MULBERRY, a genus (Morus) of trees of the order Moracem (q.v.), of which 100 species have been described, but only five are now rec ognized. The mulberries are characterized by the possession of leaves variable in form even upon the same twigs; moncecious flowers in axillary catkins; and multiple blackberry-like fruits formed by the coherence of the pistillate flowers which became fleshy as they swell. They are natives of the mild parts of Asia, Europe and America, whence they have been taken by man to similar regions throughout the world. In the Old World various species are of economic importance, principally because their foliage supplies the food of the silkworm, and their fruit a dessert and a wine. The wood of most species is of inferior quality, hut that of one species, the red mulberry (llf. rubra), is fine-grained, strong and useful for ship-building. The trees are readily propagated by means of seeds, layers, cuttings or by graftage. They thrive upon almost any soil; even on rocky hillsides and gravelly lands, but succeed best upon arable soil in which they may be planted from 20 to 40 feet apart, and culti vated like other orchard fruits until they have full possession of the ground. The fruits, which are borne in great profusion, are too soft for market purposes, and usually too sweet for preserving alone. They are generally shaken from the trees upon sheets. Pigs are very fond of them.
The following are the most important spe cies. The white mulberry (M. alba) is the silkworm mulberry, and has produced most of the named American varieties valued for their fruit, but not those esteemed in Europe. The black mulberry (M. nigra) is the European °dessert° species, and is little used for the feed ing of silkworms. The red mulberry (M. rubra) is a native American tree to be found from Massachusetts to Nebraska and south ward to the Gulf States. It has produced sev eral good dessert varieties, the fruits, of which are characterized by greater acidity than those of the Old World sorts. It seems to be ill adapted to the feeding of silkworms. The so called Russian mulberry is a variety of the white. It produces inferior fruits but is valued in the Plains States for wind-breaks, for which purpose its ability to resist extremes of drouth, cold and neglect specially fit it. All the above
species have produced horticultural varieties, some variegated, others weeping, which are planted more for ornamental purposes than for fruit.
Another important species is the Indian (M. indica) which is used in silk culture and for its fruit, which is of fine flavor. It is cultivated in India, China and other countries of the East.
The allied paper-mulberry (Broussonetia papyrifera) is a native of Eastern Asia. This tree is of a moderate size, bearing leaves which are either simple or divided into lobes, more or less deep, rough above and hairy beneath. It was originally from India and Japan, but is now very commonly cultivated in Europe, and succeeds even in the more northern parts. The islanders of the Pacific make a kind of cloth ing from the bark of this tree in the following manner: Twigs of about an inch in diameter are cut and deprived of their bark, which is divided into strips, and left to macerate for some time in running water. After the epider mis has been scraped off, and while yet moist, the strips are laid out upon a plank in such a manner that they touch at the edges, and two or three layers of the same are then placed upon them, taking care to preserve an equal thickness throughout. At the end of 24 hours the whole mass is adherent, when it is removed to a large, flat and perfectly smooth table, and is beaten with little wooden clubs till it has attained the requisite thinness. This kind of cloth is easily torn, and requires to he washed and beaten many times before it acquires its full suppleness and whiteness. The natives dye it red and yellow, and also make a similar cloth from the bread-fruit tree, an allied plant; but that from the mulberry is preferred. The paper which is used in Japan and many other countries in the East Indies is made from this plant. For this purpose the annual shoots are cut after the fall of the leaves, tied in bundles, and boiled in water mixed with ashes; after which the bark is stripped off by longitudinal incisions, and deprived of the brown epidermis. The mark of the more tender shoots is sepa rated from the rest, as it furnishes a white paper for writing, while that produced by the remainder is coarse and gray, and serves for wrapping or similar purposes.