M O 



M O 



ter twenty Years ftanding, have pro- 

 duced plenty of Fruit, and few Male 

 Flowers. 



Where thefe Trees are planted 

 in a very ftrong or lhallow Soil, they 

 feldom make any Progress, efpeciai- 

 ly where the Bottom is either Clay 

 or Chalk ; in both which Soils they 

 grow mofly, and never make much 

 Progrefs. 



The Soil under thefe Trees mould 

 alfo be every Year well dug and ma- 

 nured ; tho' there will fcarce any 

 Sort of Plants grow under them : 

 but it is of great Advantage to the 

 Fruit, notwithstanding what may 

 have been {aid to the contrary. 



The white Mulberry is commonly 

 cultivated for its Leaves to feed Silk- 

 worms, in France and Italy, kc. tho' 

 the Perfians always make ufe of the 

 common black Mulberry for that 

 Purpofe : and I have been allured 

 by a Gentleman of Honour, who 

 hath made Trial of both Sorts of 

 Leaves, that the Worms fed with 

 thofe of the black Sort produce much 

 better Silk than thofe fed with the 

 White : but he obferves, that the 

 Leaves of the black Sort mould ne- 

 ver be given to the Worms, after 

 they have eaten for fome time of the 

 white, left the Worms mould burft ; 

 which is often the Cafe, when they 

 are thus treated. 



The Trees which are defigned to 

 feed Silk-worms, mould never be 

 fufFcred to grow tall, but rather 

 kept in a fort of Hedge ; and inftead 

 of pulling off the Leaves fingly, they 

 mould be meared oft together with 

 their young Branches ; which is 

 much fooner done, and not fo injuri- 

 ous to the Tree. 



This white Sort may be propaga- 

 ted either from Seeds or Layers, as 

 the black Mulberry, and is equally 

 hardy : but the moft expeditious Me- 

 thod of ruifing thefe Trees in Quan- 



tity, is from the Seeds ; which may 

 be procured in plenty from the South 

 of France, or Italy : the beft way to 

 fow thefe Seeds in England is, to 

 make a moderate Hot- bed, which 

 lhould be arched over with Hoops, 

 and covered with Mats : upon this 

 Bed the Seeds mould be fown in the 

 middle of March, and covered over 

 with light Earth about a Quarter of 

 an Inch deep : in very dry Weather 

 the Bed muft be frequently watered ; 

 and in the Heat of the Day (haded 

 with Mats ; and alfo covered in the 

 Nights when they are cold : with 

 this Management the Plants will 

 come up in five or fix Weeks ; and 

 as they are tender when they firft 

 appear, they muft be guarded againft 

 frolly Mornings, which often hap- 

 pen in May, and deftroy fuch tender 

 Plants : if thefe Plants are watered 

 in dry Weather, and kept clear from 

 Weeds, they will- make good Pro- 

 grefs the firft Year : but there muft 

 be Care taken of them the firft Win- 

 ter, efpecially to cover them in Au- 

 tumn, when the firft Frofts come, 

 which will kill the tenderPIants to the 

 Ground, if they are not protected .* 

 the following March thefe Plants 

 lhould be tranfplanted into the Nur- 

 fery to get Strength, where they 

 may remain two or three Years ; and 

 then mould be removed where they 

 are to continue. 



There are two or three Varieties 

 of this Tree, which differ in the 

 Shape of their Leaves, Size and Co- 

 lour of their Fruit : but as they are 

 of no otherUfe than for theirLeaves, 

 the ftrongeft-fhootingand thelargeft- 

 leaf d Sort lhould be preferr'd. 



The Jarge-leav'd Firgiman Sort, 

 with long red Fruit, is at prefent 

 very fcarce in England, tho' itfeems 

 to be the common Sort, which grows 

 fpontaneoufly in the Woods of Ame- 

 rica ; this may be propagated from 



Seeds, 



