MARTIN BENSON, SWANWICK, ILLINOIS. 



SOIL AND bOC;0fTIOJN. 



The soil best suited to the Fig is a light, deep, moderately rich soil. A poor 

 soil is better than a very rich soil, as the latter will cause the tree to run to wood 

 and not bear, unless the tree is keep well root-pruned. Almost any soil but low, 

 wet ground will §row good Figs; they should not be planted on wet or low soil. 

 The best location is a south or southeast slope. In the far north and Canada, they 

 should be planted on the south side of a house, wall or hedge. They will bear but 

 one crop per year in Canada. In Kansas and other prairie states, I would recom- 

 mend a hedge to be planted on the north and west. With this protection from high 

 winds, they will do grandly in Kansas and Nebraska ; in other western states they 

 will succeed without the hedge, but are however, much better for it in windy 

 localities. 



fLANTIN©. 



In the spring, about corn-planting time, throw up ridges ten feet wide and eigh- 

 teen inches high in the center. Every ten feet on top of this ridge, dig holes at right 

 angles to the ridge, two or three feet long and ten inches wide. Replace the soil in 

 the holes in the shape of a mound, two or three inches below the level in the centre 

 and eight or ten inches below at the ends, cut the trees back to three or four buds, 

 and then separate the roots into two parts. Set the trees at the central point, with 

 the roots extending right and left down the ridge ; fill up with good soil, and make 

 firm around the roots. 



CULTIV/tTIOJN. 



The trees should be cut back to three or four buds, being thus made to branch 

 near the ground and grow in the form of bushes. They should be pinched back 

 during their growth and not allowed to grow over eight or ten feet high. 



After the first crop is about half matured, the ends of the growing shoots should 

 be pinched, so as to make the second crop start. The ground should be kept free 

 from weeds. 



If the trees grow very rank, are long jointed and do not bear well, they should 

 be root-pruned. This is, best done by taking a hoe and cutting off a portion of the 

 small roots. The joints of a Fig tree when in full bearing should not be over one- 

 half to three-quarters of an inch long. 



The trees should not be allowed to grow any after the middle of August or first 

 of September, so as to have the wood well ripened, that it may not be injured by the 

 first frost. If the wood of a fig is well ripened, it will readily endure without injury 

 a temperature of 15° above zero. If the trees persist in growing, root-prune as 

 above. After the trees are three or four years old, they will generally stop growing 

 of their own accord. 



PRUJ^IN©. 



Fig trees need but little pruning ; simply cut out surplus branches and those 

 crossing each other. 



PF^OTECTIJNG. 



In the autumn, before severe frosts, take twine and tie the branches into a bundle 

 The branches can be bent almost double without breaking, and a tree can be tied 

 into a surprisingly small bundle— I have seen trees upwards of six feet in diameter 

 tied into a bundle about six inches in diameter. After trees are tied, take a spade 

 and cut the roots that run lengthwise of the ridge, but don't disturb the original 

 roots that were planted. Push the trees over lengthwise of the ridge, and peg them 

 down; then cover them with earth, in this latitude three or four 'inches in that of 

 Chicago six or eight inches deep. Covering is not done with the view of keeping 

 them from freezing— the object desired is to keep the trees dark ; then no matter 

 how cold the climate is, the trees will always come through entirely uninjured 



By the above method of planting, trees are proteded very easily, no matter how 

 old they are. They will grow and thrive for generations. Some may say " too 

 much trouble !" Do we grow anything of value without some trouble ? The advan- 

 tages of the Fig over all other fruits more than makes up for the small trouble of 

 protecting them. 



Besides, you are always sure of a crop. Everyone knows how liable all our fruits 

 are to having their crops destroyed in our changeable winter— with the Fig you need 

 have no fear of this if you protect them as directed. Cover them before freezing 

 weather in the fall, and in the spring, after dangef- from hard frosts is past remove 

 the covering from the trees, and raise them to their positions. ' 



