DECIDUOUS ORNAMENTAL TREES. 187 



impossible to find two exactly alike, though the prevailing 

 outlines are either heart-shaped, or more or less deeply cut 

 or lobed. These leaves are considered valueless for feed- 

 ing the silkworm ; but in the South Seas the bark is woven 

 into dresses worn by the females ; and in China and Japan 

 extensive use is made of it in the manufacture of a paper 

 of the softest and most beautiful texture. This is fabricated 

 from the inner bark of the young shoots, which is first boiled 

 to a soft pulp, and then submitted to processes greatly 

 similar to those performed in our paper-mills. This tree 

 blossoms in spring and ripens its fruit in the month of 

 August. The latter is dark scarlet, and quite singular and 

 ornamental, though of no value. The genus is dioecious ; 

 and the reason why so few fruit-bearing trees are seen in 

 the United States, is because we generally cultivate only 

 one of the sexes, the female. M. Parmentier, however, who 

 introduced the male plant from Europe, disseminated it in 

 several parts of the country ; and the beauty of the tree 

 has thereby been augmented by the interest which it 

 possesses when laden with its long, hairy berries. 



The value of the Paper mulberry, in ornamental planta- 

 tions, arises from its exotic look, as compared with other 

 trees, from the singular diversity of its foliage, the beauty 

 of its reddish berries, and from the rapidity of its growth. 

 It is deficient in hardiness for a colder climate than that of 

 New York ; but further south it is considerably esteemed 

 as a shade-tree for lining the side-walks in cities. In win- 

 ter its light fawn or ash-colored bark, mottled with patches 

 of a darker grey, contrasts agreeably with other trees. It 

 has little picturesque beauty, and should never be planted 

 in quantities, but only in scattered specimens, to give 

 interest and variety to a walk in the lawn or shrubbery. 



