THE FRUIT GARDEN. 



491 



cover a space of fifty feet in height and forty in bieadlli. The trunk of one of them 

 is twenty-eight inches in girth, and another is twenty-one. They are of the white 

 Marseilles sort, and bear delicious fruit. In the garden of the Regius Professor of 

 Hebrew, at Oxford, is a fig-tree brought from Aleppo, and planted by Dr. Pocock 

 in 1643 ; bears a black fruit, and is in a thriving state. Philip Miller introduced 

 about twelve sorts from Italy ; before his time this firuit appears to have been Htile 

 thought of, and scarcely cultivated. It is cultivated here merely for the dessert ; 

 but its cultivation becomes a matter of great importance to the inhabitants in fig 

 countries, who not only derive a considerable profit by the exportation of this fruit, 

 in the well-known form that it is met with in our shops, but also as an article of 

 food, which they prepare in a variety of ways, both in a ripe and unripe state. 

 There are few tables in France and Italy which do not produce this fruit in some 

 shape or other, either fried or stewed, or as an addition to their desserts. We are 

 supplied chiefly with our preserved figs from Spain, the south of France, Italy, and 

 the isles and shores of the Mediterranean Sea. Figs should not be planted near 

 meat-safes or larders, as they have the singular property to intenerate the contents 

 sooner than may be desirable. Philips (in Pom. Brit.) relates an experiment made upon 

 a haunch of venison, which had lately been killed, being hung up in a fig-tree when 

 the leaves were on, about ten o'clock in the evening, and was removed before sun- 

 rise in the morning, when it was found in a perfect state for cooking. A somewhat 

 similar circumstance occurred to a friend of ours, who had a fig-tree planted against 

 the walls of his house, some of the branches of which were trained near the window 

 of his pantry ; during the whole of the summer he could not keep a bit of meat for 

 many hours without its becoming almost putrescent ; this occasioned many altercations 

 between hira and the butcher, till at length he betook himself to reason the matter, 

 and being a shrewd intelligent person, removed the cause by placing the branches 

 of the fig at a greater distance. After tliis his meat kept as well as it did before the 

 fig was planted. 



This tree is cultivated as a standard in those countries which produce the finest 

 figs; and such as are standards in this country, where the situation is favorable, are 

 much more productive than when upon walls or espaliers in equally favorable 

 situations. 



The number of varieties of this fruit are supposed to be great, but possibly far 

 short of the number of names in our nursery and other catalogues. In fig countries 

 they are produced from seeds so readily, that many varieties are yeai-ly springing 

 up. Many have been raised in this country from seeds, particularly by the late 

 Mr. Lee, of the Hammersmith Nursery. It is supposed that there may be, as far as 

 can be ascertained, about 25 distinct varieties worth cultivating. The Horticultural. 

 Society enumerates 75 varieties as cultivated in their gardens. It is by forming 

 such collections of names, and by a judicious comparison of the fruits, that we are 

 to arrive at any degree of perfection in the naming or selecting of fruits. 



1. Brown IscHiA. — Fruit globular, with a pretty large eye ; large; pinched in 

 near the fooli^talk ; color brown or chestnut on the outride, purple within ; flesh 

 sweet and high-flavored ; containing largish grains. Ripens about the end of July 

 or beginning of August. If planted upon a hot wall, will produce two crops annu- 

 ally. Originally from the island of Ischia. 



2. Black Genoa. — Fruit long, swelling pretty large at the top, where it is obtuse^ 

 the lower or part next the foot-stalk very slender ; color dark purple, approaching 

 to black, having a delicate bloom over it, like some sorts of grapes and plums, which 

 is easily destroyed by handling ; inside color bright red ; flesh high-flavoured ; 

 ripens early in August. 



