58 THE FIG: ITS HISTORY, CULTURE, AND OURING. 
POINTS OF SUCCESSFUL CULTIVATION, 
The following are the essential points in successful fig culture in 
the open air in all northern districts where the climate is too rigorous 
to allow standards: 
(1) Inclining the trees when planting in order to facilitate the yearly inter- 
ment of the trees. 
(2) Semihorizontal position of the branches, in order that they may catch as 
much air and heat as possible; otherwise the fruit will not ripen. 
(3) The consequential dwarfing of the trees and total absence of a trunk or 
standard above the ground. 
(4) The yearly practices of procuring and forcing fruit branches and fruit, 
which consists in pinching the terminal buds, suppressing the lateral buds; 
removing the fruiting branches as soon as the crop is harvested; preparing new 
fruit-bearing branches for the next season; these should always be situated as 
close to the main stems as possible, etc. 
(5) The yearly interment of the branches, which necessitates the previous 
removal of all leaves, figs, and dead wood. 
(6) The subsequent disinterment of the branches, which is always to be done in 
cloudy or rainy weather, in order that the change may not be too sudden. 
(7) The renewal of the main branches every twelve to fifteen years, as by that 
time they begin to be too old and too stiff to cover in winter. 
PRODUCTION, 
While France exports considerable quantities of figs, its imports are 
much larger. The following table gives an idea of the trade for five 
years: 
Year. | Imports. | Exports. 
| Kilograms. Kilograms. 
| 18, 600. 600 ph , 800 
: , d41 
13, 109, COO 941, 893 
16, 502, 000 967,589 
14, 053, 000 413, 309 
The principal consumers of French dried figs are Belgium and 
Switzerland. The countries which supply France are Turkey, Italy, 
Spain, Portugal, and Greece. 
FIG CULTURE IN ENGLAND. 
Fig culture in England dates back several hundred years. It is 
more than probable that the first figs were introduced by the Romans, 
but that the trees died out from want of care and knowledge after 
the Romans had left the country. Plantations were confined to the 
southern countries and were probably never generally cultivated. In 
the reign of Henry VIII the fig was again introduced, it is said, by 
Cardinal Pole, who brought the trees from Italy. Hortus Kewensis 
tells of fig trees being planted in England in 1548, and Gerard says 
in 1597 that the fruit of the fig tree ‘‘never cometh to maturity with 
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