12 THE MULBERRY AXD OTHER SILKWORM FOOD PLANTS. 



rooting and until a favorable opportunity arrives for planting 

 them out in nursery rows. If those rooted indoors are given plenty 

 of air after being rooted in the bed they can be transferred during 

 dull weather. 



PROPAGATION BY SEEDS. 



Propagation by seeds is an exceedingly simple operation, and if 

 ordinary care is given successful results will follow. Seeds sown 

 shortly after being harvested will germinate in a few days. If kept 

 over winter and sown in early spring the seedlings should appear in 

 fourteen days. When the seed is spring sown, the seedlings will, if 

 the weather be propitious, attain a height of from 12 to 18 inches in 

 one year, but during dry seasons they will only grow from 6 to 12 

 inches. Seedlings from seeds sown immediately after the fruit ripens 

 are always small at the end of the season, but they produce strong 

 plants the season following. 



The mulberry, like the strawberry, blackberry, and raspberry, does 

 not ripen all of its fruit at one time ; consequently several gatherings 

 are necessary before a crop is harvested from any one tree. The 

 earliest fruits can be harvested immediately after they are ripe, and 

 the seed sown if desired. It should be remembered that seedlings 

 thus raised have comparatively little time to make their growth; 

 therefore, every day counts. 



In gathering the fruit it will be found easiest to shake the tree 

 and pick the fruits from the ground. To remove the seeds from the 

 surrounding pulp, put the fruit into a large bucket or tub and squeeze 

 with the hands until it becomes a jelly-like mass. Add water and 

 stir well until the contents are thinned sufficiently to allow the seeds 

 to sink to the bottom. The remaining material can be poured off. 

 The seeds should be exposed to the air until dry. If it is desired to 

 sprout them the same summer, they should be sown in beds in the 

 open, the soil having been previously well worked by deep plowing 

 and gone over several times with a harrow and roller. When the soil 

 is sufficiently pulverized, the ground should be marked off into beds 

 5 feet wide and of any convenient length, leaving a space of 2 feet 

 between the beds. To prevent washing of the soil and also lo mini- 

 mize the evil effects of drying winds, drive some stout stakes into the 

 ground along the sides and ends of the beds, and to these nail 8-inch 

 or 12-inch boards. The surface of the bed should be leveled and all 

 stones and roots of plants removed with a hand rake. 



Sow the seeds broadcast, taking care not to sow them too thick, 

 as there is danger of the seedlings crowding each other. Crowding 

 produces weak plants, because even the best soil is capable of sup- 

 porting only a certain number of plants to the square foot. Press 



119 



