262 



The Plums and Cherries. 



1037. THE OREGON CRAB- APPLE (Pirus rivularis'). This occurs 

 as a shrub, usually forming dense thickets, but sometimes growing 

 as a tree from 15 to 25 feet in height, and a foot in diameter, from 

 Alaska southward along the islands and the mainland as far as So- 

 noma county, California. It has a very hard wood, susceptible of a 

 line polish, and useful in mill work, where there is great wear. Its 

 fruit is prized by the Indian for food. 



- 1038. THE WESTERN MOUNTAIN ASH (Pirus sambucifolia). This 

 is a small shrub, growing at great elevations upon the Sierras, and 

 sparingly in various parts of the interior of British America. It is 

 usually a shrub from 4 to 8 feet in height. 



THE PLUMS AND CHERRIES (Genus Prunus). 



1039. This numbers about eighty species, widely scattered over 



the North Temperate 

 Zone, and of these 

 some twenty are found 

 in North America, 

 and fourteen in the At- 

 lantic States. Upon 

 the Pacific coast, half 

 a dozen species occur, 

 :all of them shrubs, 

 arid cf but slight ac- 

 count either for their 

 wood or their fruit. 

 These species are often 

 planted at great dis- 

 tances from the par- 

 ent tree, their seeds 

 being dropped undi- 

 gested by birds. 



1040. THE BLACK 

 CHERRY (Prunus se- 

 rotina). This tree, in 

 a rich soil, grows very 

 rapidly, and forms one 

 of the most valued of 



141. Wild Black Cherry Leaves, Flowers, and Fruit. our native woods for 



