IX. THE RED MULBERRY. 281 



the light timber of vessels, it is preferred in Carolina to any- 

 wood except the red cedar.* 



The use of its leaves as food for silk-worms, has been tried, 

 but not with encouraging success. The fruit is very agreeable, 

 and by most persons is preferred to that of any other species. 



I have found it growing wild on the Westfield River, where 

 it is a small tree about twenty feet in height, like an apple tree. 

 The recent shoots are gray, and somewhat downy. Larger 

 branches, a light gray or brownish buff", smooth, with prominent 

 gray dots. Trunk rough, with long superficial clefts and fur- 

 rows. The leaves are heart-shaped, ovate* or three-lobed, end- 

 ing in a long point, rough on the upper surface, and downy on 

 the lower. 



The Black Mulberry, M. nigra, L., is occasionally cultivated 

 here, as it has been in most parts of the civilized world from 

 very ancient times, for ornament, and for its shade. It is sup- 

 posed, from the circumstance of its being found, in great num- 

 bers, wild in the forests of Persia, to have been originally a 

 native of that country, and to have been introduced thence, at 

 a very remote period, into Europe; and others think it probable 

 that it was brought, at a still more remote period, into Persia, 

 from China. Its leaves are of no great value as food for the 

 silk-worm, and its wood has not much strength or durability. 



Several of the numerous varieties of the White Mulberry, 

 M. alba, L., have been introduced, and are much cultivated in 

 this country, with reference to the production of silk, the leaves 

 having been long considered the natural and best food for the 

 silk- worm. None of the varieties are so hardy as the black 

 and red mulberries — and their range of climate is much less 

 extensive. Its native country is China ; but it has been natu- 

 ralized in several parts of Europe, and it flourishes in all the 

 temperate parts of this continent. It is a rapidly growing 

 tree, reaching the height of twenty feet in five or six years, 

 and when fully grown, attaining that of thirty or forty feet. 



The Many-stemmed Mulberry, M. multlcaulis, is a native 

 of China, where it is said to be preferred for the food of silk- 



* Elliott. 



37 



