spirits, the gum having been dissolved by the spirit. The whisk is then moved lightly about till the filaments adhere to it, and are drawn off. As soon as a sufficient number are collected, the reeling begins. (See Amer. Silk-Grower's Guide, Murray on the Silkworm; Nouv. Cours d'Agric., &c.) If well fed, in a proper temperature, the caterpillars will have finished their labours in 24 days from the period of being hatched; and the quantity of silk produced will, other circumstances being equal, be in proportion to the quantity of food devoured: its quality will depend on the climate and soil in which the leaves have been grown. An ounce of eggs will produce about 40,000 caterpillars, which will consume 1073 lb. of leaves, and produce 80 lb. of cocoons, or about 8 lb. of raw silk. The worms are subject to numerous diseases, the most fatal of which is vulgarly called the tripes; and is brought on by wet or improper food. When any insects appear sick, they should be immediately removed from the rest, as all their diseases appear to be contagious- Wet leaves should never be given to silkworms, as they occasion disease; and it is better to let the insects fast for 24 hours, or even longer, than to give them leaves that are not perfectly dry. In wet weather, the branches of the tree should be gathered, and hung up in a dry place; or the leaves should be gathered, and spread out to dry. (Nouv. Cours d'Agric., vol. xvi. p. 103.)

Substitutes for Mulberry Leaves in feeding the Silkworm. It is probable that the leaves of all the plants that contain a milky juice will, if they are eligible in point of texture, afford suitable food for the silkworm, from the common property of milky juice, that of containing caoutchouc. Accordingly, trials have been made with the tender leaves of the fig, with the leaves of the maclura, and of Acer platanoides and A. tataricum, among trees; and of lettuce, endive, beet, spinach, nettle, &c., among herbaceous plants. None of these substitutes, however, are of any real use, unless we except the maciura and the lettuce. The former, according to the American Gardener's Magazine, is thought likely to answer to a certain extent; as the lettuce and endive have done formerly, more especially when the plants have been allowed to send up their flower stalks before their leaves were gathered. In 1792, a Miss Croft of York sent a specimen of silk of her own raising to, the Society of Arts, the worms producing which had been fed entirely on lettuce leaves.

Soil, Situation, Propagation, and Culture. The white mulberry is more tender than Mòrus nigra, and requires more care in choosing a situation for it. Calcareous soil is said to produce the best silk; and humid situations, or where the roots of the tree can have access to water, the worst. A gravelly or sandy loam is very suitable; and trees grown on hilly surfaces, and poor soils, always produce superior silk to those grown in valleys, and in rich soils. The tree is propagated by seeds, cuttings, layers, and grafting. To obtain seeds, the berries must be collected from trees which have been known to produce male catkins the preceding spring. The berries are either gathered when quite ripe, and left to become dry before the seed is separated from them; or they are put into water as soon as gathered, and rubbed so as to separate the seeds, which are cleansed from the pulp in the water, and then rubbed dry on a linen cloth, and either sown immediately, or mixed with sand, and kept till wanted for use. In the south of France, the seeds are sown as soon as the fruit is gathered, and the plants come up the same autumn; but, in colder climates, they are kept till spring, when they generally come up in three or four weeks, and require some protection, at first, during cold nights. In Germany, and in the north of the United States, the young plants are covered, during the first winter, with dry leaves or straw; and this covering, or mulching, is continued on the ground for three or four years, till the plants are thoroughly established, to protect their roots from the cold. The young plants are generally taken up and replanted the second spring, care being taken to place them in rows 4 ft. asunder, for the convenience of gathering the leaves. M. a. multicaúlis is always propagated by layers or cuttings; the layers being made in spring or at midsummer, and separated from the mother plant in autumn; or by cuttings of branches, or truncheons, which will root readily, and produce leaves for the worms the following year. Count Dandolo recommends grafting the species with the large-leaved varieties, near the ground, the third spring; but most writers on the silkworm appear to prefer seedling plants, or plants raised from layers or cuttings, to grafted ones. In pruning, cutting in, or heading down, the trees, the great object is to preserve the equilibrium of the heads, so that the sap may be equally distributed through the branches on every side. On this depends the production of a crop of leaves of equal quality on every part of the tree, which is alike important both for the first crop, which is given to the worms, and for the second crop, which is required for the nourishment of the tree.

