ROEDING'S FRUIT GROWERS' GUIDE 



45 



an indifference on the part of the grower in caprifying. 

 There are several varieties of caprifigs, some of which 

 ripen their fruit early, while others are later. As the 

 edible figs are not in the receptive stage at the same 

 time, this is a fortunate coincidence. In order to know 

 how many caprifigs to place in a tree to secure the best 

 results, multiply the age of the tree from its fourth to 

 its ninth inclusive by five, and from ten years and up 

 by ten, and you will not go very far wrong in placing 

 enough figs in your trees to secure the very best results. 

 From three to ten figs should be placed in the trees 

 every third day or even oftener than this. The fre- 

 quency with which this is done being determined by the 

 rapidity with which the caprifigs ripen. 



PLANTING AND PRUNING 



Although the fig will stand all kinds of neglect after 

 it is established, too great emphasis cannot be laid on 

 the close attention which must be given in transplanting 

 the trees from the nursery to the orchard. The roots 

 of a fig tree are very susceptible to exposure, hence they 

 should be carefully covered in transferring from the 

 trenches to the field. It is surprising what effect the 

 puddling of the roots will have in preventing their dry- 

 ing out even in cases of severe winds, and I cannot em- 

 phasize the importance of this too strongly. To make 

 a puddle, dig a hole eighteen inches deep, two feet in 

 diameter, fill it partly full of heavy soil, mix with water 

 until you have a muck the consistency of a heavy paint. 

 Dip the roots into this, and give no further concern 

 about their drying out even if exposed to the direct 

 rays of the sun for a short period. 



Before planting cut off all bruised and lacerated roots 

 and make a fresh cut on all other roots, so they have a 

 smooth, clean surface. The tree when planted should 

 not stand over three inches deeper than it stood in the 

 nursery row. Never neglect to settle the earth around 

 the trees with not less than fifteen gallons of water. 

 After the water has soaked away fill in with fine soil 

 without tramping. No greater mistake can be made 

 than to wait for rain or for water to be turned into the 

 irrigating ditches. After the tree is planted, cut back 

 to twenty-four inches from the ground, and cover the 

 wound with rubber paint or grafting wax. 



The first winter cut the branches of the one-year 

 trees back to about twelve inches, leaving not more than 

 four to make the head of a tree. Have these distributed 

 in such a manner that there will be sufficient room for 

 them to expand without crowding as the tree grows 

 older. The second season cut not less than two-thirds 

 of the new growth, leaving not more than two shoots on 

 each of the framework branches. Any branches on the 

 underside of the limbs having a tendency to droop to the 

 ground should be removed. The third season shorten 

 in the new growth about half, leaving the same multiple 

 of branches on each of the previous years' shoots as 

 were left the year before. In after years the pruning is 

 limited to the removal of branches which cross or inter- 

 fere with each other and checking the growth of 

 branches, making an excessive growth. Young trees 

 should always be protected with tree protectors to pre- 

 vent sunburn. 



None of the edible types of figs, whether they be of 

 the Adriatic or Smyrna class, should be planted closer 

 than thirty feet. In Asia Minor orchards which have 

 been planted within the last forty years are set in the 

 square system and none of the trees are planted closer 

 than thirty-five feet apart. 



FREEZING TO THE GROUND 



If the trees have made a very strong growth during 

 the summer months and they should (due to severe cold 

 weather) become so badly injured that they freeze down 

 to the ground, the entire top should be cut off to a point 



A one-year-old orchard grown Fig tree with the frame- 

 work branches properly distributed around the -body of 

 the tree and cut back to promote sturdiness and develop 

 a head. 



A two-year-old tree with laterals cut back. Note that.this 

 tree is already assuming a shapely head. 



where the body shows no injury, just before the new 

 growth starts out in the spring. A number of suckers 

 will start from the body and all of them should be per- 

 mitted to grow. In June all excepting the strongest ones 

 should be removed and these should be tied to a 2 in. x 

 2 in. x 6 ft. stake, and whenever the sucker reaches the 

 height of three feet cut the top off to two feet from the 



