71 730 
 
AGRIC. DEPT. 
 
; 
 
 AGRICULTURAL 
 
 : . 
 
 UNIVERSITY 
 
 = 
 
 CALIFORNIA. 
 
CALIFORNIA 
 
 / 
 
 ^ 
 
 KIG INDUSTRY, 
 
 WITH A CHAPTER ON 
 
 FIG CAPRIFICATION. 
 
 Written for the Annual Report of the California State Board of 
 Agriculture for 1891, 
 
 BY B. M. 
 
 Secretary of the State Board of Horticulture of California. 
 
 SACRAMENTO: 
 
 STATE OFFICE, I : I I : A. J. JOHNSTON, SUPT. STATE PRINTING. 
 
 1892. 
 
PRESERVATION 
 COPY ADDED 
 ORIGINAL TO BE 
 RETAINED 
 
(JJ 
 
 CALIFORNIA FIG INDUSTRY. 
 
 By B. M. LELONG, Secretary of the State Board of Horticulture, and ex officio Chief 
 
 Horticultural Officer. 
 
 The fig is probably the oldest of all cultivated fruits. It is mentioned 
 in the first book of the Bible, and is more frequently referred to in both 
 the Old and New Testaments than any other fruit. Herodotus alludes 
 to it, and in the early history of our race it played an important part 
 among food products. The Greeks received the tree from Caria, whence 
 its name, Ficus carica, but improved the fruit so greatly that Attic figs 
 became celebrated and were in large demand, so much so that stringent 
 laws regulating their export were enacted. Pliny mentions several 
 varieties, and alludes especially to that produced in Ebusus as highly 
 esteemed by Roman epicures, and mentions the Roman fig as supplying 
 a large part of the food of the slaves, especially of those engaged in 
 agricultural pursuits, by whom large quantities were eaten raw at the 
 time of the fig harvest. It is probably a native of the eastern Mediter- 
 ranean regions, but has spread from its original home over a large por- 
 tion of the known world. It is to-day found in all the warm, temperate, 
 sub-tropic, and northern tropical zones. It flourishes on the plains of 
 northwestern India, on the Himalayas to an elevation of five thousand 
 feet, in Afghanistan, northern Persia, Asia Minor, Palestine, northern 
 Africa, and the warmer parts of Europe, ripening its fruit in sheltered 
 places, even so far north as the southern portion of England. It has 
 been naturalized in Australia, the north island of New Zealand, Chile, 
 California, and other portions of the United States. It flourishes in 
 Florida and the Southern States, and will grow and bear fruit in the 
 open air of some of the Middle States with proper care. In California, 
 of all the States in the Union, it appears to attain its most thrifty 
 growth, and some trees now growing in this State are phenomenally 
 large. Immense trees, the largest in this State, of the White Adriatic 
 fig, grow at Knight's Ferry, in Stanislaus County. They bear enormously, 
 and are a source of great profit to their owner. 
 
 One of these is sixty feet in height, its branches shading a circle of 
 seventy feet diameter. At its base the trunk is eleven feet in circum- 
 ference, and at three feet from the ground it is nine feet around. Several 
 large branches divide the tree a little above this point, each of which 
 has a circumference of nearly five feet; while at a distance of thirty 
 feet from the ground the limbs have a diameter of seven to eight inches. 
 The largest grove in this vicinity consists of fifteen massive black fig 
 trees, set at a distance of sixty feet apart, yet intermingling their boughs 
 overhead until a dense shade is formed beneath them. 
 
 At Rancho Chico, in Butte County, is a fig tree planted in 185G, 
 which measures eleven feet in circumference one foot from the ground. 
 Its branches have been trained to the ground, where they have struck 
 root and formed new trunks, until they cover an area of a hundred feet 
 in diameter. 
 
 284983 
 
California possesses very much the same requisites in soil and climate 
 that are possessed by the fig-growing sections of Asia and Africa, where 
 the finest fruit is produced. In response to a series of questions pro- 
 pounded by the State Board of Horticulture regarding the fig in foreign 
 countries, a great deal of useful information was elicited in regard to 
 the habits of the tree, methods of cultivation, and preparation of the 
 fruit; from these sources the information presented in regard to this 
 important fruit in other lands is gathered. 
 
 Morocco produces a large variety of most delicious figs; they are 
 called by the Arabs " Kermuse " in general, although each variety has 
 its name. There are figs of various colors, some of which are white, 
 yellow, black, purple, and others green. The Jews extract " aguadiente," 
 an ardent spirit, from figs. In Spain they prepare a savory wine, from 
 which a spirit known as "anisette" is extracted. 
 
 In Palestine, while no figs are grown for market, and scarcely any 
 attention is given to the care and cultivation of the tree, there are said 
 to be as many as twelve varieties of the fruit, and with few exceptions 
 all are good for table use. The best known are the large green, early- 
 fruiting fig, known as dafonri; small green later fig, called ghondri; 
 large purple fig, named gharroubi; a small purple fig of the same name; 
 yellow fig, white inside, known as biadi; yellow, with crimson inside, 
 called karawi; and the black fig, known as swadi. A great many figs 
 are preserved for future consumption, and the three last named varie- 
 ties are the favorites for this purpose. The tree flourishes all over 
 Palestine up into the hill country to an elevation of three thousand 
 feet or more and frequently attains an enormous size, even on the most 
 rocky hillsides, and whether the land is hilly, rolling, or level, appears 
 to make no great difference to them. 
 
 In Syria the best fig for drying is the green variety; the best for table 
 use is the red pulp variety, known as " Buckaraty;" a favorite, also, is a 
 rounder variety, known as " Seedany." The trees grow on both plains 
 and hills, and from the shore to a distance of twenty-five miles inland, 
 and to an elevation of two thousand five hundred feet. 
 
 In Tripoli fig trees grow on the plains as well as on the mountains; 
 the more they are exposed to the sun the better they prosper. They are 
 found in rolling and level land, both of which are adapted to their 
 growth. It is customary in this country to plant fig trees in either 
 white clayey soil or in a blackish soil the latter not being good for 
 other kinds of trees. 
 
 In France the fig grows in an almost wild state in many places. On 
 many an old wall small fig trees are to be seen, and on many a road- 
 bank they are the trees most frequently to be seen. In country farm- 
 yards, innkeepers' gardens, and stable-yards the fig tree is invariably 
 present, and very often as a solitary specimen. It would be difficult to 
 find a garden of any description in southern France without a fig tree. 
 
 In Italy many varieties are cultivated. Usually the fig is planted in 
 company with other fruit trees the olive, almond, and others but fig 
 orchards where figs alone are grown may be found at Lecce and other 
 places, and in such cases the trees must be planted at such a distance 
 apart that when they reach their fullest development they may not 
 come in contact with each other. In many places it is the custom to 
 alternate the fig, almond, and olive, so that each fig tree may be iso- 
 lated. The introduction of the fig into Italy antedates authentic history, 
 
and is lost in the misty depths of tradition. Pliny refers to a tree 
 which existed long anterior to the founding of Rome, under which the 
 people of that city were wont to assemble to discuss the topics of the 
 day years thereafter. Tradition claims this tree to have been that 
 under which Remus and Romulus were found, and in commemoration 
 thereof it was preserved. 
 
 The fig grows spontaneously in the arid wastes of Greece, Asia, and 
 northern Africa. In countries where the thermometer does not fall 
 below 59 degrees Fahrenheit, the growth and maturity of the fig proceed 
 without any appreciable interruption; but in colder countries, upon the 
 advent of the first frost the fig tree loses its leaves and those seed recep- 
 tacles which, under favorable circumstances, would have continued to 
 develop, harden, and remain inert until the following spring, when, with 
 the return of warm weather, they resume their growth, being the first 
 to mature in the summer. The figs thus resulting are denominated 
 " fig flowers," in order to distinguish them from those which first appear 
 in the spring and mature later. 
 
 In hot countries the fig tree grows to large proportions, and in isolated 
 and favorable localities it assumes a beautiful form without need of modi- 
 fication or pruning. Its branches project themselves regularly toward 
 the earth from year to year, and finally reaching and entering it they 
 throw out new roots, thus forming additional sources of propagation. 
 
 The fruit of the fig tree may be reckoned among the staple food of man 
 for ages before cereals were cultivated by any settled agricultural popu- 
 lation. In the temperate regions, where it thrives best, it fills the place 
 of the banana of tropical climates, and yields fruit during several months 
 of the year. In Asia Minor, where the tree is found wild, and where 
 the best figs of commerce are grown, it is extremely fruitful. 
 
 The best figs for drying come from the valleys of the Meander and the 
 Kaistros, to the south of Smyrna, where the trees are planted with great 
 regularity and care, and the ground is dug and hoed from four to six 
 times during the summer. When the figs reach Smyrna they are sorted 
 by women and packed in boxes by men. They are the best when newly 
 packed, and as months go by get drier and harder in the warehouse. 
 
 Although throughout the world there are to be found more than a 
 hundred different species of figs, only some five or six are cultivated in 
 Turkey, from whence we get the fig of commerce. Of these the best are 
 grown most largely and in greatest perfection around Smyrna, but con- 
 siderable quantities are also grown in other parts of Asia Minor. The 
 fruit is of various colors, from deep purple to yellow, or nearly white. 
 The trees usually bear two crops, one in the early summer, from the 
 buds of the previous year, and the other in the autumn, from those of 
 the spring growth. The last forms the chief harvest. The Ficus carica y 
 from which the commercial fig is produced, is a tree rarely more than 
 eighteen or twenty feet in height, with broad, rough, deciduous leaves, 
 very deeply lobed in the cultivated variety, but in the wild plant nearly 
 entire. After the young tree attains maturity it receives but little care 
 beyond being occasionally lopped in places and being well manured in 
 the fall of the year. 
 
 A remarkable feature of the fruit of the fig tree is, that it grows and 
 ripens without any apparent blossom. The edible part, however, is not 
 a fruit proper, but a hollow receptacle which contains the flowers, and 
 in the mature fig, the fruit. This fruit is composed of numerous small 
 
seeds imbedded in the juicy pulp of the receptacle composing the fig. 
 The flowers are very small and unisexual, the male flowers occupying 
 the upper end of the cavity, and the female flowers the lower portion. 
 
 The question of fertilization of the female flowers of the fig is a vexed 
 one. la miiujL-uiUaUeB tliu polldii uf LLu ift^OwIlumcm fm-tilhiuij the 
 -fciiiaJH rkiwai-H uf Ihu Ljuiiiu luuepbtmle, and the fruit matures; but with 
 other varieties, notably the Smyrna, this process does not become com- 
 plete, and the fruit drops from the tree when half grown. So inferior 
 has been the fruit of the Smyrna fig when grown in California, that the 
 question is seriously raised as to whether the true Smyrna fig has ever 
 reached us. Of this, however, there is little room for doubt, as cuttings 
 and rooted trees from authentic sources have been received and propa- 
 gated in this State. Consul Emmett, of Smyrna, in his report says 
 that in 1886 a party from California, apparently well posted, went there 
 in the summer, visited the fig district, and inspected the different varie- 
 ties; he made his selection, and marked the trees from which he desired 
 cuttings. When the crop was gathered he obtained thirty thousand 
 female and three thousand male cuttings, which were packed and 
 shipped about the end of October. To still further set at rest the ques- 
 tion of the authenticity of the Smyrna fig in California, during the past 
 year the State Board of Horticulture procured direct from Smyrna a 
 shipment of fifty well-rooted four-year old trees. These arrived in excel- 
 lent condition, and were distributed over the State. Over two thousand 
 applications for trees were made to the Board, and out of these careful 
 selections were made, considering locality and facilities for cultivation 
 and care. Reports received from some of those who received these trees 
 show that they have done well, in some cases a growth of over two feet 
 having been made. The wide distribution of these trees gives an assur- 
 ance of a thorough trial of the Smyrna fig in the various sections of the 
 State, and a guarantee of the spread of the genuine fig of commerce. 
 
 That we have growing in this State the genuine Smyrna fig tree is 
 almost beyond question, but whether it will ever prove profitable is still 
 a question. It is claimed by some that the dropping of the immature 
 fruit is due to lack of age in the trees, and by others to the incapability of 
 self-fertilization in this variety. In Asiatic countries it has been the 
 custom from time immemorial to hang fruits of the wild or caprifig on 
 the limbs and boughs of the domestic fig tree, under the impression that 
 the pollen of the male fig was conveyed to the female by means of a 
 small fly known as the Blastophaga. While this practice is considered 
 as an absolute necessity by the Asiatic growers, who inherited the tradi- 
 tion from their ancestors for a remote period, those who have given it a 
 thorough scientific investigation declare it not alone useless, but detri- 
 mental. This subject was exhaustively dealt with by Professor Gaspar- 
 rini, a translation of whose valuable paper thereon is given elsewhere. 
 However, whatever good the Blastophaga may be capable of accomplish- 
 ing in the way of assisting in the fertilization of the fig, California may 
 now hope to participate in, for, owing to the efforts and enterprise of 
 Mr. James Shinn, of Niles, we are now in possession of this insect. 
 
