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or June, followed later by a drooping cluster of fruits. 

 These are purple-black when ripe, about y 3 to J /> inch in 

 diameter, and with an astringent flesh in which is imbedded 

 the oblong, pointed stone. 



Alcoholic liquors are sometimes flavored with the fruits 

 of the wild cherry, which are also used for preserving. The 

 tree is common from Nova Scotia to Florida and westward, 

 and is plentiful throughout the Hudson Valley. 



Choke Cherry Padus virginiana 



The choke cherry is similar to the wild cherry, but usually 

 smaller. In our region it rarely develops a trunk but oc- 

 casional trees may be found. They never exceed 25 feet. 

 From the flowers of the wild cherry they have practically no 

 distinguishing characters, but the fruit is smaller and reddish 

 instead of black-purple. The teeth of the leaf-margins are 

 not incurved as those of the wild cherry, but spreading. 

 Without seeing either flower or fruit the trees may be dis- 

 tinguished by this character of the marginal teeth of the 

 leaves. 



As a shrub the plant flourishes over a large part of the 

 continent but as a tree it is rare. It is common in the Hud- 

 son Valley, particularly along roadsides, where its white 

 clusters of flowers make it very attractive in the spring. 



Honey Locust Gleditsia triacanthos 



This often forms a magnificent spreading tree that exceeds 

 120 feet in height. Its trunk, which is commonly 2 to 4 feet 

 in diameter, is covered with a coarse, brown bark. The 

 zigzag twigs are often armed with stout branching prickles 

 that frequently exceed 4 inches in length. The leaves are 

 doubly compound; that is, there is one main leaf-stalk to 

 which are attached from 4 to 18 pairs of secondary leaf- 

 stalks and these minor stalks usually have from 7 to 10 pairs 

 of leaflets attached to them. All the leaf-stalks are hairy. 

 The leaflets are ovate or elliptic, short-stalked, and not more 

 than i J / 2 inches long. They often " fall asleep " at night, 



