But that
period is not yet arrived.
The almond tree is also so precarious, that none can depend for
subsistence on its produce, but persons of capital.
The caper, though a more tender plant, is more certain in its produce,
because a mound of earth of the size of a cucumber hill, thrown over the
plant in the fall, protects it effectually against the cold of winter.
When the danger of frost is over in the spring, they uncover it, and
begin its culture. There is a great deal of this in the neighborhood of
Toulon. The plants are set about eight feet apart, and yield, one year
with another, about two pounds of caper each, worth on the spot six
pence sterling the pound. They require little culture, and this may
be performed either with the plough or hoe. The principal work is the
gathering of the fruit as it forms. Every plant must be picked every
other day, from the last of June till the middle of October. But this is
the work of women and children. This plant does well in any kind of soil
which is dry, or even in walls where there is no soil, and it lasts the
life of a man.
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