354 VILLA GAEDENING part iv 



during their ripeuiug, At these times, if the red spider appears, 

 the leaves must be sponged, using a little soft soap in the water. 

 If the mealy bug gains admission to the house it is rather trouble- 

 some on Fig trees, but it can be got rid of by using the proper 

 remedies — the same as recommended for bug on vines — following 

 them up persistently till none remain. But, with all the remedies 

 I have seen tried, it is necessary to keep a strict look-out for 

 stragglers all the following spring, as some eggs will escape the 

 winter dressing. 



Figs in Pots. — If a house cannot be given up to the Figs, so 

 that justice may be done them, and they have to be treated as a 

 catch crop, it will be better to have them in pots or tubs, or even 

 in boxes, as the Fig will grow in anything that holds sufficient 

 soil for the roots to work in. When gTOwn in a pot the Fig has a 

 considerable power of adaptation to circumstances. The trees may 

 be pruned hard back in winter, the pots plunged in a bed of leaves 

 to induce a strong break, the young shoots puiched at the fifth leaf, 

 as I have recommended, and a hea\7 crop of fruit gathered from 

 the young wood almost as early as under ordinary circumstances 

 the first crop could be gathered. This is a good plan to adopt 

 with good forcing varieties. The first crop, which is often a thin 

 one, is sacrificed altogether, and the energies of the plant driven 

 into what would in the ordinary course be the second crop. Figs 

 may be grown in comparatively small pots, for when pot -bound 

 they will take very strong doses of liquid manure, and rich top- 

 dressings may be easily applied by fixing broad strips of zinc to 

 the top of the pot, and filling in with rich soil. When the plants 

 have been potted on time after time, and have reached the extreme 

 limits as to size, they may have half the roots cut away with a 

 knife, and be potted back into smaller pots, reducing the heads at 

 the same time. I have often done this when they get too large ; 

 they do not seem to resent it in the least ; in fact, it seems to 

 infuse new life into the trees. It is better not to prune shy-bearing 

 kinds till after the young fruits are pushed out, as one can see 

 better where to cut without sacrificing any fruit. Fig trees in 

 pots will succeed in almost any temperature, if it is only regular. 

 They will do in the Orchard-house, though the second crop does 

 not ripen without fire -heat. A fair amount of success may be 

 obtained in the vinery or the Peach-house, and many a chance dish 

 can be obtained in this way ; but Figs are as well worth a small 

 house to themselves as Peaches and Melons. When all the fruits 

 are gathered and the leaves are falling, the plants may be placed 

 out in the open air, in a sunny position, to complete the ripening ; 

 but they must be housed again before much frost commences. 



