THE MULBERRY. 133 



have never failed in producing large and thrifty trees ; 

 many of which grew from seven to eight feet high 

 the first season, and put forth limbs of considerable 

 size. These limbs I cut off in the ensuing spring, or 

 rather in February ; cut them into pieces, each piece 

 having on it two buds, all of which were placed in a 

 box, covered with dirt, and placed in the cellar until 

 the time for planting, which, in the Middle States, is 

 in April or May. Some cultivators say that they 

 should be cut off in the fall, and kept in sand until 

 Spring. I have tried this experiment, and nearly all 

 of them rotted. They should be taken off the tree 

 in the Spring, for then it is seldom that any of them 

 will rot. They also grow more vigorously. 



There is another prevalent error among cultiva- 

 tors, of planting the cutting perpendicularly in the 

 earth, and having an idea that one bud forms the roots 

 and the other the trunk. This is a most egregious 

 mistake. Each bud has within it the elements of a 

 tree, in the same manner that the seed has, and so far 

 from the bud producing the roots, the bud sometimes 

 rots while the roots are shooting out vigorously. The 

 roots are thrown out below, and have no connection 

 with the bud, as may be seen by examining one when 

 growing. 



As every bud produces a tree, the cutting should be 



planted horizontally, and after the ends have been 



covered with wax of some kind to keep out moisture, 



they should be covered about two or three inches 



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