The Charlotte journal. [volume] (Charlotte, N.C.) 1835-1851, 1839-02-14

The kind of mulberry to be employed, is
the next object Of attention. Wien pub-
lished my Treatise on the Culture Of Silk
IN 1880, had very little experience with
the new Chinese variety, the moIus multi
caulls. Ii had at that time been but three
or four years 10 the country, was 10, known
at all except 10 very few individuals, aud
had of course not been propagated to any
extent. Ii is true, | had the tree 10 nv
possession, and knew It's value from q brief
experiment IN 1928 and 1929 but my sup
ply of leaves from II was necessarily very
limited, and though was satisfied Of its
superiority as Good for silk worms, | was
not prepared BY sufficient practice and OBJ.
sersatIon of lis character, 10 say tina, i, was
capable of supplying the place of the white
mulberry. was not sure that il was suffi.
ciently hardy nor, even If every way pre-.
ierable TO the white, that supply could be
obtained sufficient for this extensive coun.
try. | therefore SAID nothing about il in
that treatise, but gave the white mulberry
the preference. After the publication Of
my treatise, however, in le30, satisfied
myself OF The superiority of the multi
caulis over every other variety in every
point found that it could be propagated
more rapidly than any other tree, by cut.
tings and myers tina; it furnished supply
leaves in one fourth the time required by
the white mulberry, and therefore could be
made to make returns for capital invested
in it SO much sooner; that pound Of its
of leaves contained as much nutrltiye mat.
ter as pound aud quarter Of the white
mulberry; that The expense and trouble Of
gathering the leaves was not one tenth as
great as those attending the white; that
the worms consume the whole leaf, thus
leaving the hurdles less encountered with
the refuse that the silk made from it was
of very superior quality, in strength and
lustre; and finally, that the worms 10 all
cases gave 1t the preference over all oihe-.,
kinds. In my experiments | had the ad.
vantage Of using fifteen diferen. kinds Of
mulberry, and have often placed leaves from
all of them together upon the hurdles and
the silk worms invariably seized upon and
consumed the morus multicaulIs first. Up
TO the present time have found 40 reason
TO change my opinion OF the valuable quail
tiles of this tree in any of the above partlc-
ulars; on the contrary every year has con.
/ firmed it.
One point of comparison between the
morus muliicaulis and other varieties
have reserved for separate discussion not
from any doubt remaining IN my mind, bus
from its importance, VIZ. its hardness, or
capacity for resisting the effects OF our Sc
we're winters. | have now had ten years
experience, and have had the tree exposed
TO all the seventies Of the last ten winters,
(near Baltimore,) and have never yet lost
tree, uoF the limb of a tree of the morus
multicaulls, from winter killing. Fortu-
uately, The situations where | first planted
my trees we're high and dry, and the soil
composed of sandy loan. The trees throye
emarkably we'll there, grew early IN the
season, rlpened their wood early in autumn,
and wiihe,ood the inclemencIes OF the WIN
fer without bud pershing. But some of
nv friends 10 whom | had given trees, and
who planted them in rich low ground, lost
them entirely, or had the tops killed 10 the
ground and this fact led me 10 the conclu.
sion, that high, dry, sandy, or loamy soils,
were the proper situations for them; ana
all my future experience has confirmed me
in 1t. All who formerly lost their trees III
winter, and have re moved them TO high sit
nations, have experienced the benefit Of the
change. The conclusion is, that the mo-
/ rus mulicauls is high land tree, and
when cultivated on high grounds 1t is per-
fecty hardy, and capable OF wIthstanding
our winters as much so as any OF our na-
tive trees. During the winters OF 1881 ?,
nv old tree, 1.-THE first one that ever came
10 the United States, and which yet pos
sess,) was removed to the premises OF
friend for safe keeping, {as | was removing
10 farm in the country, and not knowing
how long might remain,) and was expos.
ed to all the seventies OF that most nclem'
ent WINTER | felt sure that II must have
been killed, if not by the winter generally,
certainly by that most terrible visitation
of frost on the l7th aud 18th Of March,
1882 But TO my surprise aud great plea
sure il did no, lose bud on that occasion.
What is very singular there vas white
mulberry tree standing wi,hIn 80 ieetr
II, six or seven wears old, that was kheo
eulirely by the winter. Both were fquai'
ly exposed. do not intend to iper from
this, that the morus multcaulis "as more
hardy than the white nor cyl account
for the death of the latter w iact ho@ey-
er was before my eyes. he trunk OF tho
white mulberry, which wss about three IN
ches diameter, was spin TO the heart from
the ground to the labs. This old multi
oauhs tree wos asoin removed 10 its pre-
sent site in, my garden, in the autumn OF
-onsiueFs