Jim« 9, 1866. ] 



JOTIRNAIi OP HOBTICTJLTUEB AND COTTAGE GABDENEB. 



4U 



WEEKLY CALENDAR. 



of 



Month 



Day I 



of 

 Week.! 



JUNE 5-12, 1866. 



To 



W 



Th 



F 



S 



Sen 



M 



Adenandra omsna. 



Adenandra uiilflDm, 



Anthocerci'^ viscosa. 



Aphelcxia haulllis. 



Azaleas. 



2 Sunday after Tkinity. 



St. Babmabas. 



Son 



Sets. 



m. h. 

 8af8 

 9 « 



ATooQ. I Moon 

 Rises Sets. 



m. b. m. h. 

 mom. I 45afl0 

 ISalO I 57 11 

 45 I after. 

 14 1 I 26 2 

 43 1 ! 45 S 

 16 2 I S 5 

 57 2 20 6 



Mooto'a 

 Ago. 



Days 

 22 

 ( 

 24 

 25 

 26 

 27 

 2S 



Clod: 

 after 

 Sun. 



Day 



of 



Year. 



156 

 157 

 158 

 1.59 

 160 

 IGl 

 162 



From obserrations taken near London during the last thirty-nine years, the average day temperatore of the week is 69.9*^ ; and its nigtit 

 temperature 4r.4. The greatest heat was 90^. on the 6th and 7th, 1816 ; and the lowest cold 34^, on the 9th, 1862. The greatest fall o* 

 rain was 1.18 inch. X.B. — The Calendar contains the names of plants flowering in the greenhouse. 



CULTIVATION OF THE FIG. 



ON WALLS. 



, the growth of Figs in our 



climate a south aspect is 

 indispensable. The trees 

 will gi'ow, and show fruit 

 plentii'idly on east and west 

 aspects sn far north as the 

 Tweed, and yet the;- rarely, if ever, ripen a crop. Even 

 on south walls in exposed and elevated situations the fruit 

 ripens seldom rather tlian in general. 



Soil. — The Fig tree does best on a wann soil — good sandy 

 or light loam on gravel, and on such soil it will ripen a crop 

 in tlie miijority of seasons. On the other hand, if the soil is 

 strong and cold tlie growth is great, and the fruit are large, 

 but thej' ripen only occasionally, as during a sunny and hot 

 summer like the last. Unless tiie soil be rather light and 

 shallow, gravelly, and well drained naturally, borders afford- 

 ing these conditions should be formed. Dig out the soil to 

 the deptli of 2 feet ;J iuchcs, and let the bottom slope from the 

 wall to the front of the border, where there should be a di-ain 

 to carry off the water, llie bottom should be covered with 

 :> inches of concrete, which may consist of lime riddlings 

 laid on in tliin layers, and beaten firm — it cannot be rammed 

 too firmly ; and on tliis place (i inches of brickbats, broken 

 st<Dnes, and similar materials, There ■svill then be depth 

 for 18 inches of soil, which may consist of the top 6 inches 

 of a pasture where the soil is a loam of medium texture, 

 and if there is gravel under, and even in the soil, all the 

 better. Place a layer of tlie turf, grass side dov\Tiwards. 

 upon the drainage, and then the remainder, chopping it a 

 ^little -nith a spado. The width of the border should be 

 equal to the lieight of the wall. If the soil contains no 

 'gravel, one-sixth of brick and old mortar rubbish may be 

 .■•mixed with it. Tliis will be a sufficiently ricli soil for the 

 VFig tree : for the dithciilty is not in obtaining gi-owth, but 

 j^in securing strong close-jointed wood. For this reason 

 '-Qie border should be made firm, for if the soil be free or 

 "Joose the shoots will be long, and the leaves far between ; 

 " and if the roots have an imlimited space to feed over, 

 great abundance of wood and leaves will be the result. 

 Tlie roots, therefore, in rich soils slioukl be confined witliin 

 proper limits, or kept in poorer soil. On gi-avelly hungrjf 

 EoUs these precautions arc, of coui'se, unnecessary, for on 

 such the Fig grows sufficiently, and the less it grows the 

 earlier it will show its fniit, and the chances of ripening are 

 increased. It is an easy matter to make up fur any defi- 

 ciency in the richness of the soil by top-dre,=:sings of ma- 

 nure and copious waterings during dry weather, whilst it 

 is difficult to control a Fig ti-ee in rich soil by manipulations 

 or stopping tlie branches. 



Planting should be performed in the spring, before the 

 trees begin growing,, and the. distfm,ce aj5^rt||l^q\ild, be 

 Kg. S7L— yni X., New Sebies.' 



20 feet for a 10 or 12-feet wail. Bather high walls are 

 best, for the shoots of the Fig tree are rarely inclined t» 

 take a horizontal direction, but almost always seek the top 

 of the wall. In planting, the ball should be broken, and 

 the roots disentangled ; lay tlie roots regularly on the 

 siu-iace of the border, and cover them with 1 inches of soil ; 

 tliis will give the appearance of a mound, which is aU the 

 better, as the top-dressings mU raise the border, and ia 

 time sink the collar, which at all times it is dcsnable, and 

 especially with fruit trees, to keep slifihtly elevated. The 

 trees ma}' also be planted in summer, when in full leaf, from 

 pots. Giving a good watering after planting and during 

 veiy diy weather will be all the attention needed during 

 the first year. 



The Best Kind oe Trees to Pl.^nt are those with one- 

 foot stems ; for wlien those with no stem arc planted a num- 

 ber of shoots spring from a level with and even below the 

 ground line, creating continual trouble, and weakening the 

 tree to no purpose. Eyes put in in February or Jlarcli 

 ■n-ill by midsummer have made a growth of 1.5 inches. The 

 point being then pinched out, three or more shoots will 

 mostly come from the upper part of the plant, as shown in 

 Jii/. 1. Tliis is what is generally termed heading a maiden 

 tree. This is the tree I would "plant. It will not require 

 stopping again the first year, but in spring, after planting, 



Fig. 1. Fig. 2. 



it wiU put forth more slioots than one from the point ot 

 each shoot. If all but two be rubbed oft' we shall by 

 midsummer have tlie shape of tree represented in fij.H. 

 When five leaves are made, take out the points of the 

 shoot at that. Tiiis stopping will give rise to two or moi-e 

 shoots, but only two of tliese are to be retained. If only 

 one shoot come from or with the spring gi'owth it is of no 

 consequence, only stop that one at the fifth leaf. Dis- 

 tribute the shoots so tliat an evenly-balanced fan-shaped 

 tree may be produced, allo-\\-ing a distance of i) inches be- 

 tween the branches, and by continuing to stop the spring 

 shoots at tlie fiftli leaf so long as the trees exist, sufficient 

 side shoots will be produced to cover the wall evenly in 

 evei-y part ; and whenever a deficiency of young sIiooUi 

 occujs in any part, tliey must be encouraged from the 

 base of the branch so becoming bare, and after a year or 

 two's gi-owth the old branch may be in part or eulireiy 

 removed. _ ,, 



From the almost constant necessity of cutting out tne 

 old wood preference is given by many to what may not 

 inaptly be termed the stool tree, or that' ha-vTUg many stems 

 rising" from near and below the soil. These trees uovpr 

 havethe shoots stopped, but are allowed to gi'ow as twg 

 as they will, training any shoots tliat may be produced 

 from tlicm so as to fill up, vacant spaces, and when the old 



Mo. 928.— Vol.. XXXV., Ol.n Sebiex. 



