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Show FI Fil Soil. The Diftance thefe Trees fhould be planted onght never to be lefs than twenty Feet, fuppofing the Wall to be fourteen or more Feet in en for when they are planted too near, e Branches are train’d upright, and there =cover the Walls in a few Years with old Wood, fo that there is ng younger Branches to produce Fruit but what are fituated at the extreme Parts of the Tree, or ftand forward from the Wall, whviliis a great Fault, as fhall be hereafter demonheaved. In the Middle, between the Fig-Trees, maybe planted a Vine, which may ‘be preferv’d to bear Fruit until the Fig-Trees do cover the Wall; at which time they fhould be intirely taken away ; for they fhould by no means be fuffer’d to intermix their Shoots amongft the Figs, which would prevent the Ingrefs of the Air, which is abfolutely neceffary to give the Fruit a fine racy Flavour. In the Summer, when the Fig-Trees begin to fhoot, you fhould train the Branches horizontally to the Walls, (as is dire&ed for other Fruit-Trees) for if they are fuffer'd to grow all the Summer without Management, their Shoots will be too ftubborn to be drawn re- ularly to the Wall: Norfhould you fufter Tr oogveoory 7 any pase Shoots to be produc’d upon t young Trees; but, on the contrary, as fait as the y appear, you fhould rub off their Buds. At Michaelmas, (as I faid before) is the beft Seafon for pruning and nailing thefe Trees, not only for theReafons before affign’d, one alfo beccanfe their Shoots being nail’d clofe to the Wall before thefevere Frolts come on, will be lefs liable to be ii njur "d thereby. The main Things to be obferv’d in the pruning of older Trees, are, rft, Always to take care to have a >ply of youngBrranches Part of the Tree, for it is ‘thofe only oduce Fruit: 2dly, Never to fhorten the § 100tS at the Avianin Pr uning, which would intirely deprive you of Fruit, fince it is chiefly upon the Woodof the laft two Years that it is produc’d: 3dly, Always oblerve to nail your young Fruit-branches clofe to the Wall, whereby they will not be deftroy’d by Froft, and the Fruit will be for- d at leaft a Fortnight or three Weeks in the Spring, W hich 1s of great Confequence to us in England: athly, Never lay in your old Br anc he s too thick, which isa very com- mon Faale amongft Gardeners ; for as the Shoots are vigorous, and the Leaves ofthefe Trees learge, fo their Diftanceought never to be lefs than ten or twelve Inches: So that as young Branches increafe, the oldones fhould be in ely cut out; which may be done in mae - on: much§Safetyy as to anyother Bene cee ranches, order to produce young you may flop ae leading Bud of youns vigorous Shoots in / il, or the: Begi ning of May, which gineaton the Sidebud1s jody7 — a lateral 3ranches, whereby e we conftantlyf furnith’d with young Wood; but would by no means ad‘ ca He the doi : ng of chi1s too often, nor fhould it be done later in the Year: for mul tiplying Branches too much, is of as bad Conffequence as havingttoo few, for it will occafion their being weak and unfruitful; and if itis done in Sune or Fuly, it will onny occafion os Buds to produce Figs in great Plenty, which will never come to good fo late in the Year andwill greatly weaken the tender Fruit—Branc and Bey ent their bearing the next Spriz Ifthe Winter fhould prove extreme will be neceflary to cover your of Fig-Trees, either with Strau -—Haulm, or fome other fuch like Cove ing, which will preferve the tender branches from being injur ‘d; want of which Care, in the W nter A 8, the ees fu Fer’ d very much in : By this Method your greatly forwarded, but careful not to remove early in the Spring, nor but open them firft in tP f you fhoi your Cover too to do all at once, the Day-time, and cover themagain at Ni rts, pruning this is preva: , all the Parts of Eu an Trees which caft their Leaves, are lefs replete with Meine than at any other timeof the the long Continuance of the Years5 for | e Juices of Piants hav Summer's Hea the Nourifhment and # been exhaufted