288 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



have been no varieties of any species of American orij^in. It is a signifi- 

 cant fact that the first named variety originating in this country is an off- 

 spring of our own wild Morus rubra. This is the Johnson. The first 

 mention of it, bo far as I know, is in the first edition of Downing's "Fruits 

 and Fruit Trees" in 1845. 



I have said that the botany of the mulberries is perplexing. This is 

 notoriously the case in every country where they are cultivated. There 

 appear to be three well marked general types in cultivation, the white, 

 black, and red — Morus alba, M. nigra, M. rubra. I must warn my read- 

 ers that these names do not designate the color of the fruits of the respec- 

 tive species, although they were no doubt meant to distinguish them. Our 

 native 3/o?'MS 7*M6?*rt bears somewhat redder fruits than the others; fruits 

 of tte black mulberry are black, but so are those of the white mulberry 

 in many cases. Perhaps we can apply the terms white and black in a gen- 

 eral way to the color of the foliage, as that of M. alba is much lighter 

 than that of M. 7iigra. The white mulberry is the species most used for 

 silk. It has been cultivated in many countries for many centuries, and, as 

 a consequence, it is wonderfully variable. Bureau, in his monograph of 

 the genus in 1873, refers 31 described species to M. alba and recognizes 27 

 botanical varieties or types of it. But it is difficult, in some cases, to dis- 

 tinguish between M. alba and M. nigra, and if we are to follow Bureau's 

 classification I do not see how the two can be kept apart, for some of the 

 plants which he refers to M. alba seem to be as distinct from its type as 

 M. nigra is. In this paper I have kept apart two species which are com- 

 monly referred to Morus alba. I do not know if they are distinct species,, 

 but they are more easily understood if they stand by themselves; and as 

 species at best are only judgments of the particular author who describes 

 them and not entities in nature, I may be allowed the present 

 arrangement. 



The later American mulberry culture for fruit, scant as it is, has devel- 

 oped along independent lines. The black mulberry. Morns nigra, is the 

 fruit-bearing mulberry of history, and nearly all writers declare that the 

 white mulberry possesses little or no value for fruit. Yet in America the 

 black mulberry is almost unknown, except sparingly in the south and in 

 California, and some of our common varieties are offspring of the white 

 mulberry. And to these must be added varieties which I am satisfied 

 belong to our native red mulberry. 



The American mulberries, so far as I know them, may be grouped under 

 the following species, omitting the kinds which were early cultivated for 

 silk and are now practically unknown in the country: 



1. The White Mulberry group. — Morus alba. 



1. (a). Bussian mulberry. — Var. Tatarica. 

 1. (b). Nervosa mulberry. — Var. venosa. 



2. The Multicaulis group. — Morus latifolia. 



3. The Japanese group. — Morus Japonica. 



4. The Black Mulberry group. — Morus nigra. 



5. The Red or Native Mulberry group. — Moriis rubra. 



5. (a). Lampasas mulberry. — Var. tomeniosa. 

 1. The White Mulberky Group. — {Morus alba, lAun.) Leaves light 

 green, rather small, smooth or very nearly so above and often shining, the 

 veins prominent beneath and whitish, variously lobed or divided, the basal 

 lobes unequal, the teeth large and for the most part rounded or nearly 

 obtuse, the branches gray or grayish-yellow. The white mulberry is sup- 



