348 SYLVICULTURAL NOTES ON TIMBER TREES 



CHERRY. 



Prumis avium = The Common -wild Cherry or Gean or 



Mazzard. 

 Prunus padus = The Bird or Black Cherry. 



As to Seed. The seed or "stone" should be sown as 

 soon as it is ripe, about the beginning of July ; otherwise, its 

 germinative power is quickly lost. 



The timber is hard and not very heavy ; and the heart- 

 wood is of a beautiful brownish-pink or brownish-yellow colour, 

 and takes a very fine polish. It is valuable to furniture- and 

 cabinet-makers, and is used for parquet flooring, and for 

 ornamental wooden block floors. It is also sometimes used 

 for the heads of wooden golf clubs. 



Soil and Situation. The trees grow on almost any soils, 

 though a fairly deep soil is necessary for their proper develop- 

 ment. They will grow on thin soils if the subsoil rock be 

 disintegrated. They delight in calcareous soils and prefer 

 a fairly dry soil. Stiff wet soils are not suited to them. 



Cultivation, etc. The trees are quick growing, thinly 

 foliaged, and light-demanding ; though the Prunus padus will 

 bear very slight shade. Both species will coppice well. The 

 Prunus avium (or Gean) makes the taller and better tree, and 

 its timber is rather darker than the Bird Cherry. 



The Gean is only suitable for a short rotation of 60 to 

 70 years, as it is apt to become rotten at the heart, though 

 apparently sound when standing. It will probably pay to 

 plant on many rather poor soils ; and it might be grown as 

 standards over coppice. The present market for its timber is 

 small and unremunerative ; but if the timber became better 

 known, it should find a ready market. For there is an 

 increasing tendency for furniture- and cabinet-makers to work 

 up some of the less common kinds of timber ; and, with a 

 little patience and trouble, a good market might be created. 



