PLANTING A FIG QRCHARD. 165 
sun to seald the bark of the tree. If straw is used at all it should 
be in conjunction with a tree protector of some kind—paper, sacking, 
or stakes, in order that the stem may be properly shaded. 
DURATION OF PLANTATION. 
The edible fig is known to have become several hundred years old, 
and it bears full crops for one hundred years or more. It is therefore 
hardly worth the while to consider the duration of a fig orchard, as it 
will last for two generations or more, and during this time will give 
an abundance of fruit. However, after a certain time it may prove 
of advantage to renew the trees, much depending on the way the trees 
have been treated and upon the soil in which they have grown. Some 
varieties will last longer than others and some produce their best fruit 
before they attain thirty years. 
VARIETIES TO PLANT. 
As regards varieties little can be said. Too little is known con- 
cerning the nature and adaptability of certain varieties to localities. 
No one should plant extensively until it has been fully ascertained 
that the variety selected is suited to the locality. In places where 
there are no experimental orchards it will naturally take some time 
to find the proper variety. Among common figs there are, however, 
several varieties which will probably do well in many localities. 
Such varieties are, for instance, ‘‘ Le Roi” and ‘‘ Marseillaise W hite.” 
Among the true Smyrna varieties none is superior to Lop Ingir, the 
true fig of commerce. But even this variety is in places superseded 
by other kinds better suited to loeal conditions Whatever variety 
of Smyrna fig is planted it is of great importance to plant only 
a single variety, or at least to have enough of every variety to 
produce a large lot of uniform figs. An orchard of mixed fig vari- 
eties is troublesome and unprofitable. As the figs must be picked 
up all over the orchard from under the trees as soon as they drop 
to the ground it is impracticable to keep the varieties apart if 
there be more than one kind of fig. Where the varieties are mixed 
grafting will be necessary, and this will put back the trees and 
the crop from three to four years after the error in planting has been 
discovered. Of caprifigs as many varieties as possible should be set 
out in order to have a succession of figs. When it has been once 
established which variety is best suited to a certain locality, one or 
two varieties may suffice. The caprifig trees should be set by them- 
selves in sheltered corners of the orchard. There is needed about 
one caprifig tree to every ten Smyrna fig trees. 
CULTIVATION. 
The cultivation of the fig orchard requires no implements which 
are not also useful in any other orchard. On the Pacific coast the 
orchards are now almost exclusively worked with horse power. In 
