PERFUMED CHERRY-TREE. 267 



collections, and a tree, bearing this name, is standing in Washington square, in 

 Philadelphia, which has nearly attained the utmost magnitude to which this 

 species grows. 



Soil, Situation^ c5*c. According to Loudon, the perfiuned cherry will thrive in 

 any poor soil, that is not too dry, even in the most arid sands and naked chalks; 

 and as it forms a low, bushy tree, which is capable of resisting the wind, it may 

 be planted in an exposed situation. When young plants are to be raised from 

 seeds, the fruit is sown as soon as ripe, or preserved in sand till the following 

 spring, in the same manner as that recommended for the common cherry. The 

 tree may also be propagated, in a moist climate, by layers, by slips from the 

 stool, taken off with a few roots attached, by suckers, or by cuttings from the 

 roots. In France, it is extensively raised as a stock on which to graft the differ- 

 ent kinds of cherries, for which, it has not only the advantage of growing on a 

 very poor soil, but of coming into sap about fifteen day? later than the gean, by 

 which means the grafting season is prolonged, and of dwarfing the plants grafted 

 upon it. Yet, as in the case of other dwarf species of a genus which will unite 

 with a tall, robust-growing tree, the perfumed cherry, when grafted on the Cera- 

 sus sylvestris, attains a larger size than when grown on its own roots. 



Properties and Uses. The wood of the Cerasus mahaleb is of a reddish-gray, 

 hard, compact, and is susceptible of a high polish. When green, it possesses a 

 powerful odour, but less so, and more agreeable, when dry, in which last condi- 

 tion it weighs nearly sixty pounds to a cubic foot. In France, it is much sought 

 after by cabinet-makers, on account of its fragrance, and is sold by them, green, 

 in thin veneers, because in that state it does not crack, or at least, the slits or 

 chinks, are less perceptible. In the Vosges, in the vicinity of the Abbey of Ste. 

 Lucie, it is much sought after by turners, and for the manufacture of snuff-boxes 

 and tobacco-pipes. It is also higlily prized for fuel, on accoimt of the fragrance 

 which it sends out when burning. The leaves are powerfully fragrant, more 

 particularly when dried, are greedily eaten by cattle and sheep, and are used by 

 cooks for giving flavour to game. The flowers and fruit, like the wood and 

 leaves, are powerfully scented, the former being so much so, as to be almost 

 insupportable in a close room, even when they have remained only for a short 

 time. The kernels of the fruit are employed by perfumers to scent soap. In 

 Britain and America, this species is principally cultivated as a hedge-plant, or 

 as an ornamental shrub or low tree. 



