fruit, and brownish pulp, ripe by the end of August. The long brown Naples fig; a long dark-brown fruit, having a reddish pulp, ripe in September. The great blue fig; a large blue fruit, having a fine red pulp. The black Genoa fig: a large pear-shaped, blackcoloured fruit, with a bright red pulp, ripe in August.

:

The last species is that most frequently cultivated in this country, and the only one which does not require to be kept in a stove. It may be propagated either by suckers arising from the roots, by layers, or by cuttings. The suckers are to be taken off as low down as possible; trim off any ragged part at bottom, leaving the tops entire, especially if for standards, and plant them iu nursery lines, at two or three feet distance from each other, or they may at once be planted where they are to remain, observing, that if they are designed for walls or espaliers, they may be headed to six or eight inches in March, the more effectually to force out lateral shoots near the bottom: but if intended for standards, they must not be topped, but trained with a stem, not less than 15 or 18 inches for dwarf standards, a yard for half standards, and four, five, or six, feet for full standards. They must then be suffered to branch out to form a head; observing, that whether against walls, espaliers, or standards, the branches or shoots must never be shortened, unless to procure a necessary supply of wood for the fruit is always produced on the upper parts of the young shoots; and if these are cut off, no fruit can be expected. The best season for propagating these trees by layers is in autumn; but it may be also done any time from October to March, or April. Choose the young pliable lower shoots from the fruitful branches; lay them in the usual way, covering the bodies of the layers three or four inches deep in the ground, keeping the top entire, and as upright as possible, and they will be rooted, and fit to separate from the parent in autumn: when they may be planted either in the nursery, or where they are to remain, managing them as above directed. The time for propagating by cuttings is either in autumn at the fall of the leaf, or any time in March. Choose well-ripened shoots of the preceding sum mer, short, and of robust growth, from about 12 to 15 inches long, having an inch or two of the two-years wood at their base, the tops left entire, and plant them six or eight inches deep, in a bed or border of good earth, in rows two feet asunder: and when plauted i

autumn it will be eligible to protect their tops in time of hard frost, the first winter, with any kind of small loose litter.

That part of the history of the fig-tree, which for many ages was so enigmatical, namely, the caprification, as it is called, is particularly worthy of attention, not only as a singular phenomenon in itself, but as it has furnished one of the most convincing proofs of the reality of the sexes in plants. In brief it is this: the flowers of the fig-tree are situated within a pulpy receptacle, which we call the fig or fruit; of these receptacles, in the wild fig-tree, some have male flowers only, and others have male and female, both distinct, though placed in the same receptacle. In the cultivated fig, these are found to contain only female flowers, which are fecundated by means of a kind of gnat bred in the fruit of the wild fig-trees, which pierces that of the cultivated, in order to deposit its eggs within; at the same time diffusing within the receptacle the farina of the male flowers. Without this operation the fruit may ripen, but no effective seeds are produced. Hence the garden fig can only be propagated by layers and cuttings in those countries where the wild fig is not known. The process of thus ripening the fruit, in the Oriental countries, is not left to nature, but is managed with great art, and different degrees of dexterity, so as to reward the skilful husbandman with a much larger increase of fruit than would otherwise be produced. A tree of the same size which in Provence, where caprification is not practised, may produce about 25 pounds. of fruit, will by that art, in the Grecian islands, bring ten times that quantity.

Figs are a considerable article in the materia medica, chiefly employed in emollient cataplasms and pectoral decoctions. The best are those which come from Turkey. Many are also brought from the south of France, where they prepare them in the following manner. The fruit is first dipped in scalding-hot ley made of the ashes of the fig-tree, and then dried in the sun. Hence these figs stick to the hands, and scour them like lixivial salts; and for the same reason they purge gently, without griping. They are moderately nutrimental, grateful to the stomach, and easier to digest than any other of the sweet fruits. They have been said to produce lice when eaten as a common food; but this seems to be entirely without foundation. The reason of this supposition seems

to be, that in the countries where they grow naturally, they make the principal food of the poor people, who are generally troubled with these vermin. The wood of the sycamore is not subject to rot, and has therefore been used for making coffins in which embalmed bodies are put. Mr. Hasselquist affirms, that he saw in Egypt coffins made of this kind of wood, which had heen preserved sound for 2000 years.

[Hasselquist. Gregory. Editor.

SECTION IV.

Baobab, or Calabash.

Adansonia, LINN.

THIS is found chiefly on the banks of the Senegal, and has so hear a resemblance in its enormous extent and valuable properties to the Banian, that we shall only glance at a few of its peculiar properties. It has a trunk of a prodigious size, spreads its branches wide enough to afford protection to a whole village of inhabitants, and is supposed to possess a greater longevity than any other tree whatever, being calculated to require not less than a thousand years before it attains maturity.

