The Plums and the Cherries 



The birds are not so fastidious. They strip the trees before 

 the fruit turns black. It is probably by these unconscious 

 agents of seed distribution that the choke cherry has become so 

 widely scattered. From the Arctic circle to the Gulf of Mexico, 

 and from the Atlantic to the Rocky Mountains it is found in all 

 wooded regions. 



The Western Wild Cherry (P. demissa, Walp.) occurs 

 west of the Rocky Mountains, and on to the Pacific. Closely 

 related to the Eastern choke cherry, it differs in having thicker 

 leaves and sweeter, scarcely astringent fruit. It is easy to believe 

 that these Western trees belong to the Eastern species, but are 

 modified by climatic conditions into a new form. Where their 

 ranges meet, it is hard to distinguish the two species. 



The Cherry Laurels 



The cherry laurels are ornamental native species, so named 

 because of their waxy green leaves. They have handsome but 

 not showy fruits. They deserve and are receiving recognition 

 by nurserymen. Californians bring their beautiful spiny-leaved 

 evergreen islay and plant it in their gardens as an ornamental i 



tree, or set it close for screens and hedges. ! 



The European cherry laurels, strange evergreen relatives 

 of our plums and cherries, are often seen as tub plants for porch | 

 decorations in this country. They are easily mistaken for the 

 Old-World sweet bay, Laurus nobilis, which is also set in tubs 

 for the same purposes. 



Cultivated Cherries 



The Sour, Pie Cherry (Prunus Cerasus, Linn.), which 

 often escapes from old gardens and spreads by suckers into 

 roadside thickets, is a European immigrant. It is believed to be 

 the parent of our cultivated sour cherries. It is a low-headed, 

 spreading tree with no central "leader" among its branches, 

 with grey bark, and stiff, grey-green, ovate leaves, and white 

 flowers in scaly side clusters opening before the leaves are fully 

 out. The cherries are soft, small and red. 



Two groups of these sour cherries are recognised in cultiva- 

 tion: (i) The early, light-red varieties with uncoloured juice, 

 of which the Early Richmond is a familiar type; and (2) the late, 



330 



