Annual Report of the Wisconsin State Horticultural Society (Volume 36)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1906. Excerpt: ... FAITH, HOPE AND CHERRIES. 'A. L. Hatch, Sturgeon Bay, Wis. I have been actively engaged in horticultural pursuits in Wisconsin since the spring of 186D. In that time I have grown considerable qualities of about all kinds of fruit grown in the state. Of them all the cherry is my favorite. When we made our first plantings of fruit trees at Sturgeon Bay they included a liberal quantity of cherries. Prof. Goff and I had faith in the Door County Peninsula for certain kinds of fruits and our hope was that we mirht show how fruit growing there could be made profitable. In cherry culture at least, our faith and hope have been pretty fully realized as several years of success amply shows. While our success is largely dependent upon the climatic conditions of the Sturgeon Bay region, its soil and environment, we wish to state that our efforts there have been confined exclusively to development and in no sense have they been of a speculative nature. Nor shall I exploit the region in any way but what I know it richly merits as a natural vantage ground for the upbuilding of a splendid industry of which every good citizen may well feel proud. One reason why the cherry has proven so good for us is because it is not so exacting of particular care at all times as most fruits are. Relieved of its fruit burden in midsummer it has the balance of the season to recover from the effects of the crop it has borne. Although I have had trees bear heavily, with a single exception, I have seen none that have suffered from overbearing. This is more than I can say of plums or apples many of which are quite ruined by the loads of fruit they are allowed to bear some seasons. While it is often necessary to thin the fruit of the apple and plum I have not found it necessary with the cherry....