FIG CULTURE IN VARIOUS FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 59 
us except the tree be planted under a hot wall.” In 1629 Parkin- 
son said: “If you plant it not against a brick wall, it will not ripen 
so kindly.” And later on, in 1640, the same author says, in Thea- 
trum Botanicum: ‘‘The bleu figge is no doubt of the same opera- 
tion with the white to all purposes, but the fruit commeth most to 
maturity with us, and is eaten with great pleasure with salt and 
pepper.” After the middle of the seventeenth century we may con- 
sider fig culture well established in England. As late as 1822 a tree 
was seen in the botanical garden of regius professor of Hebrew in 
Oxford University. The tree was planted by Dr. Pocock in 1622, 
and must have then been nearly 200 years old. In the eighteenth cen- 
tury the fig orchards of Tarring, near Worthing, in Sussex, were 
famous and proved very profitable. These orchards were grown as 
standards, and the crowns of the trees were said to have been 40 feet 
in diameter. They seldom ripened more than the first crop. In the 
beginning of the last century some of these Farring trees were 40 feet 
high and ripened two crops a year. In our day fig trees are quite com- 
mon in gardens in the southern countries of England and grown 
principally against walls. The first crop is always the one which is 
depended upon, the second crop being generally too late to ripen. 
The trees are not pruned where the culture is properly understood. 
By far the greatest number of fig trees are grown in England under 
glass, or at least under winter covering, and a large number of varie- 
ties has been imported from foreign countries. Under glass both 
crops come to maturity. For outdoor cultivation the favorites, as 
being the most hardy, are Brown Turkey and Brunswick. Dr. Hogg, 
who is the English authority on figs, reeommends the following varie- 
ties for English gardens: 
(1) For standards: Black Ischia, Brown Ischia, Brown Turkey. 
(2) For walls: Black Genoa, Black Ischia, Brown Ischia, Brown Turkey, Bruns- 
wick, Castle Kennedy, White Marseillaise. 
(3) For forcing in pots: Angelique, Black Ischia, Brown Ischia, Early Violet, 
Negro Largo, Pregussata, White Ischia, White Marseillaise. 
The Frette and Argenteuil methods described elsewhere are not 
adopted in England. Of course all figs grown in England, either out- 
doors or in pots, are consumed fresh and bring a good price in the 
market. In England an immense number of fig trees is grown in 
pots in storehouses, and such culture has been most profitable, as well 
as insuring a continuous crop of figs for many months in the year. 
The most convenient sizes of pots are those of 12 to 15 inches for 
fruiting trees, but smaller pots may also answer. While at rest the 
pots are kept in cool houses free from frost. The best soil for pots 
consists of three-fourths sandy loam, the balance mortar crushed 
fine. Repotting is done in October, just before the leaves fall. The 
soil should be moderately rich, liquid manure being applied when 
required. 
