MULBERRIES. 



Black Mulberry (Morus nigra) is the best and only species worthy of cultivation 

 in this country for its wholesome and refreshing fruit. It is said to be a native of 

 Persia, to have been introduced into Europe by the Greeks, and that the Eomans 

 preferred it to every foreign fruit. The first trees grown in England were introduced in 

 1548, and planted at Sion House. 



The mulberry is a hardy deciduous tree, milky-juiced, belongs to the same natural 

 order (Urticacese) as the fig and our common stinging nettle (Urtica dioica), and attains 

 to a height of 20 to 30 feet. Flowers greenish white, inconspicuous, unisexual, borne 

 in separate axillary, catkin-like spikes. Eruit oblong, composed of numerous egg- 

 shaped compressed grains, the whole 1 inch or more in length, and f to 1 inch in 

 diameter at the widest part ; red changing to a blackish purple, juicy, sugary, with a 

 slight acidity, apd very agreeable ; ripe from the middle or end of August to the 

 beginning ofjmober. The foliage is dense, from the largeness of the leaves and the 

 shortness of the joints of the wood. Mulberries are occasionally used at dessert, more 

 generally in pies and puddings. They make excellent jam (said to be useful in sore 

 throats and affections of the chest), and may be preserved in various ways. A pleasant 

 light wine may also be made from the fruit. The White Mulberry (M. alba) is grown 

 for its leaves, which are used for feeding silkworms. 



Propagation. Various methods may be practised, namely, by seeds, cuttings, layers, 

 budding, and grafting. 1. Seeds worked from the choicest ripe fruits, dried, and kept 

 in a cool place, may be sown outdoors in May. Seedling trees are long in coming into 

 bearing, often sterile, and only useful for stocks. 2. Cuttings about 1 foot long taken 

 from the upper branches with a portion of two-year-old wood at their base, may be 

 inserted in a shady border, so that only two eyes are left above ground, early in 

 spring or in autumn. Bearing branches strike root readily, inserting them in autumn 

 to a depth of about 2 feet, the laterals being shortened back a little, and the branch 

 kept upright and steady by tying it to a stake. Duly supply water, and when the 

 branch becomes well rooted remove the lower side growths a few each year to form 



