FICUS, FIG TREE. 215 



the ill effects of frost, some of the branches are lowered closer to the ground. The others 

 are fastened against the wall, orienting them horizontally as much as possible without 

 breaking them. They're all covered with litter, leaves, ferns, broom, pea pods, heather, 

 reeds, &c. 2°. If fig trees are planted as bush trees away from a wall, and the season & the 

 appearance of the weather start to raise fears of severe frosts, the base of each fig tree is 

 earthed up, all the branches are brought as close to one another as possible, tied in several 

 places with osier bands or with straw, and covered with long straw held in place by the 

 same kinds of ligatures. Finally, a long rope of straw as thick as one's lower leg is made 

 to wrap it up completely from its base to its top. All the turns are made immediately 

 opposite to one another so that the frost and freezing rain can't penetrate it. A fig tree 

 wrapped up this way looks like a cone or a pyramid. About mid-March the bases of the 

 fig trees are uncovered & as the season becomes milder, the trees continue to be 

 uncovered gradually. The tops remain covered until there's no longer any fear of minor 

 frosts & cold rains, in other words until the beginning of May, or a little earlier or later 

 depending on the temperature that year & on the fig trees' progress. The reason is that 

 when the fruit is about three lignes in diameter, it needs to be acclimated to the air so that 

 it doesn't etiolate underneath the straw & subsequently perish in the sun. But if some 

 nights threaten to be too cold, they're covered with cloths or straw mats. However, their 

 exposure & the quality of the soil can either accelerate or retard their progress about a 

 month. 



Since fig trees customarily are grown as bush trees that have several branches or 

 shoots originating at ground level, it's a good idea each year to cut some of the largest & 

 topmost of the shoots right back to the trunk. 



