Prunus 1537 



It is difficult to state in what parts of the British Isles it is truly wild ; but it is 

 certainly a native of the southern counties of England, occurring in many woods as 

 a rare tree ; while in beech woods, as in the Chiltern Hills, it is rather common, and 

 attains a great height. 



P. Avium has been found ^ in the fossil state in neolithic beds at Crossness, 

 Essex, and at Gayfield, Edinburgh ; and in interglacial deposits at West Wittering 

 and Selsey, Sussex. (A. H.) 



Cultivation 



Though much neglected of late years by planters, the cherry is perhaps our most 

 beautiful native tree when in full flower ; and as it grows well and to a large size, 

 on soils of only moderate quality, and suffers less than most trees from spring frosts, 

 it should be planted for ornament as well as for timber in all suitable places. 



It seems to grow best among beech, and in woods where the stem is drawn up 

 to a good height before its crown expands, though even in exposed situations it 

 makes a fair-sized trunk. It is indifferent to the geological nature of the soil, 

 growing equally well on calcareous, gravelly, or sandy soils, but not on wet or 

 heavy clays. 



It is easy to raise from seed, though as a rule the fruit is eaten by birds 

 before it ripens, and the majority of the young trees that one sees in woods are 

 grown from suckers which spring up at a considerable distance from the trunk. I 

 have seen a colony of young cherries, thirty paces across, all of which had sprung 

 from the roots of one tree after felling. When it has attained a few inches in 

 diameter it is rarely attacked by rabbits. The seed, if put in a rot^heap when ripe, 

 will germinate the following spring, though when kept dry for long, a large proportion 

 will lie dormant for a year before coming up. The seedlings transplant without 

 difficulty, and may be planted out with little or no risk of loss when 3 to 4 ft. high. 



For an avenue of moderate size, planted about five yards apart, I can think 

 of no more beautiful tree than the cherry. Mr. Foljambe of Osberton told me that 

 his father was so fond of this tree, that after he became blind he used to ask 

 to be led out into the place where they grew at the time when they were in flower, 

 in order that their scent might recall their beauty the better. 



Remarkable Trees 



The largest cherry tree that I have seen in England was pointed out to me by 

 the late Prof. Fisher in Windsor Park, near the Bishopgate, and not far from the 

 house occupied by Lady Southampton. It has probably been drawn up by beech 

 trees round it, and measured in 1904, 93 to 95 ft. high by 9 ft. 3 in. in girth, with a 

 trunk free from branches for nearly forty feet. It is probably past its best, for the 

 cherry is not a long-lived tree and generally begins to decay before reaching 100 

 years. In Gatton Park, Surrey, on a flinty chalk hill in a wood of beech, there are 



' Cf. C. Reid, Origin British Flora, 114 (1899). 



