MARCH. 
73 
to be well covered with straw or the common Fern ;—but in performing 
this operation a dry day should be chosen. I should recommend the 
trees to be planted not less than eighteen or twenty feet apart. Some 
cultivators recommend horizontal training, but I prefer the fan shape; 
this, however, is a mere matter of taste. As soon as the buds break 
in spring, 1 go over the trees and rub off all the foreright ones and those 
I consider will not be required to nail in for the next season’s crop; 
the reserved shoots are allowed to grow “ wild ” from the wall all the 
summer. This I consider very necessary in consequence of the Fig 
being double bearing in its native country, and in some places treble 
bearing ; therefore, by nailing in too soon, the young fruit is apt to be¬ 
come excited and swell too large to withstand the winter. From the 
middle to the end of August I have found to be the best time to nail 
the young shoots in; by then doing it I find it assist to ripen the wood 
materially. Just at the fall of the leaf is the time to do all necessary 
pruning, but very little of this ought to be required, if rubbing the 
buds off in spring is properly attended to; at this time, also, I pinch 
out the terminal bud of each shoot; this process will materially strengthen 
the young fruit. About the first or second week in November will be 
found a good time to cover the trees for winter, and the coverings should 
remain till the beginning of April; they should then be taken away only 
by dep'ees. 
For in-door cultivation the Fig is the most prolific of all our fruits, 
giving us two crops each season, well repaying any extra trouble we 
may bestow upon it. I have a quantity of trees here trained on a wire 
trellis at the back of a large vinery, consequently they are made sub¬ 
servient to the vines, and are subject to the same temperature, &c., 
but I find them break into leaf a fortnight earlier than the vines do 
in the same house. I go over these and rub off all superfluous buds as 
recommended for out-door culture, as soon as the new shoots have made 
from five to six leaves; I then again go over them and pinch the terminal 
bud with the finger and thumb, till I find it yield to the pressure. 
This stops the branch from elongating, and the sap is thrown into the 
young fruit, one of which will be found at the base of every leaf. This 
is the second crop (the first crop having shown itself upon the wood of 
last autumn). About the time the first crop is ripening, some of 
the lateral buds will be found to break ; these should be gone over, 
reserving only the strongest. These, and indeed all shoots, I keep closely 
tied in that they may obtain all the light possible. During the growing 
season, I liberally supply these trees with water enriched by the 
drainings from a farm-yard. About the time the second crop is 
ripening, I gradually withhold the water from them to throw them into 
a dormant state. As soon as I find the leaves are ripe and begin to fall, 
1 do all necessary pruning and stopping as recommended for out-door 
culture. 
The Fig will be found to answer most admirably in pots with the 
above treatment. The following are a few of the best sorts. I perceive 
Mr. Veitch, of Chelsea, is offering a new one, which is said to be a very 
superior variety and to bear in a very young state. It is called the 