in mentation of Wood, Leaves, Fruits, &c. aud orated by Quantities being ev alfo great Per{piration, the Root not being ableto fend upa Su pply equivalent to this great Confumption, the Branches muft contain a much lels y of Sap than in the Spring, when it al ths Supplyfrom the Root, ill in Proportion to what is I is § ira= great~ o bydegrees vhich inure them to the open Air. In fomePlaces where this Method has been carefully obferv’d, T have feen ripe Figs almoft onth fooner Veck or mo ortionablylor n'd from o Time, > Kindsthar ion’d : nor do ‘¢think there | in relation to the pruning more our Care to I Fig-Trees, will be conde mn’‘4 bygre ters of People, who will not give time to confider and examine the upon which I have foundedthis Pr I and yet it rarely 10re than fc curious Fruitme, perhaps, the ections of Pears to make one fingle xperiment t Truth of it, as being vatt general Practice of moft G: always imagine, thac Fig-Trees have much pruning, or at | fhould always befuffer’'d to grow Wall to fome Diftance: T hat by this M When it grows to a certain Size, and its Bud begins to open, it is prick’d in that Part by the Gnats of the Cratitires, which are ftrong enough to go to the other to dilcl “ It fometimes hap the Cr tain es are arts, wh Ic fi one Fruit {lc i" to come forth in c the Orzi in ck’d by the Gnats: of the Cratitires fly away. that in fharp Frofts few of thefe oO! Shoots ef ape being greatly injur J it rarely happens, that thofe Shoots which are in hard Winters, y would fucceed Mic/ las es fuffer the leaft Da mage, and the Fruits are always produc’d a Fortnight fooner pot thefe Branchess than theyare upon thofe wi ch growfrom the Wall. hich produc’d the other er, and is call’d Ornis thofe very y Opportunity, the Qrui falls, an 1 Fruit, I cannot der y, butthen this only in mild Winters, for it is very cet The Seafon alfo for Prunin don’t thew themfel End of September : adil the For= ally fall away after the Gnats are 1e Cratitires, on the contrary, re= main on the Tree till May, and inclofe the ; depofited by the Fornites when they In May the third Sort of raarts are difpos'd to receive ther itn which e the Husband-man is oblig’ ty the Cratitires in another part, and f at the End of the Branchesof thofe FigTrees, whole Orni are in fir D pofition to ment, I haveoften feen great Qua clofely nail'd to the Wall ac Dometticlk or GardenFig- Tree: The wild © Sort bears three Kinds of Fruit, Fornites, ives, and Orui, id abfolute Neceffity rds ripening thofe of the Garden Fig. ‘ornites Appear in A thait cu the Ground, the better the Fruit is tafted, efpecially if it be againft a Chimney, where it may enjoy fome Share of Warmth thro’ the Bricks: And F gs, tho’ the mo or common People than fome commonSorts of Fruits, Tam aware, that what I haveker manage ;3 the firft is call’ d Ornos, from the old Grek Erinos, a wild on ae in Latin; the fecond, is he sBleedin se Building, of Fruits, being verylittle eft Palates, areIels liable to be elago, they have two Sorts of Fig- igorous B where they have a great Compafs of Wa and the higher thefe Trees (iays Care they fill conttinue todo fo. Tounderftand aright this Husbandry of Figs, (call'd in Latin Caprificatio) we are to ob= ferve, that in moft ofthe Iflands of the y to be obf than where vere not cover'd, andthe Fruit in muchgreater Plenty. T Trees do verywell againft the warm Side of an Houfe, or oth there I they us’d to drefs the Fig-Trees with much have laid down , being vattlly differet ent From thee monPra@ice and Opini on of moft Gardene will alfo be objeGed againtt, but thiis Lam pe if any one will but make Trial of 36 doubt not but his Experience will confirm what I have here advanc’d ; for Wood of this Tree ha mi the ts None but thofe that are well acquainted with this fort of Culture, knowthecritical Minutes of doing this; and in orderto it, their Eye is perpetually fix’d on the Bud of the fe ; for that Part not only ic the Prickers are to iffu g is to be fuccelst too hard, and t can’t Jz 1 this Buc Thefe tl to eat - § |
