Am.  Jour.  Pharm. 
September,  1895. 
Structure  of  Our  Cherry  Barks. 
443 
and  they  occur  chiefly  in  association  with  the  latter,  though  some- 
times they  are  isolated  or  in  separate  clusters  of  few  fibres. 
Both  root  and  stem  bark  are  decidedly  bitter  and  aromatic,  and 
somewhat  astringent  to  the  taste.  The  aromatic  or  bitter  almond 
odor  and  taste  in  fresh  specimens  are  more  pronounced  in  the  root 
bark.  This  would  lead  to  the  inference  that  the  latter  is  the  more 
valuable  of  the  two  for  medicinal  purposes. 
Fig.  8. — Small  portion  of  cross  section  of  inner  bark  of  Prunus  Avium. 
The  Stem  Bark  of  Prunus  Mahaleb. — The  bark  on  the  old  stem 
is  dark  gray  and  fissured,  though  less  strongly  so  than  that  on  the 
trunk  of  Prunus  serotina.  There  appears  to  be  a  greater  develop- 
ment of  secondary  cortex  in  this  species  than  in  Prunus  serotina, 
and  a  corresponding  difference  in  the  cork  formation.  Some  of  the 
later-formed  bands  of  secondary  cork  not  merely  invade  the  inner 
cortex,  but  in  the  older  bark  cut  even  into  the  outer  portion  of  the 
bast  layer. 
