FIL 



FIL 



the size and abundance of the fruit 

 being almost entirely in the hands of 

 the orchardist. By girding the stem- 

 root, pruning, summer pruning the 

 ends of the bearing branches, the 

 abundance and beauty of the fruit are 

 increased. In a stove it may be made 

 to bear through the winter, so as to 

 supply a constant succession. In 

 pruning the ends of branches the 

 juice will escape, unless the twig be 

 first pressed between the thumb and 

 finger till the tissues give way, and al- 

 lowing it to wither before removal. 

 Fig-trees are very liable to become 

 lu.vuriant in foliage, bearing little 

 fruit ; this habit cannot be remedied 

 by pruning the branches only, for tliis 

 is calculated to increase their num- 

 ber ; it is best rectified by training 

 the branches horizontally, or even 

 bending them downward by wires 

 made fast to their extremities and 

 to the ground or stem of the tree. 

 .Standards are pruned into a single 

 stem and horizontal branches. The 

 fig is remarkably free from insects. 

 The tree is frequently taken up and 

 laid down under three or four inches 

 of earth for the winter, being set up 

 in .\pril. The wood is extremely 

 hard and durable, being used for pol- 

 ishing metals when charged with em- 

 ery. 



FILARIA. A genus of intestinal 

 worms, resembling a thread in ap- 

 pearance. 



FILATURE. A reel arrangement 

 for raw silk. See Silk. 



FILBERT. Conjlusavcllana. This 

 sweet and valuable nut could, with 

 the fig, be readily made an object of 

 exportation, or, at least, raised suffi- 

 ciently to supply the great demand at 

 home. As it is not much known, we 

 insert a description of the best varie- 

 ties : 



1. Red Filbert. — Stem ofthe fruit 

 red, superior in flavour to the white, 

 but less prolific : requires light loam. 



2. White Filbert. — An abundant 

 bearer and hardy plant. The husk 

 of the fruit is long and tubular, con- 

 tracted near the top, so as to hinder 

 the fruit falling out. 



3. CosFOBD. — An improved hazel, 



the fruit deeply marked and almost 

 conical. 



4. Barcelona, or Large Cob. — A 

 large nut, much esteemed for keep- 

 ing, but often a shy bearer. 



5. The Frizzled Filbert. — The 

 husk is frizzled and ornamental. It 

 is a modern esteemed variety. 



The C. Americana is an indigenous 

 species, bearing a sweet but small nut. 

 The white is the market variety in 

 England, and the Barcelona in Spain. 

 Filberts require a deep, light, but nat- 

 urally fertile soil, without putrescent 

 manures. They should be grown as 

 dwarf standards, set eight feet apart ; 

 tlie suckers and lower shoots which 

 they constantly throw out should be 

 restrained. They are propagated 

 most readily from suckers, but may 

 be grafted on seed stocks early in 

 April. The amount of fruit yielded 

 depends in a great measure upon pru- 

 ning ; for, naturally, the tree expends 

 itself in producing under-wood. Af- 

 ter raising the standard, with a low 

 stem of twelve to eighteen inches, 

 the branches must be pruned to the 

 horizontal or pendant form : the lead- 

 ing shoots are annually shortened by 

 two thirds ; the front twigs are also 

 summer-pruned, and all the spurs that 

 have fruited removed in the winter 

 or spring. It bears on spurs thrown 

 out from the last year's wood. The 

 fruit is ripe when the husk is turned 

 brown ; if intended for long keeping, 

 the filberts are allowed to hang until 

 fully brown, then dried by exposure 

 to the sun, and placed in barrels with 

 dry sand. An acre yields 800 to 1000 

 pounds of fruit. They bear in the 

 fourth or fifth year. 



The nut is assailed by a curculio 

 in autumn, which may be seen boring 

 the fruit to deposite its egg, and can 

 be destroyed by shaking the tree and 

 allowing chickens to eat the insect 

 when fallen to the ground. 



The filbert and hazel-nut ( C. sylves- 

 tris) are distinct species, but by cul- 

 tivation have become nearly mixed, 



FILIFOR.M. Thread-like. 



FILLY. A young mare. 



FILTRATIOxN. The separation 

 of the clear portions of a solution or 



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