Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1879-07-24
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The cherry comes =. ,xom
Asia. After ) yiclor1oe E;ison
into P0ntus. ne Roman aeaI-
lus bsoaghs ihe skesrx Fss2 :
town II III provin<e. isI So
disr though he uas.. ~ s -
wars bad - eys opeH i ras
agreeable = ihe way y @ a~
rot te Be dpubsed i'as y ne
cherry = one al ~ !. = is
The cherry was then broak B Rome
about seventy years before Christ.
About one hundred and twenty years
later II was introduced into Great Bri-
tain. From Italy il was br0aght also
into all the other countries Of Europe
in every one of which IL is now q uni
versaI favorite with al classes Of the
people.
The Roman horticullurists soon In
vented other species Of the cherry, and
Pliny makes meaiion OF eight different
varieties which were extant in his day.
II shows what great things can be
wrought by cultivation and art, that
more than three hundred different varie-
ties are now specifically described IN
the oficial catalogues.
The gum Of the cherry is almost Iden-
tical with gum arabic. II has frequently
been utilized for food and the degree Of
nuiriment found in IL 70 something sur
prising. The wood Of the cherry is very
beautiful and is much used for furni-
turc. Some persons Of good taste ad-
mire it as much as mahogany. II is
hard, compact and tough, and II posses
ses the rare virtue of not warning. II
takes on q very high polish. It's beau
tiful reddish tint, instead OF fading with
time, grows deeper and richer every
year.
The cherry tree is so large and beau
tiiul in our own country thatitis strange
that il Is not planted and grown more
frequently as an ornamental shade tree.
In Germany the cherry tree Is = great
favorite for these purposes. Many road
sides in Germany are lined with cherry
trees on both sides. You will frequent
ly pass through an even1e Of these
beautiful shade trees for miles at a
time.
The seeds Of the cherry were
brought TO America at IN early day by
colonists, both from Ene1and and Hol-
land. Besides these cultivated cher
ries, there is a. wild cherry hich Is In
dfeencus to tlIisscoanazN
The largest and gTsndesI cherry trees
| have ever read Of are found ID West
Virginia. While they grew in Germa-
ny TO be four ieet in diameter and six
ty and seventy feet high. they are found
in West Virginia as large IS five, six
and even seven feet through, and some
times one hundred feet high.
The wild cherry is more commonly
called chokeberry. II grows not only
in the Eastern and Middle States, but
in the far West--in Utah, Arizona and
other Rocky Mountain States; also in
Oregon. The wild cherry Is great
favorite with the Indians. They make
q tea Of tie bark, which they greatly
relish. They also pound the bark fine.
dry il in the sun and boil Il ia meat
broths. They mix ii also with meal,
which they make from various roots or
seeds.
Great as are the natural adaptations
of our country TO the growth Of the cher
ry. this fruit in America has by no
means attained all the excellence Of
which il is capable, and il is to be hoped
that those public journals which are IA
vorable to horticulture viii exert them
selves to stimulate their iruit-growing
readers TO aim at still higher perfec-
ton IN the cherry. y.-P hiia1slphis Times.