PERFUMED CHERRY-TREE. 267 
collections, and a tree, bearing this name, is standing in Washington square, in 
Philadelphia, which has nearly attained the utmost magnitude to which this 
species grows. 
Soil, Situation, <Sfc. According to Loudon, the perfumed cherry will thrive in 
any poor soil, that is not too dry, even in the most arid sands and naked chalks 
and as it forms a low, bushy tree, which is capable of resisting the wind, it may 
be planted in an exposed situation. When young plants are to be raised from 
seeds, the fruit is sown as soon as ripe, or preserved in sand till the following 
spring, in the same manner as that recommended for the common cherry. The 
tree may also be propagated, in a moist climate, by layers, by slips from the 
stool, taken off with a few roots attached, by suckers, or by cuttings from the 
roots. In France, it is extensively raised as a stock on which to graft the differ- 
ent kinds of cherries, for which, it has not only the advantage of growing on a 
very poor soil, but of coming into sap about fifteen day? later than the gean, by 
which means the grafting season is prolonged, and of dwarfing the plants grafted 
upon it. Yet, as in the case of other dwarf species of a genus which will unite 
with a tall, robust-growing tree, the perfumed cherry, when grafted on the Cera- 
sus sylvestris, attains a larger size than when grown on its own roots. 
Properties and Uses. The wood of the Cerasus mahaleb is of a reddish-gray, 
hard, compact, and is susceptible of a high polish. When green, it possesses a 
powerful odour, but less so, and more agreeable, when dry, in which last condi- 
tion it weighs nearly sixty pounds to a cubic foot. In France, it is much sought 
after by cabinet-makers, on account of its fragrance, and is sold by them, green, 
in thin veneers, because in that state it does not crack, or at least, the slits or 
chinks, are less perceptible. In the Vosges, in the vicinity of the Abbey of Ste. 
Lucie, it is much sought after by turners, and for the manufacture of snuff-boxes 
and tobacco-pipes. It is also highly prized for fuel, on account of the fragrance 
which it sends out when burning. The leaves are powerfully fragrant, more 
particularly when dried, are greedily eaten by cattle and sheep, and are used by 
cooks for giving flavour to game. The flowers and fruit, like the wood and 
leaves, are powerfully scented, the former being so much so, as to be almost 
insupportable in a" close room, even when they have remained only for a short 
time. The kernels of the fruit are employed by perfumers to scent soap. In 
Britain and America, this species is principally cultivated as a hedge-plant, or 
as an ornamental shrub or low tree. 
