The Mulberries the Osage Orange and the Figs 



able" in a new colony made up of gentlemen. A Frenchman, 

 reporting the abundance of these trees, mentions "some so large 

 that one tree contains as many leaves as will feed Silke-wormes 

 that will make as much silk as may be worth five pounds sterling 

 money." But their sanguine hopes were not realised. The red 

 mulberry is no substitute for the white species. Silk culture is 

 still an Old World industry, even though white mulberries grow 

 in this country. 



Indians discovered that ropes and a coarse cloth could be 

 woven out of the bast fibre of mulberry bark. The berries have 

 some medicinal properties, and are eagerly devoured by hogs and 

 poultry. The chief value of the tree lies in the durability of its 

 wood, which commends it to the boatbuilder, the cooper, and to 

 the man with fences to build. 



One of the mulberry's chief characteristics is its tenacity to 

 life. Its seeds readily germinate, and cuttings strike quickly, 

 whether from roots or stems. Evelyn's instructions for propa- 

 gating the European mulberry by cuttings are quaint and worth 

 hearing. "They will root infallibly, especially if you twist the 

 old wood a little or at least hack it; though some slit the foot, 

 inserting a stone or grain of an oat to suckle and entertain the 

 plant with moisture." 



The Mexican Mulberry (A/, celtidifolia, H.B.K.), with small, 

 ovate leaves, somewhat like the hackberry's, and small black fruit, 

 is found from western Texas to Arizona, and follows the moun- 

 tains to Peru and Ecuador. It is a small tree whose wood fur- 

 nished the early Indians with bows; and the Mexican often sets it 

 out in his garden, for the inferior fruit is grateful in the hot, dry 

 sections where berries are scarce. 



The Black Mulberry {M. nigra), native of Persia, is the 

 one cultivated in Europe for its fruit. It is occasionally grown 

 in California and the Southern States, but is not hardy in the North. 

 It has its name from its dark red, fleshy fruit, as well as its sombre 

 foliage. 



No mulberry is ranked among profitable fruit trees. The 

 berries rarely appear in the markets, though the trees are common 

 in gardens. The fruits are too sweet, and they lack piquancy of 

 flavour. They ripen a few at a time, and may be gathered on 

 sheets by shaking the trees. Planted in hog pastures, the fruit is 

 highly appreciated as it falls. As an attraction for birds the tree 



241 



