64 PASTURE AND RANGE. 
twigs from those of other trees, especially the birches. 
The leaves are oblong, thickish, shining above aud taper- 
pointed, with incurved, short teeth. The small creamy- 
white’ flowers are in elongated racemes and the fruit is 
shiny, purplish black and has a pleasant taste. 
The Choke Cherry, Prunus virginiana 'L., is also dang- 
erous in the same way as the Black Cherry, and has much 
the same distribution. It is a shrub or small tree. with 
grayish bark, the inner layers of which have a disagree- 
able odour. The leaves are thin, abruptly pointed, sharply 
serrate with slender teeth, andthe fruit is red, turning 
dark crimson, and very astringent.. Willing, writing of 
conditions in Alberta, where the plant is often abundant 
and small, cautions against the use of hay containing re- 
cently wilted young shoots. 
The Western Choke Cherry, Prunus demissa Walp., is 
a shrub or small tree with leaves thick and oval or 
obovate, more or less obtuse and with short teeth. The 
fruit is black and less astringent than that of P. vir- 
gimana. The toxic effects are similar. 
The Wild Red or Pin Cherry, Prunus pennsylvanica L., 
is a small tree growing from Newfoundland to the Rocky 
Mountains. It has light: brown bark, leaves ovate or 
lanceolate, sharply and finely serrate, and small, bright 
red, sour fruit in corymbose clusters, like those of the 
cultivated cherry. Poisoning may take place as in other 
species of Prunus. 
It is to. be noted that the chief danger from. all. the 
cherries is from the wilted leaves. Care should be exer- 
cised to prevent stock from browsing on branches broken 
from trees, for example, after cherry-picking, or when 
haying, or droving cattle. 
