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WILD CHERRY TREE. 
Icosandria monogynia. Linn. Rosaceæ. Juss. 
Cera sus virginiana. C. foliis deciduis , ovati-oblongis, acuminatis, serratis, 
nitidis ; racemis terminalibus, elongatis ; fructibus globosis, nigris. 
The Wild Cherry Tree is one of the largest productions of the American 
forests. Its wood is of an excellent quality and elegant appearance, and 
is usefully employed in the arts. In the Atlantic as well as in the Western 
States, this tree is known only by the name which I have adopted. It is 
more or less abundant as the soil and climate are more or -less favorable to 
its growth, to which the extremes of heat and cold in the seasons, and of 
dryness and humidity in the soil, are alike unpropitious. Thus in the Dis- 
trict of Maine, where the winter is long and intense, it hardly exceeds 30 
or 40 feet in height, and from 8 to 12 inches in diameter ; in the southern 
and maritime parts of the Carolinas and of Georgia, where the summer is 
intemperately hot, and where the soil is generally arid and sandy, it is 
rarely seen, and on the banks of rivers where the ground is too wet, its 
dimensions are stinted ; but in the upper part of these States, where the 
climate is milder, and the soil more fertile, it is sufficiently common, though 
less multiplied than in Virginia and Pennsylvania. It abounds, also, in 
the Illinois country, in Genessee and in Upper Canada, and unites with the 
Overcup White Oak, the Black Walnut, the Honey Locust, the Red Elm, 
and the Coffee Tree, in the forests which cover these fertile regions. But 
it is no where more profusely multiplied, nor more fully developed than 
beyond the mountains in the States of Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee. 
On the banks of the Ohio, I have measured stocks which were from 12 to 
16 feet in circumference, and from 80 to 100 feet in stature, with the trunk 
of an uniform size, and undivided to the height of 25 or 30 feet. 
The leaves of the Wild Cherry Tree are 5 or 6 inches long, oval-acumi- 
nate, denticulated, of a beautiful brilliant green, and furnished at the base 
with two reddish glands. It is remarked in the neighborhood of inhabited 
places, that they are peculiarly liable to be attacked by caterpillars. 
The flowers are white, and collected in spikes, which have a beautiful 
effect. The fruit is about the size of a pea, disposed in the same manner 
as the flowers, and nearly black at its maturity ; soon after which, not- 
withstanding its bitterness, it is devoured by the birds. It is sold in the 
markets of New York and Philadelphia, and is employed to make a cordial, 
by infusion in rum or brandy, with the addition of a certain quantity of 
sugar. 
