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and these, combined with its ability to take a good polish and to 
season without injury, make it a timber of first rank for furniture, 
car and yehicle construction, interior woodwork, agricultural 
implements and tools.” 3 
American-grown seeds would need to be obtained for starting a 
plantation, and care should be taken to order from a firm able to 
supply the true tree and not one of its near allies. The per- 
on lighter soil than that usually allotted to F. excelsior. 
The Black Cherry (Prunus serotina, Ehrh.),— According to 
reports from American sources the wood of this cherry occupies a 
similar position in America to that of the common cherry im 
England, for it is used for cabinet-making, decorative work in 
houses and various fancy articles. Being of a rich reddish-brown 
colour and finely grained, it may be manufactured with a handsome 
finish and it is capable of taking a high polish. As is the case 
with our native species, however, it has been used so extensively 
that the present supply is limited. Though there is no reason to 
believe that it would possess any distinct advantage over the 
British species, it is well worth a trial, especially as it will bear a 
moderate amount of shade and thus be able to act as a partner of 
the ground whereon some light-demanding subject is to be grown. 
merican foresters recommend it for mixing with white ash, silver 
maple and black walnut. In a recently published book on timbers 
by J. R. Batterden, “Timber,” 1908, the black cherry is referred 
to on page 98 as follows :—*‘The Black Cherry (Prunus serotina), 
a tree 50 to 80 feet high, is especially esteemed and can be obtained in 
wide boards ; cherry mellows and grows richer in colour with age, 
the varieties with wavy textures are particularly beautiful; the 
timber is mostly used for cabinet work and furniture, turnery, 
walking sticks, &c.” 
Under forest conditions in America the black cherry is said to 
have a long, slender trunk surmounted by a comparatively small, 
open crown, composed of large, irregular branches. The trunk is 
often free from branches for a distance of 70 feet (Circular 94, 
US. Dept. of Agric.). In New England it is said to be of medium 
size, from 30 to 50 feet in height, with a diameter of from 15 to 
24 inches. In the Middle States a height of 60 feet and a 
diameter of 24 feet is attained, but the best development is said to 
occur on moist residual soil of the upper slopes of the southern 
Alleghenies where a height of 90 feet and a diameter of 4 feet are 
not uncommon. In this country it will probably not attain more 
than average growth, although trees planted in poor, sandy soil 
