418 
DECIDUOUS TREES. 
strong soil, and somewhat sheltered location, though it may be 
•considered hardy in most parts of the northern States. Though 
not truly within the scope of this work, we feel it a duty to call 
attention to a fact which is not well known in many parts of the 
country, viz: that the wood of this species is almost as durable as 
that of the black or yellow locust. Its growth is rapid. 
The White Mulberry. Morus alba .—The varieties of this 
species are very numerous, and their leaves form the staple food 
for the silkworm, the Morns multicaulis being one of them. Their 
fruit is red and black, as well as white, although the species is 
characterized as white-fruited. The leaves resemble those of the 
red mulberry in form (see Fig. 134), but are smaller, more pointed, 
and less often lobed, though very variable in this respect, lighter- 
colored, and more glossy. The tree is of a more shrubby char¬ 
acter, of slenderer though rapid growth, and should be allowed to 
branch low; otherwise its tendency to suckers will be increased. 
Loudon mentions that it is not able to endure great extremes of 
heat or cold. There are specimens of the white mulberry in the 
New York Central Park, with luxuriant and glossy leaves, among 
the most beautiful to be seen there. 
The Morns multicaulis has larger and thinner leaves than the 
parent species, and black fruit. It is also more tender, and forms 
rather a luxuriant bush than a tree. 
The Dandelo Mulberry, M. morettiana , is another variety, 
the leaves of which are held in great esteem in France as food for 
silkworms, and the silk made from it is said to exceed any other 
in fineness and glossiness. The leaf itself is very beautiful, being 
thin, large, perfectly flat, deep green, and glossy on both surfaces. 
Less hardy than the preceding. 
There are scores of other varieties, but none that are at the 
same time hardy and peculiar enough to be interesting. All the 
white mulberry trees do best in a dry, sandy, or gravelly soil, and 
a protected situation, and grow occasionally to considerable size; 
from thirty to forty-five feet in height and about equal breadth. 
Downing’s Ever-bearing Mulberry should, perhaps, be 
classed as a variety of the M. alba. It is a fine rapid-growing tree, 
