170 [ THE BLACK MULBERRY 



often reaching a height of 10 or 12 metres with an equal 

 spread of branches. The foliage is thick and very shady ; 

 the leaves are dark green, heart-shaped,regularly serrated, 

 and of a thick leathery texture. The twigs are thick, with 

 short nodes and large buds with blackish scales. The 

 branches are more or less tortuous, and the trunk is 

 rarely straight, but is generally tortuous, curved or even 

 reclining on the ground. The tree bears the cold much 

 better than the white mulberry, and unfolds its buds also 

 later, and when in full foliage it is very ornamental. It 

 is probably more resistant to drought than the white 

 mulberry, but thrives best in a deep soil, moist but well 

 drained, and in full sunshine. 



Seedling black mulberries are very rare, and as 

 they make very slow growth and are always weak the 

 tree is never propagated by seed. A seedling at San 

 Antonio Gardens has small leaves, deeply three- lobed, 

 and weak contorted branches. When budded or grafted 

 on the white mulberry, the black mulberry grows more 

 rapidly, and produces fruit of fine size, although somewhat 

 late to ripen, but the tree becomes liable to die suddenly 

 after a few years of healthy growth. It seems that the 

 liability of the white mulberry to die suddenly becomes 

 much more pronounced when budded or grafted with the 

 black mulberry, and accordingly it is rare to see a 

 budded black mulberry more than twenty five years old. 

 Grafting should be done early in March or when the 

 buds are beginning to swell, but the operation of budding 

 is best performed in July- September, selecting good buds 

 from the new wood, and though the buds may develop 

 before autumn, they only commence to make good 

 growth in the following spring. 



The black mulberry is best grown on own wood, 

 and it is therefore always preferable to propagate it by 

 layers or by cuttings. Layers are made at any time, 

 but if made in the first days of March when the buds 

 begin to swell, they strike root more easily, especially 