 The fig growers of this State were and had been anxious to have the 
 insect introduced, so that its merits pro and con might be established. 
 To this end the entomologist of the National Department of Agriculture 
 was asked to procure the insect from Smyrna, as the facilities of Govern- 
 ment officials in such matters are well known. In the June number 
 
(1891) of "Insect Life' 7 he says that efforts would be made to introduce 
 the insect into our State, but as to what efforts were made nothing has 
 been heard. I should not be surprised in the least if in some coming 
 number of some publication, he broaches the claim that the credit of 
 introduction belongs to him, as scarcely a bug has been introduced or 
 discovered of which he has not claimed first credit, and, as one of our 
 Congressmen expressed it to the members of the State Board of Horti- 
 culture, " He not only wanted to make me believe that he discovered 
 the bug, but had also produced it." "What egotism! how selfish, oh 
 man !" Officers of this kind should lay aside all ambition for notoriety 
 at the expense of the public, and when their deeds become known the 
 people will show them their gratefulness. But a man who has such a 
 disregard for the truth cannot but be held in contempt, and if they 
 could only see their vanity, how different things might be, and the Gov- 
 ernment would not be taxed with the burden of printing and circulat- 
 ing their vanities (an insult to science), and, furthermore, of employing 
 an editor to prevent one man from appropriating the credit due to others; 
 and why this state of things should be allowed to continue the public 
 ought to know. 
 
 As to the manner of the introduction of the Blastophaga, I cannot do 
 better than to give Mr. Shinn's own account: " We wrote to some friends 
 that were known to us in Smyrna; or rather, some missionaries were 
 stopping at my house, and seeing that my fig did not bear, and that I 
 was getting uneasy about it, one of the ladies, my wife's sister, said she 
 knew a lady from Syracuse, New York, who was then in Smyrna, and 
 if she would write to her she would fix up a few of the fig cuttings and 
 send them. The lady sent for them, and instead of sending a half 
 dozen cuttings, sent a whole box of cuttings, on which I paid about 
 $100. After I received this box, here comes another little box and a 
 letter, saying: 'The figs must be caprified; if not you will get no figs. 
 I send you a little box of figs that are full of the Blastophaga, and hope 
 you can do well with them. 7 The moment we got them my son went 
 out to the caprifig tree, opened the box and set it out there. Some of 
 the insects were dead and some were alive. I saw Mr. Eisen the next 
 day, and told him about the Blastophaga and the figs. He and Mr. 
 Maslin came to my place the Sunday following, July 26th. We exam- 
 ined and found some live insects, but most of them were dead. The 
 Smyrna figs that were caprified, that is, that had the pollen put in arti- 
 ficially, came to perfection, but no others did. Two crops have all gone 
 to the ground and are now on the ground, except about ten figs. The 
 pollen that was injected into the figs was from the caprifigs grown on my 
 place at Niles. There are two varieties of the Smyrna fig. One has a 
 three-lobed leaf, and the figs are small and elongated. The other is a 
 five-lobed leaf, and the figs are flat and roundish." 
 
 The ground for argument by those who believe in caprification, has 
 been that no fertile seeds had been found in any California-grown fig. 
 Also, that all figs, and especially the Smyrna, only contain female flow- 
 ers; and the fact of fruit of trees imported from Smyrna not coming to 
 perfection, gave them stronger grounds for such belief; that is, the pol- 
 len of the male, or caprifig, had to come in contact with the flowers of 
 the female fig to produce fruit. Also, that the reason for not having 
 found kernels in the seeds of California-grown figs was attributed to the 
 lack of the pollen fertilization. 
 
On October 20, 1891, while visiting an orchard at Los Gatos, I came 
 across a tree which attracted my attention by reason of its being of pecul- 
 iar foliage; and upon cutting the fruit I found that it possessed both 
 pistillate (the female organ of a phsenogam, consisting of the ovary with 
 its stylus and stigma) and staminate (the pollen-bearing, organ of the 
 flower, consisting of an anther usually supported upon a stalk or fila- 
 ment) flowers, which were so grouped that the pollen from one was freely 
 conveyed to the other. Thus fertilized, the female blossoms had devel- 
 oped into hundreds of perfect seeds with well-defined kernels. 
 
 This is the first time that fruit of this character has been found in 
 this State; that is, containing both pistillate and staminate flowers, and 
 the seeds perfect kernels. One of the specimens cut in the presence of 
 E. W. Maslin, Secretary of the State Board of Trade, and G. F. Weeks, 
 agricultural editor of the San Francisco " Chronicle," was full of pollen; 
 in fact, the pollen was so abundant that it gave the center of the fig a 
 yellow appearance. Unfortunately, the figs were not fully matured, so 
 there was no opportunity to test their quality. On cutting them open 
 they were of a decidedly purple hue near the skin, changing to bright 
 red and to deep red in riper specimens. Hardly any red coloration was 
 visible in greener specimens, the entire flesh being a deep purple. The 
 fig is of elongated shape, rather small, and resembles the elongated fig 
 grown by Mr. Shinn, both in shape and color of flesh. It has a leaf 
 resembling the Smyrna, finely lobed. 
 
 Afterwards Mr. Maslin brought to my office several seedling Smyrna 
 figs grown by him in Placer County. The specimens were small, of a 
 bright amber color, and the fruits in the receptacle well developed and 
 ripe. Upon examination they were found to contain numerous male 
 flowers and considerable pollen. We have here two conclusive facts, 
 showing that the insect is not altogether essential for the setting of the 
 fruit, in some figs, at least. 
 
 This is a progressive world, and its people, step by step, have unrav- 
 eled many of the most difficult problems; so let us hope that wisdom 
 and ingenuity will in the near future solve this interesting question. 
 
 The subject of caprification of the fig is dealt with so exhaustively 
 and ably in the report of Professor Gasparrini, that nothing further need 
 be said of it in this place. 
 
 The fig is a deciduous tree, and requires about the same degree of 
 temperature to ripen its fruit to perfection as does the olive, although 
 it will ripen its fruit where the olive will not. In fact, conditions suitable 
 to the one will be found favorable to the other. Its fructification and 
 vegetation are uninterrupted where the temperature does not fall below 
 53 degrees Fahrenheit. Where the temperature falls below this the 
 leaves fall, and the fruit presents a peculiar phenomenon. A branch 
 only develops and ripens part of the figs borne upon it those on the 
 lower end, nearest the stem. The immature figs at the farther end of 
 the branch have their growth arrested by the first cold weather, and 
 remain dormant during the winter, resuming their growth the following 
 spring, and ripening in the summer. These are known as " first figs," 
 or " summer figs." Those which commence their formation in spring on 
 the lower part of the branches are called " second figs," or " autumn figs." 
 In our warm climate there are thus two crops from the same tree every 
 year. In colder climates the " first," or " summer " figs form the whole 
 crop, as autumn figs can only be produced in unusually warm seasons. 
 
In a warm climate the autumn crop will yield most figs, which are 
 sweeter, less watery, and better suited for drying than summer fruit. 
 
 The fig is the faithful companion of the olive and the vine, and where 
 these two plants thrive it also grows and fructifies. It is necessary, 
 though, that the plants be never subjected to a cold more intense than 
 14 degrees Fahrenheit. If the temperature exceeds this limit it is neces- 
 sary to head the fig very low, as is practiced at Argenteuil, in France. 
 
 VARIETIES. 
 
 The long cultivation to which this plant has been subjected, in greatly 
 different countries, has given rise to a very large number of varieties, a 
 few of which only were known to the ancients. In fact, Cato mentions 
 but six, and Pliny, two centuries later, carried the number to about 
 thirty. Thus, by the side of the figs of Tivoli and Herculaneum, men- 
 tioned by this writer, are indicated those from Rhodes, Lydia, Hyrcania, 
 and others, which, like the Liviani, the Pompeiiani, got their names 
 from their introducers and propagators. 
 
 To-day the number of fig varieties is so great that it would require a 
 long study to be able to describe them all, and such a task would not be 
 one of the easiest, inasmuch as a great many of these varieties possess 
 some peculiar characters and habits, which might be observed and recog- 
 nized through experience, but could not be described exactly without 
 much difficulty. Suffren, who lovingly devoted himself to the study of 
 the varieties of figs which were cultivated in Provence in his time, 
 found that their number exceeded several hundred. The figs may be 
 classed into two large groups, the first of which comprises the varieties 
 that yield only one crop of fruits a year, be they early or late, and the 
 second, the other varieties which to the first yield add . another, called 
 September fruits, to distinguish them from the first, which are called 
 flower, or first figs. 
 
 The fig will do well in any soil, but prefers a dry, friable earth. In 
 fact, it will do well on a greater range of soils than will most of our 
 orchard trees. Black, heavy adobe soil, however, should be avoided, as 
 should also damp, marshy land. The fig tree requires a good deal of 
 moisture, but not too much, and will frequently show its best results 
 in the irrigated foothills. 
 
 The conditions required for the production of figs for drying purposes 
 are far more exacting than are those required in the production of fruit 
 for table use. The latter will thrive and yield good results under con- 
 ditions unfavorable to the former. Table figs can be produced over a 
 large area of the United States, covering most of the Southern States; 
 but it is not probable that California will ever meet a formidable com- 
 petition in the production of dried figs, in which she will yet excel. 
 Travelers who have visited both sections remark on the great similarity 
 of the soil and climate of our interior valleys and- those of Asia Minor, 
 where the best dried figs are produced. The seasons there, as here, are 
 divided into the wet and dry. The winter rains commence in Novem- 
 ber, and continue until the following May; frpm May until October is 
 the dry season, during which season rain rarely falls, and the ripening 
 and drying of the fruit is not retarded. Occasionally heavy showers 
 fall during the summer months, and these are as much dreaded there 
 as are their counterparts in California. In the favored localities of 
 
10 
 
 Smyrna the thermometer's extreme range is from 90 to 100 degrees in 
 the shade; 130 to 140 degrees in the sun as the highest, to 26 degrees as 
 the lowest. A heavier frost, however, will not do serious injury to the 
 tree or injure the crop. 
 
 The same climate that suits the olive is favorable to the .fig a warm 
 climate, where excesses of heat and cold do not exist. It is worthy of 
 note that on the right side of the Rhone, in France, figs do not develop 
 very well, the fruit remains small, and is not good for drying; whereas 
 on the left side, and from the Rhone to the Italian frontier, figs attain a 
 far higher degree of quality; they are larger, sweeter, more delicate, and 
 are excellent for drying. The explanation of this fact is that the plains 
 and districts on the right side of the Rhone are not sheltered by hills as 
 on the other side. , Sheltered hillsides are very favorable to fig culture, 
 and exposure to cold winds is not conducive of good results. 
 
 The soil in Smyrna and vicinity is very variable. It contains a fair 
 percentage of lime and potash, but is otherwise of various qualities. 
 The most luxuriant growth is obtained in a deep, rich soil, but the best 
 figs are grown on a soil which is made loose and porous by a fair admix- 
 ture of sand. A sandy loam is thus the best, probably because the 
 drainage is here the most perfect. Such soils produce large figs, of a 
 white, thin skin, of high flavor and great sweetness. 
 
 In aspect, the Meander Valley resembles our lowest foothills small 
 valleys, separated by low ridges, during the dry season as uninviting as 
 the foothills of the Sierra Nevada or the Sierra Madre. Some of the 
 fig orchards are planted on hill land, and some in the valleys, neither 
 locality having any decided advantage over the other. The valleys and 
 plains generally give thickest skinned fruit, the skins of the mountain 
 figs being considered thinner. In rainy or foggy weather the mountains 
 or hills dry up the fastest, in this respect showing a decided advantage 
 over the low, perhaps swampy plains. 
 
 PROPAGATION. 
 
 The propagation of the fig is very simple, and can be multiplied in 
 various ways, viz.: by suckers (shoots that spring from the roots), by 
 layers, and by cuttings. 
 
 Suckers. The young shoots that spring up from near the base or 
 crown of the tree, are called suckers. They generally contain a small 
 portion of roots, which, upon being transplanted, soon form trees. The 
 wound made on them by removing from the parent tree soon heals over. 
 There are, however, great objections to trees produced from suckers. 
 First among all is, perhaps, the fact that the sucker generally con- 
 tains a portion of bark from the parent tree, from which many shoots 
 or suckers put forth ; also, the growth is not well formed, resembling 
 water-sprouts, having but a feeble body, and as they are required to be 
 topped in order to branch out, put forth feeble shoots which the body of 
 the tree cannot support. In such cases it is best to allow such trees to 
 grow the first year without trimming to form their body, and the second 
 year the trees can be pruned as desired; in this way they become more 
 healthful. 
 
 Cuttings. There is no better way to propagate the fig than by the 
 simple method of cuttings, which is the most practical, and above all 
 the best. By this method nearly every part of a tree can be utilized. 
 
11 
 
 The best season for the propagation of the fig by cuttings is through 
 the months of February and March, the cuttings at this time being 
 taken off while the trees are quite dormant. Great care must be taken 
 that no cuttings be cut after the sap is in motion, because the milky 
 juice which is produced so abundantly prevents the rooting of the cut- 
 tings. This, however, has no reference to young shoots in summer, 
 which, towards autumn, when the wood is ripening, root very readily. 
 The best cuttings are from stubby, short-jointed, well- ripened wood; 
 they grow the most readily. One-year old wood is generally the best 
 age for cuttings, although two and three-year old wood also does remark- 
 ably well, though no eyes may be visible. The long, spindling, badly 
 ripened shoots, like water-sprouts, suckers, and such as are produced 
 where the wood is crowded, are very difficult to make grow, and those 
 that do grow require age to become thrifty trees. 
 
