12 THE GARDENER. [Jan. 



holding a permanent position, about 18 inches apart all over. These 

 branches being trained horizontally, in all probability the greater part of 

 the buds thereupon will start into growth. If so, we would allow a shoot 

 to start and grow every 9 inches along the branch. Every second shoot, 

 as soon as it attained the height of 8 inches, ought to be pinched, in order 

 that it might at once start into fruit. In the warmer counties of Eng- 

 land this can easily be accomplished in the one year; but, as a rule, the 

 fruit is formed in autumn of the one year and ripened off in the summer 

 of the following. If this cannot be done in the one season, then the 

 pinching ought not to be done till the middle or end of August, when 

 the shoot ought to be cut back to the height already indicated, when 

 it will form its small bud-like fruits at the axil of every leaf -stalk. 

 If the fruit attains a size larger than that of a Green Pea, it never, 

 in our experience, holds on during the winter ; hence our caution not 

 to pinch too early in the season, except in the case of having a climate to 

 deal with which would perfect the fruit in one season. It will thus be 

 seen that each alternate shoot has undergone the pinching process, while 

 the shoots between have escaped. Our reason for this is, that when the 

 pruning season comes round, those which have been pinched ought to be 

 allowed to remain to perfect the fruit upon them the following season ; 

 while those which have not been pinched will probably have formed no 

 fruit, and ought to be removed entirely, leaving only one or two buds at 

 the base. When the season of growth has again arrived, a fresh shoot 

 ought to be trained up from the buds left at the pruning season, and 

 treated in exactly the same manner as has been directed already for the 

 shoot bearing the fruit this season, so that when the pruning-time again 

 comes, the shoot which has borne the fruit ought to be removed, leaving 

 only a bud or two to form a fresh shoot for the succeeding year. By 

 this method the one shoot is fruit-bearing the one year while the other 

 is not, and vice versa. This, we believe, is the best mode of cultivat- 

 ing the Fig, and is far preferable to the thinning and training after 

 the manner of the Peach which so many practise. It reduces the 

 training and pruning to a regular system, easily understood and easily 

 put into practice. The permanent branches being horizontal, it would 

 be a great addition to the general appearance of the tree if the fruit- 

 bearing shoots were trained at an angle of 45^ It is of no practical 

 utility, so far as we are aware, but we recommend it merely for appear- 

 ance' sake. Trained in this fashion, the fruiting wood is more regularly 

 dispersed than by any other plan that we know of, while ample space 

 is allowed for the development of leaves and the thorough perfecting 

 of the fruit. James M'Mtllan. 



{To he continued.) 



