MARCH] THE FRUIT GARDEN. 225 



If the heads of these trees are but one year's growth from the bud 

 or graft, let them be shortened to four or five eyes ; observing to do 

 it just as they begin to form buds for shooting. 



Suppose they are two years from the bud or graft, and the first 

 shoots were cut down, as above, last spring; let the shoots which were 

 produced from them the last summer be also shortened now to six, 

 eight, or ten inches. 



The same rule holds good with these at first training as mentioned 

 for the apricots and peaches; for it is on shortening properly the first 

 and second year's shoots, from the budding and grafting, that the 

 whole success depends for forming a useful and handsome tree ; as 

 when a young wall or espalier tree is well furnished with branches 

 near the ground, these will readily supply you with more, in their 

 turn, to furnish the wall or espalier upwards. 



But in the common course of pruning apples, pears, plums, and 

 cherries, their shoots and branches are not to be shortened; for after 

 the young trees are furnished with a proper supply of branches below, 

 their shoots must then be trained to the wall at full length, only 

 shortening particular shoots when more wood may be required to 

 furnish that part, or where they grow too crowded; as directed in 

 page 34 ; &c. 



PRUNING FIG-TREES. 



Some prune fig-trees the latter end of autumn, which is a very 

 wrong practice, where severe winter frosts are prevalent; as the 

 young shoots, which are the only bearing wood, are liable to be killed 

 in hard winters. If they were pruned in that season, and no more 

 left than what might then appear necessary, and severe frosts after- 

 wards destroy many of them, you would have no resource left. 



Therefore the better way is to let the trees remain unpruned till 

 this time, and if some have been killed by the severity of the win- 

 ter, there will be a chance, from among the whole, to find a suffi- 

 ciency for your purpose, that have escaped. Observing, however, 

 that the sooner this work is done, after the severe frosts are over, 

 the better; for if delayed too long the trees would bleed, and be in- 

 jured thereby; but in the southern States the late autumn pruning 

 is preferable. 



Fig-trees agree with, and in fact require, great heat; consequently 

 in the eastern and middle States they will thrive and bear better 

 when planted against walls, board fences, or- espaliers, in warm ex- 

 posures; therefore I shall give the method of pruning and training 

 them to such. 



In those southern States where they grow in the open standard 

 way, they need no other pruning than keeping each on a neat single 

 stem free from suckers, cutting out any dead or ill placed wood, thin- 

 ning the young shoots where too crowded, but never topping any. 



In pruning fig-trees, you must leave a sufficient supply of the 



last summer's shoots from the bottom to the extremity every way, in 



all parts where possible; and prune out the ill-placed and superfluous 



shoots thereof, with parts of the old bearers and long extended naked 



15 