 PRUNING. 
 
 Pruning should be performed as soon after the fall of the leaves as 
 possible, in whatever situation the trees may be. When trees are 
 pruned at that season, they being then dormant, no injury is sustained; 
 while if the operation is delayed until late in the spring, when the sap 
 is again in motion, and there being such a volume flowing, the shoots 
 are apt to die after being cut. The success of the fruit crop greatly 
 depends upon the method of pruning. 
 
 It has often been claimed that the fig tree never bears when once 
 pruned; this is, to a certain extent, correct, but the real cause is entirely 
 owing to the immaturity of the wood, caused by pruning, which fails to 
 produce fruit, or to the fruits being produced and failing to ripen. If 
 the fruit-bearing shoots are cut back the first crop of fruit is destroyed. 
 
 Fig trees having non-bearing shoots can be pruned without any loss 
 of fruit. If a fig tree is pruned to any extent, there will be a loss of the 
 crop; however, such operation at times must be performed to keep the 
 trees well balanced and within form, although this only affects the crop 
 of one season. After the tree has been properly balanced and shaped, 
 whether high or low, then pruning can be effected the following year 
 with a certainty of a crop the same season; in such case the shoots 
 must not be cut, excepting just a few here and there to keep the tree 
 well balanced. 
 
 All such shoots which bear only wood buds should be cut back, and, 
 if necessary, cut out entirely, as they only take away nutritious sap 
 which should flow into the fruit and into fruit-bearing wood. Branches 
 of almost any age or size can be cut off from any part of the tree, and 
 young shoots will be produced quite freely, but the cuts or wounds 
 should always be covered with grafting wax or rubber paint, which helps 
 them to heal over and protects the stock from the action of the atmos- 
 phere. If too many shoots are thus produced, they can be reduced 
 when young to the required number. 
 
 FORMATION OF THE TREE. 
 
 The proper formation of the tree next presents itself for consideration, 
 with a view to the simple production of fruit. The formation of the 
 tree requires the exercise of knowledge and understanding. All fruit 
 
' 12 
 
 trees which naturally assume a bushy form should have their energies 
 confined to a single stem, with the head of the tree, of whatever char- 
 acter, formed thereon, and they always prove the most fruitful. When 
 a number of shoots are allowed to spring from the root, all striving to 
 outstrip one another, a huge unshapely bush is the result., Fig trees, 
 as a rule, produce suckers (shoots from the roots) in abundance, which, 
 even if they have a fine, healthy appearance, should not be allowed to 
 remain; they produce no fruit and only crowd and rob the parent stem. 
 The confining of a plant to a single stem is of the utmost importance 
 for the production of fruit of nearly all fruit trees, and is especially so 
 with the fig. The trees can be trained either with high or low trunks, 
 after once being formed; pruning then becomes less, requiring only 
 thinning out and occasional shortening of some of the branches. The 
 pruner has, however, great difficulty in contending against the over-lux- 
 uriance of growth of trees grown on damp soil. In such cases it is 
 necessary that the pruner should guard against over-luxuriance, by 
 keeping the shoots on the tree thin and well exposed to the full influ- 
 ence of the direct rays of the sun. The trees should also be prevented 
 from extending beyond bounds, even if heavy cutting has to be resorted 
 to. Where trees grow under such conditions (too luxuriantly), the 
 young growing shoots should be vigorously pinched back through the 
 summer, in order to check luxuriance and bring the tree into a stubby, 
 fruitful form of growth. 
 
 PRODUCTION OF FRUIT. 
 
 The first crop of the fig is borne on the wood of the previous season's 
 formation. That of the second, or succeeding crop, is produced in the 
 axils of the leaves on the wood of the current season's growth. Fre- 
 quently remnants of the last crop of fruit of the previous season are 
 seen on the trees after the fall of the leaves in autumn; these are those 
 which failed to arrive at maturity, perhaps through want of heat or the 
 proper conditions required at that time. This fruit is not worth consid- 
 eration; sometimes a few, under very favorable conditions, remain on 
 the tree and ripen the season following, but this is very seldom. 
 
 PREPARATION OF THE FIG. 
 
 Fresh figs are toothsome fruits, but little nutritious, and sometimes 
 rather indigestible.* The dried figs are the most valuable. These are 
 prepared either by artificial or natural heat. The experiments made 
 during this and former years proved conclusively the fact that natural 
 heat is the best, and produces better fruit. Before mentioning the pro- 
 cesses in use in this State, I will briefly describe the processes in use in 
 foreign countries; and while many, and, perhaps, most of them could 
 not be put into practice in this State, many good ideas are derived 
 from them. 
 
 The Tuscans dry them loose, and make loaves of the whitest and the 
 sweetest. In the southern provinces they are strung on small canes or 
 flexible branchlets of holm oak or of other plants. 
 
 The same mode of operation as in Tuscany is followed in the Marches, 
 in Umbria, and in the Abruzzi, and if there be any difference, it exists 
 only in the divers varieties of fruits used and the manner of handling 
 and dressing them. 
 
13 
 
 At Naples, as already stated, the production of dried figs is rather 
 insignificant, owing to the great consumption of figs in the fresh state. 
 This industry, however, begins to assume a greater importance in some 
 parts of the province, as, for instance, in the district of Pozzuoli, con- 
 cerning which the Agricultural Association reports as follows to the 
 Ministry: 
 
 " The dried figs confected in this district are to be considered as a 
 commercial product, both at home and abroad, but the export is very 
 limited. The preparation of dried figs is simple. As soon as gathered 
 the figs are dried, some peeled, some in their natural state, and others 
 divided in halves down to the stalk; the latter are afterwards united in 
 pairs, or else made into various shapes, such as small slabs, hearts, and 
 the like. Those which, on account of rain or other circumstances are 
 not in a condition to be dried in the open air, are put into ovens. 
 
 u The figs thus prepared are thin, light, and of very agreeable taste, 
 because grown on a volcanic soil, and they command a higher price on 
 the Naples market than the dried figs from the Calabrias and other 
 localities." 
 
 In the neighboring province of Salerno the production of dried figs 
 begins to acquire a greater importance; that is to say, in some places, 
 since in the district of Campagna, according to the Agricultural Associa- 
 tion, the figs are not fit to be dried. On the other hand, the figs pre- 
 pared in the Vallo of Lucania are esteemed, and the Agricultural 
 Association speaks of the industry: 
 
 " The fig thrives pretty well in the southern part of the district, and 
 particularly on lands bordering the Mediterranean Sea. Its production 
 constitutes one of the leading articles of trade of these places, and the 
 dried figs of Agripoli, where there is a landing at which ships take on 
 their cargoes, are renowned abroad, especially in France and America. 
 
 " The system of desiccation is very simple. The figs are gathered when 
 well ripe, spread over a lattice, and exposed to the action of the sun. 
 Care is taken to turn them over alternately every two days, and subse- 
 quently the more perfect are separated from those that are less so, the 
 first constituting the better quality and selling at a higher price, while 
 the second are dried in an oven at a moderate temperature, and form 
 the inferior grade, selling at a lower price." 
 
 Where, however, the preparation of dried figs assumes really the 
 character of an agricultural industry, being carried on on a rather large 
 scale, is in Terra d'Otranto and in the three Calabrias, that is to say, in 
 the provinces of Cosenza, Catanzaro, and Reggio. 
 
 The production of dried figs is of great importance in the province of 
 Lecca, and we find, in the reports of the Chamber of Commerce of this 
 country, that in the only two communes, that is, those of Cutrofiano 
 and of Galatina, there was prepared, some years ago, about one million 
 two hundred and fifty thousand pounds of this produce, and that the 
 increasing planting of figs foreboded a sensible augmentation. But 
 there, also, the preparation of this class of goods could be much improved; 
 and, in fact, we read in a report by the Agricultural Association of Lecca: 
 
 " The preparation of dried figs should be still further improved by 
 introducing among us appropriate hot air stoves to accelerate the desicca- 
 tion of spotless fruit, especially in rainy summers, and when the harvest 
 is very plentiful and of good quality, and to prevent the easy fermenta- 
 tion which often takes place during the natural desiccation under the 
 
14 
 
 burning rays of the sun; as also in the matter of aesthetics, that is, the 
 external appearance, since our figs may be served on the table, and are 
 not merely used, as is sometimes the case, to make alcohol." 
 
 Three Agricultural Associations of the province of Cosenza have sent 
 the following answers to inquiries from the Ministry on this subject: 
 
 The Agricultural Association of Cosenza: "The dried figs represent 
 for this province a pretty important article of export trade. The prepara- 
 tion of these dried figs is very simple. They are dried in the sun, and 
 then packed in small baskets made of strips of chestnut wood interwoven 
 very closely. The method of drying, though simple, is undoubtedly 
 uncertain, and it frequently happens that in the latter part of summer, 
 or at the beginning of autumn, the figs cannot be dried, and spoil, owing 
 to repeated and excessive rains; people then have to resort to the arti- 
 ficial heat of ovens, and the fruits prepared in such a manner fall sensibly 
 in price." 
 
 Agricultural Association of Castrovillari: "Although the soil and 
 climate favor the cultivation of the fig in this district, it cannot be said 
 that the product of confected dried figs forms the object of a large trade, 
 either at home or abroad. They are never prepared in any other way 
 but by drying in the sun, and sometimes cooking in the oven, especially 
 those of inferior quality, called Fichi bruni (dark figs), on that account." 
 
 Agricultural Association of Paola: "Some of the dried figs prepared 
 in this district are exported, and a great quantity forwarded to the prin- 
 cipal markets of the kingdom. The greater part of the dried figs put up 
 for the trade are confected after desiccation in the sun. The figs are 
 confected in various ways, being strung or made into a kind of tress, 
 formed into small globes wrapped in fig leaves, or shaped like stars. 
 Some are stuffed with walnuts or almonds and seasoned with thin shav- 
 ings of citron peel, or cinnamon or cloves, and then put into the oven to 
 serve as sweetmeats; or else they are dipped into honey and cooked in 
 a copper-lined kettle or pot, being afterwards put up in varnished earthen 
 vases. The dried figs, prepared according to the latter method, are sent 
 as gifts to friends, and a very small quantity finds its way to the markets 
 of the principal cities of the kingdom and of foreign countries. These 
 figs are dried only when perfectly ripe, and care is taken to preserve 
 them from the inclemency of the weather and from the dew, as well as 
 from white frosts. The communes of this district which do not sell any, 
 are: Paola, Amantea, Belvedere, Marittimo, Longobardi, San Lucido, 
 Scalea, Cleto, Serra di Ajello, Fiumefreddo, Santa Domenica, Jalao, 
 Maiera, Orsomarso, and Verbicaro." 
 
 As to the province of Catanzaro, we reproduce here the careful and 
 detailed report made to the Ministry by the Agricultural Association 
 concerning all that which relates to the dried fig industry: 
 
 " The custom of drying the fruits of the fig is very old, and almost 
 general in the southern regions of Calabria. The output of this in- 
 dustry arising probably at first as an auxiliary means to relieve the 
 economical wants of the poor country people during winter, their pro- 
 duce meeting with a general welcome where, by reason of climate, the 
 fig does not grow advances in proportion as it is favored by the 
 physico-geographical conditions of the soil and the special skill of 
 the farmers. The principles which regulate its progress lie in the selec- 
 tion of the species, in the degree of ripeness of the respective fruits, in 
 the time of their gathering, and in the mode of drying them. Of the 
 
15 
 
 many figs counting over twenty-four varieties in this country the 
 only ones found, through experience, as fit for the industry we speak of, 
 are the Dottati and the Petrongiano the fruits of the second crop 
 being mostly used; that is, those growing after the flower fruits, from 
 the month of August to the end of September. None of the other 
 varieties succeed here giving products that are soft, viscous, unsavory, 
 and which spoil in a short time. To the choice of varieties must be 
 added the complete maturation of the fruits, which must be effected 
 spontaneously and without violent means. In good practice the figs 
 are considered as having acquired the desired degree of ripeness when 
 they hang from their stalk vertically and are wrinkled on the surface. 
 
 " The state of the atmosphere when gathering is of the utmost impor- 
 tance. The best time for carrying on this work is immediately after sun- 
 rise, and properly after all traces of dew have disappeared from the tree. 
 Damp air, white frost, and rain of any intensity endanger the success of 
 the product. Having ascertained the maturity of the fruits and the 
 favorable concurrence of the atmospherical circumstances, the gather- 
 ing is proceeded with daily, particular care being had not to tear nor 
 strip the delicate epicarps in any way, and to pick each fruit, together 
 with its peduncle. This done, they are at once spread horizontally over 
 large networks of canes previously arranged like raised floors, well aired, 
 well sunned, and protected from the dust which the wind might cast 
 over them. The fruits successively gathered are laid over separate lat- 
 tices, in order that they may be all subjected to a uniform treatment. 
 They are turned over several times a day during the whole period .of 
 desiccation, and care is taken to separate the smaller fruits, and those 
 of poorer grade or decayed. After twelve or fifteen days of such treat- 
 ment, the figs, owing to the evaporation produced by the solar action, 
 become white and dry externally, pulpous and sugary internally, prop- 
 erties which they preserve for several years, especially if not kept in 
 fresh places and exposed to the air. In fact, arranged in baskets of the 
 moderate capacity of thirty-three to forty-four pounds each, they with- 
 stand long journeys by land and by sea without spoiling at all. There 
 are many here who, to advance more diligently the drying of the figs, 
 cut them vertically into halves, and after desiccating, readjust them in 
 their natural position, and form them, by the aid of small cane sticks, 
 into rectangular tablets. Often there is introduced between the two 
 parts of the fig bits of walnut or small pieces of candied citron, to make 
 them agreeable to the palate. 
 
