THIS CHEEKY. 117 



than ou the banks of the Tamar, in Devonshire, where 

 they freely " thrive into stately trees, beautiful with 

 blossoms of a surprising whiteness, greatly relieving the 

 sedulous bee, and attracting birds." 1 



In popular mythology the Cherry-tree is, for some un- 

 known reason, associated with the cuckoo. In Germany, 

 " the cuckoo never sings until he has thrice eaten his fill 

 of cherries." In Yorkshire, children were formerly, and 

 perhaps still are, accustomed to sing round a Cherry-tree 

 the following invocation : 



'' Cuckoo, cherry-tree, 2 



Come down and tell me 

 How many years I have to live." 



Each child then shook the tree, and the number of cherries 

 which fell betokened the years of its future life. 



The naturalized species of Cherry in Great Britain 

 are the Black and .Red-fruited, belonging to the genus 

 Primus of Linna3us, Cerasus of Jussieu. 3 Primus avium, 

 Primus ( erasus or Cerasus sijhestiis, is the Blade -fruited 

 Cherry, which, in favourable situations, attains the 

 dimensions of a tree. Its leaves are large, pointed, 

 somewhat drooping, and slightly downy en the under- 

 side. The fruit is small, round, black when ripe, of 

 an insipid bitterish flavour, and containing a stone 

 which is very large in proportion to the size of the 

 fruit. It is known in various districts by the name of 

 Gean (a corruption of Guiynes), Merries, Corone, or 

 Coroun, Black-heart, &c. 



Those botanists who are of opinion that Lucullus only 

 introduced new kinds of Cherries into Europe, consider 

 this species a native, and not without reason ; for it grows 



1 Evelyn's Sylva. 

 . 2 A popular nursery rhyme begins with the same words. 



3 Cerasus may be distinguished from Prunus, by its leaves being 

 conduplicate, or folded together in their young state, instead of 

 being convolute or rolled together ; and by the fruit being always 

 destitute of the bloom which characterises all the varieties cf 

 Plum. 