Insects and Diseases. The leaves of the white mulberry are eaten by no insect but the silkworm: it is, however, attacked by numerous diseases, partly, no doubt, occasioned by the unnatural manner in which it is treated, by being stripped of its leaves. One of these diseases is brought on by any sudden

check given to the transpiration of the leaves, which turn yellow, and fall off, the tree dying in a few days. Another is the death of the roots, from the formation on them of a parasitic fungus. In both cases, nothing is to be done, but to remove the tree, and replant. The leaves are also apt to be attacked with honey-dew, mildew, rust, and other diseases, which render them unfit for the food of the silkworm. The leaves covered with honey-dew may be washed, and, when thoroughly dry, given to the insects without injury; but the other diseased leaves should be thrown away. If leaves covered with honey-dew are given to silkworms without washing, they cause dysentery and death.

Statistics. The largest white mulberry trees in England are at Syon, where there is one 45 ft. high; diameter of the trunk 1 ft. 10 in., and of the head 59 ft.; and which is covered with fruit every year. At Kenwood is one, 38 years planted, which is 33 ft. high; diameter of the trunk 1 ft. 1 in., and of the head 28 ft. In Hertfordshire, at Cheshunt, 7 years planted, it is 10 ft. high; diameter of the trunk 2 in., and of the head 6 ft. In Oxfordshire, in the Oxford Botanic Garden, 20 years planted, it is 20 ft. high; diameter of the trunk 9 in., and of the head 20 ft. In Suffolk, at Ampton Hall, 9 years planted, it is 9 ft. high; diameter of the trunk 2 in., and of the head 5 ft. In Worcestershire, at Croome, 35 years planted, it is 40 ft. high; diameter of the trunk 12 in., and of the head 40 ft. In Scotland, in Forfar. shire, at Airlie Castle, 8 years planted, it is 8 ft. high; in Perthshire, at Kinfauns Castle, 8 years planted, it is 5 ft. high; in Ross-shire, at Brahan Castle, 25 years planted, it is 10 ft. high. In Ireland, at Terenure, near Dublin, 8 years planted, it is 6 ft. high. In France, in the Jardin des Plantes, 35 years planted, it is 32 ft. high, the diameter of the trunk 1 ft., and of the head 36 ft.; in the Botanic Garden, Toulon, 30 years old, it has a trunk 2 ft. 7 in. in circumference. In Saxony, at Wörlitz, 50 years old, it is 40 ft. high, with a trunk 24 ft. in diameter. In Austria, at Vienna, in the University Botanic Garden, 30 years planted, it is 45 ft. high, the diameter of the trunk 1 ft., and of the head 24 ft. ; in Rosenthal's Nursery, 18 years old, it is 30 ft. high, the diameter of the trunk 4 in., and of the head 25 ft.; at Hadersdorf, 30 years old, it is 18 ft. high, diameter of the trunk 10 in., and of the head 2 ft.; at Brück on the Leytha, 27 years planted, it is 30 ft. high; the diameter of the trunk 8 in., and of the head 12 ft. In Prussia, at Berlin, at Sans Souci, 25 years old, it is 9 ft. high; the diameter of the trunk 3 in. In Denmark, at Rosenberg, near Copenhagen, 10 years planted, it is 10 ft. high. In Sweden, at Lund, in the Botanic Garden, it is 18 ft. high, with a trunk 54 in. in diameter. In Italy, at Monza, 200 years old, it is 40 ft. high, the diameter of the trunk is 3 ft., and of the head 50 ft.

Commercial Statistics. Price of plants, in the London nurseries, from 1s. 6d. to 2s. 6d. each: at Bollwyller, plants three years old, and transplanted, are 10s. per thousand; two years old, 5s. per thousand: at New York, single plants are 37 cents; and M. a. multicaúlis is from 25 to 30 dollars per hundred, according to the size of the plants.

