fact observed by him, that it eats indiscriminately the leaves of both the white and red species.

Judge Bry, of Washita, has sent to the Secretary of the Treasury leaves of a species of the red mulberry, which are described in the Manual in the following manner;

The leaves received, are three-lobed, three-nerved, unequally serrated; base, subcordate, entire; lobes, ovate, oblong, acute, or acuminate; sinuses, broad, with large, interjected, acute teeth; both surfaces rough.

'The leaves are larger than the red species; upper lobes more ovate, with base narrowed; no pubescence beneath; lateral lobes narrower than the middle. Teeth of the sinuses, sometimes entire, sometimes with a few unequal teeth on the side. Upper sinuses broader than the lower.' p. 34.

In a manuscript which lies before us, it is positively stated, that the white mulberry has never been seen in Louisiana; the writer thinks, however, that it would thrive there, the soil and climate being well adapted to its culture.

In Georgia the mulberry seems to grow in all its varieties. Beside the three principal species, there is also the paper or Chinese mulberry. They are found mingled in the native woodlands, and often of large growth. Every variety of our soils,' says a writer from Darien,*seems to suit the mulberry. They grow well upon the sea-coast, upon our hammock lands, and upon the pine lands a little in the interior; and I have seen them growing, and bearing abundantly, on the dikes that surround our alluvial lands, that were in rice.'

But the white mulberry is, on all hands, admitted to be the most appropriate for the rearing of the silkworm. For this species, Europe is indebted to Asia, whence the crusaders imported it. During the invasion of Italy under Charles thé Eighth, the French became acquainted, at once, with this tree, and the advantages which are derived from it. The first mulberry tree was planted in France, near Montelimart; and nearly three centuries after (in 1802), the original tree was still in existence. In England it was first planted in the year 1548; Mr Phillips saw at Sion-House the original trees. He found their interior so decayed, that the timber crumbled on being touched; the propped branches were, nevertheless, so well nourished, that the fruit and the foliage were not inferior

* MS. letter to Mr Rush. Darien, Georgia, Oct. 14, 1826.

Of the plantations form

to those of the youngest trees. ed during the reign of James the First, many venerable remains are still seen in England. The author whom we last quoted, found a black mulberry tree in a garden adjoining Greenwich Park, which is supposed to be one of the oldest in England.

'It throws out,' says Mr Phillips, 'ten large branches so near the earth, that it has the appearance of half a score of large trees rather than of one; and, notwithstanding many of the projecting branches have been sawed off, still it completely covers a circumference of one hundred and fifty feet; and although the elder trees have fixed their abode in some parts of the trunk, and other parts are covered with ivy, yet it continues to give shoots as vigorous as the youngest tree, and produces the finest mulberries in England. It is a regular bearer, and the gardener assured me, that he gathered more than eighty quarts a week, during the season.'

The best soil for the mulberry tree, and especially the white species, is a dry, sandy, or stony one; and the more it leans to these qualities, the more proper it is for this culture. Moist lands, even when the trees grow luxuriantly, render the leaves less nourishing, by containing two much water, which, as will be shown, is one of the substances in the mulberry leaf, but not the most nutritious. In forming plantations, care should be taken to place them in a sunny exposure, and to shelter them against strong winds. Mr de Hazzi advises to place them upon declivities towards the east or south-east, and to screen them by other woods. Dust being hurtful to the trees, places near the high roads are not eligible. In the choice of soils, it may be generally observed, that such as are apt to cover the bark with moss, create what is called the disease of the heart' among the trees. Hedge rows must not be formed so close together, as to obstruct the free access of the air. To protect the mulberry against the consequences of night frosts, the same methods which are employed with other trees, as, for instance, straw mats and sprinkling with cold water before sunrise, may be used with safety.

To propagate them, several means are employed, namely, by seed, by roots, by layers, cuttings, and suckers; and to improve a variety, there are also several species of grafts, namely, the pipe-grafting, the budding, the crown-grafting, the grafting upon the branches, and near the roots.

The proper time of sowing depends upon the climate. This,

in Bavaria, is towards the end of April. But the land must have been broken up, and dug, in the preceding autumn. On the approach of spring, it must be well stirred. Drills six or eight inches asunder are then prepared for the seed, which, two days before it is sown, is steeped in water. In this moist condition, it is rubbed upon pack-threads, which are buried in the drills, or it is laid in them, after having been dried in the air. If the weather be very dry after the sowing, the seedbeds should be watered; and this must be done without delay, for the sprouting begins within twelve days after the seed has been deposited in the earth. There are, however, examples of a later developement, without any ill consequence. Three weeks would not be too late. To defend the seed-beds against night frosts, they should be lightly covered with brambles and twigs, which would also be serviceable for obviating the ill effects of an ardent sun. Lateral shoots are better taken off from the young plants, as they leave more vigor, and insure a greater concentration of the sap in the main stem. As much as it is necessary to attend, in the spring, to the watering and to the clearing of the weeds, care must be taken, towards the end of August, not to water too much on a rich soil, on account of the facility with which a second springing of the young plants might be promoted, and the difficulties they might encounter in ripening their wood, before the winter sets in. The seedlings, after having grown to the height of one foot, must not remain too close together, nor should lofty ones be permitted to overshadow a group of lower growth. Thinning and transplanting are the proper remedy against this inconvenience.

