The fig has a spreading habit of growth and when old requires considerable room. As the cuttings cost but little, it is well to plant rather closely, with the expectation of thinning out the trees when necessary. With 200 trees to the acre the earlier crops would be double those obtained from a planting of half that number, though doubtless 100 full-grown trees would sufficiently occupy the land. Twelve by 16 is a suitable distance for the trees when young. Removing alternate rows when needed would leave the permanent planting 16 by 24 feet. It is best to plant two or three cuttings at each place, to be sure of a stand. All but the most vigorous can be cut out if more than one starts to grow. CULTIVATION AND FERTILIZATION. Unquestionably figs should be thoroughly cultivated during the first season. This is necessary to give them a good start, and as the young trees make their largest growth after midsummer it is important to continue the cultivation late in the season. Unless the soil is quite rich some fertilizer should be used, as the future of the tree depends largely on its vigor during the first season. An excessive use of stable manure or other nitrogenous fertilizer should be avoided, as the tendency of these is to induce a soft, succulent growth too easily injured by the winter. The “piny-woods” soils are deficient in phosphoric acid, and this should be a prominent ingredient of all fertilizers used in regions where these predominate. It is not advisable to attempt to cultivate any vegetable crop among fig trees, on account of the danger of increasing root knot, and because such crops are likely to interfere with cultivation at the time when it may be most needed. The best subsequent treatment for a fig orchard is, to a certain extent, an open question. It is probable that in most locations the best results will be obtained by mulching heavily near the tree with any available material that will hold moisture and keep down the weeds. Pine straw, marsh grass, or planer shavings answer the purpose. The dust from old charcoal pits is sometimes used, and on the coast a mulch of oyster shells is often seen. The slowly decomposing shells probably act to some extent as a fertilizer, since the fig is known to thrive best in strong lime soils. The middle of the rows can be kept clean by a shallow plowing and harrowing without disturbing the mulch and without injury to the roots protected by it. Winter protection of some kind should certainly be provided during the first two or three years, at least to the extent of mounding the dirt or mulch high about the base of the tree in the fall. Protecting the tops with old gunny sacks or pine branches will often prove of great advantage.