BLACK-FRUITED MULBERRY-TREE. 441 
cated by the Greeks to Minerva, probably because it was anciently considered 
as the emblem of wisdom, from the slowness of its putting out its leaves- and 
Jupiter, the Protector, in their language, was called after it, Morea, From' Ovid 
we learn that the fruit of the mulberry derives its fine colour from the blood of 
those two unfortunate lovers, Pyramus and Thisbe. He says, that it was for- 
merly snow-white, but that, when Pyramus, in despair at the supposed death of 
his mistress, fell upon his own sword, it was under the shade of this tree. Phisbe. 
shortly after, finding him dead, killed herself in the same way, and their blood 
mingling together, was absorbed by the roots and imparted its colour to the fruit 
" Dark in the rising tide the berries grew, 
Anil, white no longer, took a sable hue ; 
But brighter crimson, springim; from the root, 
Shot through the black, and purpled o'er the fruit." 
Cowley, in the fifth book of his poem on plants, has given a very plain and accu- 
rate description of the apparently cautious habits of this tree. He also alludes to 
the fable just named. The Morea, in the Levant, is said to have been so called, 
from a supposed resemblance of the shape of that peninsula to the leaf of the mul- 
berry. The roots of this tree are so wonderfully tenacious of life, that an instance 
is recorded of their sending up shoots after having lain dormant in the ground for 
twenty-four years. 
Soil, Situation, Propagation, fyc. The Morns nigra will grow in almost 
any soil or situation that is tolerably dry, and in any climate not much colder 
than most parts of Britain and the United States. It is very easily propagated 
by truncheons or pieces of the branches, eight or nine feet in length, and of any 
thickness, being planted half their depth in tolerably good soil; when they will 
bear fruit the following year. As it is extremely tenacious of life, every par; 
of the root, trunk, boughs, and branches may be converted into plants by sepa- 
ration; the rootlets, and small shoots, or spray, being made into cuttings, the 
larger boughs into stakes, the arms into truncheons, and the trunk, stool, and 
roots, being cut into fragments, leaving a portion of the bark on each, and plant- 
ing them after the Italian mode of propagating the olive-tree. The mulberry 
may also be increased from seeds, by layers, or by grafting and budding. This 
tree, from its slowness of putting out its leaves, being rarely injured by spring 
frosts, and its leaves being seldom or never devoured by any insect, except tin 
silkworm, and never touched with mildew, very seldom fails to produce a good 
crop of fruit. This fruit, however, though excellent and exceedingly wholesome 
does not keep, and is so far troublesome, that it is only good when it i.s quite 
ripe, and is besj; when it is suffered to fall from the tree itself. For this reason, 
mulberry-trees are generally planted on a lawn or grass-plot, to prevent the frail 
that falls from being injured by the gravel or dirt. This practice, however, is 
objectionable, as no tree, perhaps, receives more benefit from the spade and the 
dung-hill than the mulberry, and it ought, therefore, to be frequently dug about 
the roots, and occasionally assisted with manure. The ground undeT the tree 
should be kept free from weeds throughout the summer, particularly when the 
fruit is ripening, as the reflected light and heat from the bare surface of die soil 
is thus increased. In a cool, moist climate, like that of Britain, the frail is also 
very fine if the tree be trained as an espalier, with the reflection of the south side 
of a building or wall. As a standard tree, whether for ornament or fruit, the 
mulberry requires very little priming or attention of any kind other than thai 
which is given above. As it increases in age, it increases m productiveness, and 
in full-grown trees the fruit is much larger and better flavoured than m those 
which are young. 
Properties and Uses. The wood of the Moras nigra is less comoacl than even 
that of the white mulberry, and when perfectly dry, weighs only about forty 
50 
