BLACK CHERRY 



(Prunus Serotina) 



THIS widely distributed tree supplies the cherry wood of commerce. 

 Its natural range extends from Nova Scotia westward through the 

 Canadian provinces to the Kaministiquia river; south to Tampa bay in 

 Florida and west to North Dakota, eastern Nebraska, Kansas, Okla- 

 homa, and eastern Texas. The tree is known as wild black cherry, 

 wild cherry, black cherry, rum cherry, whiskey cherry, and choke cherry. 



Cherry belongs to a remarkably large family and the ordinary 

 observer would never suspect the relationship that exists between it and 

 other growths to which it bears little resemblance. It is in the rose 

 family (Rosacea). It has multitudes of small and large cousins, most 

 of them small, however. Among them are the crabapple, the service- 

 berry, the haws, thorns, plums, and the peach, besides plants which do 

 not rise to the dignity of trees. 



The crown of black cherry is narrow and the branches are horizon- 

 tal. In height the tree ranges from fifty to one hundred or more feet. 

 The bark is a dark reddish-brown, rough and broken into plates, becom- 

 ing smoother toward the top. The branchlets are a rich reddish-brown, 

 and are marked with tiny orange-colored dots. The leaves are small, 

 alternate, oblong or oval lanceolate, taper-pointed at the apex and 

 pointed or rounded at the base, finely serrate ; at maturity glabrous, firm, 

 glossy, the light colored midrib being very distinct. The flowers are 

 white and grow on pedicels in long slender racemes, which terminate 

 leafy shoots. The fruit is almost black, showing deep red coloring 

 beneath and is a small round drupe; vinous, although not disagreeable 

 to the taste. In most instances a liking for it must be acquired, but 

 comparatively few people ever take the trouble to acquire it. The old 

 settlers among the Alleghany mountains had a way of pressing the juice 

 from the drupes and by some simple process converting it into "cherry 

 bounce," a beverage somewhat bitter but it never went begging when the 

 old-time mountaineers were around. This was doubtless what persons 

 had in mind who called it rum cherry. Few fruits, either wild or tame, 

 contain more juice in proportion to bulk. Ripe fruit is employed as a 

 flavor for alcoholic liquors. The bark contains hydrocyanic acid and is 

 used in medicine. The peculiar odor of cherry bark is due to this acid. 



In early years the ripening of the cherry crop among the ranges 

 of the Appalachian mountains was a signal for bears to congregate 

 where cherry trees were thickest. The cubs were then large enough to 

 follow their mothers in August and it was considered a dangerous 



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