THE CANADIAN IIORTICULTRIST. 107 



in leaf and branch, yields abundantly, and the fruit finds a ready 

 market, and gives a good profit to the grower. Some of the fig orchards 

 in tliis vicinity were planted in 1745, from some old stocks which had 

 l)een brought from Italy by Thomas a'Becket." 



]\Ir. Needhani argues that if the fig will succeed in the damp, foggy 

 atmosphere of England, where melons and cucumbers cannot be grown, 

 how much more will it flourish in our bright and sunny climate; and 

 «,dds, "the climate of our north temperate zone is one of the best 

 possible for the full development of the fig. It is a w«ll known fact 

 that too great heat is inimical to this plant; it causes the tree to cast 

 its fruit. Our northern climes are superior to the southern for another 

 reason, our days are several hours longer than at the South, which 

 gives a lengthened and temperate day, which precisely suits the fig. 

 Countries where figs are grown as an article of commerce are exposed 

 to similar vicissitudes of climate as are the northern States. A gentle- 

 man in ]\Iassachusetts whites, 'I was born in the Levant, and was a 

 resident in Constantinople one winter, when the Golden Horn was 

 frozen over, and there was a snow-fall of eighteen to twenty inches 

 for a couple of weeks, without injury to the fig trees in the vicinity.' " 



Mr. Needham further states that the fig has no insect enemies, and 

 the wood has no blight or disease; and that what Gen. Worthington 

 says of its culture in tlie Ohio Valley is true of the Northern States 

 throughout. The General says, "It is quick grown, suits our climate 

 admirably, is easily protected, is a sure bearer, and very prolific. The 

 trees begin to bear when two years old, and when four or five they 

 produce from the same area, with less labor, a greater and more certain 

 crop than either potatoes or tomatoes. The fig tree is eminently the 

 fruit for the cottager and villager, and when its merits and adaptability 

 to our clinxate become known, it will be as regularly grown for family 

 use all over the Ohio Valley as either the potato or the tomato. " 



Mr. Needham's paper goes on to give the following suggestions : 



The^c'w* carica of Linn., is indigenous in Asia and Northern Africa. 



With us it is deciduous shrub, which can be propagated by 

 ■cuttings as easily as the currant. It fruits when very young, and 

 <liffereut varieties bear white, black, brown, green, blue, etc., fruit 

 which vary in size from a hickory nut to a Bartlett pear. The trees 

 should be planted in a moderately rich soil. Too rich soil causes the 

 tree to run to wood. By selecting suitable varieties the ripening 

 season may be extended from July till frost. 



