162 [ THE WHITE MULBERRY 



will bear transplanting without any difficulty. Trees 

 with a stem fully 10 c.m. in diameter, if transplanted 

 with care and heavily pruned back at the same time, 

 incur little risk of failure. However, the larger the 

 tree, the greater must be the care necessary for the 

 operation, as well as the subsequent trouble as regards 

 watering and attention. On the other hand, very young 

 trees are more easily damaged or broken during the 

 operation of tillage, and require a longer time to 

 establish themselves properly, where the land is cropped. 

 Transplanting is done in winter, from December to 

 February. A pocket or hole is made large enough to 

 receive the tree, the roots are evenly laid all round, 

 any roots which have been severely damaged when taken 

 up from the ground, being removed by a clean cut 

 of the knife, and soil lightly dressed with well-rotted 

 manure is packed carefully between the roots until the 

 hole is filled in. It is advisable to plant the tree about 

 ro c.m. lower down than its former position in the 

 nursery, in order not to have large roots too close 

 to the surface and therefore constantly exposed to 

 injury when the land is subsequently cultivated for field 

 crops. The soil should be closely packed all round, 

 and if necessary the young tree should be propped to 

 prevent injury from wind when the new shoots are forming. 

 Newly planted trees should be watered regularly during 

 the first two or three summers until they are fully 

 established, and the ground should be kept clean of 

 weeds for at least 50 c.m. around the stem. Fully 

 established trees require no irrigation, but if watered 

 twice or thrice during the active period of vegetation, 

 April-June, will give an increase of about 50 per cent, 

 in the yield of foliage. 



Most field crops and garden vegetables can be 

 grown on land planted with mulberries, without any 

 injury to the plantation, but certain field crops such 

 as wheat and barley are liable to be damaged when 



