588 FIG 



Subsequent sweating and "processing" vary much as 

 with prunes, raisins and other dried fruits. Exceeding 

 care, cleanliness and long experience are all-important in 

 the production of a high-grade article. 



The dried Fig crop of California is large, and increas- 

 ing. In 1886 the total product was but 100,000 pounds. 

 In the 5 years ending with 1899 it was 14,945,000 pounds, 

 an average of 2,989,000 pounds per annum. White 

 Adriatic, Black Califomian and to a small extent Whito 

 Marseilles were the varii-tits producing this amount. 



Culture in th. ■ - - . ,. ':;,.s._The culture of the 

 Fig in the noiili. , i 11, parts of the United 

 States is extrtiin : i . i , — , l.ut is essentially dif- 

 ferent from Calif.,1 111. • .i , .n- .vi-n from those pre- 

 vailing in the soutlicni -i- ■ IIm ti, ,• is not hardy 

 enough to endure the cliii I : . . m: \s lieu grown as 

 a bush, and protected in \' '■ i , . liy covering it 

 with several inches of -n'l In t\f ...iithern middle 

 states a heavy covering .-i .->[i.tvv or of evergreen 

 branches is often sufficient. The hrst crop of fruitis all 

 that can usually be expected in the extreme north ; the 

 second crop sometimes ripens in the middle states. 



South of Virginia, many varieties of Fig are readily 

 grown in the open ground. The experiments of Berck- 

 mans, Massey, Normand, Reasoner and others plainly 

 show that the Fig is well adapted to a large area of the 

 southern states, but chiefly for table use— not fordrying, 

 which seems to require a less moist summer atmos- 

 phere. The Fig cannot be carried far to market in a 

 fresh state, and therefore its extended cultivation to 

 supply local demands will long be profitable. Even in 

 California the fruit markets are with difficulty kept 

 supplied, and many large towns seldom have fresh Figs 

 on the stands. Charles H. Shinn. 



FIG. Adam's F. is Musa paradisiaca. BarbaryF., 

 Opuntia vulgaris. Devil's F., Argemnne Mesieaiui. 

 Hottentot' B 'F., Mesembryanthemum ediile. Indian F., 

 Opuntia vulgaris. Keg'F,, Diospyros Kaki. Pharaoh's 

 F., Syeomorus antiguorum. 



FIG-MAEIGOLD. Mesembryanthemum. 



FILAGO Germanica, the Cotton Rose, is a cot- 

 tony annual plant somewhat like Leontopodium, which 

 is now and then collected by tourists and dyed like im- 

 mortelles. It was called Herba impia by the old herbal- 

 ists, because a new generation of clustered heads rises 

 out of the parent cluster as if undutifully exalting 

 itself. Fully described in botanies. 



FILBERT. Old World species of Corylus. 



FILIPfiNDULA. See L'lmaria. 



FINGER GRASS. Species of Chloris and Pinlciim. 



FIOEIN. Agrostis stolonifera and alba. 



FIE should not be used to mean anything outside 

 the genus Abies, but popularly it includes many trees 

 known to nurserymen and others as Picea. Fir is also 

 used loosely and inaccurately to include conifers of 

 other genera. 



FIRE-CRACKER, FLORAL. See Brevoortia. 



FIRE-PINK. Silene Virginica. 



FIRE-PLANT is Euphorbia heterophylla. 



FIRE-WEED. Epilobium angttstifolium and Erech- 

 tites Iiieracifolia. 



FISH-GRASS. See Cabomba. 



FITTdNIA (Elizabeth and.Sarah Mary Fitton, authors 

 of "Conversations on Botany," and friends of Robert 

 Brown). AcanthUcece. Three species of low-growing 

 Peruvian herbaceous perennials, valued for the brilliant 

 variegation madebv red or white venation of their large, 

 heart-shaped Ivs. Fls. borne singly in the axils of the 

 overlapping bracts, which form a peduncled, terminal 



FITTONIA 



spike; calyx segments Imenr bn^^tlj corolla tube slen- 

 der ; lip long mrrow shortI> lobed it the apex. 



Fittonia argt/ioii kmMI-u HZi) and F Verschaffeltii 

 are among the sli n\ le t mil most s itisfactory of tropical 

 trailing plints tint m .,1 «nnf )r their foliage. Heat, 

 moisture and shade ir* tlie miinfictors in their cul- 

 ture. They are standard plants m all the finer collec- 

 tions, and require a closer atmosphere than that of the 

 ordinary living room Thev are chiefly grown in wide, 

 shallow pans on wire frames filled with moss and peat, 

 some sand and a little verv fineh rotted manure. 



^Melt- :^> 



823 Fittonii 



They can be trusted with the most conspicuous position, 

 as they are alw -i^ s on dress parade They look well on 

 a corner, with the pan tilted up somewhat so that some 

 of the foliage may hang down It is a good plan to 

 place the pan on a small ln^ erted saucer m a large sau- 

 cer of water chiefly for the sake of a continuous supply 

 of moisture, but also to foil the slugs, which are about 

 the only enemies of these fine plants. A fine, large speci- 

 men can be quickly and easily secured by the use of a 

 number of small planis. As f.ist as they grow they can 

 be pegged down iu tin n- |, .,1.111. i-.„,ting medium. If a 

 specimen has to be ii,-l, , 1, ,1 i,,r a l,>ng while it can be 

 quickly renewed liy ,-,,>,iiiil; \miIi a little soil the bare 

 portions of stem and pi-ggiuf.' the lu down. 



Fittonias are also amongst the finest elements in 

 "pyramids "or mounds along witK Philodendriim, Cis- 

 sus discolor, Episcea cupreata, Nephthytis and Selagi- 

 nellas. There is often a bare, unsightly space under 

 the benches that can be transformed into a tangle of 

 tropical creepers by the use of such plants. A board 

 can be placed slanting toward the walks and covered 

 with rotten stumps, chunks of peat, and moss for the 

 plants to run in. The open borders near the walks have 

 hardly good enough drainage. They can also be pegged 

 down in mossy coverings for tubs of palms, as they can 

 stand unlimited watering. On the whole, they are ideal 

 plants for tropical conservatories, and it would be hard 

 to overstate their merits. 



A. Habit erect : height I'A ft. 



gigant^a, Linden {Gynmostichyum giganlea, Sort.). 

 Subshrubby, branching : stems reddish violet only be- 

 tween the joints, with 4 ranks of silky, white, erect 

 hairs : Ivs. opposite, elliptical, not notched at the base, 

 with 2 ranks of hairs, tapering more than in the other 

 species, dark, shining green ; veins carmine-red : fls. 

 pale, with a reddish brown band in the middle of the 

 side and upper lobes, and a dark vellow .spot in the mid- 

 dle of the lower lip. R.H. 1869, p! 186. I.H. 16:611. 

 AA. Rabit trailing : height about 6 in. 

 B. I'eins red. 



Verschaffeltii, E. Coiim. {Fittonia and Branthemum 

 rubronervum and rubrovenosum, Hort. Eranthemum 



