FORCING THE FIG IN BRITISH GARDENS. 489 



on the cultivated tree, and passing over the anthers distributes the 

 pollen over the stigma. The utility of this practice is doubted by 

 many ; at all events, it is neither practised in France nor Britain, but 

 as a substitute for it, ringing the branch immediately behind the fruit 

 has been found successful in some instances ; but the best antidote to 

 the dropping of the fruit is abundant supplies of water at the root. 



The Forcing of the Fig as practised in British Gardens. 



The fig is daily growing in favour with the British public, and the 

 demand for green figs is becoming general. It is most generally forced in 

 pots, either placed in pits, or in peach -houses, vineries, or even pine- 

 stoves ; and as the plants bear two or more crops in a year, it is not 

 difficult to have a supply of fruit at most seasons ; the chief de- 

 pendence, however, is on the second crop, or that produced on the 

 wood of the current year. 



The construction of the fig-house may be the same as that of the 

 peach-house ; but the leaves being large, the trellis may be placed 

 from six inches to a foot farther from the glass. The soil of the border 

 should be light, sandy, liberally mixed with lime or broken bricks, and 

 thoroughly drained. 



The varieties best adapted for forcing are White Marseilles and 

 Black Marseilles, Early Violet, White, Brown, and Black Ischia, Sin- 

 gleton, Castle Kennedy, Golden or Ligne d'Or, and Brown Turkey. 

 Close pruning is to be avoided, and the best form of tree for securing a 

 large crop is a sort of half-standard with a mass of young wood stand- 

 ing out two feet or more from the roots. The plants may be trained 

 in the fan manner, and the mode of pruning should be such as to 

 favour the production of young wood over every part of the tree. 

 Very little pruning is required for the fig ; but by pinching out the 

 points of the shoots after the fruit appears, its progress is hastened, 

 and the chances of its setting increased. 



The time of beginning to force the fig is commonly the same as 

 that for forcing the grape or the peach, and the temperature is also 

 much the same as that for the vine, or somewhat intermediate between 

 it and the peach. The apricot, peach, plum, and cherry, vegetate in 

 March or the beginning of April; but the vine and the fig require 

 the temperature of May to bring them into vegetation even when 

 growing against a south wall. Hence, when forced, they require a pro- 

 portionately higher temperature to bring them into leaf. 



The first crop of figs, which is that produced on the points of the 

 shoots of the last year, will ripen in May or June ; but the second 

 crop will not ripen before September, though, as it does not ripen all 

 at once, it will last till December. The only difficult point in forcing 

 the fig is to preserve the embryo fruit formed on the points of the 

 shoots of the current year, so that they may ripen as a first crop in 

 the next year. The fig will thrive at a greater distance from the 

 glass than either the vine or the peach, and also with less air than any 

 other fruit tree. It is very subject to the red spider, which should be 



