GATHERING THE LEAVES FOR FOOD. 55 



in the nutritive substance of the leaf, rendering it inju- 

 rious to the health of the silk-worms. 



The trees of common varieties should not be stripped 

 till after the fifth year from the seed, or not until they 

 have attained the height of seven or eight feet. Too 

 frequent stripping injures the growth of the tree. In cold 

 climates, and where the process of vegetation is slow, the 

 White Mulberry suffers too by frequent stripping. In Tus- 

 cany, according to respectable authorities, so fine is the 

 climate, that a double crop of leaves, and a double produce 

 of silk are yielded in a season from the same trees ; while 

 in India, where the mulberry is an ever-green tree, many 

 crops are annually produced. I shall refer this subject 

 to that part of the volume which treats more at large on 

 the subject of successive crops of silk in a season. I 

 shall also in that place offer an answer to the remarks 

 of Count Dandolo. The new mulberry so peculiarly 

 adapted for this purpose, was alike unknown to him and 

 to Italy, or indeed to any part of Europe at the time his 

 celebrated work was composed. 



In Persia, and in many other hot countries, the silk- 

 worms are fed principally with the twigs or small branches. 

 This mode exclusively has been also recommended 

 by Mr. Smith of Baltimore, by Mr. Goodrich of Hart- 

 ford, Conn., both gentlemen of much observation and 

 experience. The leaves in this case retain their fresh- 

 ness and moisture a double length of time, and occasion 

 no tormenting thirst. 



The leaves of trees are the essential organs of respi 

 ration, and are necessary to t e prosperity and existence 

 of the plant. But during our warm and bright summers, 

 and where the growth is not so much an object, they 

 may be stripped several times during the summer, and 

 their foliage is immediately renewed. Leave a portion 

 of the trees untouched every fourth or fifth year, to re- 

 cruit ; but where they are stripped several times during 

 the same season, they will require occasionally a season 

 of rest. t 



