220 



THE GARDENER'S ASSISTANT. 



pots. Other shoots will quickly be formed by 

 healthy trees, and these must again be stopped 

 when four or five leaves have been made. This 

 encourages the formation of new fruit-buds, so 

 that if otherwise well attended to, the plants 

 may be made to produce three crops of fruit in 

 the year, although two crops are sufficient for 

 the strength of the plants. 



While the fruit is swelling, copious supplies 

 of liquid or chemical manures are very bene- 

 ficial, enabling the plants to swell up their fruit 



Pig. 1017.— Oeborn's Prolific Fig. 



to a large size; it also prevents the fruit from 

 falling through exhaustion. In the winter the 

 trees should be kept cool as possible, consistent 

 with safety from frost, as they are all the better 

 for a short and complete rest. Repotting is 

 best done while the trees are dormant, taking 

 care that only a small shift is given and the 

 new compost made quite firm about the roots, 

 as the Fig is usually a failure in loose soil. An 

 excellent compost for pot-grown Figs is three- 

 parts of good fibrous loam and one of decayed 

 manure, old mortar, or plaster refuse, well 

 mixed together. 



A small scale is occasionally very trouble- 

 some. The best remedy is to thoroughly wash 

 every part of the plant while dormant with a 

 strong insecticide, repeating this washing just 



before the trees start into growth. Red Spider 

 is not troublesome, except when syringing is 

 reduced while the fruit is ripe, and this is soon 

 ousted when the house is started again for 

 another crop from the trees. 



The varieties of the Fig are exceedingly 

 numerous in the countries where it is exten- 

 sively cultivated, as in the Ionian Isles, Italy, 

 and Provence; but many of them have not 

 been grown in this country, and their adapta- 

 tion to our climate has not been ascertained. 

 We shall therefore only notice some of those 

 which have been proved to be the best. 



Agen. — Fruit medium, roundish-turbinate, green with 

 a brown tinge, deep-brown round the flattened crown, 

 covered with blue bloom; flesh crimson, thick, syrupy, and 

 most delicious. One of the best late- fruiting varieties. 



Ang&ique. — Fruit medium, roundish-turbinate, yellow 

 with greenish- white specks; flesh white, with a faint rosy 

 tint towards the centre. A good forcer, and does well on 

 walls in the open. 



Black Buurjaasutte. — Fruit medium, roundish - oblate, 

 black, covered with a thick blue bloom; stalk short; flesh 

 deep-red, thick, syrupy, and very delicious. Succeeds well 

 on a warm wall. 



Blank Genoa. — Fruit large, oblong, very broad upwards, 

 blackish -purple, with a thick blue bloom; flesh yellow, 

 red towards the middle, sweet, rich, and juicy. A hardy 

 and productive kind ; much grown in Languedoc and 

 Provence. 



Black hch ia (Early Forcing). — Fruit medium, roundish- 

 obovate, dark-purple, almost black; flesh deep-red, rich 

 and luscious. A good bearer, and comparatively hardy. 



Brown Turkey (Brown Naples, &c). — Fruit large, tur- 

 binate, or short pyriform, with a grooved surface, brown 

 with sometimes a faint purplish tinge next the sun; flesh 

 tinged with red at the centre, rich and sugary; ripens 

 early. An abundant bearer, and one of the hardiest; the 

 best for outdoor cultivation; it also forces well. 



Brunswick (Brown Hamburg, Bayswater, White Tur- 

 key). — Fruit large, oblong-obovate or pyriform, pale yel- 

 lowish-green where shaded, pale-brown next the sun, with 

 brown specks; flesh opaline outside, reddish -brown at the 

 centre, tolerably rich and sugary. One of the hardiest; 

 does not force well, the fruit being apt to drop. 



Castle Kennedy. — Fruit very large, obovate, greenish- 

 yellow, pale-brown towards the eye"; flesh whitish, stained 

 with red, tender but not very rich. An abundant bearer, 

 suitable for walls; remarkable for its earliness. 



Celestine. — Fruit large, long pyriform, pale reddish- 

 brown or grizzly; flesh deep-red, rich, and very delicious. 



Col di Signora Bianca. — Fruit medium, pyriform, with 

 a long neck, ribbed, green changing to yellowish-white, 

 covered with gray bloom; flesh dark blood -red, thick, 

 syrupy, and delicious. One of the finest Figs. 



Col di Signora Nero. — Fruit medium, long pyriform, 

 ribbed, above middle size, dark-brown with a thin gray 

 bloom; flesh dark-red throughout, very rich and sugary. 

 It ripens late. 



Be VArchipel. — Fruit large, obovate, pale-brown ; flesh 

 greenish-white, thick, very rich and delicious. The tree 

 has a compact habit, and is a profuse bearer. 



Early Violet. — Fruit small, roundish, brown-red, covered 

 with blue bloom; flesh red and nicely flavoured. Very 



