lis TREATISE ON THE CULTURE ANb 



of two inches in the rows, leaving only two or three buds above 

 ground : Mulch the ground with leaves or dung well rotted, to 

 keep it moist, and the plants will require little watering. If 

 they succeed well, they may, next season, be transplanted into 

 a nursery, and treated as directed for layers. These young 

 trees, while they remain in the nursery, should be transplanted 

 every three or four years. 



I would recommend planting of mulberries in grass or- 

 chards and pleasure grounds, because the finest of the fruit, 

 when ripe, frequently drops, which, if it fall on dug or ploughed 

 ground, will be soiled and rendered unfit for use, as the earth 

 will adhere so to the fruit as to render the cleaning of it imprac- 

 ticable ; but if planted on lawns, or in grass orchards, the fruit 

 can be picked up without receiving any injury. Another rea- 

 son for planting these trees on lawns or in orchards is, that, 

 when full grown, they are too large for a kitchen garden. The 

 soil in which they thrive best is a rich, light, and deep earth. 



As the fruit is produced on the young wood, you should 

 cut out only such branches as cross others, and such as are de* 

 cayed, or broken by any accident ; at the same time apply the 

 composition. If, however, the heads should become too full 

 of wood, it will be necessary to thin them, as the fruit is larger 

 and better flavoured where the heads are kept thin of wood. 



I have found many of these trees in a very decayed state, 

 with the trunks quite hollow ; and have tried the efficacy of the 

 composition on several of them, cutting out all the dead wood 

 and cankery parts of some, and heading down others that were 

 stunted and sickly. After these operations they put forth vi- 

 gorous branches, and bore excellent crops of fruit, more than 

 double the size of that which they produced in their former 

 state. 



I would advise those who have any old decayed mulberry- 

 trees, to treat them in the same manner ; but those which arc 

 very much decayed should be headed down ; this will throw 

 them into a healthy bearing state, and in two or three years 

 they will produce plenty of fine fruit. 



In the lawn in front of the house of John Grove, Esq. at 

 Little Chelsea, there are four old mulberry-trees, which a few 

 years ago were so very much decayed, and so full of wounds 

 and dead wood, that they produced very little fruit, and that of 

 a small size. I had all the decayed and rotten wood carefuUV 

 cut out, and the branches trimmed, and then the composition 

 applied. In the first season the}^ sent forth fi.ne shoots, and in 

 the second produced plenty of fruit, of a better flavour and dou- 

 ble the size of that which they formerly bore. 



