254 CERASUS SYLVESTRIS. 
with a peculiar flavour, when perfectly ripe. The nut or stone is oval or ovate 
in its form, firmly adhering to the flesh, and is very large in proportion to the 
size of the fruit, which ripens in June or July. 
Varieties. Under this species are included the following groups or races, 
which conform with the arrangement in the " Nouveau Du Hamel," and in 
Loudon's "Arboretum Britannicum :" 
1. C. s. amara. Bitter-fruited Wild Cherry-tree, including the Merries of 
England, and the Mirisiers of the French, with black or yellow fruit. 
2. C. s. juliana. The Jidian Wild Cherry-tree. The fruit of this group is 
red or black, early or late. It includes the tobacco-leaved guignier, or gea?i, of 
four to the pound. 
3. C. s. heaumiana. Helmet-shaped-fntited Wild Cherry-tree ; Heaumier of 
the French. The fruit of this variety somewhat resembles that of the bigarreau- 
tier, but is less firm in its flesh. 
4. C. s. duracina. Hard-fruited Wild Cherry-tree; Bigarreautier of the 
French, with fruit white, flesh-coloured, or black, and generally heart-shaped. 
The trees of this race are planted for ornament rather than for their fruit, among 
which, is that beautiful doable-flowered variety, known in France by the name 
of Merisier a Fleurs doubles, or Merisier renunciilier, and in England and Amer- 
ica, Double french White. 
Geography and History. The Cerasus sylvestris is indigenous to many parts 
of continental Europe, and is also considered by many to be so in Britain. The 
first mention of this tree as growing in England, it appears, is by Gerard, in his 
" Herbal," published in 1597, in which he particularly mentions the black wild 
cherry, with fruit of " an harsh and unpleasant taste." M. Loiseleur des Long- 
champs, in the " Nouveau Du Hamel," states that, "though the wild cherry is 
undoubtedly indigenous to France, yet it does not appear to have been so to 
Italy ; and that even in France, only the Cerasus sylvestris, or merisier, is found 
in the forests ; while the Cerasus vulgaris, or cerisier, is never found in an appa- 
rently wild state in any country in Europe, except near human habitations." 
From this he concludes that, although the merisier had long existed in France, 
it probably had escaped the notice of the Romans, and even if they had discov- 
ered the tree, they would have set but little value on its bitter, austere, and 
nearly juiceless fruit. This species grows wild at Portella, on Mount iEtna, at 
two thousand nine hundred and seventy feet above the level of the sea; but not 
lower, as the climate becomes too warm for it. On the Swiss Alps, at Chiir- 
walden, where, it is said, no other kind of stone-fruit will grow, it arrives at 
maturity, at an elevation of three thousand nine hundred and sixty-four feet. 
The largest specimen of the Cerasus sylvestris on record, is in Gloucestershire, 
England, standing on the northern extremity of the Cotswald Hills, on the estate 
of the Earl of Harrowby, which is eighty-five feet in height, with a trunk 
upwards of three feet in diameter. 
Soil and Situation. According to Mr. Loudon, the gean will grow in any soil 
that is not too wet, or is not composed entirely of a strong clay. It will thrive 
better than most other trees in dry, calcareous, and sandy soils, attaining, even 
in chalk, with a thin layer of earth over it, a very large size. It was found by 
Du Hamel, that this species succeeds on poor sandy soils, where other trees had 
altogether failed. It has been further stated that, whenever the roots extend to 
water, the tree always decays. This tree will grow on mountains and other 
elevations, as may readily be supposed, from its flourishing in high northern 
latitudes; "but it does not attain a timber-like size," continues Mr. Loudon, 
"except in plains, or on low hills. It stands less in need of shelter than any 
other fruit-bearing tree whatever, and may often be employed on the margins of 
orchards, and for surrounding kitchen-gardens, to form a screen against high 
