324 NEW AMERICAN ORCHARDIST. 



or meat, as food. Figs are prepared by dipping them in 

 scalding ley, made of the ashes of the fig tree, and then 

 dried in the sun. And according to Dambourney, [see 

 Dom. Enc.~\ " in dyeing, a decoction of the green branches 

 and leaves imparts a deep gold color, of a brownish red 

 shade ; but the leaves alone impart a very deep yellow color. 

 And the substances thus dyed retain a very agreeable fra- 

 grance for many months, even after being washed. The 

 wood of the fig tree is almost indestructible, and was for- 

 merly much employed, in the East, for the preservation of 

 embalmed bodies." [/&] 



VARIETIES. 



1. ANGELIQUE. Lindley. Bon Jard. 

 MELITE, COURCOURELLE BLANCHE, Hurt. Soc. Cat. 

 YELLOW ANGELIQUE. Bon Jard. 



The fruit is small ; its color yellow ; form pyramidal ; its 

 pulp is white, but red at the centre, and of excellent flavor. 

 This sort is cultivated in the neighborhood of Paris. 



2. COMMON BLUE. Mr. Neill 



Sometimes called the Purple Fig ; is of an oblong shape, 

 and the tree is a great bearer. August. 



3. LARGE BLUE. Lindley. 

 LARGE PURPLE. 



Fruit large, oblong ; skin purple, or dark brown, cov- 

 ered with a thick blue bloom ; pulp deep red, of a very good 

 flavor. A very hardy sort, and a most excellent bearer. 



4. BOURDEAUX. Lindley. 



POIRE FIGUE, VIOLETTE DE BOURDEAUX, of the French. 

 The fruit is long and pyramidal, rounded at the crown, 

 its length three inches; its color is naturally a deep violet; 

 its pulp is deep red or purple, succulent, and sweet. This 

 fig is stated to be cultivated throughout France, and al- 

 though not of very high flavor, it is very productive, pro- 

 ducing annually two crops. 



5. FIGUE BLANCHE RONDE. N. Duh. PI. iv. 

 ROUND WHITE. 



This fig is esteemed the most suitable for the climate of 

 Paris ; it is the most multiplied, and is there preferred to 

 all others for its productiveness, and the superior quality 

 of its fruit. The fruit is turbinate, two inches in diameter ; 

 color at maturity yellowish green ; the flesh is white, very 

 sweet and delicious. The first crop begins to ripen at the 



