698 ARBORETUM AND FRUTICETUM PART 111. 



useful in catarrhs. An infusion of the fruit in water is said to be very 

 diuretic, and to have been applied with success in the dropsy. 



The gum is said to have the same properties as gum Arabic, though it 

 differs from it, in not dissolving readily in water. According to Hasselquist, 

 a hundred men were kept alive during a siege, for nearly two months, without 

 any other sustenance than a little of this gum taken occasionally into the 

 mouth, and suffered to remain there till it was dissolved. 



The bark of the cherry is composed of four layers, of which the outer three 

 are formed of spiral fibres, in a transverse direction ; while the fourth is com- 

 posed of longitudinal fibres. The first and the second of these layers are 

 hard and coriaceous ; and the third and the fourth spongy. The two last 

 are said to afford a fine yellow dye, and, in medicine, to seWe as a substitute 

 for the cinchona. 



The leaves are said to be greedily eaten by animals of every description; and, 

 as they contain hydrocyanic acid, they are used, like those of the peach, for 

 flavouring liqueurs, custards, &c. 



The wood of the wild cherry (C*. sylvestris) is firm, strong, close-grained, and 

 of a reddish colour. It weighs, when green, 61 Ib. 13 oz. per cubic foot; and 

 when dry, 54 Ib. 15 oz.; and it loses in the process of drying about a 16th 

 part of its bulk. The wood is soft, easily worked, and it takes a fine polish. 

 It is much sought after by cabinetmakers, turners, and musical instrument 

 makers, more particularly in France, where mahogany is much less common 

 than in Britain. In order to bring out its colour, and increase its depth of 

 tone, it is steeped from 24? to 36 hours in lime-water, and polished imme- 

 diately after being taken out. This process prevents the colour from fading 

 when exposed to the action of the sun; and the wood, when so treated, may 

 readily be mistaken for the commoner kinds of mahogany. In some parts of 

 France, where the tree abounds in the forests, it is used for common carpen- 

 try purposes ; and in others, casks for wine are made of it, which are said to 

 improve the flavour of the wine kept in them. Where the tree is treated as 

 coppice, it is found to throw up strong straight shoots, which, in a few years, 

 make excellent hop-poles, props for vines, and hoops for casks. As fire- 

 wood, like that of many other fruit trees, it will burn well as soon as it is cut 

 down ; but, if it is kept for two or three years, and then used as fuel, it will, 

 when laid on the fire, consume away like tinder, without producing either 

 flame or heat. 



As a tree, the wild cherry is not only valuable for its timber, but for the 

 food which it supplies to birds, by increasing the number of which, the insects 

 which attack trees of every kind are materially kept under. This is one rea- 

 son why cherry trees are generally encouraged in the forests of France and 

 Belgium: an additional reason, in Britain, is the nourishment which they 

 afford to singing birds, particularly to the blackbird and thrush. In all orna- 

 mental plantations, cherry trees are desirable on this account, and also on 

 account of the great beauty of their blossoms, which are produced in the 

 greatest profusion in most seasons. The morello and the Kentish cherries 

 are desirable on account of the beauty of their fruit ; which, being produced 

 in immense quantities, and not being eaten by birds, remains on the tree till 

 winter, and has an effect which is singularly rich and ornamental. On the 

 Continent, and more especially in Germany and Switzerland, the cherry is 

 much used as a road-side tree ; particularly in the northern parts of Ger- 

 many, where the apple and the pear will not thrive. In some countries, the 

 road passes for many miles together through an avenue of cherry trees. In 

 Moravia, the road from Brunn to Olmutz passes through such an avenue, ex- 

 tending upwards of sixty miles in length; and, in the autumn of 1828, as we 

 have stated in the Gardener's Magazine, vol. iv., we travelled for several days 

 through almost one continuous avenue of cherry trees, from Strasburg by a 

 circuitous route to Munich. These avenues, in Germany, are planted by the 

 desire of the respective governments, not only for shading the traveller, but 

 in order that the poor pedestrian may obtain refreshment on his journey. All 



