Country Life

On a cold and frosty morning....

I AM always amazed by how often one sees a mulberry tree growing in a public park where visitors do not recognise its virtues, do not stop to ask its name, do not step underneath it and do not reach up to taste the delicious fruit. This explains why you never see mulberries in shops or markets—they are largely the preserve of private gardens. Everyone should plant a tree.

, the black mulberry, is the only species worth eating.sets vast quantities of fruit, sometimes seen in street markets in Spain and Italy, but they are insipid and pippy. The trees are, however, good for silkworms, and every schoolboy knows that is the species that James I should have planted to launch his English silk industry. I say ‘every schoolboy knows’, but that’s not how history is taught nowadays.

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from Country Life

Country Life3 min read
Celebration, Not Carping
NOTHING works in Britain’—that’s today’s attitude, which the media encourages. No doubt, there is always real room for improvement, but this carping, cynical approach saps confidence and inhibits our ability to improve. We really do need to get a sen
Country Life6 min read
If I Only Had A Brain
LAST year was a good one for jellyfish. More people than ever spotted these intricate, tentacled wonders in the seas around Britain and reported their findings to a citizen-science project run by the Marine Conservation Society. These sightings are s
Country Life2 min read
Sea Fever
Future Publishing Ltd, 121–141 Westbourne Terrace, Paddington, London W2 6JR 0330 390 6591; www.countrylife.co.uk I must down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied. IT is hard to th

Related Books & Audiobooks