276 THE NURSERY. [MARCH. 



The Morus nigra or black mulberry, is more esteemed for its 

 fruit than the white, and when cultivated for such, layers or cut- 

 tings from good fruit-bearing trees, ought to be preferred, to raising 

 them by seed ; for monoecious trees, until arrived at a good age, 

 bear male flowers chiefly and very few fruit. The cuttings if tak- 

 en off in March, rightly chosen, and skilfully managed, will do very- 

 well ; though, in general, they do not take as freely in this way as 

 many other trees ; however, if placed under bell-glasses, they will 

 strike with great certainty : but where there is no such conve- 

 niency, the ground about them should be covered with moss, to 

 prevent its drying ; and where this is carefully done, they will want 

 but little water, and will succeed much better than with having too 

 much wet. 



The Morus rubra or red American mulberry, is admired by 

 some, on account of the pleasing acidity of its fruit, and is said to 

 answer the end of feeding silk worms very well. It is cultivated 

 like every other kind, by layers, cuttings and seed. 



The white mulberry prospers best in a moist rich loam,the black, 

 in a dry sandy soil, and the red in a mean between both these 

 kinds. 



The Paper-Mulberry, and method of making Paper of its Bark. 



The Morus fiafiyrifera, or paper mulberry. This tree makes 

 very strong vigorous shoots, but seems not to be of tall growth : it 

 drives up an abundance of suckers from the roots, by which it is 

 easily propagated. The leaves are large, some of them entire, 

 others cut into two, three or four lobes, sporting themselves into 

 various forms, and scarcely two to be found alike -on the same tree, 

 especially while young ; they are of a dark green, and rough to 

 the touch on the upper surface, but pale green and somewhat hairy 

 on the under side, falling off on the first approach of frost in autumn. 

 Their fruit is little larger than peas, surrounded with long purplish 

 hairs, when ripe, changing to a black purple colour, and full of 

 sweet juice. 



It is a native of Japan, and the South Sea Islands, and according 

 to Mr. Miller, of China and South Carolina whence he received the 

 seeds, the inhabitants of Japan, have for ages been in the habit of 

 making paper from its bark : they cultivate the trees for this pur- 

 pose, on the mountains, much in the same manner as we do osiers, 

 cutting them all down for use every autumn after the leaves are 

 fallen. 



The finest and whitest cloth, worn by the principal people at Ota- 

 heite, and in the Sandwich islands, is made of the bark of this tree ; 

 which they frequently dye red. The bread fruit tree, makes u 

 cloth inferior in whiteness and softness, worn there chiefly by the 

 common people. 



Paper-making, having a connection in this instance, with objects 

 of my attention, and the probable use it may be of to the communi- 

 ty, induces me to give additional publicity to the following method 

 of manufacturing it from the bark of the paper mulberry -tree : tLc 