 " Whenever the season is rainy at the time of ripening of the figs, 
 the desiccation is made in ovens, this being done also for the fruits that 
 are too backward or become spoiled through any cause. These figs, 
 although of lower grade, acquire yet an exquisite savor, and are much in 
 demand among the poorer classes." 
 
 There are, in Reggio di Calabria, great areas of land planted to figs, 
 and, therefore, the production in that country and the quantity of dried 
 fruit is great. Speaking of this industry, the Agricultural Association 
 of the chief town of that province thus expresses itself: 
 
 " The confection of dried figs is effected in our country by gathering 
 the fruits when perfectly ripe, and especially those of autumn, the 
 seconda mano, or second crop. 
 
 " From these the largest are chosen, cut in two lengthwise, spread 
 over large hurdles, and exposed to the sun to dry. When the figs thus 
 
16 
 
 prepared appear dried, they are strung on small canes, forming tresses 
 of various sizes, or made into squares, called tavolieri, or similar odd 
 designs. 
 
 " The smaller figs are dried whole as picked, and preserved separate, 
 they being known under the name of cuzzoli" 
 
 Other notes on the same subject are furnished by the Agricultural 
 Association of Palme, which says: 
 
 " The figs grown in this district are eaten fresh, and what little is left 
 over are dried for winter use in well-regulated families. As a general 
 rule, the dried figs consumed in this district come from the neighboring 
 district of Gerace, where there are very large plantations of that sort of 
 tree. The preparation of these figs is effected with little care. The 
 larger ones are cut longitudinally down to the stalk, and spread con- 
 fusedly over small hurdles. These are exposed to the sun, and in the 
 mountainous regions, where the figs are late in ripening, their desiccation 
 is completed in bake ovens." 
 
 We have also reports from the Agricultural Association of Gerace on 
 the importance of the production of dried figs, which is said to be a 
 source of great profit for the district. The figs grow to perfection in that 
 territory, but, as confessed by the association, their drying is rather 
 defective. Generally the figs are picked when imperfectly ripe, then 
 cut in halves and exposed to, the rays of the sun over hurdles, care 
 being taken to turn them often. After the fruits thus treated are dried, 
 they are strung on cane strips, or else on thin green withes, and exposed 
 anew to the sun, or to artificial heat, to complete their preparation. 
 
 The soil and climate of the greater islands, Sicily and Sardinia, are 
 no less adapted to the culture of the fig than those of Calabria, and the 
 production of this fruit in that part of the country is large. 
 
 The Agricultural Association of Palermo says that the best quality of 
 dried figs produced in this province come from the communes of San 
 Fratello and Pollina, in the Madonie. The preparation is of the simplest, 
 and generally solar heat alone is used. "As to the preparation," says 
 the association just mentioned, "the figs most prized are those disposed 
 in tablets, which last longer and are preserved better. They have also 
 those that are cut and then arranged in pairs in form of tresses, which 
 become mellower and preserve a greater quantity of saccharine matter. 
 There are, lastly, the figs called Messinesi, or Neri, which are dried sepa- 
 rately, without being cut, and, as they preserve their skin, become 
 coriaceous, and keep longer than the others." 
 
 For the province of Messina, we have the following notes from the 
 same Agricultural Association : 
 
 " The dried figs of this district may be considered as a commercial 
 product intended more for home consumption than for export. In fact, 
 some small vessels from Trapani and Naples come into the port of 
 Milazzo, in the month of October, to take cargoes of this produce and 
 transport them to Trapani or to Naples. The islands of Lipari, which 
 give the most exquisite figs of the district, send also their small produc- 
 tion abroad. The city of Messina, on the contrary, receives dried figs 
 from the nearest Calabria. Everything considered, however, we can 
 reckon that the production is limited to the consumption of the inhab- 
 itants. 
 
 "The dried figs are prepared in the following manner: 
 
 "The figs are picked rather ripe; then they are cut through the mid- 
 
die with a knife and spread over hurdles in the sun. The fruit being 
 dried internally, the side of the skin is turned up. When well dried 
 the villagers perform the operation of putting the fruit a pania, as they 
 commonly call it there. The pania is composed of the sixth part of 
 canes cut to a point, all the figs being fixed two by two, between two of 
 these canes; thus they form quadrangular plates about twenty inches 
 in length, and of the width of a fig that has been opened and spread 
 out; that is to say, about four inches. These panie are exposed for a 
 few days to the sun so as to dry them still better. The harvest and 
 desiccation being wholly completed, the farmers wash all the panie with 
 fresh water and set them out in the sun for another day. All this being 
 done, the figs are preserved for the winter in chests or pantries, or else 
 they are sold to speculators." 
 
 Information still more precise than the preceding is given for the 
 province of Catania by the Agricultural Association, which, in answer 
 to queries from the Ministry on this subject, thus expresses itself: 
 
 " The cultivation of figs is rather extended in the district of Catania, 
 and especially in all the allodii (freeholds) of the Etna region, where 
 the fig is spontaneous. Many are the varieties of figs, both early and 
 late, or backward, grown in this district, and the markets are supplied 
 with fresh figs from the end of July to the end of December. 
 
 "The first white figs are called Auttati, better named Agostani, and 
 the black, Fichi melongiane; the last are black and small, and are called 
 Nataline, or Natalinedde, because they ripen about Christmas time. 
 
 "The fresh figs are consumed where they are produced, being as 
 healthy a food as grapes and the opuntia (Indian fig or prickly pear). 
 Part of the fresh fruit, however, is exported outside the province, par- 
 ticularly to some places in the provinces of Syracuse and Caltamissetta. 
 Both the white and the black figs which ripen in the months of October 
 and November are dried. 
 
 " The desiccation is done in two ways. If the fig be small, then it is 
 dried whole with the peduncle; but if large, it is opened in two with a 
 knife, and thus reduced it is exposed to the solar rays over hurdles, the 
 fleshy part up. In the first case, the figs are said to be dried a passuluni; 
 in the second, a chiappa. 
 
 "As soon as the figs are deprived of that honeyed juice which renders 
 them rather soft, they are subjected to the following treatment: The 
 passuluni are strung on thin rushes, or on twigs of ligara, called, also, 
 liami, or else on slivers of cane, which are disposed in squares, that is, 
 the slivers are fixed to two strips of ferula. The figs a chiappa are 
 formed by the reunion of two figs, placed one above the other on the 
 fleshy side, leaving outwardly the side of the skin. In this manner the 
 two halves of the chiappa are pierced through the center by ligara or 
 rushes, as above, and the chiappa are then superposed one over the other. 
 The passuluni and the chiappa, having been united, water is set to boil; 
 and while boiling, the figs thus prepared are immersed into it for a few 
 minutes, in order to prevent any fermentation that might take place, 
 and then they are put out anew in the sun to be dried again. This 
 done, the passuluni squares are put away in dry places; those that are 
 strung are rolled together spirally, and the same is practiced for the figs 
 a chiappa, thus giving wheels of passuluni figs and of figs a chiappa, 
 which are named scerti di ficu, and are preserved as the best. 
 
 " In some places the white figs are distinguished from the black, and 
 
 2-F 
 
18 
 
 there are then white and black passuluni, and white and hlack scerti di 
 ficu. Sometimes, when the figs are big and pulpous, they are dried in 
 scerti stripped of their skin; then they are called ficu senza scorcia. 
 
 " The dried figs serve as a food to both the rich and poor, in winter 
 and spring; they are not used later, since the dried fig is held as heat- 
 ing. The dried figs are also exported; thus, from Porto di Catania ship- 
 ments are sent to the.Calabrias, and even to Malta, from whence they are 
 transported to still more remote countries. The dried fig industry is 
 more extended than that of prune, and that of dried opuntia (Indian 
 figs), which are also produced in the district of Catania." 
 
 The production of dried figs is less important in the province of Syra- 
 cuse, concerning which the Agricultural Association says: 
 
 " In this district the greater part of the figs are consumed in the 
 natural state. What little are dried are put up expressly for local con- 
 sumption. The dried figs are prepared by exposing the fruit cut in two 
 to the action of the sun until perfectly desiccated. As soon as dried, 
 the halves are pressed together, and the reunited figs strung one over 
 the other on strips of canes or pointed switches; then they are plunged 
 two or three times into boiling water, care being taken to dry them 
 anew in the sun afterward. This operation being completed, the dried 
 figs are offered for sale." 
 
 As to the singular practice of immersing the figs in boiling water 
 as soon as dried, it is explained in another report of the association 
 aforesaid, in which we read: "They (the figs already dried) are plunged 
 into boiling water to destroy the myriads of minute eggs deposited over 
 them by insects, when the fruits are out in the sun." 
 
 The same Agricultural Association adds, that in some parts of the 
 southern provinces, and perhaps, also, in the islands of Sicily and Sar- 
 dinia, the dried figs are strung on thin and sharp twigs from the Lycium 
 europaeum, vulgarly Spino santa, or Spino di Christo (holy thorn; thorn 
 of Christ), which grows spontaneously in hedges in the olive region, and 
 in speaking of the systems in use, says: 
 
 " The marked difference in price is not due entirely to the diversity 
 of material, but rather to carelessness and to the imperfect methods 
 followed among us in drying the fruits, as also to the negligence brought 
 in putting them up and giving them the final touches before offering 
 them to the trade. The French and Spanish put up their products 
 in such a way as to give them a nice appearance, even if the quality of 
 these products be not of the best. Among us, on the contrary, even the 
 products of excellent quality are most often thrust confusedly into 
 baskets, bags, sacks, or other vulgar recipients, and seldom are they 
 gotten up in a more decent and proper manner. 
 
 " The bad systems of preparation in this country are the causes that 
 dried fruits, and especially the figs, which represent the greater part 
 thereof, are called for abroad almost exclusively for distilling purposes, 
 and to make coffee powder or other similar articles. And this will last 
 as long as no improvement is made in the modes of desiccation, and 
 until drying in moderately heated dry-air stoves, as is done elsewhere, 
 be substituted for the imperfect methods followed at present. Our people 
 trust in the power of the sun; but if it fails, the fruits ferment and 
 sour before drying, and they at least lose their fine appearance. Then, 
 what cannot be dried in the sun are put into ovens, which are so strongly 
 
19 
 
 heated that the fruits laid therein are almost carbonized. Whatever be 
 the mode adopted, there is usually too little attention paid to the clean- 
 liness of the hurdles or the tables over which the fruits are spread to 
 dry, they being left for a long time exposed to all sorts of injuries on 
 the part of insects, and covered with so much dust as to render them 
 black and repulsive to look upon." 
 
 Concerning the cultivation of the fig tree in Smyrna, Consul Stevens, 
 of Smyrna, reports: 
 
 " The cultivation of fig trees in the neighborhood of Smyrna, and in 
 the interior, is carried on to a considerable extent. With the exception 
 of the district of Aidin, the figs are excellent while fresh, but lose their 
 flavor when dried. The figs so well known in the United States, Ger- 
 many, and Russia, are grown in the district of Aidin. When fresh, these 
 figs are not palatable; when dried, they are delicious, and unrivaled by 
 the product of any other locality. 
 
 " The planting of fig trees in the valley of the Meander, where are 
 situated the fig orchards of Aidin, is performed in the following man- 
 ner: Fresh branches (cuttings), about two feet in length, are cut from 
 the tree, and planted in a field which has been previously tilled seven or 
 eight times during the warmest months of the year. The fig cuttings 
 must be put in the earth to the depth of about one and one half feet, 
 and at a distance of about twenty paces one from the other. As each 
 branch is planted, a stick of the same thickness must be put by its side 
 to keep it straight. Three or four times yearly the field is tilled with 
 a plow, and then it is sown with corn or barley. 
 
 "The fig tree gives fruit the seventh or eighth year of its growth, 
 but does not attain its maximum of yield before its twelfth or fifteenth 
 year. It thrives at a distance of fifty miles from the sea. 
 
 u The fruit, perfectly ripe and partly dried, falls from the tree by itself, 
 and is collected by the grower and spread in the sun for several days, on 
 an even and clean surface, until it becomes fit for the market. The figs 
 of superior quality are those collected when perfectly ripe, and while 
 the north wind blows. Each tree yields on an average from forty to 
 one hundred pounds of fruit. Trees one century old usually yield from 
 two to three hundred weight. What would seem extraordinary, is the 
 fact that fig trees from Aidin planted in other localities never give good 
 results; the trees grow well and become very strong, but yield fruit 
 inferior in quality to the commonest local variety. 
 
