By the Right Hon. William Wickham. 83 



procure more fruit, capable of ripening, on trees of equal size, 

 than can be obtained, in the open air, by any other method ; 

 or, what is in fact the same thing, it will give an equal quan- 

 tity of fruit, from a much less space of wall. But it should 

 not be attempted by those, who have a large extent of wall, 

 covered with % trees, unless they can make up their minds 

 to allow their gardeners some additional assistance, for this 

 express purpose, during the month of June. 



Note F. 



There is no mischief to be apprehended from what will 

 necessarily cause some alarm, at the beginning of this opera- 

 tion, viz. the abundant flow of the milky juice, from the 

 broken shoots. The ground has been seen quite white, under 

 the branches, with the exuding sap, without any consequent 

 damage either to the tree itself, or to the subsequent crop of 

 fruit. Perhaps, however, the best and safest mode of pro- 

 ceeding, is to combine the two parts of the system, by re- 

 serving some shoots to be trained in, at full length, and 

 breaking only the remainder. 



Note G. 



It will probably be here observed, that the same result, 

 viz. a plentiful first crop of figs, may equally be obtained by 

 a very opposite system. It is, indeed, a common saying 

 among the gardeners, on the south and west coasts of Eng- 

 land, that a pruned fig tree never bears, and that no figs 

 can be obtained, unless the tree be suffered to run wild from 

 the wall ; nor can it be denied, that there is great truth in 

 the saying, when applied to the most common method of 



