370 



THE PARKS AND GARDENS OF PARIS. [Chap. XXII. 



little or no chance if left exposed. So in autumn the cultivators 

 train the branches into four bundles, make a little trench for 

 each, and cover, as shown by the figures, with small sloping banks 

 of soil, protecting the crown of the root by means of a little cone 

 of earth, Avhich merges gradually into the four little ridges that 

 cover the branches. When the plantation is made on deeply 

 inclined ground, a somewhat different system is followed, as is 

 also shown by the illustrations. Most of the details of the 

 culture are taken from Du Breuil's " Culture des Arbres et 

 Arbrisseaux," from the publisher of 

 which, copies of the figures were 

 purchased. I am also indebted to 

 M. Godefroy-Lebeuf, Argenteuil, for 

 making my visits to that town and its 

 Fig-plantations pleasant and instruc- 

 tive. In the climate of Paris the Fig- 

 tree is grown as a low shrub, with free 

 sweeping branches arranged in single 

 lines, or planted all together on a 

 piece of ground devoted to the purpose, 

 and which for want of a better name 

 may be called a " figgery." The 

 branches of these tufty trees are not 

 allowed to grow longer than from six 

 to nine feet, so that the tree may be con- 

 veniently buried in the ground during 

 the winter. Those varieties which pro- 

 duce rudimentary Figs in autumn in 

 abundance are the only ones grown, 

 as the Figs of the current year very 

 rarely arrive at maturity. Argenteuil 

 and La Frette are the two most 

 famous localities for the cultivation of the Fig-tree in the 

 neighbourhood of Paris. Before the southern railways were 

 constructed, these two villages used to supply the whole of 

 Paris with all the green Figs that were seen in the markets. The 

 introduction of the Fig-tree into Argenteuil appears to have taken 

 place about two centuries ago. It is cultivated in orchards in 

 deeply dug and richly manured land, the soil of which is of a 



Branch of Fig-tree bearing the Figs 

 formed during the preceding year, D ; 

 tlwse formed during the current year, 

 A ; and rudimentary Figs, C. 



