414 APPENDIX. 



description, even to the root. The ravages of that destructive win- 

 ter seem to have been confined to particular situations and soils ; to 

 the productions of the forced growth of a summer not less uncommon 

 and extraordinary. 



In a state of nature, and in the shades and protection of the forest, 

 or of herbage, the growth of the young tree being slow, and the 

 wood completely matured in due season, the case is far otherwise ; 

 the bountiful covering of moss, of herbage, or of leaves, with which 

 provident nature clothes the ground, being amply sufficient to mod- 

 ify the growth of the plant, and defend, at the root. This protection, 

 like the fleecy snow, being twofold, it defends alike from the blasts 

 of sudden and excessive cold, also from the still more destructive 

 nnd pernicious rays of the sun. These remarks are equally applica- 

 ble to the very young trees of the different varieties of the mulberry, 

 to those especially which late in autumn have been transplanted to 

 new positions, or the forced trees of but a single summer's growth : 

 defenceless, unprotected, and all exposed, on an unsuitable and 

 naked soil, they meet the frosts of autumn and of winter unprepared. 



A dry. sterile sand is unsuitable ; and a shallow soil on a founda- 

 tion of clay produces leaves of bad quality. In low, rich grounds, 

 and extensive plains or prairies, near ponds, and in the valleys of 

 rivers, the mulberry tree indeed grows most vigorously, yet the 

 leaves being more watery, though voraciously devoured, they prolong 

 the labors of the insect by inducing weakness, and injure the quality 

 of the produce. These grounds are alike exposed to the destructive 

 frosts of winter and of summer : the moisture of the atmosphere in 

 such situations causes the leaves to become spotted and to mildew, 

 and the leaves thus infected, if given to the insects, are the sure 

 sources of disease and of death. 



Sunny expositions and the declivities of hills, those especially 

 which slope to the south, east, or west, are favorable. The cocoons 

 of mountainous countries are deemed superior to those of the plains; 

 although not so large, they are usually of a whiter color. Plant the 

 mulberry tree on the high uplands, and on the hills, for here they 

 are neither exposed to suffer from the early and the latter frosts, nor 

 are the leaves liable to become spotted or diseased from the mildew; 

 and from these combined causes, the growth of the tree will be con- 

 sequently prolonged for a double length of time. 



Prepare the soil by suitable nutriment, to the depth of eighteen 

 inches beneath the tree, and to a proper distance around. The 

 roots of the mulberry tree strike downwards ; other plants may 

 therefore be profitably cultivated beneath its shade, which is not 

 deemed pernicious, the whole ground being kept as a garden during 

 the first years. 



The proper soils for the mulberry tree are " dry, sandy, or stony ." 

 And trees growing on dry, sandy, or stony soils, and situated on the 

 open plains, and on hills the most exposed to cold winds, will be 

 found to suffer least of all from the destructive frosts of autumn and 

 of winter. With all authors I must agree in recommending a spil 

 of but moderate fertility, and least of all a cold, moist, and heavy soil, 

 on a clay foundation, or even a very rich soil ; a dry soil, on a friable 

 subsoil, on gentle elevations or declivities, being the most suitable 

 of all for the mulberry from China. 



Land of middling quality will answer admirably land less calcu- 



