the mulberry-tree; a genus of the tetrandra order, belonging to the monoeia class of plants. The most remarkable species are,

1. The nigra, or common black-fruited mulberry-tree. It rises with an upright, large, rough trunk, dividing into a large, branchy, and very spreading head, rising 20 feet high, or more; large, heart-shaped, rough leaves, and monoecious flowers; succeeded in the females by large succulent black-berries. There is a variety with jagged leaves and smaller fruit. This species is the proper mulberry-tree for general cultivation in this country for its fruit; the tree being a plentiful bearer, and the fruit ripen in good perfection in August and September.

2. The alba, or white mulberry-tree, rises with an upright trunk, branching 20 or 30 feet high; garnished with large, oblique, heart-shaped, smooth, light-green, shining leaves, and monoecious flowers, succeeded by pale-whitish fruit. There is a variety with purplish fruit.

3. The papyrifera, or paper mulberry-tree of Japan, grows 20 or 30 feet high, with large palmated leaves, some trilobate, others quinquelobed, and monoecious flowers, succeeded by small black fruit. In the countries where this tree grows naturally, the inhabitants make paper of the bark.

4. The rubra, or red Virginia mulberry-tree, grows 30 feet high, with very large, heart-shaped, rough leaves, hairy underneath, and monoecious flowers, succeeded by large reddish berries.

All these trees are very hardy, and succeed in any common soil and situation. The black mulberry is the only sort proper to cultivate as a fruit-tree for its fruit; the others are principally employed here to form variety in our ornamental plantations, of which the white and paper mulberry are the most common, the red sort being very scarce in the English gardens; the black and the white-fruited kinds are also eminent for their leaves to feed silk-worms, they being the principal food of these valuable insects; but the white mulberry-leaves are in the most esteem for this purpose; and abroad, in France, Italy, &c. vast plantations of the trees are made solely for their leaves to feed silk-worms, which amply reward the possessors with the annual supply of silk they spin from their bowels: plantations of the same trees has formerly been recommended in this country for the purpose of silk-worms, to introduce the manufacturing of raw silk, since it is observable that where the trees thrive, the silk-worms will also prosper; all recommendations, however, have proved fruitless, although it in time might probably turn to a national advantage.

The leaves of these trees are generally late before they begin to come out, the buds seldom beginning to open till the middle or towards the latter end of May, according to the temperature of the season; and when these trees in particular begin to expand their foliage, it is a good sign of the near approach of fine warm settled weather; the white mulberry, however, is generally forwarder in leafing than the black.

The flowers and fruit come out soon after the leaves; the males in *amentums*, and the females in small roundish heads; neither of which are very conspicuous, nor possess any beauty, but for observation; the female or fruitful flowers always rise on the extremity of the young shoots, on short spurs; and with this singularity, the calyxes of the flowers become the fruit; which is of the berry kind, and being composed of many tubercles, each of these furnish one seed. The fruit ripens here gradually from about the middle of August until the middle of September; which in dry warm seasons ripen in great perfection; but when it proves very wet weather they ripen but indifferently, and prove devoid of flavour.

Considered as fruit-trees, the black-fruited kind is the only proper sort to cultivate, the trees being not only the most plentiful bearers in this country, but the fruit are larger and much finer-flavoured than the white kind, which is the only sort, besides the black mulberry, that bears fruit in this country.