THE FIG. 305 



every season, or as soon as they make their appearance. 

 The want of pruning, and the growth of suckers, make 

 the filbert in nearly all our gardens completely barren ; a 

 rank production of wood only is obtained year after year. 

 We find that grafting the finer kinds on stocks of the 

 common filbert raised from seed, renders the trees much 

 more prolific naturally, and also smaller in size. We have 

 trees here now bearing only three years from the graft ; 

 the stems are eighteen inches to two feet high, and they 

 are very pretty. Their natural vigor is greatly subdued 

 by the graft. The French conduct them in pyramids with 

 great success, on the same principle as other trees. 



SECTION 10. CULTURE, PRUNING, AND TRAINING OF 

 THE FIG. 



In the Northern States the fig is cultivated with very 

 little success in the open ground, but fine crops are pro- 

 duced in the vineries recommended for foreign grapes ; 

 and it is in these only that its culture can yield any con- 

 siderable degree of satisfaction, north of Maryland at 

 least. 



Propagation. The surest and best mode is by layers. 

 A large branch may be layered in the spring, and will be 

 sufficiently rooted in the fall to be planted out. Cuttings 

 also strike freely, and make good plants in one season. 

 All the modes of propagation recommended for the quince, 

 may be applied to the fig. Cuttings are generally pre- 

 ferred in the South. 



Soil. It succeeds in any good, rich, warm garden soil, 

 suitable for other fruit trees. In very light or dry soils 

 the fruits fall before maturity, as they require at that 

 season in particular a large amount of moisture ; but it is 

 better that it be too dry than too moist, for in the latter 

 case nothing but soft unripe and unfruitful shoots are ob- 

 tained, whilst in the former, moisture can be supplied at 



