154 HISTORY OF FRUITS- 



the branches extending near twenty feet each way from 

 the trunk. Mr. Loud, the proprietor of this little figgery, 

 informs us, that he gathers about one hundred dozen per 

 day during the season, and that he averages the trees to 

 produce him about twenty dozen each : the fruit ripens in 

 August, September, and October, a part of the year when 

 the neighbouring watering-places are frequented with fa- 

 shionable company, that insures a ready sale for this 

 agreeable fruit, at good prices. Figs were so abundant 

 at Tarring one year, that the inhabitants made wine of 

 them. 



The second crop, we find, has occasionally ripened : the 

 fruit, which, although smaller, is exceedingly sweet, is 

 of the white and purple varieties. Two of these trees 

 are now about seventy-five years old, having been planted 

 in the year 1745 by John Long, who raised them from 

 some old ones in an adjoining garden, near the ruins of 

 the palace of Thomas-a-Becket in that town, who, tradi- 

 tion says, brought these trees from Italy, and planted them 

 himself. The soil of the garden is a deep black loam 

 on chalk. 



The trees are but seldom and sparingly pruned, which 

 we conclude is the cause of their being so prolific, as it 

 is remarked that fig-trees rarely produce much fruit where 

 the knife is regularly used. When they grow too luxuri- 

 antly, it has been found better to destroy a part of their 

 roots, and to fill up the space with stones or broken 

 bricks, than to prune the branches too much. There are 

 also to be found at Tarring, in the garden of Mr. Ed- 

 monds, some large standard fig-trees, which produce a 

 most delicious green fig. These trees are very old, but 

 by whom or at what period they were planted, is unknown. 

 One of them divides into two stems, each of which mea- 

 sures two feet ten inches round : it is probably the largest 

 standard tree in England,, being about forty feet in height. 



