FOR VICTORIAN INDUSTRIAL CULTURE. 



187 



orchard-cultivators also in this colony. Thus we possess in 

 this country numerous though not all the best varieties, of 

 the Cherry, P. avium (L.) and P. Cerasus (L.), of the Plum, 

 P. domestica (L.), of the Apricot, P. Armeniaca (L.) and of 

 the Cherry-Plum, P. myrobalana (L.), the latter Canadian, 

 the others European and Oriental. Information on these 

 and other varieties, to which we have added independently 

 also here, may be sought in "Hogg's Fruit Manual." The 

 Almond (Amygdalus communis, L.) and the Peach (Amyg- 

 dalus Persica, L.) belong also generically to Prunus, as 

 indicated in 1812 by Stokes (^'Bot. Mat. Med.," iii., 101) 

 and in 1813 by F. G. Hayne (-''Arznei-Gewachse," iv., 38) 

 and finally settled by J. D. Hooker (Benth. and Hook., gen. 

 pi. i., 610), for which therefore now the names P. Amygdalus 

 and P. Persica should be adopted. The latter came originally 

 from China, while P. Armenica seems indigenous to the 

 Caucasian regions, and perhaps the Himalayas, and P. Cerasus 

 originated from West Asia. 



Prunus spinosa, Linne. 



The Sloe or Blackthorn. Wild in many parts of Europe. 

 With its flowers it is one of the earliest plants to announce 

 the spring. Its tendency to throw out suckers renders the 

 bush less adapted for hedges of gardens than of fields, but 

 these suckers' furnish material for walking-sticks. The small 

 fruits can be made into preserves. P. insititia (L.), the 

 Bullace, with larger and sometimes yellow fruits, extends, as 

 a variety, to North Africa and Middle Asia. Dr. Hooker 

 and other phytographers consider P. domestica not specifically 

 distinct from P. spinosa. Of medical value are P. Lauro- 

 Cerasus (L.), the evergreen Cherry-Laurel from the Orient, 

 and P. Padus (L.), the deciduous Bird's Cherry, which extends 

 from Europe to North Africa and West Asia. These and 

 most other species contain in their foliage and in some other 

 parts Amygdalin. Perhaps some of the species from Eastern 

 Asia, California and tropical America are eligible for im- 

 proving their fruit through horticultural skill. The Sloe and 

 others might with advantage be naturalised on our forest- 

 streams. 



Prunus Virginiana, Linne. 



The Choke Cherry-tree of the United States. In a mild 

 clime and fertile soil this tree attains a height of 100 feet and 

 a stem of sixteen feet in circumference. The wood is com- 

 pact, fine-grained, and not liable to warp when perfectly 

 seasoned, of a dull, light-red tint deepening with age. The 

 fruit finally loses its austerity. 



