Of TREES, SHRUBS, PLANTS, FLOWERS, and FRUITS. 83 
entitted In fpring immediately from the eyes of the 
fhoots, gradually increal'es in volume till Augufl and 
September, then ripening of a white, blueiih, purple, 
black and brown colour, as in the defcription of the 
different varieties. 
As the Fig tree furnifhes many varieties in regard 
<0 the different forts of the fruit, proper trees of the 
dcfired kinds for planting may be had at moll of the 
nurferies, either young or of a trained growth, to 
commence immediate bearers $ or may be expediti- 
oufly raifed by fuckers, layers, cuttings, and either 
planted at once in young growth, where they are to 
remain, or trained in a nurfery for two or three years, 
till furnilhed with a tolerable head of branches, then 
tranfplanted in the garden. 
The feafon for planting Fig trees is principally 
either in autumn, about Odlober or November, at the 
decay of the leaves, or in February, March, or be¬ 
ginning of April ; or may alfo be occafionally planted 
in any of the winter months in open, mild weather. 
In planting Fig trees, it mud be obferved, that as 
they are originally exotics, from fouthern, warm coun¬ 
ties, they in this require warm lituations in the full 
fun, to have them produce fruit in good perfection ; fo 
ihould be principally planted as wall-trees, againll 
fouth walls, and fome on thofe of fouth-eafl and welt 
afpeCts, but moltly full fouth walls for the principal 
fupply; for although the trees will grow any where, 
they will not ripen fruit effectually, unlcfs they have 
the advantage of warm, funny expofures; they may 
likewife be planted in efpaliers, in fimilar afpeCts, in 
the full fun, to promote good crops of fruit; and in all 
of which, for wall-trees and efpaliers, Ihould be planted 
fifteen or eighteen to twenty feet diltance, to have 
good fcope to extend the branches, at their full growth, 
and thefe arranged to the wall. &c. horizontally, five 
or fix, to eight or ten inches afunder, with the 
fhoots always extended at their whole length ; and the 
trees will require a regulation of pruning and nailing 
every fummer and winter, when obferve always to re- 
ferve a general lupply of the young Ihoots of each 
year at the above diilances, for fucceflive bearers, as 
formerly intimated ; and, at the fame time, in winter- 
pruning particularly, to cut out a proportionate part 
of the old bearers and long-extended, naked, old 
branches, to afford proper fcope to arrange the fuc- 
ceffion-bearing Ihoots, which, as before obferved, 
mull never be Ihortened in thefe trees, as the fhoots 
moftly bear towards the upper parts; that, if fhort- 
cned, it would deftroy thofe parts lefs or more on which 
the fruit is principally produced, and force out from 
the lower eyes a confiderable fuperfluity of ufelefs 
wood in fummer; and therefore, generally, both in 
the fummer and winter-pruning, let the fhoots necef- 
fary to retain for training to the wall, &c. remain en¬ 
tire, unlefs any have the top parts injured by froll in 
winter, when may prune them down to the live wood; 
but all the others train in at their natural length. 
But as Figs will alfo fucceed in flandards, efpecially’ 
the white and blue forts of the earlieit ripeners, and 
which being trained in dwarf or half-flandards, with 
Hems of one or two, to three, four, or five feet, 
branching out above in full heads, they may be planted 
in a warm fituation, expofed to the fun; and they will 
often produce tolerably good crops of Figs, ripe, for 
eating, in Augufl and Sepember. 
Having thus far given the general intimations re¬ 
lative to the fpecies and different varieties of the Fig, 
with their nature of growth, order of bearing, diffe¬ 
rent methods of propagation, planting and training, 
fhall now proceed to explain the particulars of cul¬ 
ture. 
Firfl, with refpeCl to the methods of propagating and 
raifing Fig trees, all the varieties propagate freely 
by fuckers, layers, and cuttings: though the two lat¬ 
ter methods are generally preferred to the former, as 
the fuckers from the roots are often lefs compaCl and 
firm than the fhoots produced above on the branches, 
more fucculent, and liable to injury from frofl, and 
difpofed to run more to fuakers and fuperfluous wood 
than the trees as are raifed from layers and cuttings of 
the branch fhoots; however, good trees are occafion¬ 
ally raifed by all the above methods. 
The feafon for performing the propagation in the 
different methods, is either in autumn, at the fall of 
the leaf, or in any of the fpring months. 
Suckers from the roots of the trees are proper to 
detach for planting when of one furcmer’s growth, 
taken off either in autumn or fpring following, dig¬ 
ging them up with as much root as poflible ; and of 
which, chufe the flrongefl, robufl and firm, rejedting 
long, flender, foft fhoots, and planted either in rows 
in a nurfery, in order to be trained of proper growth 
for tranfplanting in the garden; or fome may be plant¬ 
ed at once where they are to remain, efpecially thofe 
defigned for walls and efpaliers; and. for which they 
fhould be topped in the fpring to promote their fhoot- 
ing out below for a fupply of lateral branches, ad¬ 
vancing immediately from or near the bottom, to fur- 
nifli the wall, in a proper expanfion, regularly from 
the bottom aforefaid, upward ; but thofe defigned for 
flandards fhould not be topped, but permitted to run 
with a Angle Hem, two, three, to four or five feet, 
then encouraged to branch out above, and form a full 
head. 
Layers of the young fhoots and branches, in autumn 
or fpring, will be rooted in one year; for which 
chufe ftrong, robufl, compadt, firm fhoots, of a year 
or one fummer’* growth, fituated on fome of the lower 
" L 2 pliant 1 
