98 THE CHERRY-TREE. 



common in New England to constitute an important in- 

 gredient of our wood scenery, and though indigenous, it 

 is most abundant in lands which have been modified by 

 cultivation. 



This tree differs very obviously in its ramification from 

 the garden cherry, in which the branches are always sub- 

 ordinate to the trunk, and arranged in irregular whorls 

 and stages, one above another, so that, if they were hori- 

 zontal, they would resemble those of a fir-tree. The Black 

 Cherry tree, on the contrary, is subdivided in such a man- 

 ner that the main stem cannot easily be traced above the 

 lower junction of the branches, except in those which 

 have grown in a forest. The branches are spread out 

 more loosely, without the least of any arrangement in 

 whorls, and their terminations are longer and smaller. The 

 leaves of the two trees are also widely different : those 

 of the garden cherry are broad, ovate, rough, and serrate ; 

 those of the American tree are lanceolate and smooth, 

 and almost as slender as the leaves of the willow. The 

 one bears its flowers and fruit in racemes, the other in 

 round clusters or umbels. The trunk and bark of the 

 two species are similar, both resembling the black birch in 

 the properties of their wood and the outside appearance 

 of their bark. The branches of the Wild Cherry are 

 too straggling and sparse to make a beautiful tree, and. 

 the leaves being small and narrow, the whole mass is 

 wanting in depth of shade. 



THE CHOKE CHERRY. 



When we are. rambling in rustic lanes, that lead 

 through rudely cultivated grounds, we frequently meet 

 with groups of tall handsome shrubs, covered in May with 

 a profusion of white flowers, and in August heavily laden 

 with bright scarlet fruit. Such is the Choke Cherry, a 