 " The dried figs, packed in hempen bags of a capacity of two and one 
 fourth hundred weight, are conveyed to Smyrna by rail and carried to 
 the fig market, where packers and export merchants get their supplies. 
 The fruit intended to be put up for export trade is carried to the packing 
 establishment, where it is sorted into different qualities. It is then 
 handed to workmen, who press it between their thumb and forefinger to 
 soften and flatten it, and pack it in rows into small, shallow, wooden 
 boxes or small drums. Packers in manipulating figs keep their hands 
 wet with sea water, as it is claimed that brine hastens the sugaring of 
 the fruit. Occasionally laurel leaves are placed between the rows of 
 figs in order to improve their flavor and keep them free from moths. 
 Figs of inferior quality are packed in wicker baskets or small hempen 
 
 " In the transportation of fruits of all kinds from the plantations to 
 Smyrna, or to the stations on the lines of railway leading to Smyrna, 
 
20 
 
 camels are employed to good advantage, the highways not being in a 
 condition to permit of the use of drags." 
 
 Consul Marston, of Malaga, Spain, reports that the process used in 
 Spain consists in picking the figs when they are entirely ripe, and are 
 cured by laying them on the ground upon straw until they are cured by 
 the sun. They are covered each night to protect them from the night 
 dampness. 
 
 Throughout France the fig tree is common; about Marseilles it is not 
 an object of special culture. There they cull the fruit one by one, when 
 perfectly ripe, with great care, to prevent them from bruising or sever- 
 ing the fruit from the peduncle. They are then laid on hurdles and 
 exposed to the sun, and turned over every now and then until perfectly 
 dried; that is, for a period of ten or fifteen days, as they claim that the 
 least exposure to moisture would turn the figs black a*nd reduce their 
 value by at least one half. These hurdles are taken in every evening, 
 to be again taken out every morning. The difficulties of the operation 
 deter most of the farmers there from undertaking it, excepting those 
 that own small farms, where everything must be turned to account, and 
 they cultivate them themselves with no other help than that of their 
 families. The Marseillaise is considered there as the best variety. 
 
 Consul Heap reports that the process of curing the fruit throughout 
 Turkey consists of picking the figs when ripe and spreading them out 
 to dry in the sun, the sugar which they contain in abundance being 
 thus rendered available for their preservation, those of better quality 
 being much pulled and extended by hand during the process. Thus 
 prepared, the fruit is packed closely in barrels, rush baskets, or wooden 
 boxes, for commerce. 
 
 Figs are grown largely in the province of Turkey, but the quantity is 
 small compared with Smyrna. A considerable quantity of inferior 
 kinds of figs find their way to the Austrian " chicory coffee makers" 
 and the French brandy distillers. Much liquor labeled "fine cham- 
 pagne," u cognac," etc., owes its origin to refuse of the Smyrna fig 
 market. 
 
 Consul Fottion, of Mytilene, reports " that the kinds of figs producing 
 the figs of commerce there are the Politika and the Asprokoukoiizza, so 
 called, Politika from Constantinople, and Asprokoukouzza from their 
 white seeds." These varieties there do not require any cultivation. 
 The figs are dried in the sun, and afterwards are filled with almonds, 
 pepper, and cinnamon, and are roasted on plates in ovens. Aromatic 
 leaves of laurel are added to them, and they are then packed in boxes. 
 
 In Syria the process of curing consists in opening the fruit, either by 
 hand or cutting them with a knife, and spreading them for three days 
 in the sun, on dry ground or on a straw mat placed on the housetops. 
 When dried they are placed in palm leaf bags and pressed as much as 
 possible. The figs are not gathered until they are fully ripe. 
 
 In Aleppo the figs are gathered and spread on mats in the shade until 
 they get dried, and are then placed in bags and pressed. The best are 
 selected, and when dried are steamed to make them fresh, after which 
 they are pressed between the fingers and flattened, and are strung on 
 flaxen threads to be exposed for sale. 
 
 In Damascus the figs are dried in the sun, and are then cured by 
 covering them with flour. 
 
 In Tripoli (Straits Settlement) the figs are gathered when fully ripe, 
 
_ 21 
 
 and after breaking the fruit a little at the top they are exposed to the 
 sun until they become dried, and are then boiled with fragrant herbs, 
 and stored for the winter. 
 
 In Central America the figs are gathered, after having fallen to the 
 ground the previous day, and laid in the sun (on mats made of reeds) 
 until dried, which takes four or five days. They are then put in closed 
 boxes to sweat a little. Before packing they are spread in the sun just 
 long enough to get warm, and are then pressed in seroons of rawhide. 
 They do not pack in boxes, because they claim that the fruit gets worm 
 eaten. 
 
 In Spain they cure the figs by gathering them when perfectly ripe and 
 when they commence to dry on the trees. They are then placed upon 
 lattice work made of canes, or slips of boards, or on rough straw mats 
 placed on the ground, allowing, if possible, the air to circulate under 
 them. The figs in a few days, when dried, are pressed one by one into 
 shape, to facilitate their curing. When cured, and lastly, the figs are 
 pressed downwards on a table to give them a round shape; then they 
 are packed in boxes lined with paper. 
 
 CALIFORNIA METHODS. 
 
 I have carried on very extensive experiments in curing or processing 
 the fig for the purpose of determining the best method among those now 
 in use in this State, as well as many which are published as emanating 
 from foreign countries, and supposed to be the true processes in use there. 
 Through the aid of American consulates I obtained the foreign processes 
 herein mentioned, as reported by the various associations. While these 
 processes are not such as can be put into use in this State, conditions 
 being so different, yet they have been the means by which our experi- 
 ments have been furthered. 
 
 I procured fruit from many districts throughout the State and sub- 
 mitted it to nearly all the foreign processes, and in almost every instance 
 they proved unsatisfactory; no doubt due to different conditions, cli- 
 mate, soil, etc. 
 
 During the past few years we have accomplished a great deal in 
 experimenting, and have been able to process fruit that is considered 
 the best in any market. This is true not only of the fig, but also of 
 other fruits, and they are to-day selling far in advance of the foreign 
 article. 
 
 The process in itself should be simple, and one that can be followed 
 by growers, and also must be inexpensive. Of all the experiments 
 made there were but two that I feel warranted in recommending, as they 
 are simple and inexpensive, and such as can be put into use by the 
 ordinary fruit grower. 
 
 Figs, as a rule, do not stand as much sulphuring as other fruits, and 
 require the most careful attention. They cannot be transported any 
 considerable distance to be processed, as they sour in transit, and then 
 cannot be used at all. The only way that I find figs can be transported 
 safely is by subjecting them as soon as picked to sulphur fumes. This 
 stops fermentation, and after the figs have been exposed to the sun for 
 half an hour or an hour, they can be packed and shipped to their desti- 
 nation; but the packages should not be large, as the heat generated in 
 bulk would again start fermentation, which even reexposure to the sun 
 
22 
 
 would not check. It is. not necessary to sulphur figs more than ten or 
 fifteen minutes. As stated before, they will not stand as much sulphur- 
 ing as other fruits. 
 
 Figs grown on low, moist lands which are not suitable for fig culture, 
 change their characteristics, so much so as to deceive some of the best 
 experts in fig culture. Those grown on soil of a higher altitude and 
 under most favorable conditions also change, and this has caused many 
 to believe that they have produced something new, and to give the sup- 
 posed novelty a name of their own. This has greatly added to the 
 already much confused nomenclature of the fig. The figs grown on 
 low, wet lands, and in low lands in the valleys, I find to have a much 
 thicker skin, a larger cavity, and while the fruit is much larger, it con- 
 tains a superabundance of moisture, which, after being picked, if the 
 fruit is not properly treated, becomes sour; while those grown on lands 
 suitable for fig culture and of higher altitude, possess much better keep- 
 ing qualities, contain much more saccharine matter, remain more moist 
 without souring, and in every respect are much better figs. In drying, 
 these show about as follows: The figs grown on low, wet lands become 
 coarse, with less pulp and much tougher skin; those grown in a higher 
 altitude, and on valley lands suitable for fig culture, are generally not 
 as large, but the grain is much finer, the skin much thinner, the fruit 
 contains much more saccharine matter, and when dried does not resemble 
 the fig of the same variety grown under unfavorable conditions, on low, 
 wet lands, excepting in some of its botanical characteristics. Those 
 grown on low, wet lands are generally lacking in flavor and are unpal- 
 atable, and appear in many instances as if part of the inside had been 
 squeezed out; while those grown under better conditions are very fleshy, 
 so much so that when pressed they burst out at the end; while the 
 former in being pressed show but little inside and the skin seldom 
 bursts. 
 
 There is such a confusion in the nomenclature of the fig, that for the 
 present I shall not mention any variety but the White Adriatic (Gal.), 
 this being to-day the best fig in California, as far as we know, for drying. 
 
 During the past few years a great many fig trees and cuttings of many 
 varieties have been imported into this State. After they began fruiting, 
 nurserymen and others, having become confused as to their origin or 
 names, at once rechristened them, giving them popular names. In one 
 instance I found the fig known, within a radius of a few miles, under 
 at least seven different names, and no nurseryman had taken the pains 
 to investigate its true name. I also found, upon investigation, that the 
 same confusion existed abroad. The Minister of Agriculture for Italy 
 found this same difficulty, and was unable, in his own province, to 
 identify more than three varieties, yet, in that same district, more than 
 one hundred varieties had been previously described by nurserymen 
 and others. 
 
 The same confusion was found in the names of the fig tree and cuttings 
 imported from France. Trees were once received from a district in 
 France under certain names, and from that same district trees were 
 received under entirely different names. Those varieties most promi- 
 nent, however, although not more than a dozen, could be traced by 
 following the California popular names that had been given them, but 
 this would hardly be of any use, except for identification. 
 
 Conditions in this State are so varied that, as I have stated before, 
 
23 
 
 figs grown in different localities change their characteristics so much as 
 to prevent identification, unless by an expert in that line. In one of 
 the valleys I found the White Adriatic (Cal.) grown under, what seemed 
 to me, perfect conditions. The fruit was the largest of that variety that 
 I had ever seen, but the color differed so much that not until I made a 
 critical examination did I become convinced that it was the White 
 Adriatic. The seams on the surface had opened very wide, and instead 
 of the fruit possessing a light, yellowish green tint on its surface, it was 
 as green as the leaves themselves. There had been several boxes of figs 
 picked that were dead ripe that is, they had wilted on the trees yet 
 among those boxes not a fig was found to contain any yellowish color 
 whatever; everything was of a deep green color, yet all the figs were 
 dead ripe. This, however, was a singular thing, and nowhere else had 
 I ever seen this strange occurrence. Possibly it may have been due to 
 certain climatic influences, or the forcing by irrigation; when such figs 
 are processed they do not become as nice as those which assume a yel- 
 lowish tint, unless subjected to strong sulphur fumes, which generally 
 deteriorates the quality of the fruit. 
 
 In the coast counties the fig ripens much later than in the interior 
 valleys, generally commencing to ripen when those in the interior val- 
 leys are nearly or about gone. 
 
 The following are the two processes which I think can be put to use 
 by the fruit grower, and such as make good and marketable fruit. The 
 greatest care must be taken in the preparation of the fig, as any neglect 
 will cause the loss of a great deal of fruit. 
 
 First Process. The figs are allowed to shrivel on the trees, then they 
 are picked and placed on trays, bloom end down. The trays used are 
 made of slats to allow ventilation from the bottom. The fruit is gen- 
 erally cut with a sharp knife or shears, but a man, after having worked 
 awhile, can pick the figs without the aid of a knife or shears, by a sim- 
 ple twist of the fingers. The trays, having been filled, are placed in the 
 smoke house. These smoke houses should not be too large, and neither 
 should the trays, for it is difficult to handle such heavy fruit, and this 
 also prevents bruising. After the trays have been placed in the smoke 
 house the door is shut, and the sulphur lighted and allowed to burn. 
 The greatest care must be taken in the amount of sulphur that is 
 burned, for if too much is used the figs will have a smoky taste, and 
 the figs will become bleached; if not enough is burned, the sulphur 
 cannot act on the figs, and when dried will not possess that light color 
 so much desired, but will retain part of the greenish tint, especially the 
 part that rested on the trays. The sulphur should be burned at least two 
 feet below the lower tray to prevent any from depositing on the fruit. 
 
 There is great diversity of opinion as to the length of time the fruit 
 should be left in the sulphur box, or smoke house, and also as to how 
 long the mass of sulphur ignited under it, which produces the fumes, 
 should remain burning. 
 
 Fruit cannot be well sulphured or fumed in less than ten or fifteen 
 minutes from the time it is placed in the box, as at least ten minutes 
 are required for a mass of sulphur to generate enough fumes or smoke 
 to entirely fill every space of the smoke house. However, after the box 
 or house is filled with fumes, five to ten minutes longer should be enough 
 time for the fumes to accomplish their effect; it could do no further good 
 if the fruit should be allowed to remain a longer time. The object, there- 
 
24 
 
 fore, in leaving the fruit in the sulphur house a longer time is for the 
 purpose of allowing it to undergo an artificial sweat to reduce the skin, 
 which is done by the heat generated by the inclosed fumes. This is a 
 great advantage, for after the fruit has gone through this artificial sweat 
 and been placed in the sun, the skin is reduced to a minimum, and the 
 fruit turned somew r hat transparent. 
 
 The sulphur must not be burned too near the fruit, as considerable 
 pure sulphur is liberated, and the bottoms of the trays being open, con- 
 siderable fruit would be damaged by coming in contact with the liberated 
 sulphur. The fruit on the lower tray, instead of bleaching out white, 
 will become of a pinkish color, and will not dry. Such fruit generally 
 remains in the sun puffed up, seemingly full of air. The reason for this 
 is that the fumes of the sulphur are heavy, and take with them con- 
 siderable pure sulphur, which is liberated and is deposited on the fruit. 
 
