1840.] SENATE— No. 36. 165 



the farmers of Massachusetts. There is, then, in the first 

 place, no diiRcuhy in raising the hardy kinds of mulberry in 

 any part of the State. There is good reason to believe, that 

 the tender varieties may be naturalized ; and they may at least 

 be cultivated to a certain extent, by taking them up in the fall 

 and resetting them in the spring. Every farmer, therefore, in 

 the State may have, at a small expense, his one, two, three, or 

 more acres of mulberry trees, the leaves of which he may use 

 as he pleases. A permanent plantation being once well estab- 

 lished, it will require little care to keep it in good order, and 

 the trees will endure for several generations. If he does not 

 choose to use the leaves himself, there may be a market for 

 them with those who are willing to use them. In France, the 

 leaves are picked and carried into market for sale, as much as 

 other vegetables. As in Mansfield, persons may be found, 

 who will be willing to take the trees and eggs, upon condition 

 of returning a third or two-thirds of the product in silk, as may 

 be agreed upon. In this way the cost of the trees and the ex- 

 pense of setting and cultivating them will prove a profitable 

 investment. Further, the trees may be planted at the road 

 sides as ornamental trees, occupying no land to the disadvan- 

 tage of any other purpose ; and in this way may be made pro- 

 ductive. The planting of the trees, therefore, the white, the 

 broussa, the Alpine, or Sharpe's variety, ought every where to 

 be undertaken and encouraged ; and the tender varieties de- 

 mand the particular attention of persons, who have the means 

 of cultivating and using them. A mulberry orchard ought to 

 be found upon a farm as constantly as an apple orchard. 



The expense of other fixtures need not be much. Though 

 undoubtedly the most perfect way of pursuing the business is 

 the best way, and, as we see illustrated in the mode of treat- 

 ment adopted by M. Camille Beauvais, which I shall give at 

 large, effects a great saving of time and labor, and a larger 

 amount of produce, than by what is called the natural method ; 

 yet the business may be pursued advantageously, because it 

 has for years been pursued advantageously in Mansfield, with- 



