CULTIVATION OF THE MULBERRY. 45 



following year the leaves of the branches may be gathered 

 to feed the silk worms. 



These mulberry trees have only to apprehend the effects 

 of the mid-summer's sun. If they have moisture, (literal- 

 ly speaking, watering,) and shade, not a single one will 

 perish. They can also be planted in small squares of 

 ground, (arranged like the white squares of a draught 

 board.) 



If, in the enclosure, there are no branches which can he 

 cut, a mulberry tree of Lou, with large leaves, must be 

 chosen from another place ; the required branches must be 

 cut in the last month, (January,) and preserved in a hole 

 made in the ground. If they be exposed to the air, they 

 will soon wither. 



The time is waited for, until the black eyes of the branch- 

 es of the mulberry trees begin to push. The hole made in 

 the ground is then opened, and it will be perceived that 

 the eyes, of the branches deposited there, have also pushed. 

 The two ends of the branches must be cut, the place of the 

 cut burnt, and after having planted them, they must be pro- 

 ceeded with according to the rules above laid down. 



The following is the manner of raising, in an enclosure, 

 the small mulberry trees, of the species of Lou or those of 

 Khing. In the last month, (January,) the extremities of 

 the branches that do not grow well must be cut. When 

 the plants are very small, three to five branches near the top 

 must be left, if they be rather large, about ten of the branch- 

 es near the top a foot in length, and all the others cut off. 



In the following Spring, at the time when the eyes begin 

 to push, the plants must be bared, then taken up with the 

 roots and transplanted to spacious ground, in regular lines, 

 eight yards apart. The mulberry trees must be planted 

 opposite to one another, leaving between each plant a space 



