578 



THE NEW AMERICAN MULBERR\. 



inferior ones are common. The New American, 

 Downing (Downing's Everbearing), Johnson and 

 Hicks (Hick's Everbearing) are the most reliable 

 varieties. The Downing originated upon the Hud- 

 son with the Downings from the seed of the 

 famous Moms midticaiilis, which was introduced to 

 feed silk worms. Of late years the Russian mul- 

 berry has been widely disseminated, and as it is 

 comparatively worthless, it will be likely to preju- 

 dice many people against the mulberry. The wild 

 species, Morns rubra, has long been cultivated 

 to a limited extent, and it is worthy of greater at' 

 tention. 



The mulberry thrives best in a good sandy loam. 

 Three or four trees will ordinarily supply a family. 

 The tree requires little pruning or care. It is 

 readily propagated by cuttings, either of the recent 

 wood or of roots. It is also grafted. It is a long- 

 lived tree, and it sometimes attains a considerable 

 size. It is not uncommon to find specimens of the 

 old-fashioned white mulberry a foot and a half in 

 diameter at the base and twenty-five feet high. 

 Many of the varieties are hardy in Michigan, New 

 York and Massachusetts. 



As ornamental trees, the mulberries possess 

 merit. They are particularly conspicuous because 

 of the curious and various lobing of the leaves. 

 Individual trees vary mnch m style of leaf, even of 

 the same species, and the lobing of the leaves on 

 the upper branches is often different from that on 

 the lower ones. A batch of mulberry seedlings often 

 presents an interesting study in this direction. 

 Mulberries are among the last trees to leaf out in 

 spring, but in late summer, when most other plants 

 have lost their special charms, the mulberry begins 

 to ripen its sweet and curious fruits. In most 

 varieties the fruits ripen successively through a 

 number of weeks. I picked the last fruits from a 

 large mulberry tree this year in September. This 

 habit of continuous ripening obscures the amount 

 of fruit which a mulberry tree bears. A member 

 of the Western New York Horticultural Society 

 stated at the last meeting that he has a tree which 

 bears ten bushels in one season. 



The mulberry has become most widely known 

 through its value in silk culture, but in the north, 

 at least, it is more valuable as a fruit-bearing tree. 



L. H. B. 



"O, the iniilbeny tree is of trees Ihe queen! 

 Bare long after Ihe others are green, 

 Tint as time steals onward, which none perceives. 

 Slowly she clothes herself with leaves. 



* " Hv and hy when the flowers grow few, 

 And the fruits are dwindling and small to view, 

 Out she comes in her matron grace 

 IVith the purple myriads of her race. 



— D. M. MULOCK. 



