I lb MORUS AI.UA. 



fibre in tlio Morns miiltiratilis leaves, and in the best wliite, there is a very largft 

 poriion. all of which passes oil" in the form of cxoronifnt." On the contrary, it is 

 coniciulcd by others, that there is an excess of moislnre in the leaves of the Morns 

 mnlticanhs. which is pecnliarly productive of disease to the worm, and a dispro- 

 portionate deliciency of the ijninmy matter, so essential to the formation of silk; 

 yet, it is coinu'ded by both parlies, that, wiien this variety is nsed at all, it slionld 

 be planted on a light, dry soil, which will do nun-h to rcuiucc the proportion of 

 water, and increase that of the resinons matter of the leaf 



M. M. A. TATARiCA. T(irt(tr'i(ni BIdrlc-fniited While MiiJhcrnj ; Afonts fafftrlca, 

 of liondon and others; Muricr dc Turldric, of the French. A dccidnons tree, 

 grownig to the height of twenty feet, in places innndated by the waters of the 

 rivers Wolga and Tanais, or Don, in Tartary. Its frnit is generally black, 

 resembling that of the Morns nigra : thongh Pallas speaks of it as reddish or pale, 

 of no good tlavonr, thongh eaten raw by the Tartars, as well as dried, or made 

 by them into a sweetmeat. A wine is also prepared from it, and a very well- 

 Uavonred spirit. Its leaves are reported as being esteemed in China for the food 

 of silkworms. Fine samples of silk have also been made from them in the 

 United States. This variety appears to be very nearly allied to the Morns a. 

 mnlticanhs. and by some is considered to be the same plant. 



M. Castelet, in his " Traite snr les Miiriers blancs," describes three varieties 

 which we are not able to identify with any of the preceding, viz. : 1. La Reine 

 b'ltarde, a wild variety, with leaves twice as large as those of the Morns a. rosea, 

 and deeply toothed. This is probably the same as the Foglia zazola^ of the 

 Italians. 2. La Reine, a grafted variety, which has shining leaves, and ash- 

 colonred frnit. 3. La Fenille de Jlocs. also a grafted variety, witli very deep- 

 green leaves, growing in tnfts at the extremities of the branches. The fruit, he 

 says, is prodnced in abundance, but never arrives at maturity. This appears to 

 agree with the Foglia doppia, or double-leaved variety, of the Italian gardeners. 



Geography a?id History. The Morns alba is only foiuid truly wild in China, 

 in the province of Seres, or Serica; itis, however, apparently naturalized in many 

 parts of Asia Minor, and of Europe. It does not embrace so great a geographical 

 range as the Morus nigra, being unable to resist either very great extremes of 

 heat or of cold. In a cultivated state, it is found, as a road-side pollard tree, in 

 many parts of France, Spain, Italy, and in Germany as far north as Frankfort, 

 on the Oder. In England, it is not very common ; and it is scarcely to be found 

 in Scotland, even against a wall. As a silk-growing tree, the white mulberry is 

 propagated with tolerable success throughout a great part of Asia and Australia ; 

 in all the principal countries of Europe south of the forty-ninth degree of north 

 latitude, including most of the islands of the Mediterranean ; in a portion of north- 

 ern Africa, the Azores, Madeira, and Canary Isles ; in nearly all the states of the 

 American union; in California, Mexico, Chili, Peru, Buenos Ayres, Brazil, Ca- 

 racas, Jamaica, and other parts of the West Indies, the Sandwich Islands, &c. 

 In the south of Europe, the vhite mulberry is grown in plantations by itself, 

 like willows and fruit-trees; also in hedge-rows, and as hedges; but in all cases 

 the plants are kept low, for the convenience of gathering the leaves, without 

 injuring the trees; the greatest height they are suffered to attain being that of a 

 pollard of six feet, which is annually lopped. 



The culture and manufacture of silk, like many productions of nature and art. are 

 difficult to trace from their origin. All that we know concerning them, is, that they 

 have flowed to us from the east in a comparative state of perfection. The Seres are 

 mentioned in theoldest Sanscrit books, as a gentle race, who shunned the rest of man- 

 kind, and whose occupation was to attend silkworms. It seems to have been in 

 Asia that silk was first known ; and it was from thence that the ancients obtained it, 

 calling it Serica. from the name of the country whence it was supposed to be brought. 



