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THEORY AND PRACTICE OF PRUNING. 
two distinct sets of shoots, two crops of fruit. The Figs which appear when the first flow of sap 
takes place are those which alone ripen (upon a wall in this country) generally in September ; those 
which are produced afterwards do not come to maturity in our sunless climate. 
But under glass, assisted by artificial heat, they succeed perfectly. It must 
therefore be the object in managing the Fig-tree, as to pruning, to secure the 
greatest possible amount of moderately strong, short-jointed, and well-ripened 
wood, and to remove by degrees from the tree those shoots which have become 
old and naked. This must never be carried to an excess of severity, but must 
be a work of watchful and cautious progression. Root-pruning will always be 
found a useful auxiliary, and confining the roots within a limited space of soil 
is always beneficial. 
It is customary to train the Fig in the fan shape ; but this is not the form 
best suited to induce productiveness, unless modified by recurving the points 
of the branches. It is but too common to see Fig-trees mere aggregations of 
suckers ; the branches emanating from the collar of the plant at the ground, 
and not being confined, as in other trees, to a single stem. The great objection 
to the fanshaped training for the Fig is, the excessive luxuriance which those 
shoots which approach nearest to a vertical position acquire ; and the conse- 
quent unproductiveness of that most valuable part of the area upon which 
fruit-trees are trained, namely, the top of the wall. 
We have observed that in the open air, in this country, only one crop of fruit 
ripens, while under glass we have the power of bringing to maturity the second 
crop, which always ripens in warmer latitudes. It is therefore obvious that, 
as the results to be aimed at are different, so must our treatment vary. For a 
crop of Figs upon the open wall, then, our object must be, as far as art is 
available, to increase the number of embryo Figs which are developed from last 
year's branches with the first flow of the sap. In order to effect this, the 
recommendation of Wickham is good, which we have confirmed in our own 
practice. It is, to " rub off, as soon as they can be discerned by the naked eye, 
all the Figs which are produced after Midsummer on the same year's shoots." 
These Figs Mr. Wickham calls (not inaptly) " sterilising incumbrances," and 
the effect of removing them is, that at the base of each fruit so removed 
another embryo is formed, which will produce a fruit that will ripen in the 
following autumn. 
The figure represents a shoot of last year. The first figs were produced on 
wood of the previous year (which is not shown). The first growth, previous to 
Midsummer, extends up to A ; at the joints B B B a second crop was formed, 
which was removed, and other embryos are now formed, b b b [not well re- 
presented]. From A to C is the second shoot, showing also Figs for the first 
crop of next season. Thus by this mode we succeed in getting a show of fruit 
which will come to perfection along the whole growth of last year, by merely 
removing that which in our climate no skill could have brought to maturity. 
Mr. Knight found, that whenever a branch was extending with too much 
luxruiance, pressing it between the finger and thumb till its soft cellular sub- 
stance was found to yield (not letting the nails come in contact with the bark) 
had the effect of repulsing the sap, and in consequence a fruit was formed and 
ripened at the base of each leaf. These Figs were formed upon our shoot (see 
figure), and with sufficient heat would have ripened, but they were taken off, 
as shown on the shoot at B B B. The reader will probably understand from this 
the application of the management under glass and externally. 
It now remains to say a few words upon the training and formation of the 
free. Horizontal framing answers well for the Fig ; and Mr. Knight has 
recommended training them with a tall single stem and radiating branches 
from the top of it, in a stellate form. We think this is open to the same objec- 
tion as fan-training — namely, the superior vigour of the most vertical branches, 
as compared with the depressed ones. We also venture to opine, that framing 
up a single tall stem with two horizontal branches at the top, and then training 
down perpendicularly would be preferable, as calculated to balance the free better. It is quite true 
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