58 FAMILIAR TREES AND THEIR LEAVES. 



larger than a good-sized pea, and frequently has (if 

 I may be allowed the expression) a " broad-shoul- 

 dered " look ; the skin is purple -black, and the pulp 

 within is sweet, with a bitter, aromatic taste, ac- 

 counted for by the presence of hydrocyanic acid * in 

 the tree. One may notice the same taste in bitter 

 almonds and peach stones. The bark is also bitter 

 and aromatic, and is largely used as a tonic. " Cherry 

 brandy" is made from the fruit. The tree grows 

 from 50 to 100 feet high ; its bark is a reddish 

 brown,f marked with horizontal lines and rough ex- 

 crescences. On old trees the bark is blackish brown, 

 and on very young ones it is jrarplish or even green- 

 ish brown. The fruit is ripe in September (in New 

 Hampshire), and the birds congregate on the boughs 

 in great numbers to enjoy the boundless feast. 



The wood of this cherry tree is very valuable in 

 cabinet work ; it is of a brownish pink tint, which is 

 easily stained to the depth of color common in new 

 mahogany (not Santo Domingo mahogany), and it is 

 frequently used to imitate that wood. The wild 

 black cherry is distributed from Maine southward to 

 Florida, and westward to Minnesota, eastern Ne- 

 braska, and eastern Texas. 



* More commonly called prussic acid. 



f But southward, in Florida or the Gulf States, the color is 

 light gray, vide Silva of North America. C. S. Sargent. 



