' .,1
'h !
Tho It is cultivated here entirely for the d esse rt; but in fig countries it is oaten green or dried,
t o or «tavcd and in various ways, with or without bread or meat, as food. Abroad the iig is mtro-
duied during dinner, as well as at the dessert. In common with the melon, it is presented alter soup ;
mta th e pe”s ln who taats a fig, holds it by the small end, cuts a thin circular slice off the large end, and
then u l e l s d o f e the thick skin of tho frdit in flakes, making a single bonne bm ch e o f th e soft interior
f e t All the species of the genus Plciis have more or less the quality of mtenerating animal hhre, hke
tLh e papaw a.__ tree yr’irtfoi (Carica P a p a y a ) •; Hip tiie F F.
. elástica m the greatest degree, and next the common fig.
milky
The
made
Tniikv rap may be used as rennet, and for destroying warts. Philips says, “ a gentleman who lately
ihe e x S m e / t assured me that a haunch . *......... L -ISOUiUU. lliu frtv, OTvVinnlf « ..V—..in u t-..hp U.of venison, lately pvpninc*. . _____ , and _____ was rt killed, - was hung removed before u up su
. in a hg „
tree whi
1P1VP9 were on'’’a£ ab o u tTeVo ’d o ¥ k ”in lh e '”evening,sunrise in the morning,
when it was found in a perfect state fory^qoking, and that in a few hours more it would have been in a
state of putrefaction.” (P om . B r it., p . 188.)
4766. Varieties. These, in fig countries, are almost as numerous as those of the gra
idilv nrocured from seed, and continued by cuttings, layers, or grafting. Bosc saj's.^that even in T rance
i sorts are continually produced, and as quickly falling into neglect. The varieties in England have
late vears been greatly increased. The following list is taken from Lm d le y s Guide, &c.
sorts being
even in France
unfaTourable seas,
n a ry t
of London, i t beg
the b eginning of tl
of late years been greatly increased.
I. F ru it blue or black.
B la c k Is ch ia : f ru i t middle-sized;
skinblacl:; p u lp d e ep red , an d highly
flavoured; ripe in August.
3. B la c k Ita lia n : fru it sraa llan d r o u n d ;
¿ i p very delicious; an ab u n d an t
5. Laryc^w'te,^Common blue, or Purple,
Groat blue, L ai^e pu rp le: fru itla i^ c ,
o b lo n g : p u lp deep red, of a very
good flavour; very h a rd y , a n d a
most excellent bearer.
4. SmaU blue, Littlo b lu e : ft-uit below
th e middle size; p u lp red, of a good
flavour; rip e in August.
IT. F ru it red or purple.
5. Bordeaux, Figuc poire, Viojette de
B o rde aux: fru it p y ram id a l; skin
brownisli-red, becoming deep violet
wlien fuliy m a tu red , slightly mottled
with a few greenish specks; pulp
deep red or purple, succulent and
sweet, b u t possessing a very high
flavour. Cuitivatcd th ro u g h o u t the
south of France, where i t produces
two crops annually,
tf. Brown Turkey, Brown Italian , Leo’s
perpetual, ifowlck, Walton, Brown
N ap les: fru it small and r o u n d ; pulp
very delicious; th e p lan t is a r
ab u n d an t bearer, an d equally desirable
for growing in pots,
7. Bran iio ic t, Madonna, H anover: fru it
rip e ’ the beginning an d middle of
August. “ This,” says Mr. Lindley,
“ ia one of the most usefni of the
h a rd y flgs. I n a south-eastern corner.
train ed against a wall, it ripens
by th e middle of August, m even
unfavourable seasons. I n an ordl-
y summer, in the ncighbonrhood
’ • • ■ ■ IS to ma tu re by
It month. I t is.
............ useful varieties th a t
be selccteti for a small g arden.”
8. Chestnut, Chestnut-coloured Ischia,
Brown Isch ia: f ru it large, g lo b u la r;
eye pretty la rg e ; pulp purple, sweet,
an d high-flavoured; seeds la rg e : the
fru i t o fth is sort generally b ursts open
when ripe. I f Ra n te d ag ainst a h o t-
wall, two crops may be obtained an nually.
9. Long broivn Naples, Long Nap les:
f ru it lo n g ; pulp red, nnd well-flav
o u red ; seeds la rg e ; rip e in September.
