3o POL VG AMI A. 



they call Orni, as are well conditioned for that pin- 

 pose. Tonrnefort says, ( he was surprised at the pa- 

 tience of the Greeks in busying themselves for the 

 space of two months in carrying these gnats from tree 

 to tree) but to satisfy his curiosity he was told 

 that one of these fig-trees under their management 

 usually produced between two and three hundred 

 pounds of figs, while those of Provence seldom pro- 

 duced more than twenty-five pounds.' 



In England figs are brought to maturity for the 

 table without the assistance of the wild- fig, but the 

 fruit must be distinguished from the seed, which 

 alone is necessary to the reproduction of the plant. 

 If the Pollen be wanting to fructify the seed, ex- 

 perience has shewn in the instances I have before 

 cited from experiments by Linnaeus himself, that the 

 seed will not vegetate when sown; the fruit may 

 nevertheless swell, and come to an appearance of per- 

 fection, though it more commonly drops off before 

 it ripens if the Pollen has been wanting. The fig-tree 

 therefore with us cannot be propagated by seed, but 

 by layers, suckers, or cuttings. 



Some species of summer figs in France and Italy, 

 and also in Malta, ripen their fruits and seeds without 

 the assistance of the wild fig ; it is, however, neces- 

 sary to observe, that some species of the cultivated fig- 

 tree have a few blossoms, or florets, with stamina 

 placed above those that bear only pistilla within the 

 same covering, and that in warm climates they are 

 perfect, and perform their proper office ; but in cold 



