"The Mulberry Garden", also known as "The Maid in the Mill" is an English country dance tune in 6/4 or 6/8 time and D Minor. The melody dates to 1675 when it appeared in John Playford's The Dancing Master, 5th edition, as a longways dance "for as many as will". It was retained in each subsequent edition, through the 18th and final edition printed in 1728 by John Young (who was heir to the Playford publishing concerns in London). "The Mulberry Garden" also was printed by John Walsh in his The Compleat Country Dancing-Master (1731). The mulberry is not native to the British Isles, but rather was an import from Asia. Nevertheless, it has a long history in England and it was probably introduced by the Romans, who imported it from Italy for the soldiers' use. It is definitely known that mulberry trees were cultivated in England since the early part of the 16th century, especially those of Syon House, Brentford, said to have been introduced from Persia in 1548. Mulberry cultivation was given a huge boost in 1608 by King James I, who was anxious to further the silk industry by introducing the culture of the silkworm into Britain in imitation of China where the silkworm feeds on mulberry leaves. Unfortunately, the king's scheme for a silk industry in Britain came to naught, being undone by a simple yet fatal mistake. The silkworm eats the leaves of the white mulberry, and the tree imported to nourish the royal plan was the black mulberry, entirely inedible to the insect. The lasting effect of the plan, however, was to render planting the mulberry fashionable in imitation of the royal garden. The Mulberry Garden at Buckingham became a fashionable place to go and to be seen; a pleasure garden, particularly in the time of Charles I and Charles II. It is this same plantation that became the Mulberry Garden referred to by period dramatists and is probably the subject of Playford's title. Sir Charles Sedley wrote his play The Mulberry Garden in 1668, just prior to Playford's publication of the tune. Playford possibly wanted to capitalize on a connection to Sedley's play and one of his songs, "Ah Cloris! That i now could sit" was sung to the tune. The site of the garden is on the private grounds of Buckingham Palace and one lone tree yet exists from James's planting so long ago. It was printed in Barnes's English Country Dance Tunes (1986), Christian's A Playford Assembly (2015), Sharp's Country Dance Tunes (1909), Walsh's Complete Country Dancing-Master, Volume the Fourth (1740). It was recorded by The Baltimore Consort on A Trip to Killburn.