1840.] SENATE— No. 36. 107 



stretched to its full extent, which gives it the appearance of 

 dried clothes before they are ironed. It hangs vertically upon 

 the plant, and to an inexperienced eye, would appear like a 

 leaf in which the circulation had been arrested. I have seen 

 silk of the finest description made from worms fed upon the 

 leaves of this tree. This silk would not suffer by comparison 

 with any other. The worms devour the leaves of this tree 

 greedily, and as far as it has been tried here, it seems favorable 

 to their health and growth. The leaf often acquires a large 

 size, though the foliage would naturally be larger while the 

 tree is small, and formed upon recently grown wood, than it 

 would be if the tree were allowed to form a standard tree, and 

 should attain several years' growth. The great advantages, 

 which are relied upon in respect to this tree, are in the rapidity 

 of its growth, the ease with which it can be multiplied, the 

 abundance of its foliage, and the great facility with which 

 the leaves may be gathered. 



This tree has been so much the subject of speculation, that it 

 has become matter of no little difficulty to determine what is 

 true in respect to it. Individuals, under the influence of pri- 

 vate interest, have indulged in calculations respecting it, so ex- 

 travagant, that all sobriety seems at once distanced, and we 

 are transported into the upper regions of pure fiction. The 

 extraordinary value of the tree, however, is unquestionable ; 

 and the introduction of it into the country, must be considered 

 a distinguished benefaction ; but that it is the best tree for the 

 cultivators of silk in New England, is not so well established. 



The tree does not appear to be used, certainly it is not pre- 

 ferred, in China. A gentleman in the vicinity of Boston, who 

 had been himself a resident in Canton for many years, and 

 who could command the services and influence of the most 

 intelligent and influential merchants of that city, ordered two 

 thousand of the most valuable tree used in the country, to be 

 shipped to him. Five hundred of these survived the passage ; 

 but the Multicaulis is not among them. The American mis- 

 sionaries, who have sent to this country seeds of the best mul- 