 It is impossible to determine the exact amount of sulphur to be used. 
 After the room is well filled with smoke, which can be seen through the 
 trap-door, it is about time to withdraw the sulphur-pan. The smoke or 
 fumes are not allowed to escape, but the fruit is allowed to remain, with 
 closed doors, till it is taken out and placed in the sun, and should not 
 remain more than twenty minutes. 
 
 I find it best to pick the fruit in the morning, for after it has been 
 placed in the smoke house and once been subjected to the sulphur fumes, 
 it may be placed in the sun, where it bleaches out beautifully, much 
 better than it would later in the afternoon, as the hot rays of the sun 
 are an advantage. The fruit picked and sulphured in the afternoon, by 
 the time it is placed in the sun, the sun will be so weak that the fruit 
 will not bleach out as well. Those placed out in the morning make a 
 much better fruit pliable, soft, and the skin is reduced considerably. 
 After the fruit has been exposed to the sun for an hour, it is turned 
 over by hand. This is done to allow the part resting on the trays to 
 also become bleached, as that part will retain its original color if not 
 turned over. 
 
 After the fruit has been out two or three days it is time to handle it; 
 that is, the fruit can be rolled between the fingers, which is called, in 
 many instances, " finger pulling " or " rolling.' 7 This is done to prevent 
 the figs getting hard in drying. The operation can be performed every 
 day if the operator so chooses, but it is not necessary unless the figs have 
 dried considerably. After the figs have been out at least four days, have 
 dried away considerably, and have been turned over and rolled between 
 the fingers from time to time, as above stated, they can be removed from 
 the sun and placed in the shade. This prevents the fruit from getting 
 hard. 
 
 After all signs of moisture on the surface have disappeared the fruit 
 is placed in wire baskets and dipped into boiling water, the hotter the 
 better. This dipping closes up the pores, kills all germs, and again 
 reduces the skin somewhat, and gives the fruit a beautiful color. It is 
 only necessary to dip the fruit into the water and raise it up immedi- 
 ately two or three times. If allowed to remain too long in the water it 
 will be rendered sour, and a great deal of the true fig flavor will thus be 
 lost, which must then be substituted by other means or the article will 
 be inferior. 
 
 After the dipping the water is allowed to entirely drain off from the 
 figs, and they are then thrown into a pile, either on a clean wooden floor 
 
25 
 
 or table, or bins, and from time to time are shoveled backwards and for- 
 wards until they become cold. When the moisture has entirely evapo- 
 rated it is then time to pack them. 
 
 It will be observed that in processing figs in this way there will be 
 two or three grades of fruit, at least two; the first of the light pinkish 
 color, and the second a much darker color. They should then be as- 
 sorted, and the grades packed separately. The reason for this varia- 
 tion in color is the unevenness in the drying of the figs on the tree. 
 Generally in picking it is impossible to have the fruit of about the same 
 degree of ripeness. That which has shriveled considerably will not 
 become as light in color as the fruit that is less shriveled; in fact, the 
 fruit that has not shriveled at all becomes the best color. The culls are 
 assorted, and the best fruit put into boxes in layers, not artistically 
 arranged, but simply thrown in, and between the layers fine white granu- 
 lated sugar is dusted, and then the boxes put under heavy pressure. 
 The sugar serves to cover up many defects in the fruit. These, after 
 being packed a few weeks, become a good marketable article, which, of 
 course, does not bring as much as the two grades above mentioned. The 
 fruit that cannot be used in packing, that is, the discarded culls, is 
 placed in barrels or sacks, and can be sold as hog feed, and for the pur- 
 pose of making vinegar, to which purpose they are well suited. 
 
 Second Process. The fruit is picked from the tree when it has shriveled 
 considerably, and is placed on trays without sulphuring. The trays are 
 made of slats, and placed on staging, which should be sufficiently high 
 from the ground to allow a free circulation of air beneath the trays. It 
 is best to place the bloom end of the fruit towards the rising sun, as that 
 part requires more heat than the stem end. After the bloom end has 
 dried, the stem end, containing very little moisture, will dry with less 
 heat. This, however, can be done without much handling, as the figs, 
 having been set all one way, and as the sun in the afternoon changes to 
 the west side, the tray is simply turned around instead of the fruit. 
 - This brings the end of the fruit in direct contact with the sun during 
 the hours of drying. After the fruit has been out two or three days 
 "finger pulling" or "rolling' 7 begins. The figs are rolled between the 
 fingers, and turned over on the trays. This operation can be performed 
 as much as the operator pleases without injury to the fruit. 
 
 After the fruit is dried it is placed in boxes in the storehouse; the 
 boxes need not be filled to the top, and can be piled one on another. 
 They are kept in these boxes for at least six or eight days, to allow them 
 to undergo a natural sweat. Every day, however, they are emptied from 
 one box into another, to allow the part resting on the bottom to come to 
 the surface; in this way they never become moldy. 
 
 After the moisture among the figs has disappeared, they are ready for 
 packing. They can then be assorted into as many grades as the opera- 
 tor chooses; however, it is unnecessary to pack more than three grades, 
 and seldom more than two. 
 
 Before packing, the figs are dipped into a solution of hot water con- 
 taining a little glycerine or glucose. This will serve to give the fruit a 
 gloss which it does not possess before dipping. Bay leaves are placed 
 amongst the figs in packing in the boxes, which serve to give the fruit 
 an attractive appearance. It is claimed that they keep away insects, 
 but such is not the case. 
 
 Use of Sulphur. Sulphur is used, and the process properly should be 
 
26 
 
 called " bleaching," as it bleaches the fruit. It is only the outer surface 
 of the fruit that is exposed to the sulphurous fumes. These fumes 
 destroy any germs that are attached to it, or produced right on the 
 fruit. 
 
 The chemical action of the sulphur fumes is to bleach the fruit on the 
 exterior surface; it does not enter the interior surface, as the fig, whether 
 or not it be opened at the bloom end, is generally full of air, which pre- 
 vents the sulphur fumes from entering, and even if they found entrance 
 no damage would be done. The sulphur fumes determine the color of 
 the dried fruits, and sulphur is used simply to stop discoloration of the 
 outside and brighten the fruit. 
 
 The common method of burning sulphur under fruit and leaving it 
 burn for a considerable length of time, to render the fruit transparent 
 and of a light color, rather tends to detract from its true flavor than to 
 add to its quality. Fruit should only be confined in sulphur fumes 
 with the objects above stated. Figs are not cooked for eating, and differ 
 in this respect from other fruits; therefore, the process should be one to 
 retain that flavor so essential in a marketable article for consumption 
 in a raw state. 
 
 The best method I know of for generating sulphur fumes, in the least 
 time, consists in placing a heavy one and one half or two-inch iron plate 
 on a small kerosene stove in the smoke house. When this iron plate 
 becomes hot, but not so hot as to cause the sulphur to flame, the fire is 
 extinguished, and the sulphur is spread on the plate. As soon as the 
 sulphur comes in contact with the plate a dense smoke is liberated, 
 which fills the smoke house in a few minutes, and in much less time 
 than when ignited. It has also the advantage that gases and sulphur 
 are not liberated and deposited on the fruit as when allowed to burn. 
 
 FOREIGN VARIETIES. 
 
 In the report of the Minister of Agriculture of Italy, for 1886, the 
 following very interesting account appears concerning varieties: 
 
 We have the Fico gentile and the Fico portoghese, both precocious. 
 The first is common, under the indicated name, in the Neapolitan dis- 
 trict, in the province of Rome, and in the Tuscan province, in some 
 parts of which, as at Pistoia, Lucca, and in Lunigiana, it is known 
 under the name of Fico d'oro (golden fig). According to some, this fig, 
 the earliest of all, would be the Tiburtinus of Pliny, or at least an anal- 
 ogous variety. The Fico portoghese is very common in the Florentine 
 country, and does not seem to have issued from Tuscany, as it is not 
 found in Liguria, nor in Milanese, nor in Umbria, nor in Romagna, nor 
 in the neighborhood of Rome. It is uncertain whether it be cultivated 
 in the southern provinces or in the islands. 
 
 The following varieties are backward and uniferous (yielding only one 
 crop yearly) : The Verdini, very common in Tuscany, and different from 
 the Verdini of the Veronese and from the Verdecci of the Bolognese; 
 the Brogiotti neri (black September figs), universally appreciated 
 throughout Italy; the Brogiotti bianchi (white September figs) of Li- 
 guria, which some people esteem nearly as much as the delicious figs 
 which come from Smyrna in the dried state; the Fichi brianzosi, native 
 of Brianza, and much cultivated in Milanese, and finally, the Datteri 
 (date) and the Dottati, the latter of which is deemed one of the most 
 
27 
 
 exquisite varieties. It appears that the Dottati figs of the Tuscans, 
 Ottato of the Neapolitans, does not differ from the one which Pliny says 
 was brought by Lucius Vitellius from Soria to his villa at Alba, and 
 which corresponds to the Grascello of Mattioli, to the Binellone of Spezia 
 and of Chiavari, to the Binello or Fico di Napoli (Naples fig) of the 
 Genoese, to the Gentile of Voltri, to the Neapolitano of Finale, to the 
 Datterese or the Calabria of the remaining western Liguria, and lastly, 
 to the fig Delia goccia or Delia goccia d'oro of the hills of the Lombardic 
 Apennines from Voghera to Bologna. 
 
 The demand for Tuscan figs is very small, and for this reason they 
 are mostly reduced into powder to make coffee, as is practiced in some 
 parts of Germany. The variety used in the preparation of dried figs is 
 called Dottati, which they peel (after that they are said mondi, clean) 
 and dry in the sun, then season with a few grains of anise seed, and 
 finally dispose in disks or loaves more or less large, resembling cheese 
 in shape. These figs, besides their very sweet and delicate flavor, pre- 
 serve a whiteness rarely seen in even the best figs imported from Smyrna 
 or other places in Greece and European Turkey. At other times these 
 same Dottati figs are not stripped of their skin, but they are cut in 
 halves and seasoned with anise or fennel seed, and then united again 
 two by two, or, as the Tuscans say, a piccie, or else they are dried, 
 strung on thin branchlets of genet or osier (willow). The black-skinned 
 figs are more common, and they are neither sliced nor seasoned, but 
 they are dried in the sun; and if this is not sufficient they are put into 
 ovens immediately after the confection of the loaf. 
 
 Eleme* is not a variety, as many have been led to suppose. It 
 denotes the method of preparation. Figs called Eleme are those selected 
 of extra large size and fine appearance, and, as such, command higher 
 prices. 
 
 Among the biferous varieties may be mentioned the Fico albo (white 
 fig), very, abundant in Tuscany, and grown also, but under various 
 names, in the territory of Como, in Vogherese, in Piacentino, in Bologna, 
 in Modena, and in Parmigiano; the San Piero fig of the Tuscans, which 
 is the Fico arbicone of the Genoese, the Nero of the Sardinians, Minna 
 di shiaro of the Sicilians, and the Fallogiana or Pitilonga of the Abruz- 
 zese. Beyond the Apennines this fig does not seem to spread much, 
 and, indeed, it is not known by either the Lombards or the Piedmontese. 
 
 THE FIG IN CALIFORNIA. 
 
 While a great deal of attention has been given to the fig in this State, 
 it has so far been largely in the line of experimenting, and dried figs 
 have not as yet been produced in any great commercial quantities. 
 
 * Eleme, a name given to Smyrna raisins; the best quality are known as"ElemeV' 
 Raisins of a somewhat inferior quality are known as "Lexias." (Enc. Brit., V1. XX, 
 p. 258.) 
 
 Elemi, a resin, thus termed in modern pharmacy, obtained by incising the trunk of a 
 species of Canarium, found in the Philippine Islands, used chiefly in the 'manufacture of 
 spirit and turpentine varnishes. The word "elemi," like the older term " anirni," appears 
 to have been derived from enhaemon (Greek), the name of a styptic medicine, said by 
 Pliny to contain tears exuded by the olive tree of Arabia. This tree, according to Fluck- 
 iger and Hanbury, is probably to be identified with the Boswellia Frereana, or bird wood, 
 which flourishes in the neighborhood of Bunder Marayah, west of Cape Guardafui. 
 Mexican or Vera Cruz elemi, formerly imported into England, is afforded by the species 
 Amyris elemifera, Royle ; Mauritius elemi by another tree, Colophonia Mauritiana, and 
 Brazilian elemi by several species of Idea. (Enc. Brit., Vol. VIII, p. 122.) 
 
