THE HARDY FRUIT GARDEN. 



363 



weakly boughs, or the cutting back of a shoot or 

 branch to keep the lower or any thin part of the 

 trees fully f urnished with bearing branches ; and, 

 probably, in intensely hot seasons, one root-soaking 

 of sewage or manure water. The latter, however, 

 may not be needful oftener than once a year, or in 

 half a dozen years. 



Protection from Insects, Birds, Rats, 

 Mice, and other Vermin. — Ripe Figs are 

 among the most luscious of all fruits. Hence the 

 numbers and persistency of their enemies as they 

 reach maturity. Hence, too, their various saviours, 

 such as muslin bags, &C. Most of these are shams, 

 and worse than useless. Wasps, hornets, even blue 

 bottles will nibble or find their way through muslin 

 bags, with amazing rapidity, when and where a 

 luscious Fig is within such an easily-measurable 

 distance of them. Rats and mice have a mania for 

 ripe Figs, and scoop them out, or totally devour 

 them, with wonderful celerity. Blackbirds, thrushes, 

 robins, and most other birds, are also terribly sharp- 

 set on luscious Figs, especially during dry, hot 

 weather. 



The best, and in fact only sure remedies, consist in 

 the diminution of the number, or total destruction, 

 of these and other enemies of the Fig, amongst 

 which must also be reckoned ants and earwigs. A 

 covering of a sort of canvas, or coarse muslin, known 

 as cheese-cloth, kept quite clear of the fruit and 

 leaves, also baulks the insects and birds. If the 

 fruit are bagged in textile protectives, it is essential 

 to safety to insert wood or wire hoops inside the 

 bags, to keep them free of the fruits at all points. 



Should the foregoing methods for moderating and 

 maturing growth, and heightening fertility, fail, 

 there is no better or more prompt remedy for over- 

 luxuriance and sterility in Figs than root-pruning, 

 say early in October. But with the hard, poor, com- 

 paratively dry root-runs, and the multiple growths 

 of as near as may be equal strength and moderate 

 size, fertility will become continuous. 



Varieties.— As to varieties, the very best for out- 

 of-door culture are the Brown Turkey, alias Lee's 

 Perpetual, the Brunswick, and the White Marseilles. 

 But the first is the best, and if not quite so hardy as 

 the larger Brunswick, is so much more prolific, that 

 if only one Fig is cultivated, the Brown Turkey 

 should be that one. Those who wish for a greater 

 variety may readily add to their collection from the 

 list of Figs under Glass. 



THE QUINCE. 

 The Quince is less popular and generally used 

 than formerly. It is a native of France, Italy, 



Germany, and also of Sussex, and other parts of 

 England. It forms a dwarf, wide-spreading tree, 

 rising to a height of from twelve to twenty feet. 

 The stem is mostly bent more or less, the bark 

 smooth when young, rough when old. Growth is 

 rapid during its young state, but very slow after 

 getting into full-bearing condition. It is a late- 

 flowering tree, its large French- white flowers opening 

 in June. The Quince has thus a far better chance 

 of setting a crop of fruit than the Pear, and in 

 proper position, and with good or even indifferent 

 culture, the Quince proves fertile as a standard or 

 bush-tree. The fruit ripens late, of a rich golden 

 colour, highly perfumed. The fruit is, however, 

 harsh and austere, and is uneatable in a raw state. 



The chief uses of Quinces are to cook with Apples 

 in pies or puddings, stew with Pears, be added to 

 Pear pies, and converted into jam or jelly. As, 

 however, one Quince quartered in an Apple-pie is 

 sufficient to impart its aroma, no great quantity 

 of Quinces need be grown in any one garden or 

 orchard, unless indeed they are cultivated for sale, 

 converting into marmalade or other preserves, or 

 making into wine. 



The use of the Quince as a stock for Pears is a 

 comparatively modern one, and in olden times, and 

 especially in Italy, the Quince seems to have been 

 more popular than the Pear. Now, however, far 

 more Quinces are used as foster-mothers for Pears 

 than for any other purpose. The Quince is also used 

 as a stock for other plants, such as the Pyracantha, 

 Cotoneaster, Fyrus Japonica, and others. 



Propagation — The Quince can be propagated by 

 seeds, grafting, and budding. But, unless for stocks, 

 it is seldom raised from seed, for two reasons — chiefly 

 because it seldom ripens them freely in our climate, 

 and neither of the varieties can be depended upon to 

 come quite true from seeds. Again, Quinces really 

 thrive best on their own roots, and hence there 

 is little inducement to bud or graft, though the 

 Quince may be propagated by both methods 

 exactly the same as Pears. Quinces may also be 

 budded or grafted on the common White-thorn, or 

 seedling Pears. Cleft-grafting in March or April, 

 or budding in July, are the most suitable seasons 

 for thus propagating the Quince. 



As layers, however, may be had in plenty, and 

 cuttings also root freely, these are almost the only 

 methods of propagation employed for fruit-bearing 

 trees, and both are also largely employed for the 

 rapid multiplication of stocks. Cuttings from nine 

 inches to a foot long, heeled off the old wood if 

 possible, should be inserted in the autumn from six 

 inches to a foot apart, and two feet distant between 

 the rows. Insert about six inches deep, making the 



