FRUIT UNDER GLASS. 161 
throw up suckers, and the trees will always remain a bunch of 
suckers, A clean stem of twelve inches with three buds at the 
top, one for leader and two for shoots right and left, should be 
your one-year-old plants. These are not considered the best 
for planting in the border. The best practice is to give another 
shift into an eight-inch pot in soil of a poor nature, and grow 
to the desired height, with a leading shoot and two side shoots 
again. Thus we have now two-year-old plants in rather small 
pots, with two tiers of horizontal shoots and a leader. The 
object in keeping them two years in pots is to get them into a 
fruitful condition. 
The best time to plant figs is in the spring when they are 
about to start into growth, and although the two years or longer 
preparation of the plants may point to planting them in the 
open border with ball intact, I prefer to shake out the ball and 
to spread out the roots, keeping them very near the surface. 1 
have seen fig-trees established in pots, the ball put into the 
border whole, with the result they grew almost none at all. The 
border before being planted should be made very firm. This 
makes the roots grow fibrous. A loose border makes the roots 
grow gross and go to the bottom of the border, and in turn 
makes the wood gross and unfruitful. 
When a house is planted with young fig-trees comparatively 
small, there will be an abundance of light all over the house 
sufficient to admit of a number of fig-trees being grown in pots 
alongside the planted ones, and thus full use of the house will be 
made. Figs grown in pots give a good quantity of fruit. They 
require much attention in watering, and to be liberally supplied 
with manure-water. Fig-trees fruited in pots should, at the end 
of their fruiting season, that is in the autumn, be turned out of 
the pots, a good portion of the soil shaken out of the ball, any 
strong roots cut away, and then be repotted in good turfy soil 
mixed with lime-rubbish and some bone-meal. They should 
then stand in a cool house for winter. A top-dressing with a 
good artificial manure when they are growing will be pene: 
On starting a fig-house keep the mean temperature 5 
raising through the day 10% more, or 15° with sun-heat. The 
temperature should be 60° at night when the trees have burst 
into growth, and there should be a corresponding increase of 
