712 ARBORETUM AND FRUT1CETUM. PART III. 



species, or its variety C. (v.) serotina, having been cultivated by Parkinson 

 in 1629, under the name of the Virginian cherry bay. The species is now 

 very general in British collections ; and in some places in Surrey, for exam- 

 ple, in the neighbourhood of Chertsey and at Deepdene, it appears as if 

 naturalised ; plants springing up abundantly in the woods and in the wastes, 

 from nuts dropped by the birds. 



Properties and Uses. The wood of the Virginian bird cherry is of a light 

 red tint, which deepens with age. It is compact, fine-grained, and takes a 

 brilliant polish ; it is also not liable to warp when perfectly seasoned. In 

 America, it is extensively used by cabinetmakers for every species of furni- 

 ture; and, when chosen near the ramification of the trunk, it rivals mahogany 

 in beauty. The wood is generally preferred to that of the black walnut, the dun 

 colour of which, in time, becomes nearly black. On the banks of the Ohio, 

 it is employed in ship-building ; and the French of Illinois use it for the felloes 

 of wheels. The fruit is employed to make a cordial, by infusion in rum or 

 brandy, with the addition of a certain quantity of sugar. The bark is bitter 

 and aromatic, its taste being strong, penetrating, and not disagreeable. It is, 

 undoubtedly, a useful tonic, and appears to possess, in some degree, narcotic 

 and antispasmodic properties. The latter quality is strongest in the recent 

 state of the bark, and in the distilled water. (Michaux, iii. p. 155.) In 

 Europe, C. virginiana is planted solely as an ornamental tree ; and, as such, 

 it well deserves a place in every collection ; and it should be planted in every 

 shrubbery or wood where it is desirable to attract frugivorous singing birds. 

 For soil, situation, propagation, culture, &c., see C. Padus. 



Statistics. The largest trees in the neighbourhood of London are in the arboretum at Kew, where 

 there is a tree upwards of 30 ft. high. There are, also, large trees at Syon, at Deepdene, at Lyne 

 Grove, and St. Anne's Hill. The handsomest young tree of this kind that we know is in the Duke 

 of Devonshire's grounds at Chiswick ; where, after being 8 years planted, it has attained the height 

 of 25 ft., forming a singularly rich and graceful tree. (See the statistics of C. (v.) ser6tina.) The price 

 of seedlings, in the London nurseries, is 50s. per hundred, and of large plants \s. 6d. each j at Boll- 

 wyller, seedlings are 15 francs a hundred, and large plants 1 franc each. 



% 24. C. (v.) SERO'TINA Lois. The \ate-Jlowering, or American, Bird 

 Cherry Tree. 



Identification. Lois, in N. Du Ham., 5. p. 3. ; Dec. Prod , 2. p. 540. ; Don's Mill. 2. p. 515. 

 Synonymes. Prunus serotina Willd. Abb., 239. ; P. virginiana Mill. Diet., No. 2. 

 Engravings. Willd. Abb., 239. t 5. f. 2. ; Wats. Dend. Brit, t. 48. ; and our Jig. 419. 



Spec. Char., fyc. Leaves ovate-lanceolate, rather coriaceous, glossy, serrated ; 

 the teeth imbricate, very numerous, and the lowest ones indistinctly 

 glanded ; midrib downy at its base. Floral leaves narrowed at the base. 

 Racemes loose. Fruit black. (Dec. Prod., ii. p. 540.) A tree, a native of 

 North America, introduced in 1629. 



Variety. 



3f C. s. 2 retusa Ser. Leaves obovate, round, very obtuse, almost retuse, 

 slightly villose beneath ; midrib hairy above and below. A native 

 of South America. (Dec. Prod.,'\\. p. 540.) 



Description, $c. This sort so closely resem- 

 bles C. virginiana, that we have no doubt what- 

 ever of their being one and the same species. 

 Sir W. J. Hooker observes : " That Michaux 

 and others have confounded the C. serotina and 

 the C. virginiana is quite certain ; but it is still 

 with me a matter of great doubt, how far the 

 two are entitled to be ranked as species. The 

 serratures and tufts of hair on the under sides 

 of the leaves are, undoubtedly, variable ; and 

 we know how little dependence is to be placed 

 upon the foliage of our own 6'erasus Padus; 

 a species so nearly allied to this, that Seringe 

 (in De Candolle's Prodromus) seems to doubt 

 if it be really distinct." (Fl. Bor. Amer., i. 

 p. 170.) By comparing the trees in the Lon- 



