255 
THE COTTAGE GARDENER AND COUNTRY GENTLEMAN, August 2, 1859. 
leaves instead of fruit, and thus your second crop will be 
looked for in vain. Under such circumstances, therefore, in- 
stoad of joining some friends in saying, “ Stop Fig shoots 
when they have made from three to six joints of fresh growth,” 
I would prefer saying stop only when you see the signs of fruit 
at the joints nearest the base. If they do not show, it is better 
to thin out altogether. 
This stopping and thinning give an impulse to the weaker 
shoots to grow and get ripe before autumn. The thinning out 
of the bearing shoots will also give these more room, and these 
we prefer to leave unstopped until fresh growth commences the 
following season. Provided the Fig is well drained, and the 
room for roots rather curtailed, the roots should never feel 
drought from the first appearance of the fruit until the last 
Fig is gathered. After that, comparative dryness of the roots 
will assist the maturation of the wood, and also afford a resting 
period to the plants. 
With some exceptions in the southern counties, it is rare 
that in these islands the Fig tree ripens more than one crop in 
the open air. In the centre of Scotland, such as in Perthshire, 
the Fig ripens well in good autumns against a wall, especially 
if protected from severe frosts in winter. From what 1 consider 
would be the extra amount of moisture in Ayrshire, the Figs, in 
addition to protection, would need more stunting of room at 
the roots to check the extra luxuriance. If our correspondent 
did not protect his trees at all, we consider the excellent show 
of fruit to be entirely owing to the extreme mildness of the last 
winter. In order to simplify the matter, with the exception of 
the terminal bud in spring, we would advise no regular, nor 
any stopping of Fig shoots in summer, on trees out of doors. 
If the shoots are too thick and strong, thin them out, and that 
will ultimately tell upon the extra vigour of the root action. If 
still too strong and rampant, lift the trees, or cut the roots as 
soon as the fruit can be got in autumn. A border well drained, 
eighteen inches deep, and thirty inches wide, will be sufficient 
for trees intended to mount to the top of a twelve or an eighteen- 
foot wall. The above rule is based upon the fact, that it re¬ 
quires the wood of this season to be well exposed to all the 
sun it can get, in order that it may be sufficiently matured for 
fruit-bearing the following season; and that under ordinary and 
favourable circumstances, the stopping of the shoots in summer 
would, to a certain extent, help the swelling of the fruit on the 
older wood; but it would also encourage the production of wood 
that would not have a sufficiency of sun to mature it; whilst 
the part of the shoot below where it was stopped would throw 
out more shoots that would be useless for their greenness, or 
show young fruit, which, perhaps, might swell as large as Wal¬ 
nuts, and then perish in winter. Even with covering in winter, 
it is rare that fruit can be preserved so as to swell in spring, or 
ripen in autumn, if the fruit should be larger than the smallest 
Peas. For a good crop the following year, I would prefer that 
the young Figs should merely show, or be little larger than 
good-sized pin heads. The less they are the better will they 
pass through the winter with or without protection. When in 
September, or thereabouts, such fruit are larger than fair-sized 
Peas, it is best to cut them off by severing the small footstalk, 
and a younger fruit will frequently form at its base. For all 
outside culture, all stopping of shoots that encourages the pro¬ 
duction of young shoots that cannot be matured, and young fruit 
that, if not removed, must fall in winter, ought to be avoided. 
There is no general rule, however good, but may be attended 
with specific exceptions. To check extra luxuriance and long- 
jointed wood, the best mode is to replant, shorten roots, or 
curtail root action. Sometimes these operations are not very 
easily done, owing to circumstances; and it is found that mani¬ 
pulating the top of a tree is a thing easier done than getting 
down about the roots. The curtailing the root action tells more 
quickly; but the same result may be more slowly effected 
through lessening the surface exposure. Here, for instance, is 
a tree much too luxuriant; every young shoot like a person's 
thumb, saying nothing of a medium-sized finger. Well, they 
have been pretty well ripened, and when the terminal bud is 
cut through after it has grown an inch or two, and a mass of 
weaker young shoots appear,—but looking as if they would be 
too long jointed and rampant again,—choose the weakest for 
permanent shoots; leave the strongest to grow from three to 
six inches, just not to check growth too much at once, and 
then nip the points out: and though these shoots will either 
throw out younger shoots or fruit at every joint which will be 
useless, that is of no importance, for as soon as the weaker 
unshortened ones grow, these stopped ones, with fruit on them 
or not, may be clearly and wholly removed, to make room for 
the weaker shoots that are to fruit next season. 
