48 



A DISCOURSE 



BOOK II. sifted mould ; and if it be rich, and of the old bed, so much the better. 



^"^"'^''"^^ They should be interred, well moistened, and covered with straw, and 

 then rarely watered till they peep ; or you may squeeze the ripe berries 

 in ropes of hair or bast, and bury them, as is prescribed for Hips and 

 Haws. The earth in which you sow them should be fine mould, and as 

 rich as for melons, raised a httle higher than the area, as they make the 

 beds for ordinary pot-herbs, to keep them loose and warm ; and in such 

 beds you may sow the seeds as you do purslain, mingled with some fine 

 earth, and thinly covered, and then for a fortnight strewed over with 

 straw to protect them both from sudden heat and from birds. The 

 season is April or May, though some forbear even till July and August, 

 and in the second quarter of the moon, the weather calm and serene. — 

 At the beginning, keep them moderately fresh, not over wet, and clean 

 weeded, secured from the rigour of frosts. The second year of their 

 growth, about the beginning of October, or early in spring, draw them 

 gently out, prune the roots, and, dipping them in pond-water, transplant 

 them into a warm place or nursery. It is best ranging them in drills 

 two feet large and one in depth, each drill three feet distant, and each 



tree a considerable time, yet many of them put out roots and shot out branches ; so that 

 when any person is in haste to propagate these trees, if the cuttings are planted on a 

 moderate hot-bed, they will take root much sooner than in the common ground. 



All the kinds of Mulberry may be raised by sowing the seeds in a warm border, or upon 

 a hot-bed, moderately heated ; but this method of propagation is not to be recommended 

 when the trees are intended for fruit, as the seeds will not always come of the desired 

 kinds. When a large quantity of trees is desired for their leaves only, it is a goad method 

 to raise them from seeds. 



The Mulberry delights to grow in a light, rich earth, sucli as is seen in most of the old 

 kitchen gardens about London ; for in some of those gardens there are trees of a very 

 great age, which are very healthy and fruitful, and their fruit is larger and better flavoured 

 than that of younger trees. I have never yet seen any of those trees which were planted 

 in a very stiff soil, or on shallow ground, either upon clay, chalk, or gravel, which have 

 been healthy or fruitful ; their stems and branches are generally covered with moss, so that 

 the little fruit which they produce is small, ilUtasted, and late before it ripens. 



If these trees are planted in a situation where they are defended from the strong south 

 and north-west winds, it will preserve their fruit from being blown off; but this shelter, 

 whether it be trees or buildings, should be at such a distance as not to keep off the sun ; 

 for where the fruit has not the benefit of his rays to dissipate the morning dews, it turns 

 mouldy and rots upon the trees. 



It often happens that old trees either become bad bearers, or cast their fruit before 

 it coraes to maturity. In either of these cases, let s, trench be cut about two feet deep, 



