264 



THE CHERRY. 



The naturalized species of Cherry in Great 

 Britain are the Black and Red-fruited, belonging 

 to the genus Prunns of Linnaeus, Cerasus of 

 Jussieu."* Prunus avium, Prunus Cerasus, or 

 Cerasus sylvestris, is the Black-fruited Cherry, 

 which, in favourable situations, attains the di- 

 mensions of a tree. Its leaves are large, pointed, 

 somewhat drooping, and slightly downy on the 

 under side. The fruit is small, round, black 

 when ripe, of an insipid bitterish flavour, and 

 containing a stone which is very large in pro- 

 portion to the size of the fruit. It is known in 

 various districts by the name of Gean (a corrup- 

 tion of Guignes), Merries (from merisier, said to 

 be derived from amere, bitter, and cerise, cherry), 

 Corone, or Coroun, (from corone, a crow, in 

 allusion to its blackness), Black-heart, &c. 



The growth of the Cherry, in its progress to 

 maturity, is pyramidal ; the branches springing 

 from the stem at regular intervals, or at the 

 commencement of each annual shoot : and as its 

 spray is stiff, strong, and open, it does not yield 

 to, but stoutly resists the blast ; it is, therefore, 

 one of the few trees that can be advantageously 

 planted as a nurse or subsidiary to the Oak, as 

 it is neither apt to overtop or crush its neigh- 

 bours by a rampant growth or wide-spreading 

 head like the "Wych-elm or Ash, or to hurt and 

 injure them in winds and storms, as is con- 

 stantly the case where trees of a more flexible i 

 or easily agitated spray are introduced. It has 



* Cij^asus msij be distinguished from Prunus^ by its leaves being ■ 

 conduplicate, or folded together in their young state, instead of being- 

 convolute or rolled together ; and by the fruit being always desti- 

 tute of the bloom which characterizes all the varieties of Plum. 