The best works on the culture of the white mulberry and the silkworm are, Dandolo's Dell' Arte di governare i Bacchi da Seta, Milan; Castelet's Traité sur le Murier blanc, Paris: Grognier's Recherches Historiques et Statisques sur le Mûrier, le Ver à Soie, et la Fabrication de la Soierie, &c., Lyons; Bonafous's Mémoire sur une Education de Vers à Soie, &c., Paris; Kenrick's American Silk-Grower's Guide, Boston; Cobb's Manual of the Mulherry Tree, &c., Massachusetts; Dr. Pascalis's Treatise on the Mulberry, &c., New York; and Murray's Observations on the Silkworm, London.

¥ 3. M.(A.) CONSTANTINOPOLITA`na Poir. The Constantinople Mulberry Tree. Identification. Poir. Encyc., 4. p. 381.; Spreng. Syst. Vég., 1. p. 492. Synonyme. M. byzantina Sieb.

Engraving. N. Du Ham., 4. t. 24.

Spec. Char., &c. Leaves broadly ovate, heart-shaped at the base, undivided, serrate, 3-nerved; glabrous on both surfaces, except at the axils of the veins on the under one, where they are villous. Male flowers in fascicles. (Spreng. Syst. Vég., i. p. 492.) This is a low branching tree, seldom exceeding the height of 10 ft. or 15 ft.; a native of Turkey, Greece, and Crete; which has been long cultivated in the Jardin des Plantes, but which was not introduced into England till 1818. The fruit is short, thick, and, according to Du Hamel, of a deep red, and insipid taste. The leaves are very good for silkworms. This alleged species is considered as only a variety of M. álba by Bosc (Nouv. Cours d'Agric., ix.); who says that it is easily recognised by its rough, furrowed, stunted trunk; its thick and short branches; its leaves, which are always entire; and its solitary very white fruit. It is, he adds, a real monster (un véritable monstre, mais qui se propage toujours le même). We have little doubt of its being only a variety of M. álba. Du Hamel's description and that of Bosc agree in every particular, except the colour of the fruit. According to M. Madiot, in the Journal de la Société d'Agriculture Pratique, M. a. pùmila (p. 1350.) was obtained from seeds of M. (a.) constantinopolitàna. Plants of M. constantinopolitana, in the Bollwyller Nursery, are 3 francs each; at New York, 50 cents.

4. M. (A.) TATA RICA Pal. The Tartarian Mulberry Tree. Identification. Pall. FL. Ross, 2. p. 9. t. 52.; Lin. Sp. Pl., 1399.; Mill. Dict., No. 7.; Willd. Sp. Pl., 4. p. 369. Engravings. Pall. Fl. Ross., 2. t. 52.; and our fig. 1225.; both sprigs taken from one tree. Spec. Char., &c. Leaves with a shallow scallop at the base, and either heart-shaped, ovate, or lobed; serrated with equal teeth, smooth; the pro

jecting portions beside the sinus equal. Very closely akin to M. álba L., and, perhaps, originally produced from that species. It inhabits places inundated by the waters of the rivers Wolga and Tanais, or Don. (Willd. Spec. Pl., iv. p. 369.) A deciduous tree, growing to the height of 20 ft.; and introduced in 1784. In the American SilkGrower's Guide, it is stated that the fruit is black, and resembles that of M. nigra. Gerber, also, says that it is black. "Pallas speaks of it as reddish or pale, of no good

flavour, though it is eaten raw in Tartary, as well as dried, or made into a sweetmeat. A wine is also prepared from it, and a very well-flavoured spirit. This species is reported to be most esteemed for silkworms in China." (Smith in Rees's Cyclopædia.) In America, M. tatárica is considered to make the finest silk. According to a writer in the Annales de Fromont, the M. tatárica is, as we have already observed (p. 1349.), nearly related to M. a. multicaúlis. From the trees, or rather large shrubs, bearing this name in the Kew Garden, we confess our inability to fix on any permanent distinction between them and M. álba, as far as the leaves are concerned : the fruit we have never seen. Plants, in the London nurseries, are 2s. 6d. each; at Bollwyller, 1 franc 50 cents; at New York, 75 cents.

