THE CHERRY TREE. 379 
When young, the plants are remarkable for their rapid growth, 
and are not particular as to the quality of the soil, provided it 
is dry. 
In pruning this tree, the operation should be performed 
early in autumn; at any other season the wound is apt to 
gum, and continue open, while in the end of August or begin- 
ning of September the descending sap forms a cicatrix, and 
the wound immediately closes. The tree generally attains its 
full size in sixty years. 
The wood is valuable ; it is of a reddish colour, close-grained, 
and takes a fine polish, When steeped in lime-water it 
assumes a deeper and prettier shade; the process prevents the 
colour from fading when exposed to the influence of sunshine. 
It bears a strong resemblance to the common kinds of maho- 
gany, and is much sought after by cabinet-makers, turners, 
etc., and is commonly used in the manufacture of tables, bed- 
posts, and other articles of furniture. It sells at from 2s. 6d. 
to 3s. 6d. per cubical foot, and is profitably grown as a tim- 
ber tree. The plant is the most common stock on which 
nurserymen bud and engraft the varieties of double-blossomed 
cherries, and all the kinds cultivated for their fruit. 
C. Mahaleb (Miller), or Perfumed Cherry, is indigenous to 
France and the south of Germany. In Britain it rises to the 
height of about twenty feet, and is grown as an ornamental 
shrub or low tree. Its wood is hard, brown, susceptible of a 
high polish, and emits a pleasant fragrance. It is sought after 
by cabinet-makers. The kernel of the fruit is employed by 
perfumers to scent soap; and in France, the branches, 
both in a green and dried state, are prized as fuel for their 
fragrance while burning. The plant is quite hardy, and 
grows either in a bleak exposure or as an underwood in any 
soil, however poor, if dry. Of the tree there are many seed- 
ling varieties. 
C. Padus (Dec.) : The Bird Cherry; C. Virginiana (Michaux), 
the Virginian Bird Cherry ; and C. / serotina (Lois), the late 
flowering, or American Bird Cherry, are kinds which grow 
from twenty to thirty feet in height; they are adapted to 
