ii6 



PRUSSIC ACID IN WILD CHERRY LEAVES 



compound does not exist as such in the growing leaf, but is 

 derived from a class of substances called glucosides, of which 

 amygdalin is the type peculiar to the cherry. This, or a 





V 



V-..:, ; 



V...--, 



N' - 



\ 



V -- 



I 



c 



% 



Fig. 3. — Leaf of Wild Black Cherry. Full size, 



closely allied body, is to be found not only in the leaves and 

 bark, but especially in the stones of cherries, peaches, and 

 plums, and the seeds of the apple. By the action of moisture 

 and a vegetable ferment called emulsln^ which exists in the 