10. Malta, SmaU brown of some g a rd e n s:
f ru it sm a ll; pulp very sweet nnd well-
fiavoured; n p e towards th e end of
August, and, i f the fru it is permitted
to h an g u pon th e tree till i t Is
shrivelled, i t becomes a fine sweet-
11. P ro g a ssaia .• f ru it la rg o ; p u lp deep
red , rem a rk ab ly sweet a n d ric li;
seeds un u su a lly sm a ll; ripe from
August to October. This beautiful
ami excellent variety was sent to
E n g lan d from tho Ionian Isles by
Dr. Skey.
’’urple Genoa: f ru it la rg e ; pulp
tremely sweet au<l luscious.
15. Sma« broa-i» Isch ia : f ru it sm a ll;
p u lp purple, o f a very h ig h flav o u r;
leaves loss divided th an most other
s o r ts ; ripe late in September.
14. Violelte, Figue v io le tte : f ru it sma ll;
p u lp n e a r the skin white, in th e in te
rio r deeply tinged with red. P ro duces
two crops an n u ally in th e
neiglibourhood of Paris, of whicli
th e a u tum n a l one ia the most productive.
I II . F ru it yellow, white, or green.
i, Coucourelle blanche Me-
: ir u it ra th e r sm a ll; skin yellow;
p wh ite ; resembles th e Marseilles,
longer: in a flneseason th e fru it
is excellent.
XQ. Green Isch ia : f ru i t oblo n g ; skin
g re e n ; p u lp high-flavoured, espec
ially in warm seasons.
17. Marseilles, White Marseilles, Pocock,
Figue blan ch e : f ru i t sm a ll; the skin
pale g ro cn ; flesh white, dry, sweet,
au d r ic h ; rip e in A u g u st; succeeds
well in th e highest temp era tu re o f a
pine-stove, in w hich it was for man y
years cuitivatcd b y Mr. Knight, of
i>oivnton Castle.
18. N e r ii: f ru it r a th e r less th a n the Marseilles,
a n d longer in shape; skin
pale greenish yellow; p u lp similar
in colour to th a t of a p omegranate;
mu ch th e rich e st flg known in Briprobably
answer w ell i f planted in
th e free soil o f a conservatory.
19. SmaU green. Little Green, Green red
w ith iu : f ru it sm a ll; skinn ggrreeeenn aa n d
e llen t; l
s : iru ic large ;
. , , purple an d well
flavoured; leaves large, an d n o t
m u c h d ivided; ripe in September;
th e tree grows lu x u ria n tly , b u t does
n ot produce m u ch fru it in England.
4767. A ccording to Forsyth, the figs proper for a small garden are the
Large white Genoa. | E a rly white. | Murrey, o r hrown Turk ey . | Snaall brown Ischia. 1 Black Ischia.
4768. S aw y e r recommends for a regular succession of figs from August to October, inclusive, the
Brown Ischia. L„aarrggee wwhhiittce GC enoa, Green | a n d Gen tile; which rip en in th e order | ftie middle of August to th e end of
Ischia, Brown Naples, White Mar-
in which th ey a re here placed, from I October.
selUcs, Blaek Provence, Yellow Is c h ia ,)
4769. L in d le y 's selection for a small garden in the southern and midland counties of England i
follows:
Black Ischia. I Brunswick. 1 Malta. 1 Large white Genoa. 1 Nerii,
Brown Turk ey . | Ch e stn u t | Pregussata. I Marseilles.
Small early white.
4770. P ro p agation. Figs may be propagated from seed, cuttings, layers, suckers, roots, and by ingrafting
; th e most generally approved method is by layers or cuttings, which come into bearing the second,
and even the first year. . . , „ , ...
4771. B y seed, fiere the same process as th a t directed for raising seedling vines is to be followed, witti
this difference, that the young plants should not be cut down on account of their mode of bearing. They
will produce fruit in the sixth or seventh year. The process of crossing to obtain new varieties can here
be performed only in the general way, of placing two or more sorts to g e th e r; or of introducing with a
small hair pencil t-he pollen from the male variety. Possibly, however, some curious horticulturist may
find a mode of cuttmg out the male blossoms without destroying the females ; in which case the pollen
from another variety may be introduced with more certainty of effecting a cross.
