251 



&\)C Ercasfurg ai 33atan». 



[CERA 



all the other British species there are five. 

 C. alpinum and C. latifolium are Alpine 

 plants with erect flowering stems, and 

 petals much longer than the calyx; the 

 former has soft, the latter short rigid 

 pubescence. C. arvense is a common 

 English plant, somewhat resembling the 

 last two, but with much narrower hairs, 

 and the bracts and sepals membranous at 

 the edges. The other species have the 

 petals scarcely exceeding the calyx, and 

 often shorter than it. [J. T. S.] 



CERASUS. A genus of Drupaceae, fre- 

 quently combined with Primus, but distin- 

 guishable by having the following charac- 

 ters. The young leaves are folded in 

 halves : the flowers are arranged in umbel- 

 like tufts, appearing before the leaves or 

 in terminal racemes which are produced 

 with the leaves; the fruit is nearly 

 globular in shape, destitute of the mealy 

 bloom of the plum, or the down of the apri- 

 cot, and having a roundish smooth stone. 

 There are many species of this genus 

 distributed over the temperate regions of 

 both hemispheres; but as they are very 

 subject to variations in habit and appear- 

 ance, their discrimination is a matter of 

 great difficulty. C. Avium, the Wild-cherry 

 or Gean, is a native of Britain ; it is a tree 

 producing no suckers, its flower-buds are 

 destitute of leafy scales, and the flesh of 

 the fruit adheres to the stone, so as not to 

 be readily separated from it. G. vulgaris is 

 also a native of Britain; it is a shrubby 

 plant, throwing up numerous suckers from 

 its roots, the flower-buds have leafy scales, 

 and the flesh of the fruit is readily sepa- 

 rable from the stone. The wood of these 

 trees is in great request in France, where 

 mahogany is less common than with us ; 

 1 it is employed by cabinet-makers and 

 j musical-instrument makers. The bark 

 I also affords a yellow dye, while the leaves 

 I are said to be used to mix with tea. The 

 1 fruits of C. Avium are employed in Switzer- 

 , land and various parts of Germany in the 

 I distillation of a cheap spirit known as 

 | kirschewasser. Maraschino, ratafia and 

 other liqueurs are made in part from the 

 ! fruits of this tree or some of its varieties. 

 1 The stalks of the fruits are said to be 

 I employed in France as a diuretic. A kind of 

 : gum, analogous to tragacanth, exudes in 

 I great abundance from these and also 

 | from other species of this genus. It is 

 | employed by hat-makers and others. A 

 double-flowered variety of C. vulgaris is in 

 cultivation ; its flowers are very showy 

 and interesting botanically from the fact 

 that the pistil is replaced by two small 

 green leaves. C. Padus, the Bird-cherry. 

 is also a native of the British Isles; in 

 Scotland it is known as the Hagberry. 

 It differs from the foregoing in the flowers 

 being arranged in terminal clusters or 

 racemes. The fruit is small, black, and 

 nauseous to the taste. In the north of 

 Europe it enters into the formation of a 

 palatable liqueur; the juice is also ex- 

 pressed and drunk with milk, while the 

 residue of the fruit is kneaded up into 



cakes. C. Mahaleb, a native of the middle 

 and south of Europe, is remarkable for the 

 fragrance of its flowers, which, as well as 

 the leaves are used by perfumers. A de- 

 coction of the leaves is also used in the 

 manufacture of tobacco in France. The 

 wood is prized by cabinet-makers, and in 

 Austria the small branches are used for 

 pipe-stems. C. virginiana, an American 

 tree, frequently cultivated in this country, 

 affords valuable wood for cabinet makers. 

 Its bark is astringent and is esteemed for 

 its febrifugal properties. From the fruits 

 a liqueur is made, and when dried they are 

 mixed with pemmican. C. Capollim, a 

 native of Mexico, has also febrifugal 

 properties. The rind of the root is used in 

 cases of dysentery, and by tanners. The 

 leaves and kernels of this, and indeed of 

 most of the species, contain a greater or 

 less proportion of prussic acid ; thus the 

 leaves of C. virginiana are dangerous on 

 this account. C. Capricida derives its 

 specific name from its fatal effects when 

 eaten by goats in Nepal. It is this gene- 

 rally minute quantity of hydrocyanic or 

 prussic acid that renders so many of these 

 fruits useful for flavouring liqueurs ; 

 among ethers the kernels of C. occiden- 

 talis are used for flavouring noyeau. 



The species heretofore mentioned have 

 all deciduous leaves, but there are two 

 well-known species, that have evergreen 

 leaves. One is C. lusitanica, commonly 

 called the Portugal laurel (though it has 

 no botanical affinity with the true laurels : 

 see Lauras), which is one of the com- 

 monest of evergreen shrubs, very hardy 

 and very ornamental, especially when in 

 flower. The leaves are dark green with 

 reddish stalks ; the flowers white, in clus- 

 ters; and the fruits small, dark purple. 

 These latter are much relished by birds. 

 One of the largest bushes of this species 

 is in the Duke of Marlborough's park at 

 Blenheim. The other common evergreen 



I species is C. Laurocerasus, the Cherry- 

 laurel, or Common laurel as it is usually 

 called. This has widely lance-shaped re- 

 motely serrate leaves of a bright shining 

 green colour above, dull on the lower sur- 

 face. The leaves, bark, and fruit, as well as 

 the oil obtained from them, are more or 

 less poisonous. The vapour of the bruised 

 leaves Is sufficient to destroy small insects. 

 Cherry-laurel water is a watery solution of 

 the volatile oil of this plant; it contains 

 prussic acid, and its effects, medicinal and 

 poisonous, are similar to those of that 

 acid. Sweetmeats, custards, &c, flavoured 

 with the leaves of this plant have occasion- 

 ally proved fatal; hence it is better to dis- 

 card the use of these leaves altogether for 

 these purposes, and to employ the leaves 

 of the Sweet Bay, Laurus nobilis, instead, 

 as these are equally agreeable in flavour, 

 and harmless. The Cherry -laurel was in- 

 troduced into this country from the 



j Levant in the sixteenth century. [M.T.M.] 

 The numerous varieties of cultivated 



| Cherries have in all probability originated 

 from C. Avium and C. vulgaris. Those be- 



] longing to C. Avium, of which the Bigar- 



