PLANTS CULTIVATED FOR THElR FRUITS. 207 



Heer give^ an illustration of the istonea of Pruniis 

 avitmi, in his paper on the lake-dwellings of Western 

 Switzerland.^ From what, he was kind enough to 'w^rite 

 to me, April 14, 1881, these stones were found in the 

 peat formed above the ancient deposits of the age of 

 stone. De l^ortillet ^ found similar cherry-stones in the 

 la,ke-dwellings of Boiirget belongiiig to an epoch not 

 very remote, more recent than the stone age. Dr. Gross 

 sent me some from the locality, also comparatively recent, 

 of Cbrcelette on Lake Neudhatel, and Strobel atid Pigorini 

 discovered' some in the " terraraare " of Parma.^ All these 

 are settlements posterior to the stone age, and perhaps 

 belonging to historic time. If no more ancient stones of 

 this species are found in Europe, it will seem probable 

 that naturalization took place after the Aryah migrations. 



Sour Cherry — Prunus eerasus, LinKseus ; Cerasus vul- 

 gaHs, iRtiller; BaumweiscKel, SwusrhirsKhen,'irL<}:&xw&n. 



The Mdntmorency and griotte cherries, aiid' several 

 other kinds known to horticulturists, are derived from 

 this species.* ■ :. 



Hohenacker^ saw P'rurms ierasus at Lenkoran, near 

 the Caspian Sea, and Koch®' in the forests of Asia 

 Minor, that is to say, in the north-east of thiat country, 

 as that was the region in which he travelled. . Ancient 

 authors found it at Elisabethpol and Erivari, aecoriding 

 to Ledebour.^ Grisebach* indicates it on Mount Olympiis 

 of Bithynia, and adds that it is nearly wild on the plains 

 of Macedonia. The true and really ancient habitation 

 seems to extend from the Caspian Sea to the environs 

 of Constantinople ; but in this'vei^y region Prunus. avium 

 is more common. Indeed, Boissier and Tchihatcheff 

 do not appear to have seen P. cerasus' even in tlie 



' Heer, Pflanxen, der'Pfahlha/uten, p. 21) figs. 17, 18, and p. 26. 



* In Perrin, Atudea Frihiat. swr la Sawie, p. 22. 



* Aite 8oc. Ital. 8c. Nat., vol. vi. . ' 



* For the numerous varieties wHoli have oomtnon names in France, 

 varying with the different provinces, see Duhamel, TraiU des Arbres, edit. 

 2, vol. v., in which are good coloured iHustration^i'^ . ., . .' ,r, V .. ' 



• Hohenaoker, Plantw Tahjseh,, p. 128; - 



• Koeh, Dendrologie, i. p. 110. ' Ledebonr, M, Boss., ii. p. 6. 



• Grigebacb, Spicil. Fl. Eumel,, p. 86. 



