14 



The white mulberry tree differs from the red in its 

 general appearance. The bark is smooth and of a lighter 

 color. The leaves are thinner, smaller, and of a lighter 

 green color. The fruit is of a whitish grey color 

 and of a vapid sweetness to the taste, and is of little val- 

 ue for the table compared with the black. But the silk 

 insect prefers the leaves of the white to those of the 

 black, the red, the Tartarian species, or the paper mul- 

 berry, and it has been found upon experiment, that if 

 these different species are given at the same time to the in- 

 sect, it will eat the white first. This species came orig- 

 inally from China, and it is said that it is always used in 

 China. 



THE SEED OF THE MULBERRY. 



One ounce of good seed will be sufficient to produce 

 5000 trees. The seed is easily obtained from the fruit 

 in the following manner. When the fruit begins to ripen, 

 every morning the tree should be shaken and the fruit 

 that falls gathered with that which had fallen before ; if 

 enough is not gathered in one morning, several succes- 

 sive gatherings may be collected ; but the fruit should 

 not be kept over three or four days before the seed is 

 extracted, which may be done by putting the fruit into a 

 tub and mashing it till the berries are completely worked 

 into a common mass. Then pour water into it and stir it 

 briskly, and the pulp may be separated from the seed. 

 Then pour off the water, with all the seed that floats, 

 (for that is worthless) and renew the washing till the seed 

 is clean, when it may be drained, spread out on cloths 

 and dried in the shade. When perfectly dry it should 

 be put into a tight vessel and kept in a dry place. It 