4772. B y cuttin g s. These are formed of young wood from 8 in. to 12 in. in length, with or w ithout an inch
or two of'old wood attached. They should be taken from th e most fruitful, well-ripened, short-jointed
boughs in autumn, and cither preserved from the frost till spring, or planted in pots or in a bed of earth
from 6 in. to 9 in. deep, without cutting off their tops. T h e soil should be a loam mclining to sand, and in
a warm situation ; it should be covered with old bark, leaves, or ashes, to keep out the frost in spring,
and the drought in summer. If the cuttings have been planted in autumn, then their tops will require
the additional protection of haulm or litte r during winter. Give water and keep clear of weeds during
summer, and by the foUowing autumn th e plants will be lit to be transplanted into nursery rows, where
they must be again mulched at the root, and protected a t top. They require no pruning farther than
what may be necessary to re ar them with a single stem, and keep th eir heads of a regular shape ; the
second or third year they may be removed to where they are finally to remain. Cuttings of roots readily
make plants, but th e process is too slow for general use, and the plants so produced are not likely to come
so soon into bearing as by the layers or cuttings of the young wood.
4773. B y la y e r s . This is the quickest mode of getting bearing trees, as shoots of two or th ree years’
growth, irla id down, will make abundant roots the first summer, and will admit of being taken off and
placed where they are finally to remain in the autumn.
4774. B y suckers. This is an easy, but a bad method, for a common reason, th a t all trees raised from
suckers are subject to send out great quantities of suckers again from their roots, which branches are
never compact and fruitful, because too luxurious to be ripened in our climate.
4775. B y graJHrig. This mode can only be advantageously adopted in cases similar to those recommended
for grafting the vine (4733.). T'he process by any of the modes readily succeeds, and we have
seen in Italy above a dozen sorts oi' figs on one tree.
4776. B u d d in g , as we have seen (4764.), is also applicable in this tree as in most others.
4777. C u lture . For the culture o f the fig in the Forcing see § 3210. In the open air, the
plants are grown as standards, espaliers, and against walls; but, as already observed, the fruit produced
m any of these situations is of very inferior fiavour to that grown under glass. A crop of figs, Miller
observes, is generally more uncertain than that of any other f r u it ; ancl Neill says, Britain is certainly not
the country for figs. From the attention now paid to this fruit, however, by some eminent horticulturists,
we may hope for improvement, and, at any rate, for a more general taste for the fruit.
4/78. Soil. Fig trees thrive in all soils not wet at bottom ; but they produce a greater quantity of
fruit upcm ^a strong loamy soil than on dri^ sandy ground, a dry soil being apt to make them cast their
Miller says, “ I have always observed th o se fig tre e sto b e a r the greatest quantity of well flavoured
which were growing upon chalky land, where there has been a foot or more of a gentle loamy soil on
me lop. They also love a free open a i r ; for although they will shoot and thrive very well in close places,
yet they seldom produce any fruit in such situations.” Smith (Caled. H o r t. M em ., vol. ii.), after trying
several soils, found the fig tree thrive best in a rich friable loam, free from latent water a t bottom.
4779. G row in g the f ig as s ta n d a rd s. In fig countries, this tree is always grown as a standard; and here
dwarf standards, planted in fine warm situations, will, in very favourable seasons, afford tolerable crops
of fruit. Some of the best in England are at Arundel Castle; and there is a fig orchard of nearly 100
trees at Tarring, and another of 14 trees a t Tompting, near Worthing. (H o r t. T ra n s ., vol. iv. p. 505.)
Those at Arundel are planted 6 ft. or 8 ft. apart, and from a single stem allowed to continue branching
into regular conical heads; pruning chiefly irregular and redundant growths, and cutting out decayec
or injured wood. Miller says, standard fig trees, when protected during winter, generally y bear t better
’ "
than those against walls; which,. . . . however,. . . may be considered as in great part owing to the th
mode of
training and pruning figs in the latter situation not having then been generally understood. At Argenteuil,
where the fig is cultivated in immense quantities for the supply of the table, the plants are grown as
dwarf standards; and the chief part of their culture, Bosc observes, consists in keeping their branches
short, low, and spreading, to enjoy both the heat of the sun and reflection of the earth. The ground is
manured occasionally, and stirred a t least once a year; and for protection from the frost during the
winter, the circumferential low branches are buried 6 in. in the soil, and the central ones enveloped
in litter.
4780. On espaliers. Where figs will succeed as standards, they will also thrive against e.spalier rails ;
in which situation they admit of being more readily covered or protected during winter. The plants
may be placed at 10 ft. or 12 ft. distance, and trained in the fan or horizontal manner.
4781. On w a lls. This is unquestionably the best mode for our climate, as it admits of more readily p rotecting
the plants during winter, and is more likely to bring the fruit to maturity in the summer or
autumn. The distances at which the plants are placed will depend on the height of the wall. In general,
a low wall is to be preferred, both because the fig is naturally adapted for being kept low, and because,
when low, it admits more readily of protection. The plants may be placed from 15 ft. to 20 ft. apart, with
temporary trees of any other fruit between.
