IN OUR ORCHARDS 191 



den. But in Florida the mulberry is a marvel. As 

 soon as it begins to ripen in March the mocking- 

 birds and the cardinal birds and the blue jays and 

 all other birds assemble in convention among the 

 limbs, while hens compete with razorbacks for all 

 that fall, and yet there is more than enough for 

 human folks. I never saw any other tree that could 

 so turn itself into a complete mass of fruit as the 

 mulberry, each one about as big as your thumb. It 

 is delicious to be eaten out of hand, but for puddings 

 and pies, with a few drops of lemon juice added, it 

 is the only conceivable rival of our Northern black- 

 berry. 



The Japanese persimmon has the family trait of 

 astringency until dead ripe; then it is like a big red 

 or yellow tomato, with a thick skin, while the con- 

 tents are delicious clotted cream, to be eaten with a 

 spoon. Some of these persimmons make bushes like 

 quinces, but others stand tall and very like pear trees. 

 The time of ripening runs from September until 

 January. Our native persimmon, in its very best 

 sorts, is not only more hardy than the Japanese, but 

 is good enough to please the palate, yet at its best 

 it can hardly bear comparison with the borrowed 

 sorts. The persimmon, however, is destined to bear 

 a very prominent place among American fruits dur- 

 ing the coming century. 



Fruit is doing a great deal to make our modern life 

 sweeter and stronger. Every sort that I have 

 named, both in the North and in the South, is on 



