SOUTHERN FRUITS. CLASS I. FIGS. 323 



SOUTHERN FRUITS. 

 CLASS I. 



FRUITS WHICH MAY BE CULTIVATED IN THE 

 SOUTH-WESTERN AND SOUTHERN STATES, 

 TO THE LAT. OF 25. 



Most of these, however, may flourish in the Middle States, and a 

 small portion may succeed in the North-western and Eastern 

 States, to the latitude of 43, and in .Oregon. 



FIG. (Ficus carica.) 



The fig tree is a native of Asia ; a deciduous tree in 

 the temperate climates, but an evergreen within the trop- 

 ics. In a warm climate, it grows to a very large size. The 

 branches are smooth, of a dark ashen color ; the leaves 

 cordate, ovate, three or five-lobed, thick ; the fruit grows on 

 the wood of the former year in the axils of the leaves ; its 

 form is turbinate ; it contains a pulp of a sweet and deli- 

 cious flavor. The fig forms an important article of culture 

 in Barbary, Greece, Italy, Spain, and the south of France, 

 for drying, and on the coasts of the Mediterranean and its 

 isles. In these countries, it grows to a large size. It is 

 also cultivated pretty extensively near Paris, for the supply 

 of its markets. Here they are kept low, that they may be 

 with the greater ease protected in winter. They are plant- 

 ed on the south sides of walls, buildings, and the southern 

 declivities of hills. Phillips informs us that there is an 

 orchard of a hundred standard fig trees near Worthing, in 

 Sussex, England ; its extent is three quarters of an acre. 

 The trees are of the size of large apple trees, and ripen 

 their fruit as well as in any part of Spain. They are an- 

 nually productive, and very profitable, ripening in August, 

 September, and October. 



USES. The fig is a wholesome and delicious article of 

 the dessert ; and in those countries where it is extensively 

 cultivated, it is not only eaten in a green or dried state, but 

 fried or stewed, and in various ways, with or without bread 



