chap, vii.] FRUIT TREES. 
229 
begin to open its buds* its leaves are ex¬ 
panded, and its young fruit formed, in an 
incredibly short time. Another peculiarity 
is that old trees frequently split into five or 
six different parts, each of which in time 
becomes surrounded with bark, so that a very 
old and thick trunk appears changed into 
five or six slender new ones: the branches 
also., if they lie along the ground, take root 
and become trees; and if an old mulberry 
tree be blown down, every branch sends 
down roots into the ground, and in a very 
short time becomes a tree. When apparently 
dead, a mulberry may in most cases be resus¬ 
citated by cutting it down to just above the 
collar, when it will send up a number of 
young stems, which will very soon be covered 
with fruit. The mulberry, in other respects, 
needs very little care from the gardener; it 
requires no pruning; and even the fruit does 
not require gathering, as it drops as soon as 
it is ripe. 
The Elder is rather a shrub than a tree; 
and from its very disagreeable smell, and 
straggling habit of growth, it is rarely planted 
except in cottage gardens. There are seve- 