28 
 
 Enough, however, has been done to show that California may hope ere 
 long to include her fig products with those of her citrus fruits, prunes, 
 and raisins, among the leading industries of the State. A prominent 
 commission merchant of ?an Francisco, who handles a large amount of 
 our domestic dried fruits, in speaking of the California fi^s, says: 
 
 " I think the outlook for the fig industry in California is very bright. 
 The producers and packers have made great progress in the last few 
 years in the cultivation and curing of this grand fruit, but for some 
 reason they have either failed to discover the right variety of fig for the 
 soil and climate of this State, or they have not yet attained the proper 
 perfection in the process of drying. I am unable to say definitely where 
 the fault lies, but am inclined to think that it is in the variety. There 
 is no reason why California should not raise as good figs as any country 
 in the world. In my opinion she has no superior in the production of 
 olives and nuts, and I am confident that when we overcome the slight 
 difficulties that now confront us, the fig industry will grow 7 to great 
 proportions. 
 
 u There is room for wide development right here in the local market, 
 to say nothing about the territory beyond the Rockies. This is shown 
 by the fact that there are imported into this market not less than one 
 hundred tons of dried figs every year. What the producers must do is 
 to supply a product that will take the place of the imported article. 
 I am entirely confident that they will be able to do so, for I have seen 
 California figs, particularly at the Marysville Citrus Fair, that were as 
 fine in texture, color, and saccharine quality as any that can be grown 
 on the globe. For all these reasons I regard the outlook for the fig 
 industry as highly encouraging." 
 
 With regard to the quality of California figs, Consul Emmett wrote 
 from Smyrna: 
 
 "A box of figs grown and packed in California reached here this 
 autumn, and was inspected and universally praised by many dealers. 
 In some instances it was impossible to persuade the parties that said 
 figs were grown outside the Aidin district; in fact, some went so far as 
 to designate the orchard. Those who grasped the full importance of 
 this American enterprise predicted that Turkey's supremacy in the fig 
 trade was waning. Some console themselves with the opinion that the 
 American fig will not continue to be good; as the trees (grown from 
 Smyrna cuttings) grow older the fruit will have thick skins and become 
 tough; in fact, become native American figs.' 7 
 
 The fig was introduced into California, with its companions, the olive 
 and the vine, by the Mission Fathers. From whence the original stock 
 came it is now difficult to determine, as a distinct variety of each has 
 been developed in California, to which the name of Mission has been 
 applied. The Mission fig is one of the best for all purposes grown in 
 the State. In color it is black or dark purple, and this militates against 
 it in the market as a dried fig. This is mere sentiment and simply 
 because the most generally and best known to commerce the Smyrna 
 is white or light colored. The Mission, rightly dried, is superior to all 
 except the genuine Smyrna, and is, by many, thought to equal that. 
 The tree is among the hardiest, strongest growers, healthy > and the most 
 productive of all the fig varieties, and adapted to a wide range of soils. 
 It can be grown nearly everywhere on this coast where the winters are 
 not too severe. In the rich, warm interior valleys the tree grows very 
 
29 
 
 fast and to a great size, and ripens two or three immense crops each 
 season. It is suited to a great number of economical uses, and not as 
 yet properly appreciated and utilized as it should and will be. It is a 
 rich, nutritious fruit for man, beast, or fowl. Crops are as regular as 
 the seasons. 
 
 The fig does best in this State back from the coast, and some of the 
 best results in its cultivation have been secured in the Sierra foothills. 
 Some very excellent figs have been produced in Fresno and Tulare 
 Counties, while some of the best drying fruit in the State is grown in 
 Placer, San Bernardino, Solano, and Ventura Counties. At Downey, in 
 Los Angeles County, is a very large fig orchard, devoted to the Marsel- 
 laise fig, a small, white, sweet fruit. Some of these trees are sixteen 
 years old and bear quite heavily. These figs are disposed of in Los 
 Angeles, where there is a good demand for this fruit for crystallizing 
 and glace purposes. Growers receive $50 per ton for this purpose. 
 
 George C. Roeding, of Fresno, in a paper read before the Fruit Grow- 
 ers' Convention at Marysville, gives the history of the introduction of 
 the Smyrna fig in this State, as follows: 
 
 " Among those who have taken a lively interest in this country in the 
 fig business, I may say that the Fancher Creek Nursery has done a 
 considerable share by importing and planting numerous varieties of 
 cuttings from Smyrna and other places, and it is only during the last 
 two years that any practical results have followed its exertions. 
 
 " With the introduction of the White Adriatic variety it was thought 
 the problem had been solved; and while it cannot be denied that this 
 kind produces one of the finest of table fruits, it must, at the same time, 
 be admitted that when dried it does not come up to the standard of the 
 imported fig from Smyrna, lacking in its most essential points, viz.: 
 tenderness of skin and the flavor. 
 
 "The early conviction of this truth induced the proprietor of the 
 above nursery to send his foreman, in the year 1886, to Smyrna for 
 the purpose of investigating the fig. business on the spot and obtain a 
 variety of cuttings and all possible information for the successful prose- 
 cution of the business in this State. He remained in Smyrna four 
 months, and, after considerable difficulty, succeeded in securing several 
 thousand of the Smyrna fig cuttings, as well as quite a number of wild 
 figs and a few of such varieties as are grown for home consumption, 
 some being used in the green state, others dried. His trip and experi- 
 ence will probably be of interest, and the following is a copy of his letter 
 of November 6, 1886: 
 
 "I am having no end of trouble. I find that I have been watched by the people here 
 since first landing. The parties from whom I first engaged cuttings have refused to let 
 me have any at any price, and I do not know what to do. I went to the American 
 Consul for assistance. He informed me that I could only obtain the cuttings through 
 a foreign resident, as the Smyrna people were much opposed to sending cuttings of any 
 kind out of the country, for fear of competition. Seeing the utter uselessness of trying 
 to secure the cuttings directly, I took out a hunting license, and, with a passport which 
 I had used on a former trip, 1, with Mr. Hall, a gentleman who had resided a number of 
 years in Smyrna, started for the interior, and was successful in getting cuttings from 
 Erbold (this is the valley where the finest figs are grown). 1 did not appear in the trans- 
 action at all, but was snooting in the orchard where the cuttings were being gathered, 
 and kept watch of the Turks all the time, to see that the cuttings were cut from the 
 right trees. From the valley I shipped them by the Aidin Railroad to Smyrna as licorice 
 roots, the company refusing to talce them unless consigned in this manner. On the 
 arrival at their destination the packages were placed in the warehouse of the English 
 Steamship Company, and there packed with sawdust, in boxes lined with thick paper, 
 and shipped on a steamer bound for London. 
 
 " With the assistance of Mr. Van Lennip I secured the wild fig cuttings, and also quite 
 a number of other varieties. 
 
30 
 
 "After this gentleman's departure, the following appeared in the ' Ori- 
 ental Advertiser,' published in Constantinople, of December, 1886, from 
 their Smyrna correspondent: 
 
 " We often hear people exclaim, ' I don't care a fig,' as if they considered a fig a very 
 small matter. Our American cousins, however, look at it from a different point; that 
 is to say, from a commercial point of view. 
 
 "We always thought the fig growers of Asia Minor were jealous of any foreign compe- 
 tition, and we gave them credit for a certain amount of worldly foresight and wisdom ; 
 but we find that it requires but little of the gold dust of the New World to blind them to 
 their own interests. The Americans have just succeeded in playing upon the dozing 
 Smyrnaites a trick, which, no doubt, will prove of serious consequence. 
 
 " Some three weeks ago W. C. West, of the Fancher Creek Nursery, Fresno, came to 
 Smyrna to make a study of the Smyrna fig, and also secure cuttings of that variety for 
 propagation in California. Fortunately for his object, Mr. West, on his arrival, made 
 the acquaintance of an Englishman, a resident ol over twenty years, without whose 
 assistance he could scarcely have succeeded. 
 
 "This resident, by his energy and determination, brought the affair to a successful 
 termination. Besides the figs he took cuttings of other plants. This little incident serves 
 to show that the Smyrnaites ought not to be so indifferent to such important matters. 
 By this time Mr. West is on his way home with his cuttings, and for the sake of the 
 Smyrna trade it is to be hoped that the fig will not take in California, though the chance 
 is very slight. 
 
 "If it does, however, America will supply the European market with better ' Eleme" ' 
 than Smyrna ever produced. Another matter, which should not be forgotten, is that 
 American machinery will, no doubt, take the place of manual labor in packing. The 
 prospect of losing th'e fig trade is a sad one, and should provide food for reflection for all 
 who live by its product in Asia Minor. 
 
 [" We do not quite agree with our correspondent, for Smyrna-grown figs, pomegranates, 
 etc., will never be anything else, namely, the best in the world. Seeds and cuttings may 
 be taken to America or elsewhere, but a foreign soil will never be able to give the same 
 nourishment and strength to the new product so that no difference would be known 
 between it and the old. At the same time our correspondent is, no doubt, right about 
 the want of precaution on the part of those who run a great risk in jeopardizing the 
 Smyrna fig trade. Ed. 'Oriental Advertiser.'] 
 
 "After a journey of seven months the cuttings arrived in Fresno May 
 24th, in good condition. Much to my surprise, most of them had sent 
 out numerous roots into the sawdust, which was still in a moist condi- 
 tion, having, no doubt, absorbed moisture during the transit across the 
 Atlantic. 
 
 " On account of the lateness of the season, not more than about one 
 third of the cuttings grew, the warm weather having already com- 
 menced. They were planted out in the orchard of the Fancher Creek 
 Nursery the following year, where the trees are now growing vigorously 
 in light, sandy, and well-drained soil." 
 
 That there is an ample market for our domestic fig production is 
 shown from the fact that the United States is a large importer of the 
 foreign article. In 1889 our importations were 9,101,300 pounds, and 
 in 1890, 9,678,315 pounds, for which nearly a million dollars annually 
 were sent away. This sum might as well be diverted into the pockets 
 of California orchardists. It is estimated that the output of this State, 
 in 1887, was about 90,000 pounds, and this amount has been increased 
 until at the present time the product will amount to about 500,000 
 pounds. A great advantage offered to California producers is found in 
 the fact that we have practically no competition in the Eastern market. 
 The domestic product can be placed in the New York market a month 
 or six weeks before the Asiatic crop can be placed, thus giving California 
 an opportunity to dispose of her product before the Asiatic supply is 
 received. 
 
 With the same energy that has been displayed by California in per- 
 sistent experimenting with raisins and prunes, it cannot be questioned 
 
31 
 
 but that California will produce as fine figs as any in the world. If the 
 Smyrna will not give us this, we may yet hope for a California variety 
 that will equal it. The industry is, as yet, a comparatively new one, 
 the first carload of dried figs shipped to the East having been sent from 
 Fresno, in 1889, and these sold at good figures. With this introduction, 
 and persistent work, there can be no question but that in a few years 
 California figs will take their stand side by side with California prunes 
 and figs in the markets of the Eastern States. 
 
 The question of caprification, which is at present attracting so much 
 attention, has been most ably expounded by Professor Gasparrini, 
 referred to elsewhere, and the following is a translation from the Italian 
 of his essay: 
 
 ON THE CAPRIFICATION OF THE FIG. 
 
 [The Royal Academy of Sciences of Naples proposed as the subject 
 of an essay: 
 
 1. To examine the opinions of authors on caprification, above all, 
 those of Cavolina and Gallesio, and to see what were the merits of the 
 ideas and experiments of these men. 
 
 2. To describe the varieties of figs, especially those on which caprifica- 
 tion is practiced. 
 
 3. To prove by experiment, or on anatomical or physiological grounds, 
 whether the fertilization of the seeds is affected by the insect of the 
 caprifig, or whether the insect produces no such effect and caprification 
 be useless. 
 
 4. The essay to be accompanied by figures representing the varieties 
 of fig on which the experiments are made, and the structure of their 
 organs of fecundation and fructification. 
 
 Gasparrini's memoir in reply is divided into four parts. The first 
 contains a detailed physiological account of the caprifig and its different 
 varieties, which he considers not only specifically but generically distinct 
 from the cultivated fig, including a detailed history of the fly bred in 
 its fruits. 
 
 The second is a similar account of eatable figs cultivated about 
 Naples. 
 
 The third (here translated) relates specially to caprification. 
 
 The fourth is a botanical comparison of the fig, the caprifig, and some 
 exotic species. B. M. L.] 
 
 1. Historical Notes on the Subject. Herodotus informs us in his his- 
 tories that the Babylonians knew of old that there were male and female 
 date trees, and that the female required the concurrence of the male to 
 become fertile. This fact was also known to the Egyptians, to the Phoe- 
 nicians, and to other nations of Asia and Africa. The ancients were 
 acquainted, moreover, with several circumstances proved by experience 
 relative to the diversity of sexes in plants, like the one just mentioned 
 of the date tree, and among these dioecious plants they distinguished 
 the female as being the one that bore fruit. And in other cases where 
 they suspected a diversity of sexes, not having any fixed rule or suffi- 
 cient science to guide them, they judged merely by external /acies, by 
 medicinal virtues, or by other such fallacious or slight indications. If 
 it may not indeed at all times have been universally believed that all 
 things endowed with senses or life are reproduced by the concurrence 
 of sexes, yet the ancients, although they could not detect either the 
 
32 
 
 sexual organs of plants or the fact of their fecundation, nevertheless 
 seeing them at certain periods of their life clothed with elegant flowers, 
 perfumed with various essences, distilling delicious nectars, all radiant 
 with glory, as if prepared for some ceremony of proportionate impor- 
 tance, they judged by the rules of common sense and analogy that this 
 was the period of their loves, and that there must be amongst them all, 
 according to the laws of nature, a male and a female. Thus, with regard 
 to the date tree, the Babylonians, either imagining or finding by expe- 
 rience that the great distance of the male was often an impediment to 
 the fecundity of the female, they suspended to the latter male flowers 
 brought from a distance; and they believed that the fertilizing power of 
 these male flowers resided in the small flies which they harbored, and 
 which, introducing themselves into the female flowers, caused them to set 
 and to ripen. This operation, called palmification, is still in use, and 
 reckoned necessary for obtaining fruit in the country where the date 
 tree grows naturally. . If we could establish with certainty that this 
 theory of the date tree was current before the facts were known con- 
 cerning the fig, we might well suppose that the earliest Greek culti- 
 vators, seeing the caprifig always sterile (in so far as that the fruit does 
 not become sweet), with a coarse and wild habit, and seeing the quantity 
 of little flies it produces, should have thought that that was indeed the 
 male, and that the fertility of the real fig depended upon it, and that 
 thus taking example from the date tree the custom should have origi- 
 nated of suspending the flowers of the caprifig to the domestic fig tree. 
 But the memory of this custom is even more ancient than that of the 
 palmification of the date tree. This caprification, as it is called by us, 
 is spoken of by the most ancient Greek writers on natural history; it is 
 alluded to by Aristotle, and minutely described by Theophrastus, writers 
 who were not only superior to all others in their philosophical specula- 
 tions, but were very ingenious in their ideas on natural objects and 
 phenomena. 
 
