372 THE PAEKS AND GAEDENS OF PAEIS. [Chap. XXII. 



the lines being separated by a space of about four yards, so as to 

 form a kind of quincuncial arrangement. These young plants are 

 left to themselves during the whole of the summer, care being 

 taken to keep them from drought by means of frequent watering 

 and careful covering. During the first half of November, when 

 the first cold days set in and the trees are completely bare of 

 leaves, a dry day is chosen when the ground is not too damp, and 

 the young branch is carefully bent downwards until it reaches 

 the bottom of the trench. It is then covered up with a layer of 

 earth a foot deep, to preserve it from the cold. Towards the end 

 of February, as soon as the weather has become mild, the branches 

 are uncovered and the trench is arranged the same as it was 

 before earthing up. The development of the young plant is again 

 allowed to proceed during the summer, to be again earthed up 

 when November sets in. 



The third spring after planting, a fine day is chosen towards 



Fig-tree with the branches trained in two sets. 



the middle of March — the young stem is cut at from six to eight 

 inches from the ground, so as to favour the production of a large 

 crop of shoots, which will afterwards form the principal branches 

 of the tree. These shoots are allowed to grow through the 

 summer, and are earthed up in autumn. This process is performed 

 according to the following directions : — A dry day is chosen 

 when the soil is in a friable condition, so that it will fill the 

 spaces between the branches without leaving any empty places. 

 The soil used should be free from leaves, grass, and straw, which, 

 if they were allowed to come in contact with the buried branches, 

 would cause them to become rotten. It is also necessary to pull 

 off the half-grown autumn Figs, which would rot in the earth, 

 and cause the same mischief as any other decomposing vegetable 

 matter. These precautions having been taken, the branches of 



