FLOWERING SHKUBS 



little cherry has a pretty appearance when covered with the 

 clusters of small white almond-scented blossoms, which on 

 short slender footstalks spring, in twos or fours, from the 

 base of the small pale-green leaves that clothe the reddish- 

 barked branches; the fruit, not exceeding the size of a 

 common pea, is purplish-red, without bloom on the surface. 

 The Sand Cherry abounds on light plain-lands; it is the 

 smallest of the wild Cherries and is far more palatable than 

 the fruit of some of the larger trees of the genus. In flavor 

 it partakes more of the nature of the Damson or Plum. 

 Possibly under cultivation the fruit might be greatly im- 

 proved in size and quality; and the plant is so pretty an 

 object, whether in flower or fruit, that it would repay the 

 trouble of cultivation in the garden as an ornamental dwarf 

 shrub. So eagerly is the fruit sought for by the pigeons and 

 partridges that it is difficult to obtain any quantity even in 

 its most favored localities. 



CHOKE-CHERRY Prunus Virginiana (L.). 



Very tempting to the eye, when fully ripe, is the dark-crim- 

 son, semi-transparent fruit of the Choke-cherry, and not 

 unpalatable, but so very astringent that it causes a painful 

 contraction of the throat if many berries are eaten at one 

 time, though some persons are not much affected by them 

 and will take them freely without any ill consequences. 

 The bush is from eight to ten feet high, flowering abundantly 

 and forming a pretty object from the profusion of long 

 graceful pendulous racemes of greenish-white, which have 

 an almond-like scent when fully blown. The leaves also have 

 a pleasant aromatic, bitter flavor like those of the peach 

 and almond, and form a good flavoring, resembling ratafia; 

 when boiled in milk for puddings and custards one or two 



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