5. M. RUBRA L. The red-fruited Mulberry Tree.

Identification. Lin. Sp. PL, 1399.; Mill. Dict., No. 4.; Willd. Arb., 197.; Michx. Fl. Bor. Amer., 2. P. 179.; Pursh Fl. Amer. Sept., 2. p. 639.; Wangenh. Amer., p. 57. t. 15. f. 35.; Nutt. Gen, N. Amer. Pl.; Willd. Sp. Pl., 4. p. 369.; N. Du Ham., 4. p. 91.

Synonymes. M. virgínica Pluk. Alm., p. 253., Du Ham. Arb., 2. p. 24; M. pennsylvánica Nois. Arb. Fruit., Lodd. Cat., edit. 1836.

Engravings, Wangenh. Amer., t. 15. f. $5.; Pluk. Alm., t. 246. f. 4. ; and the plate in our last Volume. Spec. Char., &c. Sexes polygamous. (Kalm Act. Suec., 1776.) Sexes diœcious. (Gronov. Virg., 146.) Spikes of female flowers cylindrical. Catkins [? of male flowers] of the length of those of the common birch (Bétula álba L.). Leaves heart-shaped, ovate, acuminate, 3-lobed, or palmate; serrated with equal teeth, rough, somewhat villous; under surface very tomentose, and, in consequence, soft. (Willd. Sp. Pl.) A tree, a native of North America, from Canada to Florida; varying in height from 40 ft. to 70 ft. "Cultivated here, according to Parkinson's Paradisus, p. 596., early in the seventeenth century. He says, it grows quickly with us to a large tree, and that the fruit is long, red, and pleasantly tasted." (Smith in Rees's Cyclopædia.) It flowers in July. This tree is named M. pennsylvánica in the Horticultural Society's Garden, and in Loddiges's arboretum. It appears very distinct from any of the preceding sorts, in the spreading umbelliferous appearance of the branches, the flat, heart-shaped, very rough-surfaced leaves, which are almost always entire, but which, nevertheless, are occasionally found as much lobed and cut as those of any other of the genus. This we witnessed in September, 1836, in the specimen tree in the Hackney arboretum.

Description, &c. M. rùbra attains by far a greater size, as a tree, than any other species of Mòrus. It is seldom found, in a wild state, less than 40 ft. in height; and, in some parts of Pennsylvania and Virginia, it is often 60 ft. or 70 ft. high, or more, and with a trunk 2 ft. and upwards in diameter. The "leaves are large, sometimes entire, and sometimes divided into 2 or 3

lobes; rounded, cordiform, and denticulated; of a dark green colour, a thick texture, and a rough uneven surface." (Michx. Syl. Amer., iii. p. 51.) They are the worst of all the kinds of mulberry leaves for feeding silkworms. The fruit is of a deep red colour, an oblong form, and an agreeable, acidulous, sugary taste. The trunk of the red mulberry is covered with a greenish bark, more furrowed than that of the oaks and hickories. The perfect wood (which is fine-grained and compact, though light,) is of a yellowish hue, approaching to lemon colour. "It possesses strength and solidity; and, when perfectly seasoned, it is almost as durable as that of the locust, to which, by many persons, it is esteemed equal." (Michx.) It, however, grows more slowly, and requires a richer soil, it being generally found in valleys, at a distance from the sea. It is a common opinion among shipwrights and carpenters, that the wood of the male mulberry is more durable, and of a better quality, than that of the female; but Michaux does not appear to credit this supposition; which, indeed, evidently cannot be depended on, as the male and female flowers are very often found on the same tree. The red mulberry is well deserving of cultivation as an ornamental tree, from its thick and shady foliage; and as a fruit tree, from the agreeable flavour of its fruit. Miller mentions a plant of this species in the garden of Fulham Palace, which, in 1731, had been there for several years without producing any fruit; but which, at some seasons, produced a great number of catkins, much like those of the hazel nut; which occasioned Ray to give it the name of Corylus. (Dict., ed. 1.) On enquiring for this tree in 1834, we found nothing known about it. It is generally said that no insect feeds on the mulberry but the silkworm. In Smith and Abbott's work on the insects of Georgia, however, a specimen is given of the red mulberry, with the small ermine moth (Phalæ`na punctatíssima) feeding on it. (See Insects of Georgia, vol. ii. t. 70.)

