s with the cool and pleasant, though somewhat crude
fruit, of the plum and bullace trees; and in doing so, we may perhaps
come nearer to having some just idea of their real worth, and be led
to see how graciously God adapts his gifts to the wants and
circumstances of his creatures.

The cherry is the next wild fruit which claims our attention, and of
this we find two varieties. The first, the gean-tree (_Cerasus
sylvestris_), called by the peasants in Suffolk and Cheshire,
'Merny-tree,' from the French word _merisier_, is found in most parts
of England in woods and coppices. This fruit is also called in some
countries coroon, from _corone_, a crow. Its flowers are in nearly
sessile umbels of the purest white; its leaves broadly lance-shaped
and downy beneath, pointed and serrated, with two unequal glands at
the base. The fruit is a drupe, globose, fleshy, and devoid of bloom.
Several varieties occur in this species, differing chiefly in the
colour of the fruit, which is, however, usually black. The wood is
firm, strong, and heavy. Evelyn includes it in his list of
forest-trees, and describes it as rising to a height of eighty feet,
and producing valuable timber: he says, 'if sown in proper soil, they
will thrive into stately trees, beautified with blossoms of surpassing
whiteness, greatly relieving the sedulous bees and attracting birds.'
The wood is useful for many purposes, and polishes well. Though the
cherry is now classed among the fruits native to this isle, authors
inform us that it was introduced by the Romans. Evelyn says: 'It was
680 years after the foundation of Rome ere Italy had tasted a cherry
of their own, which being then brought thither out of Pontus, did,
after 120 years, travel _ad ultimos Britannos_.' Its name is derived
from Kerasoon, the city whence it was first brought into Europe by
Lucullus; and so valuable did he consider the acquisition, that he
gave it a most conspicuous place among the royal treasures which he
brought home from the sacking of the capital of Armenia. The fruit of
the gean-tree is rather harsh till fully ripe, and then becomes
somewhat vapid and watery, yet it is very grateful to the palate after
a day's rambling in the woods; and, moreover, this wild stock is the
source whence we have, by culture, obtained the rich varieties which
now grace our gardens. The cherry is a very prolific tree. We have
heard of one, the fruit of which sold for L.5 per annum for seven
successive ye