246 OUR COMMON FRUITS. 



have been a special favourite ; a taste easily accounted 

 for if the enchantress of the Nile were aware of the pro- 

 perty attributed to it by Pliny of "retarding the forma- 

 tion of wrinkles." The same authority informs us that 

 the juice of the tree imparts a fine flavour to meat, by 

 being steeped in vinegar for the purpose, and then rubbed 

 upon it. This passage has rather puzzled commentators, 

 but it may possibly have some connection with a fact 

 which cannot be accounted for, but which nevertheless 

 has been ascertained to be indisputably true, viz., that 

 fresh killed meat hung for a few hours in the shade of 

 the fig-tree will become as tender as if kept elsewhere for 

 weeks. A gentleman who had lately made the experi- 

 ment, assured the author of the JPomarium Uritannicum 

 that a haunch of venison, hung soon after killing among 

 the leaves of a fig-tree at about 10 o'clock at night, was 

 found, when removed before sunrise in the morning, to 

 be in a perfect state for cooking, and would evidently in 

 a few hours more have been in a state of putrefaction. 

 Judging by this, it would certainly be an advantage to 

 the community were every butcher, at least, able on occa- 

 sion to " sit under his own fig-tree ;" and it might mate- 

 rially promote the digestion of the lieges, were the rival 

 plans for the disposal of Smithfield market to be harmo- 

 nized the dead meat market established, and the ground 

 permitted to be planted also, only on condition that the 

 trees selected should be of the species^cw. 



The virtues of the fig in a medical point of view are 

 well known, it being most useful externally as well as 

 internally, having furnished, indeed, the first poultice on 

 record, applied under the direction of no meaner a phy- 

 sician than the princely prophet Isaiah, whose prescrip- 

 tion of " a lump of figs" cured the boil-smitten Hezekiah. 

 The juice of the tree, too, has a similar property to rennet, 

 a twig of it put into milk causing it to curdle. The 

 wood is of little special use, except to form whetstones 

 for sharpening smiths' tools, its softness and porosity 

 fitting it to retain the oil and emery required for this 

 purpose. It was formerly said to have been used by the 

 Egyptians for their mummy-cases or coffins, on account 