? Variety.

M. canadensis Lam. Dict., iv. p. 380., seems to be a variety of M. rùbra. (Smith in Rees's Cyclopædia.)

Statistics. In the environs of London, almost the only plants that we know are those mentioned as in the Horticultural Society's Garden, and in the arboretum of Messrs. Loddiges; the latter being 8ft. or 10 ft. high, and the former 16 ft. high. In Durham, at Southend, 30 years planted, it is 20 ft. high, against a wall; diameter of trunk 12 in., and of the head 21 ft. not trained. In Oxfordshire, in the Oxford Botanic Garden, 40 years old, it is 12 ft. high against a wall; diameter of the trunk 10 in., and of the head 30 ft. In France, in the Jardin des Plantes, 50 years planted, it is 45 ft. high; the diameter of the trunk 14 ft., and that of the head 38 ft. In Italy, at Monza, 60 years old, it is 26 ft. high; the diameter of the trunk 2 ft., and of the head 30 ft.

Commercial Statistics. Price of plants, in London, 2s. each; at Bollwyller, francs; at New York, 374 cents.

6. M. (R.) SCA'BRA Willd. The rough-leaved Mulberry Tree. Identification Willd.; Spreng. Syst. Veget., 1. p. 492.; Nutt. Gen. N. Amer. Pl.; Lodd. Cat., ed. 1856. Synonyme. M. canadensis Poir.

Spec. Char., &c. Leaves rough on both surfaces, heart-shaped, 5-cleft; the lobes acuminated to the tip, tapered to the base, and serrated with equal teeth. A native of North America. (Spreng. Syst. Veg.) A tree, growing to the height of 20 ft. Introduced in 1817; and, from the appearance of the plant bearing this name in the Horticultural Society's Garden (which, in 1836, was 8 ft. high), doubtless only a variety of, or possibly identical with, M. rùbra.

App. i. Half-hardy Species of Mòrus.

M. Indica L. is near M. álba; but its leaves are not heart-shaped at the base. (Willdenow Sp. Pl.) This name occurs in Mr. Royle's list (see p. 175.). "Rumphius says that the fruit is delicately fla voured, and black when ripe; and that the Chinese feed their silkworms with the leaves. Loureiro mentions the same practice of the inhabitants of Cochin-China, who replant the tree every year, that the foliage may be tender." (Smith in Rees's Cyclopædia.)

M. mauritiana Jacq. has the leaves oblong, entire, tapered to both ends, and rough. The leaves of young plants are fiddle-shaped. (Willdenow Sp. PL.) A large and strong tree. Fruit green, sweet, with some acidity; 14 in. or 2 in. long. The French call this tree la rape, or the rasp tree of Ma.

dagascar. The leaves seem calculated to serve as a fine file or rasp, like those of some of the fig kind. It is a most distinct species, and ought to have been named M. laurifolia or M. citrifolia." (Smith in Rees's Cyclop. This name is also in the list derived from Mr. Royle.

M. latifolia Willd.is afnative of the Isle of Bourbon. Its leaves are ovate, heart-shaped at the base, serrate; the disk 4 in, long, 3 in. broad, scabrous, reticulately veined; the petiole 1 in. long. (Willde now Sp. PL)

M. australis Willd. is a native of the Isle of Bourbon. It has ovate, serrated, rough leaves; and the styles bearded, even when persistent in the fruit. (Willd.)

