By Thomas Andrew Knight, Esq. 201 



been little, if any, less than three hundred : and I see every 

 prospect of a succession of crops till winter. I therefore send 

 the following account of the mode of culture, which has 

 been employed, in the hope that it may prove useful to 

 those who are sufficiently admirers of the Fig to think it 

 deserving a place in the forcing-house. 



My trees grow, as 1 have stated in the communication 

 to which I have above alluded, in exceedingly rich mould, 

 and are most abundantly supplied with water which holds 

 much manure in solution. They consequently shoot with 

 great vigour, notwithstanding the small space to which 

 their roots are confined ; and they require some attention 

 to restrain them within the limits assigned to them; but 

 I have found the following mode of treatment perfectly 

 efficient and successful. 



Whenever a branch appears to be extending with too 

 much luxuriance, its point, at the tenth or twelfth leaf, is 

 pressed between the finger and thumb, without letting 

 the nails come in contact with the bark, till the soft suc- 

 culent substance is felt to yield to the pressure. Such 

 branch, in consequence, ceases subsequently to elongate; 

 and the sap is repulsed, to be expended where it is more 

 wanted. A fruit ripens at the base of each leaf, and during 

 the period in which the fruit is ripening, one or more of the 

 lateral buds shoots, and is subsequently subjected to the 

 same treatment, with the same result. When I have suf- 

 fered such shoots to extend freely to their natural length, T 

 have found that a small part of them only became produc- 

 tive, either in the same, or the ensuing season, though I have 

 seen that their buds obviously contained blossoms. I made 



vol. iv. D d 



