XXVIII. 3. THE BLACK CHERRY. 455 



trunk which is beneath the surface of the ground. It might be 

 found as beautiful as the roots of the black and yellow birch. 

 The cabinet-makers of France increase the beauty of an inferior 

 wood of this genus, (the Mahaleb cherry tree,) by sawing out 

 the boards obliquely across the trunk, instead of parallel to its 

 length. This brings out the silver grain to advantage. 



Little other use is made of the fruit than to communicate 

 their peculiar and very agreeable flavor, by maceration, to rum 

 or brandy, making, what is variously called cherry brandy, 

 cherry rum, cherry bounce, or simply cherry. Many other uses 

 might, doubtless, be made of them. The flavor is decidedly 

 superior to that of the cherry, from varieties of which the 

 Kirchwasser and Maraschino of Alsace and Dalmatia are 

 made. I would certainly say nothing to encourage the increased 

 manufacture of intoxicating liquors. But, if they are to be 

 made, it would be better that some fruit, now useless, should be 

 employed for that purpose, than that the staff of life should be, 

 as it now is, converted into its bane. 



The bark is of a pleasant, aromatic bitter ; leaving, when 

 chewed, an agreeable taste in the mouth. An infusion of it, in 

 boiling water, is sometimes drunk, in place of tea, for its tonic 

 and presumed purifying effects. 



The fruit is a favorite food of many birds, and if the tree 

 were planted along the borders of orchards and woods, would 

 serve as a protection to other fruit. This is, also, more than 

 almost any other fruit tree, subject to the ravages of caterpil- 

 lars ; it might thus be a further protection to cultivated trees by 

 inviting the butterfly from them to itself. 



The wild black cherry* prefers a dry soil, but grows in every 

 soil and in almost any situation. It may be raised from seed, 

 in which case the fruit should be sown with the pulp as soon 

 as it is ripe. It is, however, then subject to be destroyed by 

 various animals. It may be kept in sand till spring, care being 

 taken that it do not sprout. It may, then, be sown thin, and 

 covered Avith a quarter of an inch of soil. Or it may be prop- 

 agated by means of the sprouts which spring from about the 

 trunk, near the root, taken off with a few radicles attached. 



* C. sylvestris, the wild, Black-fruited Cherry of Europe. 



