DELIGHTFUL BERRIES 343 



inasmuch as they are trees or large shrubs rather 

 than bushes. 



The plants referred to are the Mulberry and 

 the Elderberry. 



The mulberry is a relative of the fig, and it 

 bears abundantly a fruit that is distinctly sug- 

 gestive of the blackberry in general appearance, 

 but which has a characteristic flavor of its own. 



Although the fruit of the mulberry is not 

 altogether neglected, yet in general the tree is 

 raised to furnish food for the silkworm or for 

 ornament rather than for its fruit. It is obvious- 

 ly difficult to gather a crop of berries distributed 

 among the branches of a tree, and this fact no 

 doubt accounts in part at least for the failure of 

 the mulberry to gain general popularity as a 

 fruit producer. 



It would be possible, however, to train the 

 mulberry tree to a lower and more spreading 

 growth, as it is generally propagated by graft- 

 ing after the manner of orchard fruits. Indeed, 

 that is the best way to propagate the fruiting va- 

 rieties of mulberry, as they cannot be depended 

 on to breed true from the seed. In fact, the fruit 

 of several of the best cultivated varieties is 

 altogether seedless. 



Reference has been made in another connec- 

 tion to my experiments in hybridizing the mul- 



