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Show 760 COMMON MULBERRY. The trees which are designed to feed silk-worms should never be suffered to growtall, but rather kept in a sort of hedge; and instead of pulling off the leaves singly, they should be sheared off together with their young branches, which is much sooner done, andis not so injurious to the tree. It is surprising that this precept of Mr. Miller’s has not been attended to, not only in England, but in manyof the southern parts of Europe, where making silk is of some consequence, since the practice is followed in the Kast, andis in itself perfectly rational. Father Loureiro informs us, that in Cochinchina theyroot upthe plants every third year, and makefresh plantations of the cuttings, because the young shootsafford a more delicate food for the worms, and produce a finer silk. Sir George Stauntonrelates, that in a part of China through which the embassy passed, mulberries were cultivated with the greatest care; and planted in rows, ten or twelve feet asunder, in beds of a moist, but not inundated, loamy earth, thrownabout foot high above the surface.. The trees are frequently pruned or Awarfed, in order to make them produce a constant succession of young shoots, andtender leaves. Our planters recommend a dry soil for the mulberry; but it appears from the authors just quoted, that in China and Cochinchina it is cultivated ina very moist one, by the sides of rivers, or where rice is grown in trenches between the rows of trees. There yet remains a hope that the cultivation ofsilk may be successfully introduced into these realms. The thanks of the Society of Arts were given to Mr.Sievers, of Bauenhoff, in Livonia, the author of an excellent paper, on the manner of rearing and treating silk-worms in the northern parts of Kurope; and the Society, in consequence of this communication, elected him oneof their corresponding members*. MEDICAL VIRTUES. The ripe fruit abounds with a deep violet-coloured juice, whichin its general qualities agrees with that of the other acidodulces, allaying thirst, partly by refrigerating, and partly by exciting an excretion of mucus from the mouth and fauces; 4 similar effect is also produced in the stomach, where, bycor* Those who wish for further information onthis important subject must consult my Botanical Extracts, or Philosophy of Botany, p. 429. COMMON MULBERRY, 761 recting putrescency, a powerful cause ofthirst is removed. This is more especially the case with all those fruits in which the acid much prevails over the saccharine part, as the currant, which we have already noticed, and to which the medicinal qualities of this fruit may be referred ; but both these, and most ofthe othe summerfruits, are to be considered rather asarticles of diet than of medicine. The London college directs a syrupus mori, which is an agreeable vehicle for various medicines. The bark of the root of the mulberry tree has an acrid bitter taste, and possesses a cathartic power. It has been successfully used as an anthelmintic, particularly in cases of tenia. The dose is half a drachm of the powder. OFFICINAL PREPARATION. Syrup or Mureerrres. (Syrupus Mori. D.) Take of mulberry juice, two p As soon as the faeces have ; ded, put it into a matrass, immersed in boiling water, for about a quarter of an hour; when cold, strain it, and make it into a syrup. This is a very pleasant cooling syrup; and with this inten. tionit is occasionally used in draught s andjuleps, for quenching thirst, abating heat, &c. in bilious or inflammatory distempers. Sometimes, likewise, it is employed in gargarisms for inflamma. tions of the mouth andtonsils. |