IX 



THE MULBERRY 



CHINESE {Morus alba var. muIticauUs) 

 RUSSIAN (Morns alba var. Tartanca) 



Commercially, the fruit of the mulberry is of little 

 value. Some varieties yield a large quantity of fruit, 

 but it is so small and ripens so unevenly that it is 

 of little use, except for poultry and pigs. It may 

 have a value as a preventive of injury to the cherry 

 and strawberry crops, as the robins and 

 cedar birds are very fond of the fruit 

 and will take less of the former fruits. 



The var ie ties 

 that produce the 

 largest and best 

 fruits, the New 

 American (Fig- 

 ure 59), Down- 

 ing (Figure 60), 

 Hicks, Towns- 

 e n d, etc., are 

 either grafted or 

 budded upon the 



Fig. 59— The New American Chinese (Moi'US ^^S- 60— The Down- 



'^"^^'^^'-^ alba muUicaulis) '"^ ^"'^^""'^ 



or Eussian stock {Morus alba Tartarica), the latter 

 being a little more hardy, but none standing north of 

 the forty-third degree parallel, many being killed even 

 much farther south. 



