174 THE FIG: ITS HISTORY, CULTURE, AND CURING. 
HIGH AND LOW STANDARD. 
The final question, whether high or low standards should be given 
to fig trees, must be entirely dependent upon climatic conditions and 
other circumstances. In moist ground the figs should have a high 
standard, in order to admit the necessary air and light, especially so 
in localities where the souring of the figs is a common evil. On the 
contrary, in places where moisture is scarce and where the figs may 
suffer from drought, the low standard should be adopted, with side 
branches sloping closer to the ground and shading the soil. Consid- 
eration should also be had for the variety, and as a general rule it 
may be said that figs for drying require higher standards than those 
grown for table only. The high standard may be considered at once 
when the trees are first set out, as has been already remarked, but a 
change from low to high standard may be readily accomplished later 
and gradually, without any great difficulty or injury to the tree. In 
Smyrna the branches reach the ground within 5 or + feet, while from 
the main root three or more standards start out at sharp angles to the 
ground. 
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