M. celtidifolia Thunb. is a native of Quito. Its leaves are ovate-oblong, acuminate, undivided, sharply serrated, 3 nerved; roughish above, glabrous beneath. (Spreng Syst. Vég., i. p. 492.)

M. corylifolia Thunb. is a native of Quito. Its leaves are roundish ovate, acuminate, sharply serrate, 3-nerved, glabrous. (Spreng., I. c.)

M. calcar-gálli Cum. is a native of New South Wales, where it is called the yellow wood vine. This " is a shrub which extends itself to a great length, and may eventually prove to belong to the genus Maclura."

M. átro-purpurea; M. parvifolia; M. serràta, syn. M. heterophýlla; M. lævigàta viridis ; and M. scándens; are Nepal kinds, of which very little is known. (See p. 174.)

GENUS II.

BROUSSONE TIA Vent.

THE BROUSSONETIA. Lin. Syst. Diœ'cia
Tetrándria.

Identification. Vent Tabl, du Règne Végét., S. p. 547.; Willd. Sp. Pl., 4. p. 743.; Lindl. Nat. Syst. of Bot., p. 178.

Synonymes. Morus Seba Kæmpf, Lin.; Papyrus Encyc. Bot., 5. p. 5., Lam. Ill. Gen., t. 762. Derivation. Named in honour of P. N. V. Broussonet, a French naturalist, who wrote numerous works on natural history.

■ 1. B. papyri fERA Vent. The paper-bearing Broussonetia, or Paper Mulberry.

Identification. Vent. Tabl. du Règne Vegét., 3. p. 547.; Willd. Sp. Pl., 4. p. 743.

Synonymes. Mòrus papyrifera Lin. Sp. Pl., 1399., Mill. Dict., No. 6., Du Roi Harbk., 1. p. 433., Thunb. Fl. Jap., 72.

The Seres. Both the male and female plants are in the Horticultural Society's Garden, and in the arboretum of Messrs. Loddiges.

Engravings Kæmpf. Amen., t. 472.; Hist. du Japon, t. 40. f. 1.; Seba Thesaur., 1. t. 28.; Lam. Ill. Gen., t. 762.; N. Du Ham., 2. t. 7.; and the plate in our last Volume.

Variety.

B. p. 2 cucullata; B. cucullàta Bon Jard., 1833, p. 919.; B. spatulàta Hort. Brit.; B. naviculàris Lodd. Cat., ed. 1836.-A sport, found on a male plant by M. Camuset, foreman of the nursery, in the Jardin des Plantes; which has its leaves curved upwards, like the hood of a Capuchin, or the sides of a boat. It is propagated by grafting, and may be had in most of the Paris and London nurseries.

Description, &c. A deciduous low tree or large shrub, a native of China and Japan, and of the South Sea Islands; which so closely resembles the mulberry, that it was long considered to belong to that genus, and still retains its English name of the paper mulberry. It was introduced in 1751, and flowers in April, ripening its fruit in the climate of London, in autumn. Its leaves are large, hairy, and canescent; and either heart-shaped, or cut into deep irregular lobes. The fruit is oblong, of a dark scarlet colour when ripe, and of a sweetish, but rather insipid, taste. The tree is perfectly hardy; but, from the extreme brittleness of its wood, it is very liable to be broken by high winds. The wood is soft, spongy, and of no value, except for fire-wood. The leaves are too rough and coarse in their texture for silkworms; but they are found excellent for cattle; and, as the tree will grow rapidly in almost any soil, and throws out numerous tufts of leaves, it might be valuable in some situations and climates, as fodder. The principal use, however, to which the broussonetia appears capable of being applied is for the paper that may be made from its bark. The following is an abridgment of Kampfer's account of the mode of preparing this paper in Japan, as quoted in the Penny Cyclopædia, vol. v. p. 472.:-"The branches of the current year, being cut into pieces about a yard long, are boiled till the bark shrinks from the wood, which is taken out and thrown away; and the bark, being dried, is preserved till wanted.