By T. A. Knight, Esq. 



65 



a small crop only ; but in every subsequent year, my trees 

 have borne well, except in the last season, when, owing to 

 the badness of the preceding summer, a small quantity only 

 of blossoms appeared in the spring. By bringing much of 

 the bearing wood into contact with the wall, by the means 

 above mentioned, I have had Mulberries ripe as early as 

 the 20th J uly ; and the crop continued successively to ripen, 

 in much perfection, till the end of October. 



As the blossom buds of the Mulberry tree cannot be rea- 

 dily distinguished from others, in the winter, the best period 

 for pruning is, when the blossoms first become visible in the 

 spring ; and it is my practice to pinch off every barren shoot, 

 which is not wanted, to cover the wall, and to stop every 

 bearing shoot, under similar circumstances, at the third or 

 fourth leaf. Mr. Williams has stated, that the bud immedi- 

 ately below the point, at which a bearing or other branch is 

 pinched off, usually affords fruit in the following year ; and 

 I have found his observation in this, as in all other cases, to 

 be perfectly accurate. 



If I were now to plant Mulberry trees, I should wish to 

 obtain such as had stems three or four feet long, as the first 

 shoots of these, after being planted, might conveniently be 

 trained downwards ; and if plants of this height, previously 

 propagated from bearing branches, were selected, I do not 

 entertain any doubt, but that fruit might be obtained, in the 

 second year after planting : and by proper attention, to 

 shorten and renew the dependent bearing branches, such 

 trees might easily be very long retained, in an almost equal 

 state of perfection. 



The Mulberry, as Mr. Williams has remarked, is a 



VOL. III. K 



