1868. ] 
A SELECTION OF CHOICE FIGS. 
211 
us to be rather careful liow we defoliate? The Early Anne and Early 
York Peaches are all ripened off, and later sorts are coming in fast, hut the 
size and quality are greatly below the average. 
What the ultimate effect may be upon the main crops of Apples and 
Pears cannot at present be determined with any certainty. The early 
Pears have certainly been very dry and deficient in flavour, although 
beautifully coloured. Neither can much be said for early Apples, for 
although looking tolerably ripe, they are small, hard, and sour. Of the 
main crops of the latter I have hopes of yet seeing some fine fruit. More 
than half the crop that set, to my great relief, fell off at midsummer, and 
since then, owing to the ravages of the larvae of the figure-of-8 moth, a 
great number have been continually falling, all pierced by the maggot; 
this has reduced what would have been far too great a crop for the good of 
the trees, within moderate dimensions, and they are beginning to assume a 
much more promising appearance. 
Redleaf. John Cox. 
A SELECTION OF CHOICE FIGS.. 
VARIETY is especially required in a collection of Figs, in order that 
the Fig house may furnish fruits suitable and agreeable at all times, 
and to all tastes. There is to be found amongst Figs abundance 
of variety, whether we judge by size, colour, flavour, hardiness, 
fruitfulness, or season of ripening. I propose to give a selection of 
the most prominent varieties, having regard to the foregoing points. 
Size .—Some Figs are very large, while others are very small; and 
some prefer the one, some the other. Grosse Verte and Brunswick are the 
two largest Figs we have fruited here; I have seen very large fruits of 
Castle Kennedy exhibited, but I have not yet fruited this variety. Black 
Provence, Trois Recoltes, and De Lipari are the smallest. 
Colour .—Some Figs are in appearance more tempting than others. 
There is a great range of colour amongst them, some being so pale that they 
are termed white, others so dark that they are called black. There are, how¬ 
ever, none either white or black. One of the palest-coloured Figs is De la 
Madeleine, which is of a clear pale yellow; another is the White Marseilles, 
which is pale green. Col de Signora Nera, Bourjassotte Noire, and Black 
Provence, are good examples of the dark-coloured varieties—dark violet 
they may be called. Of green-fruited sorts, the most striking is D’Agen 
and Grosse Verte ; of tawny brown, Turkey, Brunswick, and De l’Archipel; 
and, lastly, the striped-fruited Fig (Figue Panacliee), which is really very 
handsome, being beautifully striped with deep green and pale yellow. 
Taste or Flavour .—This is always a ticklish subject, taste being so varied, 
and varying so much—one’s own individual taste that is, one day liking 
