294 KOUTUS JAMAICENSIS.- Ti<i- 



bisli of a dry barren kind; wluclij if the like siiporflcoiis growtli-shouy eontinnp, mny 

 be tned on the other side the foliouinor year. But, if the tioe does not bear thick, or- 

 the fruit be obseiTed not to come to perfection upon it, tiie top stems should be cut ofl", 

 so soon iis they and tlie fruit begin to appear in the sprin^^. Jt>rozv7ie. 



The fig has large palmalcd or hand-siiaj^ed leaves, and there are a number o^, 

 varieties. 



There is a remarkable circumstance in the bi.-tory of the fig-tree, wiiich, for many 

 ages vva.s scnijiniatical, naniely, the caprijication, as it is caited, which is jjc.rticulftrly 

 worthr of attention, not only as a singular phenomenon of it-^elf, but as it has furnisTied 

 one of the most convincing proofs of the reality of the se^-es of the plants. L. b;ief,-it 

 is this : The flowers of the fig-tree are' situated within a pulpv receptacle, which we-. 

 call the fig or fruit : of these receptacles, in the wild fig-tree, some Itave male lowers- 

 only, and Others have male an J female, both distinct,, though placed in the s;,me re-" 

 ceptacle." Tii ihe cultivated ng, these are found to contain only female flowers; v.hicli' 

 are fecundated by means of a land of gnat bred in jiie fruit of tne wild fig trees, wKich 

 jjierces thi.t of ti;e cultivated, imorder to deposit its eg^s t\ithin ; at tlie same time dif- 

 fusing within the receptacle the farina of the male flowers. Witho^it tiiis^pcration the 

 fruit may ripen, but no effective seeds are produced : hence the garden fig can only be 

 propagated by ia> ers anij^cuttiiigs, in those countries js'here tjie 'iid fig is not kn.nvn. 

 The process of thus ripening die fruit, in the oriental cOTmtrie?,'-is not left to n; tr.re, 

 but is managed Vvith gr^^at art;, and differ&irt degrees of deiteriiy,so-5 t^cr r.nvard the 

 skilful husbandman, wno conveys the gnats at a proper tim.', fixing them at tjie etuis 

 of the branches, with ahimh larger increase of fruit than would ofherwrse be produce'd. 

 A tree of the same size where caprification is not practised may produce twenty-five 

 poimds of fruit, but, by that art, brings ten times the quantity. 



Figs are employed as emollient cataplasms and pectoral'decoctions. The best are 

 those which come from Turkey. l!i the south of France tiiey are prepared as follows : 

 The fruit is first dipped in scalding hot lye, made of the ashes of the fig-tree, and then 

 dried in the sun. Hence thes*e figs stick to llie hands, and scour them like iixivial 

 salts; and, for tie same reason, they excite tO. stool without griping. They are mo- 

 derately nutrimental, grateful to the stomach, ahd easier to digest than any other of 

 the sweet fruits. 



2. VIREKS. GREEN. 



Ficus Indka maxima, Joiin oHoiigo fiiniciiUs, e suvmiis raviis demissis 



radices agent ibus se piopugans, jrucfu minore sphcerico .sangiuiico. 



Sloane, v. 2, p. 140, t. 226. Arbarea assurgens iifrin^iie brachiata, 



folii.^ ovatis, ramis appendiculas tenues jlcxiles depcndentes demit- 



ientibus. Browne, p 1 10. 



Leaves oblong, acuminaie, quite entire, smooth aiid even, narrowed ar.d^punded 

 at the base. 



This large tree has roots running a great way round it, winding and twining on the. 

 surface of the ground, with a light grey bark, and growing from large spirrs, hke the 

 cotton tree. The wood is soft, but makes tolerable good boards lor flooring, doors, 

 tables, &c. The trunk is divided at tlie top into many branches, spreading on every 

 baud, having leaves oa inch long fgotstaiks, eight inches long, and half as broad in the 



