Jiily II, 1865. j 



JOURNAL OP HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE (iAEDENER. 



at 



TUEES 



POTS. 



regards J'"is troc-'S for put 

 oulture tlu'si! may be of tw(i 

 kinds — d\v'arfs, and bushes 

 on sliort stoius. The former 

 have the shoots (dose to the 

 soil, and very olteu sprm<;- 

 ing from tlie stem beneatli it, and are readily obtained. 

 These liave from tlu"ee to five shoots fi'enerally, and are 

 gi'own on the system of never stoppiiifj tlie slioots, but the 

 wood done bearing is annually cut out, and the young 

 shoots that spring from the base of the plants are retained, 

 thus keeping the tree fiu-nished with bearing and ymmg 

 wood witliout encumbering it with tliat which is old and 

 useless. 



The hush ti-ees have sti'aight stems !) inches or a foot 

 lugh, ■ndth a hush-lilie head above that. Trees, to form 

 these, should have a single or straight stem, cutting oft' the 

 side shoots, and that must he cut down in the spring to 

 within 9 inches or a foot of its base, disbudding the shoots 

 to tliree or five shoots, according to their strength, allow- 

 ing tliree to a weak and five to a strong plant. When they 

 have made five full-sized leaves pinch out the points of the 

 side shoots, allowing the upper one to gi'ow three weeks 

 longer, then pinch out its point in like maimer, and the 

 tree is formed ; but it will not fruit that season, unless it 

 be gro«-n in a forcing-house, when the spring shoots may 

 give fruit in autmnn, still it is as well not to allow them to 

 do this, but rub oft' the fruit if any be showii. so as to throw 

 more vigom" into the second or midsiuumer shoots on wliich 

 the first crop is produced ui the ensuing season. 



We have now provided Fig trees of two Idnds — one 

 in which the shoots ai"e never shortened, but when the 

 old shoots become too long young shoots from the base 

 arc prepared to take their place and the old cut clean 

 out. by which system we keep up a succession of yoiuig 

 hearing wood, and dispense with the old. These are the 

 kind of trees to be selected for forcing. In those of the 

 second description the shoots are systematically shortened 

 to five joints whenever that numlier of leaves is made, 

 the shoots being disbudded so as to prevent crowiling, 

 notwithstanthng wliich the shoots will become too much 

 crowded in a few years, rendering it absolutely necessary 

 to thin-out the shoots ^\ith a shiu-p luiife <tlose to the 

 branch from which they spring, or to the stem itself'. 

 These trees may be bushes on very short stems, in- stan- 

 dards from 1 foot to any height of stem (h^sired. They are 

 most desirable for cool houses or those occasionally heated. 

 The Fig makes two gi'owths in a year. The first is tlie 

 spring growth, on which the second or autumn crop of 

 fruit is prod.uced, the shoots being made before midsummer 

 in heated sti'uctiu'es and the yoiuig fruit will he prommcnt 

 No. aai.— Vol. IX., New FEaiES. 



in the axils of the loaves. The second growth is made after 

 midsummer, and such shoots are usually termed the niid- 

 siuumer shoots, and on such the friut is produced that fur- 

 nishes the fh'st crop the following season. Owing to the 

 Fig maliing two growths in a year two crops are olitiiined 

 in a twelvemontli and occasionally three, hut tliough three 

 may have been obtained I am inclined to heUeve from my 

 own experience tliat two crops are the Ihnit. I readily ad- 

 mit that I have had a crop produced from May up to July by 

 trees started in .lanuary, when the trees would rest until 

 the end of August, then commence ripening a crop from 

 the spring shoots, and continue to do so until October. 

 Now tins is to me conclusive tliat the non-stopping of the 

 shoots has a tendency to cause continuous bearing rather 

 than the production of two crops or tliree in a season ; 

 yet tliere is evidence of two crops, for there is a cessation 

 from healing between the first and sec(md crop on tlie 

 same trees. The Brown Turkey or Lee's Perpetual is very 

 nearly a continuous bearer, wlulst hi most others the fruit 

 is ripe in a much shortei' time, and the e\idence of one or 

 two crops more is apparent. Have any of yoiu' correspon- 

 dents had the Fig produce three distinct growths and ripen 

 three distinct crops in one season '.' If so. When were they 

 started ? at what time were the respective crops ripe '! and 

 when were the trees put to rest '? also, what kind or lands ? 



By stopping the spring shoots the flov/ of sap is an-ested 

 and impelled into the fi'uit tlien swelling on the shoots of 

 tJie previous year. Stopping thus increases the size and 

 forwards the ripening of the present crop, and assists the 

 ripening or perfecting of the shoot just made, so that tlie 

 second crop is lUiely to be produced sooner than were the 

 shoots not stopped. There is then a likelihood of two 

 crops bemg obtamed in the season without much, if any, 

 artificial heat. The midsmnmer shoots should in turn be 

 stopped if they make five joints (wluch is not always the 

 case, far from it, for they ofteuer make but a few short 

 joints from wluch the gi-owing point must not be taken), in 

 order to hasten the matiuity of the autmnn or second crop, 

 and to ripen the wood producing the first crop next year. 



In all cases of Fig-training notlung is a greater obstacle 

 to the production of fine fruit than crowding the shoots.. 

 Every shoot should be p.t such a distnce from the otliers that 

 its foliage may not be deprived, nor deprive them, of ligiit aaid 

 air. Allowing too many shoots to gi'ow after stoppmg, or 

 without stoppmg, at the spring or midsummer growth, is 

 only making work for the knife, which is only necessarj"- 

 in Fig prunuig for cutting out old shoots ; by disbudding 

 or not alliAving more shoots to grow than are absolutely 

 required, the vigoiu' of the tree may be dii'eoted towards 

 the few shoots that beai', iiLstaad of being wasted on the> 

 many that are not wanted. If any shoots have a tendency 

 to become over-vigorous tie them down, wliich will lessen 

 the crowding considerably, arrest the rapid flow of the sap, 

 and conduce to increased productiveness. Stopping tlie 

 wood when the trees are lealless is not only useless but is 

 detrimental to hearing. Any knife-shortening of Fig trees 

 is bad : when the knife is used for shortening it should be 

 , to cut off the branch altog-otlier. Li fact, we only want a 

 ! knife once a-year, in spiing, to cut out any old branch long 

 No. 37(?.— Vol. XXXIV., Old Seiuks. 



