieties with success. In fact he grows them with mentionable financial profit. Certain of the russian varieties, however, mentioned in the foregoing pages are thought to be unusually hardy. Vladimir and Schatten Amarelle are recommended to very timid planters. Diseases and insects.-The enemies with which the cherry grower has to contend in this country are (a) black knot, (b) brown rot of the fruit, (c) curculio, (d) birds. The one safe and practicable protection against curculio and birds is to grow cherries enough for them and for the family or market besides. Black knot is seldom troublesome, but has been very serious I For a discussion of the cultivation of apple orchards see Vt. Sta. Bul. 55. 2 Cent. Exp. Farm (Ont.) Bul. 17, p. 19, (1892). the past year or two. The fruit rot is not likely to do great damage in this state. Picking, marketing, etc.—Cherries should be picked with the stems on. If they are for market this is imperative. When the fruit rot is bad it is necessary to attend very closely to the picking for the cherries rot with astonishing rapidity when they are once ripe. They should be picked as soon as is consistent with good quality, and the picking should be done when the sun shines and the fruit is dry. In sending cherries to market, under present conditions in Vermont, the common quart boxes used for strawberries are best. Cherries ought to be plenty enough so that they could be sold by the peck. Think of selling potatoes or apples by the quart! The fact is there are not one-tenth as many cherries grown in Vermont as the market demands. How many could be used if they could be had in quantity at reasonable prices nobody knows. It is a very regretable state of affairs, to say the least, when it is practically impossible to buy enough cherries for a pie in any of our Vermont village markets, and when not one farm in twenty-five grows cherries enough for home use. The cherry is a most healthful and refreshing fruit and should be used in abundance. It is one of the finest fruits for canning, but it must be grown in greater quantity than at present before common folks can afford to put it up for winter use. It is perfectly safe to say that there is a ready and profitable home market in Vermont for twenty-five times the quantity of cherries now grown,—and cherries are easier to grow than potatoes. DAIRYING By J. L. HILLS Dairy husbandry and more particularly experiments touching the methods of conducting feeding trials with cows as well as the relative worth of sundry rations have continued to engross the larger part of the time of the agricultural and chemical departments. It is hoped that in time investigations may be undertaken of problems more directly relating to butter and cheese making. The experiments completed and written up since the eleventh report was issued are grouped under the following headings : Feeding tests and their methods I. II. III. IV. V. VI. VII. VIII. IX. X. XI. XII. Introduction Statement of methods and details of conduct of tests The effect upon production of the addition to the ration of The relative feeding values of medium and of wide rations (1) Grain rations equal in amount (2) Grain rations unequal in amount The feeding value of buckwheat middlings The feeding value of artichokes Watering at will and at stated intervals The grooming of cows Experimental error in feeding tests Relative values of various grain rations The effect of food upon the quality of butter Record of the station herd for 1897-98 Sundry forage crops The effect of fatigue upon the quantity and quality of milk Appendix containing condensed data pertaining to article on "Feeding tests and their methods." |