With transplanted plants, the course is nearly the same as with the young plants in their first beds; like them they must be covered either with straw mats, chopped straw, or dry leaves, and cleared of all weeds, and watered at proper times.

In the third year, the seedlings are fit for hedges. Plants destined to become full grown trees, are set out in rows two feet from each other. The branches ought to be shortened; the stem grows then quicker, straighter, and stronger. But they must not be lopped off indiscreetly, nor close to the stem, for numerous wounds might blight the tree.

The best method to propagate the white mulberry trees,' says a writer from Louisiana, has been found to be from the seed. A large nursery is easily made; the plants can be taken up the sec

ond or third year, and transplanted at a distance of twenty to twenty-five feet apart. Should the paper mulberry (M. Papyrifera) be found to be as good a food for the silkworms, as the other varieties, I think it could be multiplied much easier, and more abundantly from the sprouts, which never fail growing in quantity round the trees; they grow faster, and their thick foliage is a proof, that they would afford more leaves in their relative proportions of size than any other kind.' MS. Letters.

The second method of rearing the mulberry is by roots. This process requires great care.

The propagation by layers, does not differ from the process followed with other plants, except that the mulberry, though elastic, requires great care to prevent their breaking in laying down the tender branches. They should be bent down when the sap begins to rise. The layers often take root within a year, and they can then be cut off from the parent tree, in the ensuing autumn or spring, and transplanted.

Cuttings are best procured by pruning two-year old branches from straight trees; and perpendicular shoots are preferable to horizontal ones, for they grow pretty much in their original direction. The proper length is from six to fifteen inches; they are put down for two thirds of their length into the mould, which is pressed close about them, and carefully watered, if the weather be dry.

То prevent slugs and snails from injuring the plants (and a large number might be destroyed by them in a single night), hot lime or ashes are recommended, and should be put upon the beds, when they are somewhat moistened by rain. Soot may be strewed around with good effect, but not upon them, on account of its acrid principle.

Tall trees seem less proper for the rearing of the silkworm, not only on account of the difficulty of removing their leaves without injuring the parts against which the ladders are rested, and the jeopardy connected with this task, but it seems admitted on all hands, that the leaves of trees that are annually pruned, produce better silk. The stripping of the leaves,' says Hazzi,should not begin before the disappearance of the dew, and ought to be concluded before the setting of the sun. The hand should move from below upwards, though it would be easier to strip them in the contrary direction.

We transcribe the following passage from Mr Rush's letter, in regard to the formation of a mulberry hedge.

'Choose grafted mulberry plants of one year old, and place them eighteen inches apart, in a furrow prepared some months before. To these may be added grafted plants of two years old, which have grown well, and which have been cut off to increase their vigor; but they must be separated from the others, to prevent irregularity in the hedge. Cut them at four or six inches from the ground, leaving two buds opposite each other; remove all the rest. In this way, the stalk has two vigorous branches the first year. In the following spring, cut one of these two branches on the same side, at about one foot from the ground, so that each plant has a short and a long one. Bend horizontally on the same side also, one after another, all the preserved branches, and fix them with willow-withs, so that they may form a line parallel to the earth, and leave untouched the entire branches. Experience has taught, that, if their extremities be cut, they grow slowly, and even die. At the commencement of the third year, the plants will have branches to form a hedge. Then cut them about two feet from the ground, but do not use the leaves. This plan has the following advantages;

1. The mulberry plants being grafted, and well arranged, and those of the first year being separated from those of the second, the hedge will grow with force and regularity.

2. The plants which have been cut down will push out near to the ground, and furnish numerous branches. When a plant dies, replace it by layers from an adjoining one; if a new plant be substituted, it rarely succeeds. The leaves from the layers must not be pulled during the three first years.' p. 42.

The mulberry leaf contains five substances; the solid or fibrous substance, the coloring matter, water, the saccharine substance, and the resinous substance. The most important element for the feeding of the silkworm, is the fourth; and on the proportions in which these divers elements are combined, depend the weight and nutritive capacity of the leaf, which are not in the same ratio, compared with the quantity of silk obtained from the worms that have been fed upon them. The white mulberry, when planted on elevated ground, in a light soil and not damp, excels in the quantity, strength, purity, and fineness of the produce. But in regard to the white mulberry, a distinction must yet be made of the several species; one produces red, another black, and two produce white berries. One has deeply indented leaves; the other, less indented, but longer. Delongchamp recommends a species which he calls Colombasse' and 'Colombassette,' the leaves of which are small, thin, and silky, and the rose mulberry, with larger