74 Domestic JVotices. 



primroses are beautiful wherever grown. In Papaveraceae, Pae- 

 onia Mouian j:>apaveracea and the variety Banksice, are rapidly 

 advancing their flower-buds, and have already opened a few 

 blossoms in some of the neighboring collections. 



MISCELLANEOUS INTELLIGENCE. 



Art. I. Domestic Notices. 



The Chinese Mulberry, Mbrus multicaulis. — The immense quantities 

 of this tree, now disseminated through every part of the Union, from 

 the different nurseries, will undoubtedly serve to test thoroughly its good 

 or bad qualities. Its hardihood will also be fairly proved by the present 

 winter,which, so far at least, may be considered a season of the ordinary 

 severity. For ourselves we have no doubt that the ..'tforus multicaulis 

 will become perfectly naturalized in every part of the Union south of 

 42*^ latitude, and that the facility of silk-rearing will be wonderfully in- 

 creased by it. The leaves being of very large size, the trouble of gath- 

 ering a given weight is greatly diminished, and there is every reason to 

 believe that two crops of silk may be reared upon them in a single sea- 

 son. The French silk growers now plant the Jliorus multicaulis entire- 

 ly in rows or hedges, to be kept dwarf by cutting them down to within 

 one, two, or three feet of the ground annually. The advantages of this 

 method are — pei'fect hardihood of the plants — facility in gathering — and 

 enormous weight of foliage from a small surface. In addition to this, a 

 crop of silk-worms may be fed on the leaves from cuttings of the Chi- 

 nese mulberry of a single season's growth, instead, as in the case of the 

 old Italian vanity, of waiting until the tree attained considerable size be- 

 fore plucking the foliage. It appears from accounts in the French jour- 

 nals, and from experiments made by ourselves, that the JViorus multi- 

 caulis cannot be reproduced with any certainty from seed, and, conse- 

 quently, must be propagated from cuttings or layers. A considerable 

 quantity of the seed was imported and sold by the American seedsmen 

 last spring at enormous prices, but we believe in every instance the 

 seedlings have shown themselves different from the true M. multicaulis; 

 generally exhibiting finer foliage and more robust growth than the white 

 Italian mulberry. Fortunately, however, there is no necessity of re- 

 sorting to the seed for the propagation of this excellent variety of the 

 mulberiy, as no tree is more easily grown from cuttings or layers of the 

 branches. — A. J. Downing, Botanic Garden and Nursery, Newburghf 

 N. Y. 



Hardiness of young Fruit Trees in elevated situations. — It is a re- 

 markable fact that during the seasons following the two late severe 

 winters of 1834 — 5, when, in consequence of the intensity of the cold, 

 such tender fruits as the peach, nectarine and grape, have been de- 

 stroyed in the warm plains and valleys — the same fruits, in elevated sit- 

 uations, upon ranges of mountains, &.c. have thriven well and produced 

 abundant crops. We have had occasion to remark this several times 



