M O R 
for this purpofe, fo the better way is to propagate 
them by cuttings, which, if rightly chofen and fkii- 
fullv managed, will take root very well ; and in this 
method there 'will be no difficulty in having them 
from trees at a diftance, and from the nioft fruitful 
branches. Thefe cuttings ffiould be the fhoots of 
the former year, with one joint of the two years 
wood to their bottom ; the cuttings ffiould not be 
ffiortened, but planted their full length, leaving two 
or three buds above ground. The bell feafon for 
planting them is in March, after the danger of hard 
froft is over ; they ffiould be planted in light rich 
earth, preffing the ground pretty clofe about them ; 
and if they are covered with glaffes, it will forward 
their putting out roots ; but where there is not fuch 
conveniency, the ground about them ffiould be 
covered with mofs, to prevent its drying ; and 
where this is carefully done, the cuttings will re- 
quire but little water, and will fucceed much bet- 
ter chan with having much wet. If the cuttings 
fucceed well and make good ffioots, they may be 
tranfplanted the following lpring into a nurfery, 
where they ffiould be regularly trained to Items, by 
fixing down flakes by each, to which the principal 
ffioots ffiould be fattened ; and moft of the lateral 
branches ffiould be clofely pruned off, leaving only 
two or three of 'the weakeft to detain the fap, for 
the augmentation of the Item ; for when they are 
quite divefted of their fide ffioots, the fap is mounted 
to the top, fo that the heads of the trees grow too faff 
for the Items, and become too weighty for their fup- 
port. In about four years growth in the nurfery, they 
will be fit to tranfplant where they are to remain ; for 
thefe trees are tranfplanted with greater fafety while 
young, than when they are of a large fize. 
If the cuttings are planted in a bed fully expofed to the 
fun, it will be proper to arch the bed over with 
hoops, that they may be ffiaded with mats in the 
heat of the day during the fpring, till they have put 
out roots ; after which, the more they are expofed 
to the fun, the better they will fucceed, provided 
the ground is covered with mofs or mulch to prevent 
its drying, for the fun will harden the ffioots, and 
thereby they will be in lefs danger of fuffering by the 
early frofts in autumn ; for when' thefe are in a ffiady 
fituation, they are apt to grow vigoroufly in fummer, 
fo will be replete with moifture, and the early frofts 
in October frequently kill their tops ; and if the fol- 
lowing winter proves fevere, they are often killed to 
their roots, and fometimes are entirely deftroyed. I 
have two or three times made trial of planting the 
cuttings of Mulberries on a hot-bed, and have found 
them fucceed extremely well. This I was led to by 
oblerving fome flicks of Mulberry-trees which were 
cut for forks, and thruft into the hot-bed to fallen 
down the Vines of Cucumbers ; which, although 
they had been cut from the tree a confiderable time, 
yet many of them put out roots and ffiot out branches; 
fo that where any perfon is in hafte to propagate thefe 
trees, if the cuttings are planted on a moderate hot- 
bed, they will take root much fooner than in the com- 
mon ground. 
This tree dejights to grow in rich light earth, fuch as 
is in moft of the old kitchen-gardens about London, 
where there is alfo a great depth of earth ; for in fome 
of thole gardens there are trees of a very great age, 
which are very healthy and fruitful, and their fruit is 
larger and better flavoured than thofe of younger 
trees. I have never yet feen any of thefe trees which 
were planted in a very ftiff foil, or on ffiallow ground, 
either upon clay, chalk, or gravel, which have been 
healthy or fruitful, but their Items and branches are 
covered with mofs, fo that the little fruit which they 
fometimes produce are fmall, ill tailed, and late be- 
fore they ripen. 
If thefe trees are planted in a fituation where they are 
defended from the ftrong fouth and north- weft winds, 
it will preferve their fruit from being blown off; but 
this ffielter, whether it be trees or buildings, ffiould be 
MGR 
at fuch a diftance as not to keep off the fun ; for where 
the fruit has not the benefit of his rays to diflipate 
the morning dev/s early, they will turn mouldy and 
rot upon the trees. There is never any occafion for 
pruning thefe trees, more than to cut off any of the 
branches which may grow acrofs others, fo as to rub 
and wound their bark, by their motion occafioned by 
the wind ; for their ffioots ffiould never be ffiortened, 
becaufe the fruit is produced on the young wood. 
The fecond fort grows naturally in Sicily, from 
whence I received a parcel of the feeds, and raifed a 
good number of the plants ; all thefe were totally 
different in their leaves from the common Mulberry, 
fo that I am certain of its being a diftindt fpecies. It 
is alfo a tree of humbler growth, but the fruit is fmall 
and has no flavour, fo is not worth propagating ; 
fome of the trees produced fruit two or three years in 
the Chelfea garden. 
The white Mulberry is commonly cultivated for its 
leaves to feed filk-worms in France, Italy, &c. 
though thePerfians generally make ufe of the common 
black Mulberry for that purpofe ; and I have been aft 
fured by a gentleman of honour, who has made trial 
of both forts of leaves, that the worms fed with thofe 
of the black fort produce much better filk than thofe 
fed with the white ; but he obferves that the leaves 
of the black fort ffiould never be given to the worms 
after they have eaten for fome time of the white, left 
the worms ffiould burft, which is often the cafe when 
they are thus treated. 
The trees which are defigned to feed filk-worms, 
ffiould never be fuffered to grow tall, but rather kept 
in a fort of hedge ; and inftead of pulling off the 
leaves fingly, they ffiould be fheared off together 
with their young branches, which is much fooner 
done, and not fo injurious to the tree. 
This white fort may be propagated either from feeds 
or layers, as the black Mulberry, and is equally hardy ; 
but the moft expeditious method of railing thefe trees 
in quantity, is from the feeds, which may be pro- 
cured in plenty from the fouth of France or Italy : the 
belt way to fow thefe feeds in England, is to make a 
moderate hot-bed, which ffiould be arched over with 
hoops, and covered with mats ; upon this bed the 
feeds ffiould be fown in the end of March, and co- 
vered over with light earth about a quarter of an 
inch deep : in very dry weather the bed mult be fre- 
quently watered, and in the heat of the day ffiaded 
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, fo they mult be guarded againft frofty 
mornings, which often happen in May, and deftroy 
fuch tender plants; during the fummer they mult be 
kept clean from weeds, which is all the culture they 
require: but there mull be care taken of them the firft 
winter, efpecially to cover them in autumn, when the 
firft frofts come, which will kill the tender plants to 
the ground, if they are not protected ; the following 
March thefe plants ffiould be tranfplanted into the 
nurfery to get ftrength, where they may remain two 
or three years, and then ffiould be removed where they 
are to continue. 
There are two or three varieties of this tree, which 
differ in the ffi ape of their leaves, fize, and colour of 
their fruit ; but as they are of no other ufe than for 
their leaves, the ftrongeft ffiooting and the largeft 
leaved ffiould be preferred. 
The third fort, which is the large-leaved Virginian 
Mulberry with black ffioots, is more uncommon thai* 
either of the former ; there is a large tree of this 
growing in the gardens of the Biffiop of London at 
Fulham, which has been feveral years an inhabitant 
of that garden, but has never produced any fruit that 
I could learn, but hath fome years a great number of 
katkins, much like thofe of the Hazel-nut, which oc- 
cafioned Mr. Ray to give it the name of Corylus ; 
but it may be one of the male trees which do not pro- 
duce fruit, as it fometimes happens in the common 
lores 
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