CHEEEY EIPE. 67 



scarcely eatable wildings, passed from lower Asia into 

 Greece, 228 years before Lucullus found them in the 

 garden of Mithridates and brought them thence to Rome. 

 The difference of a century or two would, however, have 

 no effect in invalidating the argument drawn by Hume, 

 from this transplantation of the cherry-tree taking place 

 within the period of historic record, to prove that the 

 present world could only have been called into existence 

 at a comparatively recent period. 



The cherry, however, was not absolutely " a new thing 

 under the sun " when the Pontic prize of war was borne 

 in triumph to Rome, for wild cherry-trees are indigenous 

 throughout Central Europe ; are found not unfrequently 

 in England, being ranked by Evelyn among our native 

 " forest berry-bearing trees " ; are more plentiful in 

 Scotland and Germany, and abound in France ; as well 

 as being native to the N. and E. of Asia, and to the IS". 

 of Africa, where in Barbary the fruit is dignified with 

 the title of " Berry of the King." It does not thrive in < 

 tropical climates, even flourishing better in the more 

 temperate than in the warmer parts of Europe, and it has 

 long been said to be impossible to rear cherries in Egypt. 

 The Chinese too do ^ot succeed in raising good fruit of 

 this kind, though they seem to be specially sensitive to 

 its attractions, in one form at least, for Abel tells us that 

 " the embassy found in every part of China cherry brandy 

 to be the most seducing cordial they could offer to a 

 Chinese palate." As regards endurance of the other 

 extreme of temperature, it will ripen in some parts of 

 Norway, though not a native there, and an ingenious 

 method has been devised at St. Petersburgh of securing 

 in that inclement climate a full summer supply even of 

 the tender Morello, by means of training the trees on 

 horizontal trellises only 10 or 12 in. from the ground, 

 so that the heavy snows of winter soon completely bury 

 the whole plant, and thus protect it from all injury during 

 frost. In the S. of E/ussia it is said there are "forests 

 of cherry-trees," but there we are approaching the head- 

 quarters of the race, for Cerasus or Cerazunt y whence 

 they were first brought, and whence their present bota- 



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