iSyi.] CULTIVATION OF HARDY FRUITS. 75 



end of November, so that, should the enemy come upon you "as 

 a thi'ef in the night," then you may be proof against his assaults, 

 and come scatheless out of the fight. Where expense is not so 

 much an object as thorough defence against frost, there can be 

 no doubt but that woollen netting, such as we recommended for the 

 protection of the Peach and Apricot, will be found the best if put on 

 two or three ply. This will, however, be attended with considerable 

 expense, as the use of such protection will be necessary for two or 

 three months during the worst part of the season. If the netting 

 should get wet soon after being put on, there is little chance of its get- 

 ting thoroughly dried till after its removal in spring, so that it is obvi- 

 ous that two or three seasons at most will be all the time it is likely to 

 last before it becomes useless and rotten. Taking all this into consid- 

 eration, we cannot recommend netting for general use. The next best 

 material for this purpose is Spruce branches or Silver Fir branches, 

 either of which, but especially the former, will be found to answer the 

 end in view remarkably well. As soon as there is danger of severe 

 frost, let the whole of the surface of the Fig- wall be covered with them, 

 fixing them in as simple a manner as possible, either to nails or studs 

 in the wall, or, what would be better, to a framework of paling-rails 

 placed against the wall. If the latter is used, it may be constructed 

 something after the following plan. Place uprights, at distances of 5 

 or 6 feet apart, reaching from' under the cope to 2 feet from the bot- 

 tom of the wall. These having been fixed, nail rails horizontally upon 

 them at distances of H to 2 feet apart. This finished, begin by fixing 

 the branches upon the lowest rail, and continue the operation from the 

 bottom upwards until the whole is finished. The branches used ought 

 to be about double the length of the spaces between the rails, so that 

 there may be a good overlap, and that each branch may be securely 

 tied to two of the rails, that there may be no chance of a storm dis- 

 placing them, or — what would be worse — laying the whole in ruins. If 

 branches cannot be procured, the next best thing is dried Ferns, which 

 may be thatched on in the same manner. Russian mats, or mats made 

 with straw, may and are sometimes used, but are not nearly so good 

 as the branches of Spruce or Silver Fir. After all danger of severe 

 frost is over, the covering, of whatever material it may be, may at once 

 be removed, the trees pruned and nailed, and afterwards managed as 

 tecommended already. 



So far as we are aware, the Fig is liable to no diseases in this country, 

 so that the cultivator has nothing to fear in that way. The same might 

 almost be said with regard to insects. It is seldom that it sufi'ers 

 even in this form, the only two enemies being the Coccus hesperi- 

 dum, or brown-scale, and the Acarus tellarius, or red-spider. Where 



