92 FRUIT GARDEN. 



of one, or perhaps two others, are formed before -winter, 

 and developed in the following year.* 



The winter dressing of the fig-tree takes place im- 

 mediately after the fall of the leaf. The immature figs 

 which may remain are removed, irregularities are cor- 

 rected, and the shoots nailed neatly to the wall. Va- 

 rious modes of protecting the branches during winter 

 have been adopted. At Argenteuil, where figs are cul- 

 tivated on standards for the Paris market, the lower 

 branches are bent downwards, and buried about six 

 inches deep in the soil ; while the upper branches are 

 tied together, and bound round with straw and litter. 

 Mr. Swayne mentions that he wraps up the young 

 shoots with waste paper. Mr. Forsyth recommends 

 covering wall fig-trees with the spray of laurel or yew, 

 and then tucking in short grass or moss (Jiypnum) 

 among the spray. Mr. Smith, first at Ormiston Hall, 

 and afterwards at Hopetoun House, has found ( Cal. 

 Sort. Soc. Mem., vol. ii.) a covering of spruce-fir 

 branches to be very elFectual. The branches are so 

 placed as to overlap each other, and to form a layer 

 nearly equally thick on every part of the tree. The 

 foliage of the spruce branches remains green till March, 

 and as the light and heat increase, the dried leaves 

 gradually fall off, and admit air and sun to the fig 

 branches below. 



Mr. Monk {Lond. Hort. Trans., vol. v.) states that 

 the same fig-tree seldom produces fruit containing both 

 perfect stamens and pistils, and conjectures that this is 

 the cause of the fruit being so often prematurely shed. 



* It is a proverb in fig culture that "the more you prune the 

 less your crop." 



