150 THE EVOLUTION OF OUR NATIVE FRUITS 



ity, men learned in the law, agriculturists, mechanics 

 and merchants, and women as well as men, seemed to 

 be infected with a strange frenzy in regard to this mul- 

 berry tree. They met in solemn conclaves over bundles 

 of Morus multicaulis twigs, discussing seriously the 

 glorious time when, in the not distant future, every 

 farm should be a nursery for the young trees, every 

 house should have its cocooneries attached, its silk- 

 worms of the bivoltine, trivoltine or polyvoltine breeds 

 yielding two, three or four crops of cocoons per year. 

 The farmers' wives and daughters, when not engaged 

 in feeding the worms, were to reel the silk, and perhaps 

 to spin and twist it, till silk should become as cheap 

 as cotton, and every matron and maid rejoice in the 

 possession of at least a dozen silk dresses. It does 

 not clearly appear where and on what occasions they 

 were to wear these dresses, while their whole time was 

 to be occupied with the care of the silk -worms and 

 cocoons. 



"Gideon B. Smith, of Baltimore, is said to have 

 owned the first multicaulis tree in the United States, 

 which was planted in 1826 ; but Dr. Felix Pascalis, of 

 New York, was the first to make known to the public 

 the remarkably rapid growth and supposed excellent 

 qualities of the tree ; and so may be said to have 

 opened this Pandora's box, from which so many evils 

 escaped. The excitement in regard to the Morus 

 multicaulis grew steadily; slowly, indeed, at first, but 

 increasing with a geometrical progression until 1839, 

 when it culminated in utter ruin to the cultivators. 

 The shrewdest and wariest operators, men who did not 

 believe in its loudly heralded virtues, were fairly carried 

 off their feet by the surging tide of speculation. The 



