DECIDUOUS TREES. 
417 
French chateaux the black mulberry was always planted for their 
benefit. The leaves are particularly agreeable to cattle, as well as 
to silkworms. 
The species of mulberry are not numerous, but the varieties 
are almost innumerable, though their differences are of little conse¬ 
quence in decorative planting. 
The American Red Mul- Fig. 133. 
berry Tree, Morus rubra , is 
the largest and finest ornamen- ' 
forest it sometimes grows to ** 
ous character, as indicated by 
Fig. 133, which is a portrait of a good specimen at twenty-five or 
thirty years of age. The leaves are quite large, 
nearly equal to those of the catalpa, generally 
heart-shaped, but often with two or three lobes, 
as shown by Fig. 134, of a dark-green color, 
thick texture, and rough surface. The fruit is 
deep red, oblong, and of good flavor. The trunk of the tree has 
deeply-furrowed bark, with a tinge of green in its color, and the 
main branches have a rugged ramification like those of the oak. 
The leaves make their appearance late in the spring, but, like those 
of the horse-chestnut, develop with great luxuriance as soon as 
they burst the bud, and then remain on the tree till killed by hard 
frosts. They are not considered of any value for the silkworm. 
As an ornamental tree this mulberry is one of the most do¬ 
mestic in expression, luxuriant in foliage, and noble in the distri¬ 
bution of its lights and shadows among our medium-sized trees. 
That it is a fruit-bearing tree is something against its tidiness, but 
its fruit will assuredly pay for the extra care required to keep the 
ground or lawn under it in cleanly condition. It does best in a 
