344 



HISTORY OF THE VEGETABLE KINGDOM. 



tree. That part of the trunk of the old tree 

 which lost the branch is covered with lead. But 

 at the same time, the mulberry has been also re- 

 markable for not producing fruit till the trees 

 have acquired a considerable age ; and this cir- 

 cumstance has materially affected its cultivation 

 as a fruit tree. The same objection has applied 

 to the walnut. Recent experiments, liowever, 

 have shown that, by proper culture, both the 

 mulberry and the walnut may be made to pro- 

 duce fruit at three years old. 



The sort principally cultivated for fruit is the 

 black mulberry fmorus nigra), although the 

 fruit of the white, Tartarian, red, and Pennsylva- 

 nian species (of the white particularly) "are of 

 sufficient consequence to merit a place in a list 

 of edible fruits." The black mulberry is a hardy 

 tree; and as the berries are abundant, and of 

 very wholesome quality, while the wood makes 

 excellent timber, and the leaves are adapted for 

 the feeding of silk- worms as well as those of the 

 white mulberry, it deserves more attention than 

 it generally receives. 



The mulberry is the latest tree to put forth 

 its leaves ; and it drops every leaf on the first 

 night of severe frost. Some trials have been 

 made of mulberi-ies trained against a south wall, 

 and the result has been a gTeat improvement in 

 the fruit. 



The mulberry is generally propagated by 

 layers, cuttings, grafting, and occasionally from 

 seed. It thrives best in a rich light earth, with 

 sufficient depth of soil, and an open sunny situa- 

 tion. A full grown tree will afford fruit suffi- 

 cient for the supply of a large family. 



The Currant (ribes). The currant and 

 gooseberry form a natural family, nearly allied 

 to the cacti, and denominated grossularim. They 

 belong to the class pentandria, and order mono- 

 gi/nia of Linnseus. 



The Red Currant (ribes rubra) is a native of 

 the northern parts of Europe, and is found in 

 hedges and woods in England. The berries of 

 this shrub, in its wild state, are uniformly red ; 

 cultivation has produced the white variety com- 

 mon in our gardens. According to Professor 

 Martyn, the currant was unknown to the ancient 

 Greeks and Romans, as in the south of Europe 

 it has not an appropriate name to this day. Mr 

 Aiton, in his Hortus Kewensis, is of opinion that 

 the currant is indigenous to Britain. Its name, 

 however, being the same as the small seedless 

 grape of the Levant (Corinth), is against this 

 theory ; and in " Dodoen's History of Plants," 

 translated in 1578, it is called " the red beyond- 

 sea gooseberry." The white, having the most 

 delicate flavour, is most in request for the des- 

 sert. The red is principally used in the prepa- 

 ration of jellies; and the white is converted into 

 wine, which, with fine fruit, and using the juice 

 alone, or only with sugar, without any mixture 



of spirits or of water, may, when kept to a pro- 

 per age, be made to equal some of the inferior 

 wines from the grape. For pastry, the currant 

 is amongst the most valuable of the British fruits, 

 being easily preserved, and growing in sufficient 

 abundance, on account of its hardiness, to offer a 

 cheap luxury to the humblest classes. This 

 bush forms the principal ornament of some of 

 those neat cottages which are so peculiarly cha- 

 racteristic of England. In parts of the country 

 where it is the custom to train the currant against 

 the walls of the house, its rich dark leaves, and 

 its brilliant fruit, growing over the latticed win- 

 dow, offer almost as pleasing a picture as the 

 vines of Italy. 



The Black Currant (ribes nigra) is a native 

 of most parts of Europe, and abounds in the 

 woods of Russia and Siberia. It is supposed to 

 be a native of Britain ; or, at all events, the pe- 

 riod of its introduction is unknown. The berries 

 are larger than those of the red or the white, but 

 they ai-e not so juicy ; and the crop upon a single 

 bush is less abundant. Their taste is peculiar, 

 and to some disagreeable. They are supposed 

 to have medicinal qualities which do not belong 

 to the other species of currants. They answer 

 well for tarts and puddings ; and can be made 

 into a very pleasant jelly, which, in village phar- 

 macy, is recommended in cases of sore throat; 

 and they make a very good rob (souring) for 

 flavouring liquors. The leaves of the black cur- 

 rant have a strong taste, especially in the early 

 part of the season; and if a small portion be 

 mixed with black tea, the flavour is changed to 

 one resembling that of green. On this account 

 it is suspected that those leaves are pretty exten - 

 sively used in the adulteration of tea, — the 

 coarser sort of black being coloured green by 

 moistening it with vinegar, laying it upon heated 

 plates of copper till it be shrivelled into small 

 balls, and mixing it with black currant leaves, 

 which .have also been shrivelled by heat. If 

 this process has been employed, the tea will dis- 

 colour a silver spoon. 



There are thirty-five varieties of the currant 

 specified in the fruit catalogue of the Horticul- 

 tural Society ; but there is perhaps no class of 

 fruits in which so much ignorance exists as to 

 the merits and difference of the varieties. It is 

 stated to be impossible to obtain the different 

 kinds with certainty from the nurseries. 



The GrOOSEBERRT (ribes grossularia). Some 

 have derived the name gooseberry from gorse- 

 berry, or the resemblance of the bush to gorse ; 

 others from the berry being used as a sauce to 

 young geese. In Cheshire, and some of the 

 neighbouring counties of England, it was called 

 fea, or feverberry ; in Norfolk this name is ab- 

 breviated to feabes, pronounced thapes ; carben-y 

 is another English name. In France it is called 

 groseille; in Scotland, sometimes grozet. It is 