We know of but one species, though Isert tells us there are many, the Adansonia digitata, so called from the finger-like divisions of its leaves. It bears a gourd containing a very pleasant sub-acid fruit, which forms a considerable part of the food of the negro-tribes: who like the Indians, with respect to the Banian, ob. serve it with a kind of religious veneration; and watch devotionally for the opening of its flowers at sun-rise. It adorns with its verdant and compressed vaults and arches the top of Cape Verd, which is hence said to take its name; and its hollow trunk sometimes serves for a temple or hall to a numerous assembly of natives. It is not however lofty. The one observed by Golberry was not more than twenty-four feet in height, though thirty-four in diameter, or a hundred and four in circumference. Darwin asserts that it sometimes rises to seventy feet in height, but we know of no in. stance of such a growth.

[ISERT, Reise nach Guinea.-EDITOR

SECTION V.

Banana-tree.-Plantain-tree.

Musa. LINN.

THE genus Musa includes three known species, M. Paradisiaca, or Plantain-tree; M. Sapientum, or Banana; and M. Troglytarum. The two former bear an excellent food, and are in many other respects peculiarly worthy of attention. The last has a scarlet berry but not eatable.

1. Plantain-tree.

Musa Paradisiaca.-LINN.

This is cultivated in all the islands of the West Indies, where the fruit serves the Indians for bread; and some of the white people also prefer it to most other things, especially to the yams and cas. sada bread. The plant rises with a soft stalk 15 or 20 feet high; the lower part of the stalk is often as large as a man's thigh, diminishing gradually to the top, where the leaves come out on every side these are often eight feet long, and from two to three broad, with a strong fleshy mid-rib, and a great number of transverse veins running from the mid-rib to the borders. The leaves are thin and tender, so that where they are exposed to the open air, they are generally torn by the wind; for as they are large, the wind has great power against them: these leaves come out from the centre of the stalk, and are rolled up at their first appearance; but when they are advanced above the stalk, they expand and turn backward. As these leaves come up rolled in this manner, their ad. vance upward is so quick, that their growth may almost be discovered by the naked eye; and if a fine line is drawn across level with the top of the leaf, in an hour the leaf will be near an inch above it. When the plant is grown to its full height, the spikes of flowers appear in the centre, which is often near four feet long. The flowers come out in bunches, those in the lower part of the spike being the largest ; the others diminish in their size upward. Each of these bunches is covered with a sheath of a fine purple colour, which drops off when the flowers open. The upper part of the spike is made up of male flowers, which are not succeeded by fruit, but fall off with their covers. The fruit or plantain is

about a foot long, and an inch and a half or two inches diameter: it is at first green, but when ripe pale yellow. The skin is tough; and within is a soft pulp of a luscious sweet flavour. The spikes of the fruit are often so large as to weigh upwards of 40lb. The fruit of this sort is generally cut before it is ripe. The green skin is pulled off, and the heart is roasted in a clear fire for a few minutes, and frequently turned: it is then scraped, and served up as bread. Boiled plantains are not so palatable.

This tree is cultivated on a very extensive scale in Jamaica, with out the fruit of which, Dr. Wright says, the island would scarce be habitable, as no species of provision could supply their place. Even flour or bread itself would be less agreeable, and less able to support the laborious negro, so as to enable him to do his business, or to keep in health. Plantains also fatten horses, cattle, swine, dogs, fowls, and other domestic animals. The leaves, being smooth and soft, are employed as dressings after blisters. The water from off the trunk is astringent, and employed by some to check diarrhoeas. Every other part of the tree is useful in different parts of rural economy. The leaves are used for napkins and table-cloths, and are food for hogs.

2. Banana Tree.

Musa Sapientum,-LINN.

This species differs from the preceding in having its stalks marked with dark purple stripes and spots. The fruit is shorter, straighter, and rounder; the pulp is softer, and of a more luscious taste. It is never eaten green; but when ripe it is very agreeable, either eaten raw or fried in slices as fritters; and is relished by all ranks of people in the West Indies. Both these plants were carried to the West Indies from the Canary Islands, whither, it is believed, they had been brought from Guinea, where they grow naturally. They are also cultivated in Egypt, and in most other hot countries, where they grow to perfection in about ten months from their first planting to the ripening of their fruit. When their stalks are cut down, several suckers come up from the roots, which in six or eight months produce fruit; so that by cutting down the stalks at different times, there is a constant succession of fruit all the year. In Europe some of these plants are raised by gentlemen who have hothouses capacious enough for their reception, in many of which they