Effects produced by Ringing Fig Trees. 171 



the fruit to ripeness. My first expectation was realized ; the 

 tree put forth its Figs of each crop in much greater numbers 

 than before, so that it was not uncommon to see two Figs at 

 one joint. My second expectation was in vain ; all the Figs 

 were shed, without having become eatable fruit. I opened 

 the greater part of them, and found them full of the withered 

 anthers and stamens, of anther-bearing florets growing next 

 to the eye of the fruit, and of stigma-bearing florets in 

 their lower part ; these last were small, and appeared as 

 if they had ceased to advance at an early period. I conjec- 

 tured that the ringing had caused my tree to put forth Figs 

 much more abundantly ; but not to change its habit of pro- 

 ducing Figs, whose staminiferous florets only should be per- 

 fect and their stigma-bearing florets abortive. Shortly after 

 this, I read your paper on ringing Fruit trees, printed in the 

 Society's Transactions* where you observe, " in none of the 

 experiments the termination of which I have yet become ac- 

 quainted with, has success attended the operation of ringing 

 the Fig tree ;" and you add, that, though the consequence 

 has been an abundance of Figs put forth, yet the crop has 

 fallen off without ripening. This account made me distrust 

 my conjecture. The experience of another year has cleared 

 up the matter ; I can now venture to report, that ringing 

 may be practised upon the Fig tree with as much safety, and 

 more effect in the increase of number and size of its fruit, 

 than on the Pear tree. My tree of the White Marseilles 

 Fig, which stands in a border within a small conservatory, 

 and is trained against the back wall, grew for several years 

 luxuriantly, and produced few and small, though perfect 



* See Vol. iv. page 127- 



