150 CONVERSATIONS ON THE 



parts of the country. The wild cherry-tree, 

 then, the only kind that grows ahout here, is 

 one of the largest productions of the American 

 forests. It grows in every part of the United 

 States, but it is not common either at the north 

 ern or southern extremities of the country ; in 

 all the Middle States, in Yirginia, and on the 

 banks of the Western rivers, it is very abun- 

 dant, and it is in the Western States of Ohio, 

 Tennessee, and Kentucky, that it grows to 

 its largest dimensions. I have heard of wild 

 cherry-trees there from twelve to sixteen feet 

 round, and ninety or a hundred feet high." 



" Why, Uncle Philip, that is almost as large 

 as the sycamores, that you told us of." 



" Yes, next to the sycamores, and the tulip- 

 trees, the wild cherries are most frequently 

 found of enormous size. The leaves are five 

 or six inches long, of a beautiful light green, 

 and notched at the edges into very fine teeth, 

 smaller than the teeth of the finest saw. The 

 flowers are quite small, white, and consist of 

 five little petals, or leaves, marked with pink 

 spots. They grow in long spikes or stalks, 

 and look very pretty. The cherries are about 

 the size of a pea, and when ripe, almost black; 

 they grow in the same manner as the flowers, 



