etc. are best pruned or planted during the growing 

 season, March-October, and require to be transplanted 

 with a ball of earth and during the same period ; 

 but deciduous trees such as the fig, the pomegranate, 

 the vine etc., should be pruned during the period 

 of rest, November-February, are transplanted in the 

 same season, and need not be taken up with a ball of 

 earth. Propagation by cuttings of ripened wood, for all 

 deciduous trees, is best made in the period of rest, but in 

 the case of evergreen trees, whenever practicable, it is 

 done at the resumption of vegetation in early spring. 

 Again, under favourable conditions the growth of ever- 

 green trees is continuous throughout spring summer and 

 autumn. Deciduous trees start growth in spring with 

 great vigour, but even in the best conditions, the growth 

 is usually brought to a standstill early in summer. In 

 both cases the activity of the root system is in close 

 relation to that of the vegetation. 



Deciduous trees shed their foliage in autumn, but 

 in the case of evergreen trees, apart from the effects of 

 inclement wintry weather, the bulk of the annual shedding 

 of foliage takes place in spring along with the resumed 

 activity of vegetation or soon afterwards. Deciduous trees 

 should be watered sparingly when the period of active 

 growth is over, and only just enough to bring their fruit 

 to maturity and to prevent them from starting fresh 

 growth should the autumnal rains arrive too early, which 

 would affect very seriously the crop for next year. 

 Evergreen trees may be watered continuously, and 

 indeed they make better growth if watered more liberally 

 in the last period of summer and early in autumn. 



What is the depth of soil required for a plantation 

 of fruit trees ? This question may seem unimportant for 

 other countries, but it is of paramount importance in 

 these Islands where the soil, though generally of good 

 quality and naturally fertile, is too often very shallow. 



