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To return to the other trees:—in propagating them they set the cuttings upside down, as with vine-shoots. Some however say that that makes no difference, and least of all in propagating the vine; while others contend that the pomegranate thus propagated has a bushier growth and shades the fruit better, and also that it is then less apt to shed the flower. This also occurs, they say, with the fig; when it is set upside down, it does not shed its fruit, and it makes a more accessible tree and it does not shed its fruit, even if one breaks off the top as it begins to grow.

Thus we have given a general sketch of what we find about methods of propagation, and of the ways in which these trees are reproduced.

VII. As to cultivation and tendance some requirements apply equally to all trees, some are peculiar to one. Those which apply equally to all are spadework watering and manuring, and moreover pruning and removal of dead wood. But different trees differ in the degree. Some love moisture and manure, some not so much, as the cypress, which is fond neither of manure nor of water, but actually dies, they say, if it is overwatered when young. But the pomegranate and vine are water-loving. The fig grows more vigorously if it is watered, but then its fruit is inferior, except in the case of the Laconian variety, which is water-loving.

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