TREES OF AMERICA. 153 



" Uncle Philip, why is it called wild orange, 

 if it is really a cherry ?" 



" I believe it is on account of the leaves, 

 which are evergreen, like the leaves of the 

 orange, and are shaped more like them than 

 they are like cherry leaves. The flowers, too, 

 are much smaller, and they grow in little 

 bunches of an inch or an inch and a half 

 long ; but the fruit is exactly like that of 

 the wild cherry. The wood is nearly the 

 same too, but the tree is smaller, and besides, 

 it is so scarce that no particular use is made 

 of it ; 1 have heard that bees are more fond 

 of the flowers of the wild orange than of the 

 flowers of any other tree. 



" The red cherry is common only in the 

 northern parts of the United States; it is 

 much smaller than the wild cherry, but the 

 leaves and flowers are very nearly the same. 

 The cherries are of a bright red, and exces- 

 sively sour. The wood is as good as that of 

 the wild, cherry, but it never grows large 

 enough to be made use of to any extent, ex- 

 cept for burning. There is one peculiarity 

 about this tree which nobody has yet been 

 able to account for ; and that is, its springing 

 up of itself, where the woods have been 



