6 MULBERRY DISEASE. 
nurseries leaves nothing to be desired. The young trees are excep- 
tionally strong, and the pruning is such as to secure well-shaped 
trees, capable of bearing the maximum quantity of leaf if properly 
treated afterwards. The superfluous wood is removed by clean 
cuts, which are rapidly healed by the formation of protective wound 
tissue. Except in the event of unavoidable injury such as that 
caused by frost in 1906, there appears to be no reason to anticipate 
a recurrence of the disease in a severe form in the nurseries. 
The condition of the trees from which leaf is actually gathered 
in the silk-producing villages is very different to that of those 
in the nurseries. ‘They are of ail ages and sizes, up to very large 
old trees preserved, no doubt, by the rule prohibiting the felling of 
mulberry trees inthe Valley. Contrary to what should be the case, 
the young trees are not, at least in those villages that I visited, 
giving as much leaf proportionately to their size as the old ones, and 
neither are giving nearly as much as they should under proper 
treatment. This is entirely due to the neglect of pruning and to 
the manner in which the leaf is gathered. 
It would be impossible to exaggerate the datnage which is 
caused at present by the clumsy and ruthless treatment of the 
bearing trees. I should say that it is quite out of the question for 
the industry to maintain its present extent, much less to increase, 
unless this matter is more carefully attended to and the care of the 
trees secured by instruction and stringent regulations. 
The praning of the mulberry tree is little, if at all, less 
essential than that of the tea bush, where it is considered by many 
to be the most important individual operation in the tea gardens 
during the whole season. The objects aimed at are in both cases 
the same :—to induce the plant to assume a convenient shape, 
to increase or keep at a high average the yield of leaf, to retain 
or improve the quality of the leaf, and finally, to maintain these 
conditions for the longest possible time. In the silk-producing 
parts of France and Italy pruning is a highly scientific process 
and is almost universal in one form or another. A full account 
of the different methods adopted may be found in the “ Traité 
sur le Ver A Soie du Mfrier et sur le Marier” by Maillot and 