4782. M o d e o f b earing. “ The fig tree ,” the Hon. W. Wickham observes, “ is distinguished from most,
if not from all, other trees, by this extraordinary property, th a t it bears, and. in warmer climates, brings
to maturity, in every year, two successive and distinct crops of fruit, each crop being produced on a distinct
set of shoots. The shoots formed by the first or spring sap, put forth flgs at every eye, as soon as
the sap begins to flow again in July and August. These figs (which form the second crop of the year)
ripen, in their native climate, during the course of the au tum n ; but rarely, if ever come to perfection in
England, where, though they cover th e branches in great abundance, a t the end of that season, they
perish, and fall off, with the first severe frosts of winter. The shoots, formed by the second flow of .sap,
commonly called midsummer shoots, put forth figs in like manner at every eye, but not until the first flow
of sap in the following spring. These last-mentioned figs, which form the first crop of each year, ripen, in
warmer climates, during th e months of June and July, but not in this country before September or
October. In warmer climates, indeed, very little attention is given to this first crop, because the midsummer
shoots, on which it is borne, are commonly in the proportion only of one to six or eight in
length, when compared with the shoots of th e spring, which produce the second crop; and the crop
itself is always small, in th e same proportion: but in England, it is the reverse, as no care or skill of the
gardener can ever insure a second crop of ripe figs in the open a ir.”
4783. P r u n in g and. tra in in g . Most gardeners, Miller observes, imagine th a t fig trees should never
have much p ru n in g ; or, at least, th at they should always be suffered to grow very rude from the wall to
some distance. A p r u n e d f i g tre e n e v e r hears, is a common saying ; nor, according to Wickham, can its
tru th be denied, when applied to the most common m ethod of pruning these trees, i. e. by cutting away or
shortening the last year’s shoots, instead of cutting away old wood, and training those shoots to the wall
in its place.
4784. W ic kham recommends a system of pruning which may increase the proportion which th e midsummer
shoots (the only ones, as stated above, which produce fruit that ripens in this country) bear to
the spring shoots, both in numher and length. For this purpose, he breaks off the spring shoots as they
nearly attain their full growth, and just as the spring sap in each begins to abate something of its full
vigour. He breaks them at moderate distances (6in. to 15 in., according to the strength of each shoot),
from the place whence they severally spring, taking care that enough of the shoot be left to admit of
its being bent back, and nailed close to the wall a t the ensuing winter pruning, and th at one eye, at
east, be left uninjured by the fracture ; and always preserving a quantity unbroken, sufficient to keep up
a future supply of branches and wood. The shoot may be either broken short off, or left suspended b y a
few ragged filaments, which may afterwards be separated with a knife, when the spring sap has ceased to
flow. The former mode is less unsightly, and will therefore be generally preferred by the gardener; but
the latter has been found more successful in practice. It is of consequence, however, to the full success
of this system, that th e shoots should be broken, and not cut. If left to their natural growth, or shortened
by a sharp smooth cut with a knife (iflstead of a fracture), they would produce, at their extremities, only
one single midsummer shoot, being a simple prolongation of the wood, formed in the spring ; but when
the shoot is broken a t the time and in the manner above described, it generally happens that, on the
second flow of sap in July, two or three more shoots (forming a kind of stag’s horn) are pushed from the
fractured part instead of one ; and it is hardly necessary to add. that each of these, accordmg to its
length, will produce several figs in the ensuing spring (making the first crop of that fruit), all of them
capable of being ripened by our ordinary summer and autumn heats. A sufficient supply of midsummer
shoots being thus procured during the summer, room must he made for them a t the succeeding winter
pruning, by cutting away so much of the old wood as will admit of their being all trained in, a t full length,
and nailed close to the wall, which should always be done before the first severe frosts. Keeping this object
in view, the knife cannot well be used too freely in cutting away th e old wood; nor is there any reason to
fear that its free use will either injure the future crops, or deprive the tree of its regular supply of
branches. The midsummer shoots being trained in, each of them will produce, in the foUowing year,
one spring shoot, a t least, at its extremity, whilst another will rise from each eye of the remnants of the
oid springshoots that had been preserved in th e manner above described, when these shoots were broken,
in the preceding month of June. From this fresh supply, by pursuing the system here explained, either
wood or fruit, or both, may be obtained for th e ; hng y it the discretion of the g Where