215 THE FRUIT GARDEN. [March. 



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

 in page 25, &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 kill- 

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

 more left than what might then appear necessary, and severe frosts 

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



Therefore the better way is to let the trees remain unpenned 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; consequent- 

 ly 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 sin- 

 gle stem, free from suckers, cutting out any dead or ill placed 

 wood, thinning the young shoots where too crowded, but never top- 

 ping 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 super- 

 fluous shoots thereof, with parts of the old bearers and long extend- 

 ed naked old wood, to have due room to train the proper shoots, so 

 that the tree may be equally furnished with a succession of young 

 bearers at moderate distances; for these young shoots bear the figs 

 the ensuing season; fig-trees always producing their fruit on the 

 one year old wood only. 



Leave the branches and shoots in general about five to six or 

 seven inches asunder, all at full length; being careful to prefer the 

 best middling strong shoots to retain for general bearers, cutting 

 out the improper, superabundant, and useless old wood, quite close; 

 pruning out any very rampant young wood, excessive long-jointed 

 shoots, or very slender infirm growths, leaving the most promising 

 and firm to supply the general expansion. 



Take care always to train in every year some young shoots, at 

 or near the bottom, that there UKj lie a succession coming up regu- 

 larly one after another, to supply the places of casual, long, old, 

 naked branches, which will occur every season in some part or 

 other of the tree; for such long-extended naked old branches or 

 others, not furnished properly with young wood, should now be cut 



