THE FIG UNDER GLASS. 



233 



by the end of September, when the lights may be 

 drawn off to give them the benefit of rain and dew. 

 In this condition the tree will remain until the time 

 arrives for the winter dressing, when the shoots 

 marked a will be pruned back to a single bud for a 

 summer growth of wood, which will be made during 

 the time those marked b are ripening off the early 

 crop of fruit. It should be borne in mind that the 

 earliest Figs a tree produces are formed at the base 

 of the leaves, near the terminal buds, on well- 

 ripened growths of the preceding year. These young 

 fruits when the trees go to rest should not be larger 

 than No. 1 shot. The second crop of fruit is 

 obtained from the early summer growths of the 

 current year, and therefore to secure this succession, 

 and to keep the trees well furnished with bearing 

 wood, a portion of the growths must be cut back to 

 a single bud every year. 



Stopping. — Where a young shoot is wanted, it 

 is frequently obtained by cutting a notch in the 

 wood in front of the bud ; but when this does not 

 produce the desired result, stopping or pinching is 

 resorted to. It may here be observed that it is not 

 necessary to remove the point of a young shoot, as 

 crushing it with the finger and thumb without 

 breaking the outer bark is quite sufficient to throw 

 the sap back into the side buds, and to prevent the 

 terminal bud from progressing further, and as this 

 can be done without causing the young shoots to 

 bleed, crushing is generally preferred. By stopping 

 at the third or fourth leaf on the shoots b, we 

 increase the size of the fruit, which we wish to have 

 as large and early as possible. By stopping at the 

 sixth leaf the early summer shoots which are 

 obtained from the buds a, we induce young Figs to 

 form in the axil of every leaf, and to swell forward 

 as a succession to the fruit obtained from the shoots 

 (b) of the previous year. By this means we maintain 

 the balance of the trees by forcing the sap back into 

 the weakest growths, which would not otherwise 

 swell up fruit, and we keep every part of the trellis 

 evenly furnished, but not overcrowded, with foliage 

 and firm fruit-bearing spurs. 



Tying.— Unlike many other fruit-trees, the Fig- 

 is most accommodating in this respect, as it can be 

 turned and bent in any direction, wherever a fruiting 

 point is wanted, and shoots so tied do not resent this 

 treatment, but seem to become more fruitful by the 

 check which follows. All leading and strong inter- 

 mediate shoots should be kept regularly tied to the 

 wires until the growing season is nearly over, when 

 it is a good plan to allow the points to turn up to 

 the influence of sun and light. Short- jointed shoots 

 and spurs, which should always be encouraged, do 



best when they are not too closely tied in, and seem 

 to enjoy an abandoned kind of growth upwards, 

 towards the glass. They should not, however, be 

 allowed to touch the glass before they are drawn 

 down, neither should they be closely tied late in the 

 season. 



Where the arrangement of the house, or trellis, 

 does not favour training to a single leader furnished 

 with a regular set of side shoots, extension training on 

 the fan system, either up or down the wires, is quite 

 as applicable to the Fig as it is to the Peach or Vine. 

 Under this mode of training, branches are continually 

 reaching the extremity, when they are cut out in 

 winter, while others that are following take their 

 place, exactly the same as the young canes in a Vine 

 that is trained upon the long rod principle. Under 

 the first method, the trees are made to produce two 

 distinct crops of fruit, a period intervening between 

 the two crops when there is no ripe fruit. Under 

 the second system the trees are kept constantly 

 extending, when every advancing shoot becomes 

 a perpetual bearer, as it produces as many Figs 

 as it does leaves. I have kept a Brown Turkey 

 Fig in constant bearing from the middle of May up 

 to the end of October, and have then thrown off the 

 lights to force it to go to rest. 



Lifting, Root-pruning, and Renovating. 



— Although poor compost free from animal manure 

 should be used in the formation of a border for Figs, 

 it is no unusual occurrence for the trees to get into a 

 gross habit of growth, particularly where the first 

 moiety of the border is made larger than is actually 

 necessary. Extension training, and heavy cropping, 

 will sometimes correct this tendency, but not always, 

 as trees once thrown off their balance refuse to be 

 burdened with a heavy crop of fruit. When this 

 tendency to grossness puts in an appearance, steel 

 forks should be brought into use as soon as the 

 leaves fall, care being observed that the remains of 

 rich mulchings do not get mixed with the compost 

 during the operation. With these implements work 

 from the extremity of the border inwards to within 

 two feet of the stem. Avoid disturbing the drainage 

 or the turf resting upon it. Strong roots that have 

 made the descent, and are most likely doing the 

 mischief, may be cut off, all others being carefully 

 preserved. Keep the roots moist during the time 

 they are exposed to the air, return the soil and ram 

 it firmly up to the proper level, then re-lay them in 

 a thin layer of pure sandy loam, give a little water 

 to settle it, and return the remainder of the old 

 compost. Where fermenting material is used for 

 starting early Figs, it is no unusual thing for young 

 trees to break away into strong growth a second and 

 a third time. The only sure remedy is lifting ; but 



