148. Young trees seldom prove fruitful ; and Professor Martyn has stated the true reason, to wit, that moncecious trees, while young, bear male flowers or catkins princi pally, and of course produce little or no fruit. Mulberry trees purchased from public nurseries, are not likely soon to prove fruitful, being generally layers from small stock plants, or stools, which have never fruited. The true way to procure fruitful plants, is to take cuttings, in the spring, from fruit branches of bearing trees, endeavouring to have a part of two years growth to each cutting. These may be about a foot and a half long, and planted about a foot deep, in a sheltered place : if covered with glasses, and regular ly watered, they strike the more certainly. Mr Knight has observed, that by grafting a young mulberry with a cion from a bearing branch of a full 'grown tree, a plant is pro cured which will bear fruit in the course of three years. As mulberry grafts do not take readily in the common mode, approach-grafting (§ 70.) is to be preferred.
The fruit being produced chiefly on the young wood, no pruning is applicable to stalkard mulberry-trees, farther than removing cross branches which rub on each other. Wall mulberry-trees are of course treated like the peach tree.
149. A circumstance connected with the welfare of these trees may here be deserving of notice. The leaves of the black mulberry, not less than those of the white, forming a favourite food of silk-worms, they who amuse themselves with the breeding of these insects, often go to the gardens of their acquaintances, and collect leaves from the mulber ry trees, without supposing that they are dodig mischief; probably the proprietor of the trees may be as little aware of the evil : but the truth is, that wherever there is a leaf, there is a bud preparing for the next year ; and when the leaf is plucked off, the bud perishes. If the successive ,...aves be withdrawn, it is evident that the tree must soon be exhausted, and unable to put forth buds in the spring. In this way we have seen black mulberry trees of consider able size, destroyed in a very few years. The white mul berry (Monts alba, L.) is often cultivated in the shrubbery ; of the leaves of this, as already noticed, the silk•worm is equally fond : by increasing the number of white mulberry plants, and robbing them only moderately of their leaves, the other kind may be saved.
Medlar.
150. The Medlar-tree (Mcsliilus Germanica. Linn. ; leo saudria Pentagynia ; Rosacece, is a native of the south of Europe, but appears to be naturalized in hedges in England, and is therefore figured in " English Botany," 1. 1523. The variety now commonly cultivated is called the Large Dutch Medlar, the fruit of which is large, ap proaching in shape that of an apple. The Xottingham Medlar, or English ;Medlar, is a smaller fruit, but of a more poignant taste, and by sonic preferred on that account.
151. M«llars are propagated by grafting or budding the variety wished for, upon seedling medlar stocks, sometimes on hawthorn stocks. The tree is of a middling size ; it is chiefly trained in standards ; in a few prates in espaliers. It is managed very much in the manner of the apple-tree, only the tree is kept rather more thin of wood. The flow ers appear late in May. The fruit remains on the tree till the end of October, and is afterwards kept in the fruit-room till it mellow, and acquire a buttery softness, or be " rotten ripe," when only it is fit for the table. This may not take place till past mid-winter: if soft medlars be wanted more speedily, their maturation is forwarded by depositing them in moist bran for a few days.
Two or duce medlar trees in the garden are sufficient, more being generally planted in the pleasure-grounds, Small Fruits.
l42. We now proceed to notice what are called Small Fruits, Ctirrams and Gooseberries, Raspberries and Suaw beri its.
153. Currants and Gooseberries belong to the genus Ribes of Lint é ; Pentandria Monogynia ; Cacti of Jussieu. The genus is divided into Ribrsia or Currants, without spines; and Grossularice or with Currants and gooseberries arc northern fruits ; they seem to have been unknown to the ancient Greeks or Romans. Even yet they are not very generally cultivated in Italy or France ; one obvious reason being, that these countries possess a climate suited to much finer fruits. Currants were compal•atively hut lately introduced into Holland ; yet from the industrious Dutch gardeners have we de rived imploved ithd large-fi uhed varieties, both red and white, have deservedly.banished all othei a front our gardens.
Red and a1/2ite Currants 154. Our common red currant is Ribes r4brum of Lin nfens ; and our white currant is merely a variety of this. R. ruhrmn grows naturally in diltercnt places in England and Scotland, and is figured in English Botany, t. 1289. Davilig been long cultivated, several improved varieties have heel; obtained. The kinds chiefly planted at present are, the large red ; the champagne ; the pale red, some times grizzly; the long•elusteled red ; the large unit- Dutch; the white crystal; and the pearly. The finer and larger bunches, both of the white and red currant, are used in the dessert, particularly late in the season : more commonly, however, the red is made into a jelly, with an equal weight of white sugar ; and the white is much m request fur the making of wine. • Curt ant hushes are propagated chiefly by cuttings. These are commonly prepaicd early in the spring. They should consist of last year's shoots, proceeding from bear ing brunches, and may be from nine inches to a foot in length. They are planted in a border of light earth, about four or five inches deep. In the spring, if the weather prove dry, they are occasionally watered till the leaves be expanded. In the course of the summer, all the shoots are displaced excepting three : indeed, some gardener s prevent the growth of more shoots, by extracting, at the time of preparing the cuttings, all the eyes or buds but three. In autumn these young bushes are transplanted, and sufficient space allowed them to grow for two years, during which time, if neat bushes be wanted, they are re peatedly pruned or trained. The currant thrives best in a rich loam, and in a free situation. The usual season for transplanting is October or November. They are often placed by the sides of walks or alleys, and allowed to re main many years; but it is better to plant them in quar ters by themselves, and to renew them every seventh or eighth year, young bushes yielding fruit more plentifully, and of finer quality. When considerable plantations of currant bushes arc formed, much ground is occupied by them, the distance between the rows not being less than se ven or perhaps nine feet. But in these spaces coleworts may be planted in October, to be used in the early part of spring, before the currant trees come into leaf. If the ground be not cropped in this way, it should lie rough all the winter.