The Florida agriculturist., 1884-11-05
OS
Figs on Long Island.

My fig trees are planted out in an open,
sunny place in the garden, and, although
growing well, are too young for bearing.
In winter lay them down as | would
raspberry canes, and bury them with
earth foot deep. When | uncovered
them last spring, they were as fresh and
plump as when | laid them down.
But at Mr.. Barlow's garden, at Glen
Cove Landing, some two miles from
here, they have a lot of fig trees in bear
ing condition. They are White Ischia,
Black Ischia, Brown Turkey, Marseilles
and Castle Kennedy. They are old
bushes, about eight feet high, many
branched from the ground. There is
one long belt or hedge-like row, seven to
nine feet wide across the spread of bran
ches, growing on an open, sunny slope
of rather steep hill. Halfway down
the slope is terrace wall, which
separates the orchard from the vineyard,
and against this wall fig trees are grown.
The land is brownish or hazel loan, nat
urally very good, and all sorts of fruit
trees seem to do well in it. Both of these
sets of fig trees-those of the sloping
belt and those against the wall-are now
(the second week of October) in full
bearing condition, and ripening many
figs. Figs, this year, were first picked
toward the end of July, and along since
then constant successive supply has
been afforded, and the crop of ripe fruit
will be kept up till sharp frost puts
stop to it.
In winter, Mr.. Lucas, Mr.. Barlow's
gardener, bends down and buries his fig
trees as / do mine, and never has
any trouble in saving them or getting
crop from them.
About the first of August, Mr.. Dana
brought me a basket of figs from Mr..
Butler-Duncan's place on Staten Island.
These figs, known to me as Brunswick,
were the largest have seen in America,
AZ inches long, by ~ inches in
circumference, and all about of the
same size. Mr.. ID. tells me the trees
on which they grew, are old plants,
growing in a sunny exposure, on heavy
loamy soil, and in winter are laid down
and buried three feet deep with earth.
The advantage, if any, of burying them
so deep, do not understand for with
far less covering Mr.. Barlows plants are
resurrected in spring in excellent condi
ton, and in summer and fall bear copi-
iously. In my earlier years, was taught
that it took l5o of frost to kill the young,
and 25o the old wood of fig trees, and
considerable observation has impressed
me with the fact that they will bear
sharp frosts with impunity. But altho'
a three-feet deep covering of earth will
not hurt the trees, l question if, in the
neighborhood of New York, it is any
better than two feet one, and if not,
why so much labor lost?
The Brunswick fig, above mentioned,
is of the largest size, pyriform, slightly
curved; skin greenish yellow, shaded,
brown on sunny SIDE; flesh pale green,
tinged with rose near the center. The
leaves are very deeply lobed. The Cas-
tie Kennedy is not unlike the Bruins
wick, and often confused with it; the
Ischias are very small but sweet figs,
and the trees very hardy and very pro-
life; Marseilles, an excellent, medium
sized, roundish, ribbed fruit, with pale
green skin and whitish green flesh;
Brown Turkey, large, pyriform, dark
brown skin and rich favored dull red
flesh. WILLIAM FALCoNER,
IN Country CenHemon.
Glen Core, N. y.