March.] THE FRUIT GARDEN. 219 



crown; skin thin, of a green colour, but when fully ripe it is 

 stained through by the pulp to a brownish cast; flesh purple, well 

 flavoured, and will stain linen or paper. 



9. The Madonna fig. Fruit long, pyramidal, and of a large size; 

 skin brown; flesh a lighter brown, coarse, and of little flavour. 



10. The common blue, or purple fig. Fruit purple, oblong, and 

 small; the tree a great bearer and very hardy. 



11. The long brown Naples fig. Fruit long, somewhat com- 

 pressed at the crown; foot-stalks pretty long; skin of a dark brown 

 when fully ripe; grains large; flesh inclined to red, and well 

 flavoured. The leaves of this tree are deeply divided. 



12. The yellow Ischia fig. Fruit large, of a pyramidal form; 

 skin yellow when ripe; flesh purple, and well flavoured; leaves 

 very large, and not much divided. 



13. The small brown Ischia fig. Fruit small, of a pyramidal 

 form, with a very short foot-stalk; skin of a light brown; flesh 

 inclining to purple, of a very high flavour; leaves less divided than 

 any of the other sorts. 



14. The Gentile fig. Fruit middle sized, globular; skin, when 

 ripe, of a yellow colour; grains large, and flesh well flavoured. 



The preceding are all the varieties of the ficus carica or com- 

 mon fig-tree. There are upwards of fifty other species of fig 

 described by botanists, but these are generally cultivated either 

 on account of their timber or as curiosities. 



I have been the more diffuse on this article, as the cultivation of 

 the fig and its different varieties, are not as well known in the 

 United States as other kinds of fruit trees, and as it may be culti- 

 vated in the greatest perfection, particularly in the southern states. 



Heading doivn Fruit Trees. 



For the method of pruning and heading down the various kinds 

 of fruit trees which have shown symptoms of decay, in order to 

 attempt their restoration to health and bearing, see the Orchard 

 this month. 



Preserving the Blossoms and young Fruit of Wall and Espalier 



Trees. 



It often happens, that at too early a period in spring, we have a 

 forward and untimely vegetation, which throws our early blooming 

 fruit trees, especially those in warm situations, into a full blow of 

 blossoms, which, if afterwards attacked by frost, proves their 

 destruction. In such cases some of the choicer kinds of wall and 

 espalier trees should be defended therefrom with mats, &c. 



The mats for this purpose should be of the largest size; one end 

 of them should be fastened with nails or hooks to the top of the 

 wall, and let them hang down over the trees. The lower end of 

 the mat should also be fastened down to prevent their being blown 

 to and fro by the wind, which would beat the blossoms off. 



When the weather is mild the mats should be taken off, for it i- 



