260 PEUNING. 



Instead of relying on the spring pruning to subdue 

 vigor and induce fruitfulness, pinching should be prac- 

 tised during the summer; for this not only checks the 

 production of wood, but of roots. Root pruning, too, may 

 be safely j)ractised in August, when pruning and pinch- 

 ing of the branches prove insufficient. 



In all cases, suckers must be completely eradicated 

 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 sub- 

 dued by the graft. The French conduct them in pyramids 

 with great success, on the same principle as other trees. 



Section 10. — Cultijee, Pkitntng, and Training of the Fig. 



In the ISTorthern 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. Cuttmgs are generalb- 

 preferred in the South. 



