1S37] 



FARMERS' REGISTER, 



65 



only instancR 1 had ever heard of the machira be- 



iniT itijurcil by froi=t, was communicated to me by 

 David Tliomas, of Cayuga county, who stated 

 that during ihesevere winter ol'lS3.5-'36, the i)or- 

 tioti above tlie snow had suflered in common with 

 many other plants acknowledgcul to be hardy. 

 Such a result may of course occur again; but I do 

 not consider the apprehension of" it should be 

 deemed sulHcient to deter any person from making 

 a trial of its merits. In addition to the flnvorable 

 testimony of the gentleman just mentioned, I find 

 hi the last nutnber of tlie "Magazine of Horticul 

 tore," published at Boston, a communication by 

 William Ivennck, in which he explains in a satis- 

 fiictory manner the causes of the destruction of the 

 maclura, and indeed many other hardy trees— such 

 as plums, apples and pears — in the valleys of the 

 Hudson and Connecticut. In the vicinity of Bos- 

 ton, he says the Osage orange has endured the 

 riijors of the last severe winters, without any pro- 

 tection. I would suggest the republication of" this 

 article in the columns of the Genesee Farmer. 

 An artfcle of a somewhat similar character by the 

 same writer is also contained in the Horticultural 

 Register; but it is more exclusively devoted' to the 

 plantation of forest trees in general, than to the 

 particular merits of the maclura. 



The evidence just adduced cannot be strength- 

 ened by any which can be offered in favor of the 

 hardiness of the Osage orange in this latitude. 

 Our winters are perhaps too mild to afibrd a suffi- 

 cient comparison by which to judge of its capacity 

 to withstand the climate of New York or New 

 Enijland. It is not in all cases, however, that re- 

 gular and even intense cold is most destructive to 

 vegetable life — the vicissitudes of a southern win- 

 ter may be no less fatal. I have seen the mercury 

 down to twelve degrees below zero as often as 

 twice within the last ihw years; and this degree of 

 cold was certainly not sufficient to affisct even the 

 water spouts of the maclura. At the same time I 

 have had the morus multicaulis growing along 

 side for several years, and it has always been in- 

 jured by the fi-ost, and sometimes killed to the 

 ground. During the winter of 1835-'36, nearly 

 all the peach trees in my orchard suffered more or 

 less by the cold — large branches in many cases be- 

 ing destroyed. This would seem to prove that 

 the maclura maybe cultivated at least as far north 

 as the peach; though it is doubtful whether the 

 seeds will be perfected in all situations where the 

 tree may be found to flourish. The fruit is later at 

 coming to maturity in this climate than the heath 

 peach. 



Although I entertain no doubt of the perfect 

 adaptation of the maclura to the construction of 

 a hedge, I am not yet prepared to certify to the 

 lact. But the writer of the article in the Horticul- 

 tural Magazine before mentioned, states that -'at 

 Philadelphia it is asserted that it makes the finest, 

 the strongest and most beautiful hedore in the 

 world, being set out in a single row at the distance 

 of twelve or fitieen inches asunder." Its growth 

 is vigorous and spreading; the branches are thick- 

 ly set, tough and elastic,"and every part is covered 

 with a multitude of spines. Nothing can exceed 

 the beauty and lustre of its foliage. 



I take the liberty to repeat a suggestion I for- 

 merly made, namely: that some of our enterprising 

 seedsmen should supply themselves with a parcel 

 of the seed for the benefit of their customers. 



They might be readily obtained from Arkansas at 

 a moderate expense. It would be better perhaps 

 to order the berries, and to have the .seecl picked 

 out alter they are received. This is a rather tedi- 

 ous, though b}^ no means a difficult operation. 

 The seeds vegetate without any preparation and, 

 with great certainty, in two or three weeks after 

 planting; and during the first season the young 

 plants will attain to the height of two feet or more 

 under good culture. Fifty berries, from the native 

 forests of the maclura, would yield more than a 

 pound of seed, and a pound contains nine or ten 

 thousand grains. This number of plants would 

 be sufficient to set a mile and a half or two miles 

 of hedge, at the distance of twelve or fifteen 

 inches apart. 



T. S. Pleasants. 

 Beaverdmn, Virginia. 



CULTURE OF SILK. THE BRUSSA MULBERRY. 



[We are inaebted to Mr. Rhind, who (negociated the 

 treaty of the United States with Turkey, and was long 

 a resident of the latter country,) for the following ex- 

 tracts, which formed part of a correspondence between 

 Mr. Rhind and Judge Spencer of New York. Mr. Rhind 

 has taken so much interest in this subject and has had 

 such good opportunities to form correct opinions, tliat 

 his authority deserves to be held in great respect. Ilia 

 tavoiable opinion of the Brussa mulberry, therefore, of- 

 fers a sufficient inducement to rear that kind, and to 

 give it a fair trial of comparrison with others. But we 

 should at present distrust the seeds, for propagating the 

 same kind, unless it is avowed that they have been tried, 

 and found not to produce other varieties, as is the case 

 with the morus multicaulis. — Ed. Far. Reg. 



Extract of a Letter from Mr. Rhind to Judge 

 Spencer. 



"During the reign of the emperor .Justinian, 

 when the two monks were sent by him to Serps 

 to bring from thence the eggs of the silkworm, it 

 is natural to suppose that they would also adopt 

 the precaution to bring with them the seeds of 

 the tree which afforded the pabulum or nourish- 

 ment for the insects; and it is highly probable that 

 while the hollow cane of one monk carried the 

 eggs of the insect, that of the other carried the 

 seeds of the tree,* if such was the case, the first 

 mulberry plantations must have been in the vicin- 

 ity of Constantinople. The country called Seres, 

 by the ancients, is generally admitted by modern 

 writers, to be Little Bucharia, and that countrv 

 is situated in a latitude similar to Brussa, in Asia 

 Minor, not liir from Constantinople. This species 

 of the mulberry flourishes best in high and even 

 poor lands; and Brussa, being situated on the rise 

 of Mount Olympus, has a climate and soil, slosely 

 resembling that of Little Bucharia, and the su- 

 perior quality of the Brussa silk, over all others, 

 in the markets of Europe, would seem to evince a 

 congeniality of soil and climate. Mount Olympus 

 is perpetually covered with snow, and the basis of 

 the mountain (near which Brussa is situated,) be- 



* Some authors affirm, that the monks first brought 

 the seed of the tree only, and that the emperor sent 

 them back to Seres, for the eggs of the insect. 



