CHAP. C.

{/RTICa'cEjE. A/O'KUS.

1347

6 ft. from the ground, leaving the soil with the same inclination as the trellis,a tree trained on it would receive the solar influence to great advantage,and would probably ripen its fruit much better than a standard.” (Hort.Trans., &c.) When the mulberry is trained against a wall, and required toproduce very large and fine fruit, the following mode of pruning is recom-mended by Mr. Williams : — “ All the annual shoots, except the foreright,are neatly trained to the wall; but these last must be left to grow till towardsmidsummer, and then be shortened about one third of their growth, to admitlight to the leaves beneath. By the end of August, the foreright shoots willhave advanced again, so as to obstruct the light, and they must then be short-ened nearer to the wall than before. In the month of March or beginning ofApril, the ends of the terminal shoots should be pruned away down to the firststrong bud that does not stand foreright; and the.front shoots, which werepruned in August, must also be shortened down to two or three eyes. Iftrained after this method, the tree will afford fruit the third year. The fore-right shoots should then be shortened at the end of the month of June, orbeginning of July, so as to leave one leaf only beyond the fruit; the terminalshoots being nailed to the wall as before, and left without any summerpruning; the foreright shoots, thus nailed, will not advance any farther, astheir nutriment will go into the fruit ; which, when quite ripe, will becomeperfectly black, very large, and highly saccharine.” {Ibid.) As a standard tree,whether for ornament, or the production of moderately sized fruit, the mul-berry requires very little pruning, or attention of any kind, provided the soilbe tolerably good.

Statistics. Morus nigra in the Environs of London . The oldest tree (supposed to be planted inthe 16th century, by the botanist Turner,) is at Syon, where it_is 22 ft. high. (See fig. 1222 in p. 1345.)There is another tree 28 ft. high, diameter of trunk 3 ft. 3 in.," and of the head 57 ft. At Hampstead,at Kenwood, 38 years planted, it is 25 ft high, diameter of the trunk 1 ft. 1 in., and of the head 25 ft. % 3and at Mount Grove, Middlesex, 12 years planted, it is 9 ft. high, diameter of the trunk 2| in. AtBattersea, on the estate of Earl Spenser, one, 300 years old, is from 30 ft. to 40 ft. high, the diameterof the head 70 ft. by 50 ft. j with 14 trunks, averaging about 1 ft. in girt at 1 ft. from the ground.

M. nigra South of London , In Devonshire, at Bystock Park, 22 years planted, it is 17 ft. high,diameter of the trunk 7 in. In Kent, at Canterbury , in a garden which belongs to the ruins of theAbbey of St. Augustine, is a mulberry tree of great antiquity. It had once been a tree of consider-able height; but is supposed to have been blown down about the end of the 17th, or beginning of the)8th, century. The trunk lies horizontally along the ground; and is in length 21£ ft., and about 2 ft.m diameter, at 4 ft. from the root. Two large branches have risen perpendicularly from this trunk,and now form trees with trunks, the one 8 ft. high, and about 14 in. in diameter, where it proceedsfrom the main trunk; and the other still higher and thicker. This tree was inspected by the depu-tation of the Caledonian Horticultural Society, when on their way to France , in August, 1817. “ Onexamination ” they “ perceived that a continuous portion of the bark was fresh all the way from theoriginal root; and by removing a little of the earth” they “likewise ascertained that many newroots, though of small size, had been sent off from the base of the two branches^ which had formedthemselves into steins and heads.” “ The fruit of this aged tree,” the deputation add, “ is excel-lent; indeed it is commonly said that the fruit of the oldest mulberry trees is the best In 1815, theberries, sold at 2s. a pottle, yielded no less than 6 guineas.” ( Journal of a Hort. Tour , &c. t p. 14.)We are informed by Mr. Masters of Canterbury , that this tree has increased considerably in. sizesince 1817; the two trees being now, the one 19 ft. high, with a head 25 ft in diameter; and theother 16ft. high, with a head 20ft. in diameter. In Somersetshire , at Hinton House, 18 yearsplanted it is 14 ft. high, diameter of the trunk 6 in., and of the head 13 ft.; at Nettlecorabe, 45 yearsplanted, it is 24 ft high, diameter of the trunk 1 ft. 4 in., and of the head 26 ft. In Surrey, near Ripley,at Sutton Place, is a very old mulberry tree, which must have been blown down early in the 18thcentury, as the branches from the prostrate trunk have all the appearance of old trees. The houseat Sutton Place was built by the brewer of Henry VIII. , about the end of that king’s reign. Inoussex, at Cowdray, it is 25 ft. high, with a trunk 1 ft. 8 in. in diameter. In Wiltshire , at Wardourta \f ’ years old, it is 40 ft. high, diameter of the trunk 1 ft 6 in., and of the head 26 ft.

M. nigra North of London . In Bedfordshire , at Ampthill, 85 years planted, it is 25 ft. high,diameter of the trunk 25 in., and of the head 30 ft. In Cambridgeshire , in the grounds of Christthurch College, at Cambridge , is one planted by Milton when a student of the college, 20ft high,diameter of the trunk 2 ft 2 in., and of the head 30 ft. In Cheshire, at Kinmel Park, it is 20 ft. high,diameter of the trunk 16 in., and of the head 20 ft. In Cumberland, at Ponsonby Hall, 45 yearsplanted, it is 24 ft high, diameter of the trunk 1 ft 2 in., and of the head 18 ft. In Gloucestershire ,at Boddington, 50 years planted, it is 25 ft. high, diameter of the trunk 1| ft, and of the head 90 fta? eicester shire, at Whatton House, 26 years planted, it is 13 ft high, against a wall, circumferenceoi the trunk lft. 4 in., and of the head 70 ft In Oxfordshire , in the Common Room Garden,-at Pem-broke College, are two mulberry trees, which are said to have been planted before the college wasounded, which was in 1624. One of these is only about 25 ft. high, but it has a trunk 2 ft. 2 in. inlameter at 4 ft. from the ground; a little high er it divides into two large arms, one of which girtsPo , an< l ot ^ er 3 ft. 1 in. The other tree appears to have been much larger, but is now decayed. In"Ir^rokeshire, at Golden Grove, 60 years planted, it is 25 ft. high, diameter of the trunk 2 ft., andtho k , ^ 14 ft* In Radnorshire, at Maeslaugh Castle, 26 ft. high, diameter of trunk 1 ft., and of. ? bead 30 ft. in Rutlandshire , at Belvoir Castle, 10 years planted, it is 15 ft. high, diameter of theHia m.» and of the head 8ft. In Suffolk, at Finborough Hall, 70 years planted, it is 40 ft. high,ameter of the trunk 2 ft., and of the head 42 ft.; at Ampton Hall, 12 years planted, it is 10 ft. high,ameter of thetrunk 6in., and ofthehead 16ft. In Worcestershire , at Croome, 40 years planted, it

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