There is another case in which, after the first spring stopping, 
ihe young shoots may again be stopped early in summer, and 
that is where more wood is wanted to fill a vacancy. 
Once more. When we wish to arrest growth and hasten 
maturation of the wood,—say towards the end of September, it 
might be desirable, at times, to nip out the point of a growing 
shoot, and especially when the doing so would not start the 
fruit prematurely. For all out-door culture, let it be clearly 
borne in mind that every young fruit that shows even in autumn, 
and gets bigger than a Pea, is just very likely to be so much of 
the fruitful energies of the plant exhausted and gone. Hence, 
as a general rule, a nice, stubby, well-grown, well-ripened young 
shoot of this season should not be stopped until it has rested 
in winter, and is commencing to grow the succeeding spring. 
The fruit formed on this season’s growth will not ripen this 
season, and every mode of culture, stopping, etc., that encourages 
the protrusion of these fruits, so as to he larger than Peas or 
pin heads before winter, ought to be avoided. 
Keeping these facts with us, I by no means say they will 
always be foundTacts with others. I would come to the con¬ 
clusion that the failure of “ A. B.” is owing to the extra 
luxuriance of growth, which might unduly rob the fruit, and 
the want of moisture at the roots when the fruit was swelling. 
Of course, moisture must ever be proportioned to growth and 
leaf exposure ; but no fruit is more sensitive, as respects want of 
moisture, than the Fig, from the time the fruit shows until it is 
gathered. 
Figs are more cultivated every day; and opinions based on 
practice, either confirmatory or opposed to the above, would be 
highly valuable. —R. Fish, 
ENGLISH ELMS AND SCOLYTUS DESTRUCTOR. 
There are many and great changes which come o’er the spirit 
of our time, and which truly astonish us, more particularly as to 
the minuteness of the cause and the greatness of its effect. There 
are few of our finest trees with which we are so familiar as we are 
with the English Elm—a tree cherished by our forefathers, and 
which has descended from them to us, characterised by luxuriant 
and green old age, and adorned with extreme picturesqueness and 
beauty. These trees, which ever approximate to our dwellings, 
could many a tale unfold of joyous mirth and deep, dismal 
affliction. They have waved their branches over the advent of 
our friends, and witnessed the departure of those most loved and 
valued. Beneath their shade our young hearts have poured forth 
a tender tale of affection to be reciprocated ; and to them we 
resort when, far advanced, we muse back on all the tumultuous 
scenes of the busy life we have passed. We die—still the old 
Elm remains, and buds with fresh luxuriance over our successor. 
This is, and lias been, the tale of the long course of existence of 
such trees; and when we reflect upon the uses which are made of 
them after they are cut down, and remember that the friend of 
our life is also our friend in death, we think we have established 
for the Elm a claim upon our sympathy far beyond that of any 
other tree. 
But, alas! our verdant friend is not exempt from the evils 
which other vegetables are prone to. It has suffered almost to 
j extinction in many of the continental cities and towns during the 
last few years, and isolated cases have occurred in this country 
t previous to 1858 ; but in that year a multiplicity of cases happened 
' in this country simultaneously, and we fear that, should it con¬ 
tinue to progress in the same ratio, we may have to mourn the 
loss of this our very favourite tree. We think it most important 
to ventilate the question, What must we do to prevent the ravages 
of ecolytus ? and we hope to have suggestions from your various 
correspondents, because “ in the multitude of councillors there is 
wisdom.” 
The scolytus appears to have been little known in this country, 
although, according to M. Ardouin, the promenades of Boulogue- 
sur-Mer, Montreuil, Rouen, Havre de Grace, Caen, St. Loo, and 
Granville, have for years been sadly ravaged by it. 
Loudon says, “ The female insect, about July, bores through 
the bark until she has reached the point between the soft wood 
and the inner bark. She then forms in the latter a vertical 
channel, usually upwards of two inches in length; on each side 
of which she deposits her eggs as Bhe advances, to the number 
of from twenty to fifty in all. It appears probable, that, after 
doing this, she dies without making her way out again, as she may 
