242 NEW AMERICAN ORCHARDIST. 



MULBERRY.-(M>n.) 



The mulberry is a genus comprising many species. Its 

 origin has been assigned to China; but several species are 

 found growing in a wild state in America. The fruit is 

 a berry of a roundish or oblong form ; of a color varying 

 from white to red or black ; its pulp envelops numerous 

 small seeds. 



USES. Most of the varieties of the mulberry are es- 

 teemed dessert fruits. When perfectly mature, they are 

 grateful to the taste and very wholesome. The sirup is 

 useful in mitigating inflammations of the throat. The 

 juice, when properly fermented, affords a pleasant vinous 

 wine. Mixed with apples, they afford a delicious beverage 

 called mulberry cider, of a deep red color, like Port wine 

 Lastly, the leaves of the various species of the mulberry 

 constitute the principal food of the silk-worm. Not every 

 kind, however, is equally suitable. Those most esteemed 

 are the Morus alba, M. lucida, M. tartarica, M. Moretti, 

 M. Dandolo, M. Multicaulis, and the new Canton variety, 



VARIETIES. 

 BLACK MULBERRY. 



MORUS NIGRA. 



This tree is a native of Asia Minor. It rises from 

 twenty-five to thirty feet. The leaves are large and rug- 

 ged. Its fruit is large, black, aromatic, juicy, subacid, and 

 good. An agreeable wine is made from its juice. The 

 juice is used for imparting a dark color to liquors; the 

 bark of the root is a powerful cathartic ; and from the 

 bark of the tree, strong cordage and brown paper are made. 

 RED MULBERRY. 



MORUS RUBRA. 



A native of America. The tree rises to the height of 

 from thirty to forty feet; the leaves are large, cordate, often 

 palmated, and more often three-lobed, dark green above, 

 downy beneath, rugged; the fruit is of a very deep red 

 color, and excellent. This variety is esteemed superior to 

 the Black mulberry as a fruit, and the tree is more hardy. 



For an account of other useful varieties of mulberries, 

 see the APPENDIX. 



