Wild cherries in America

876. The succession of wild cherries to beech is thus accounted for. Birds, being naturally fond of the cherry, eat them with avidity, and swallow the stones of the fruit, which do not suffer, in their germinating qualities, while in the bowels of the bird; and as these frequently resort to beech woods, it naturally follows that they void these cherrystones there; which either lie dormant (as they retain their vegetating powers for a length of time), or germinate, and remain in a diminutive state; but when the beeches are cut down, they advance rapidly, and become the principal occupants of the soil.