1878.] 
USEFUL PLUMS.—LILACS FOE WINTER FLOWERING. 
105 
attended to in the outdoor culture of the Fig 
is to prevent its making coarse, over-luxuriant 
growth. Short-jointed, well-ripened wood and 
moderate vigour of growth are sure accom¬ 
paniments of fruitfulness, and when these are 
secured, there is little difficulty in getting 
plenty of fruit. 
The Fig produces two crops of fruit in the 
year ; the first ripens in August and September, 
and is borne on the previous season’s shoots; 
and the second is yielded by the young summer 
shoots, and which rarely ripens in this country. 
The young shoots of the current season’s growth 
should be well thinned, retaining only suffi¬ 
cient to fill up the spaces, without crowding. 
The young shoots must not, on any account, 
be nailed close to the wall, as that would 
cause the young Figs to grow to a large size ; 
and in that case most of them would drop off, 
and the first crop—that which ripens the next 
season—would be very light. By allowing the 
young shoots to hang loosely from the wall, the 
young Figs will not be so large in size as when 
they are nailed closely to the wall, consequently 
USEFUL 
[Plate 
HE Plums here represented are not 
chosen for illustration on account of 
their novelty, but by reason of their 
utilitarian character. They are Plums which 
deserve to be largely grown, and even better 
known than they are, on account of their 
general usefulness. 
Diamond (Fig. 1). —In this we have one of 
the largest and most beautiful of Plums grown, 
and one which is especially valuable for the 
exhibition table. The fruit is very large, of 
long oval shape, and marked with a very dis¬ 
tinct suture. The skin is very dark purple, 
almost black (so that it is sometimes called 
Black Diamond), and is covered with a thick 
bloom. The flesh is yellowish, rather coarse, 
but juicy, and of a brisk pleasant flavour, 
slightly adherent to the stone. This is a very 
excellent Plum for cooking or preserving, and 
is much cultivated in some parts. It is a 
a greater quantity of embryo Figs remain during 
the winter, and the crop of fruit is better. 
Early in the autumn, as soon after the fall 
of the leaf as possible, the trees should get 
what pruning they require. The terminal bud 
of every shoot should be removed; this causes 
a greater number of embryo Figs to grow the 
following season than would be the case when 
the terminal bud is not removed. The trees 
should then be covered for the winter. If 
straw or other loose covering be used, the trees 
should be occasionally looked to, as rats are 
apt to harbour in it, and will sometimes 
seriously bark the trees. In April, when all 
danger from frost is over, the trees should be 
uncovered, and nailed carefully and neatly to 
the wall; the young Figs will soon begin to 
show signs of growth, and will in due time 
ripen nicely, and are then a great acquisition to 
the dessert. 
If I recollect rightly, I think the late Mr. 
Rivers advocated the growth of Figs as bushes 
in gardens, taking the plants up annually with 
a ball of earth, and placing them in cellars 
until the following spring, when they should 
be planted in the places they were removed 
from.—M. Saul, Stourton. 
PLUMS. 
471.] 
strong grower, and a good cropper. Ripens 
in September. Raised by Mr. Hooker, of 
Brenchley, in Kent. 
Belgian Purple (Fig. 2).—For amateur 
cultivators there are few better Plums than 
this. The tree is of an excellent habit of 
growth, the shoots forming naturally very 
close short-jointed spurs, and being nearly 
always covered with blossom-buds. It is an 
almost certain cropper. The fruit is large, or 
above medium size, of a roundish shape, and 
marked with a very distinct suture. The skin 
is dark purplish on the exposed side, occasion¬ 
ally splashed with crimson and greenish yellow 
in the shade, and covered with a fine bloom. 
The stalk is rather short, inserted in a cavity. 
The flesh is greenish, thick, but juicy, and 
richly flavoured, slightly adhering to the stone. 
This is generally classed as a cooking Plum, 
but it is well suited for dessert. Ripens mid¬ 
season. It is of Belgian origin.—M. 
LILACS FOR WINTER FLOWERING. 
S MONGST hardy plants for winter¬ 
flowering, there are few which are 
more serviceable than the Lilac—so 
popular, so easily grown, so amenable to the 
treatment necessary for mid-winter flowering, 
and producing such an abundance of deliciously 
fragrant blossoms with the least possible atten¬ 
tion. Thus the Common Lilac, as it is termed, 
