FRUITS 17 



when it has boiled fifteen minutes put in a pint of green 

 figs, and simmer very slowly till tender, and add a dessert- 

 spoonful of port wine. Take out the figs, boil up the syrup 

 and pour over the figs, and serve cold. 



Fig Tart 



Slice some good figs and put to them as much milk as 

 will just cover them, and set them in a moderate oven to stew. 

 .Stir in a small piece of butter, and sugar to taste. Line 

 some pattypans with puff paste, and finish them in the same 

 manner as mince pies. 



FILBERTS 



Any good ordinary soil agrees with nuts, if it 

 does not hold too much stagnant moisture ; but a 

 free light loam suits them best, with plenty of 

 decayed leaf mould. It is better to buy the young 

 trees than to try and propagate them oneself. The 

 branches should be kept well thinned out, so that 

 the sun and air can play freely among them. The 

 strong, straight, vigorous growths that grow from 

 the base of the trees, and all suckers, must be 

 removed, as they weaken the trees and spoil the 

 crops. 



The pruning should not take place till the 

 blossoms show, which should be about the middle 

 of February. The male blossom is the well-known 

 catkin, and the female is of a pinkish or scarlet 

 colour and like a very small brush, and which sit in 

 a little cluster to the twiggy branches of the trees. 



In pruning, great care must be taken in regard 

 to the blossoms ; scarcely a twig should be cut away 

 containing them. 



Johnson says, ' Often filbert trees will possess 



C 



