204 S Y L V A BOOK ii 



gather'd ; these they shake down upon an old sheet 

 spread under the tree, to protect them from gravel 

 and ordure, which will hinder you from discerning 

 the seed : If they be not ripe, lay them to mature 

 upon shelves, but by no means till they corrupt ; to 

 prevent which, turn them daily ; then put them in a 

 fine sieve ; and plunging it in water, bruise them 

 with your hand ; do this in several waters, then 

 change them in other clear water, and the seed will 

 sink to the bottom, whilst the pulp swims, and must 

 be taken off carefully : This done, lay them to dry 

 in the sun upon a linnen cloth, for which one hour 

 is sufficient, then van and sift it from the husks, and 

 reserve it till the season. This is the process of 

 curious persons, but the sowing of ripe mulberries 

 themselves is altogether as good, and from the excre- 

 ment of hogs, and even dogs (that will frequently eat 

 them) they will rise abundantly. Note, that in sow- 

 ing of the berry, 'tis good to squash and bruise them 

 with fine sifted mould, and if it be rich, and of the 

 old bed, so much the better: They would be interr'd, 

 well moistned and cover'd with straw, and then rarely 

 water'd till they peep ; or you may squeze the ripe 

 berries in ropes of hair or bast, and bury them, as is 

 prescrib'd for hipps and haws ; the earth in which 

 you sow them, should be fine mould, and as rich as 

 for melons, rais'd a little higher than the area, as 

 they make the beds for ordinary pot-herbs, to keep 

 them loose and warm, and in such beds you may sow 

 seeds as you do purslane, mingled with some fine 

 earth, and thinly cover'd, and then for a fortnight, 

 strew'd over with straw, to protect them both from 

 sudden heat and from birds : The season is April or 

 May, though some forbear even till July and August, 