 Aristotle observes that a certain insect is generated in the flowers of 
 the caprifig, which, having become a fly, enters the unripe fruits of the 
 domestic fig and causes them to set, for which reason cultivators always 
 plant the one by the side of the other, or suspend the fruits of the one 
 to the branches of the other. Theophrastus does not confine himself to 
 this bare statement of the practice which prevailed, but discourses at 
 length on the manner in which the little fly could produce this effect, 
 whether by opening or by closing the aperture of the fig. He rejects 
 the second theory and pronounces for the first, saying that the fly by 
 continual nibbling enlarges the mouth of the fig and sucks out the 
 superfluous humors, and that the air penetrating through the aperture, 
 it follows that by its warmth and fermenting qualities the fig sets and 
 ripens. Nevertheless there are races of domestic figs which do not 
 require the aid of the caprifig to ripen, and treating of these, this dili- 
 gent observer is of opinion that this may arise from the quality of the 
 soil or of climate as well as from the particular nature of certain figs 
 which can ripen their fruits without assistance. He believes that a 
 poor dry soil with a northern aspect, the deficiency of moisture in such 
 soil, the cool wind which is usual in such a situation, and even the dust 
 which would cover the fruit and absorb its superfluous humors, would 
 all tend to open the mouth of the fig and produce the same effects which 
 in the other case are brought about by the flies, and that if in Italy and 
 
33 
 
 some other countries caprification was not known, it was because, for 
 the above reasons, the figs in those countries set and ripened naturally; 
 and Pliny, speaking of this subject, says that the caprifig is of a wild 
 nature, and does not ripen its fruit, but that it imparts to the fig that 
 virtue which it does not itself possess, for such is the course of nature, 
 that even from putrefaction something should be generated. It pro- 
 duces midges, which, deprived of any nourishment from their own 
 parent, fly to the allied fig, and by continual biting at the mouth enlarge 
 it, and, penetrating within, facilitate the admission of light and fertiliz- 
 ing air (aura cereals), thus transforming the milky humor into a sweet 
 honeyed juice. On this account the caprifig should be planted near the 
 fig, and on that side from whence the wind might carry the fertilizing 
 breath. Now, this description is but little more than a copy of what 
 Theophrastus had written so long before. These were the opinions of 
 the learned as well as the usages of the country in the times of Herod- 
 otus, Aristotle, Theophrastus, Dioscorides, and Pliny; but however 
 ancient was the practice in Greece, it remained there; for there is no 
 tradition of its having been introduced into Syria or Palestine; and 
 Pliny remarks that even at his time it was only in use in the islands of 
 the Archipelago. It may, therefore, be affirmed with tolerable cer- 
 tainty that it was only brought from thence into our country (Italy), 
 although, owing to the long rule of barbarians, it is impossible to fix 
 the period of its introduction with any degree of probability. 
 
 After the revival of science, Csesalpinius, about the year 1583, dis- 
 covered the sexual organs in flowering plants, and thus the conjectures 
 of the ancients became a certainty. Nevertheless, the opinions on the 
 effects of caprification did not change in the least, and none of the 
 botanists or agriculturists of the time, who treated of the fig, differed 
 in this respect from Theophrastus, as may be seen in the works of 
 Bauhin, who lived many years after Csesalpinius. In the beginning of 
 the last century, Tournefort, traveling through Greece, endeavored to 
 ascertain the details and the effects of caprification, and whatever he 
 saw and noted down he afterwards published. He follows the opinion 
 of the Greeks with regard to the manner in which the effects may be 
 produced, saying that the caprifig produces three kinds of receptacles 
 (as we have elsewhere explained in detail) and three generations of the 
 fly in the course of the year; that there are eatable figs which require 
 the assistance of the caprifig to set; that the virtue of caprification 
 consists in the bite of the insect, which, by enabling the superfluous 
 milky juice to escape, causes the fig to set and ripen, and perhaps also 
 some liquid issuing from the fly itself produces the saccharine fermenta- 
 tion by combination with the juice of the fig. Pontedera afterwards, 
 in making known jthe structure of the flowers, as well of the caprifig as 
 of the fig, states his belief that the fly acts upon the latter by giving 
 admission into it to light and air. All of which statements differ in 
 little or nothing from the opinions of the Greeks. 
 
 Meanwhile the discovery of Csesalpinius, in the commencement of 
 the preceding century, had more than ever attracted the attention of 
 the learned, many of whom admitted the necessity of sexes for the 
 fecundation of fruits, and especially for the purpose of obtaining fertile 
 seeds, yet there were not wanting those who contradicted it, and amongst 
 other grounds adduced the fig as ripening its fruit without fecundation. 
 But the most sensible observers multiplied the facts relating to the 
 
 3-F 
 
34 
 
 fecundation of vegetables; they ascertained that the female date was 
 enabled to set and ripen its fruit, not by the insect, as Herodotus 
 believed, but by the fertilizing powder of the anthers; and, amongst 
 other remarkable circumstances, this also was discovered, that certain 
 animals and vegetables lived under a kind of mutual dependence for the 
 accomplishment of the operation. Thus, for example, it was observed 
 that the male flowers of the gourd abounded in pollen, which is their 
 fertilizing powder. With this pollen bees chiefly form their wax, and 
 the bee flying from flower to flower carries it from the male to the 
 female ower, which eagerly sucks it up, becomes fertile, and grows into 
 the fruit. These facts and other similar ones having been related and 
 proved, it appeared to the learned, and especially to Linnaeus, that they 
 explained the whole secret of caprification. This great botanist well 
 knew that the fruit is the enlarged ovary, and that the fig commonly 
 called a fruit is not the ovary, but a receptacle containing the flowers, 
 and capable of enlarging without the assistance of fecundation. Know- 
 ing, moreover, by the researches of Pontedera, that the domestic fig 
 only contained female flowers, and that the males were in the caprifig, 
 and that in the one, as in the other, the flowers remained inclosed 
 withinside the receptacle, he conceived the beautiful idea that the fecun- 
 dation of the fig took place by a special provision of nature. This con- 
 sisted in the creation in the caprifig of an insect which, for the purposes 
 of support and propagation, was obliged to penetrate into the domestic 
 fig, and carried with it the prolific humors. Thus fertilized the embryo 
 was produced, and the greatest number of the receptacles remained on 
 the trees, and came to maturity. In reply to those who followed the 
 opinion of Camerarius, who said that the seeds of the fig never germi- 
 nated, as well as to those who alleged on the contrary that fig trees 
 could be only raised from the seeds of figs of the Greek Archipelago, or 
 of Italy, with the remark that the statement of Camerarius was correct 
 in regard to seeds produced in Germany, France, or England, where, 
 there being no caprifig, the figs remained necessarily sterile, whilst, on 
 the contrary, in Greece and Italy, where the caprifig existed, the fig 
 seeds became fertile, either naturally or artificially, by means of caprifi- 
 cation, this explanation appeared so just and natural that it was gen- 
 erally adopted. 
 
 2. Concise Exposition of the Theory of Cavolini. Towards the close of 
 the last century, Cavolini, who was in natural sciences the pride and 
 ornament, not only of Naples, but even of the whole of Italy, sent to 
 press a learned treatise on the present subject. He first describes the 
 caprifig and the fig; then observes that they are but individuals of one 
 species, the caprifig being androgynous and the fig the female plant; 
 and he proceeds to endeavor to prove the necessity of caprification. 
 The fig, he says, is a receptacle, or " a portion of the branch prolonged 
 for the purpose of fructification, and not a pericarp, which is the external 
 covering of the seed. The receptacle can support itself and attain its 
 perfection without fecundation; but not so the pericarp, on account of 
 its adherence to the seed by means of its vessels." Nevertheless, he 
 afterwards declares that this theory is not in all cases confirmed by fact, 
 alleging that the receptacle of the strawberry, of the mulberry, of the 
 blackberry, and of other plants, does not grow or become succulent till 
 after the fecundation of the pistil. And from these data he argues, as 
 to the mode in which caprification works, as follows: That which is 
 
35 
 
 commonly called the fruit is a dilatation of the branch, and bears the 
 flowers; but being different from the real branch in internal structure, 
 the nutritive fluids meet with difficulties in passing from the large direct 
 channels of the branch into the vessels of the receptacle, which are of 
 a different structure and direction. On this account they would soon 
 drop off if the female flowers were not fertilized ; but as the fecundation 
 induces an affluence of humors to the ovary, and thence to the recepta- 
 cle, it follows that the one and the other continue to grow. And as this 
 defective structure is greater or less in different sorts of figs, so (extrinsic) 
 fecundation is necessary in some, superfluous in others, whilst others 
 only require a very little of it. And if the same fig at Naples, for 
 example, may require caprification, and not require it at Capri, it is 
 because in the latter place the soil, reduced to the finest dust, and the 
 air loaded, the one with alkaline salts, the other with phlogiston, could 
 produce the same effect; that is, the setting and ripening of a large 
 quantity of fruits. Thus it is that in certain places caprification is 
 entirely unknown, as in the promontory of Sorrentum, Ischia, and other 
 districts. Believing, therefore, that fecundation was necessary to sus- 
 tain the domestic fig till its maturity, and that it contained only female 
 flowers, whilst those of the caprifig were androgynous, with perfect 
 anthers, it followed naturally that the fly coming from one to enter the 
 other should carry with it the pollen or the fertilizing essence. He, 
 consequently, thought it worth while minutely to describe the insect in 
 its various states. Such is, in brief, Cavolini's theory of caprification, 
 which we should have given in detail did it not appear to us to be too 
 prolix and somewhat obscure. 
 
 3. Exposition of the Theory of Gallesio. Gallesio, not long dead, has 
 left a large treatise on the physiology of the fig and on caprification. 
 We have extracted from it in their proper places whatever appeared to 
 us of the most importance on the fig and on the caprifig, and we now 
 proceed to state this author's opinion on caprification. He admits with 
 Theophrastus, Pliny, and so many others, that there are figs which 
 mature their fruits naturally, and others that require caprification. 
 This difference was attributed by the ancients to climate and soil, 
 believing that in a poor soil, with a northern exposure, the fig could 
 nourish and mature its fruit without the caprifig; Gallesio, on the con- 
 trary, affirms that it proceeds from a difference in organization, that the 
 fig requiring the caprifig is quite a different kind from the others, and 
 that both preserve their character and temperament in any soil or 
 climate which they can bear. Now, the diversity in their organization, 
 according to him, is this: Some figs have no flowers capable of being 
 fertilized, as their ovaries are without ovules; these produce no fertile 
 seeds, and cannot feel the action of the caprifig, which they do not 
 stand in need of to preserve and ripen their fruit. These he calls mules, 
 and says it is they which are cultivated in Spain, Florence, and upper 
 Italy. Other figs, called semi-mules, have flowers susceptible of fecun- 
 dation, the ovaries being furnished with ovules. In these fecundation 
 generates the embryo, which causes the nutritive humors to flow to it 
 from the peduncles, which can only draw them from the receptacle; 
 this, again, cannot obtain the nutriment from anywhere but from the 
 stem, and thus the fecundation occasions the setting and ripening of the 
 fruit. And as it is only the caprifig that can produce this effect, so cap- 
 rification is necessary for the perfection of these semi-mule figs. Such 
 
36 
 
 are, he says, the figs of the Archipelago, and many of those of the king- 
 dom of Naples, all producing female flowers only. 
 
 4. Opinions against Caprification. There are many who will not admit 
 that any effect is produced by caprification, and these are chiefly igno- 
 rant or simple cultivators, who judge from observing that in many places 
 figs ripen without the cooperation of the caprifig. But with these must 
 not be confounded two distinguished French naturalists, Olivier and 
 Bory de St. Vincent, who have enounced the same opinion. The for- 
 mer, after having explained the process as practiced in Greece, adds: 
 " This operation, of which some authors, both ancient and modern, 
 have spoken with admiration, appears to me to be nothing more than a 
 tribute of ignorance, which man pays to prejudice. Caprification is 
 unknown in many parts of the Levant, in Italy, in France, and in 
 Spain, and begins to be abandoned in some islands of the Archipelago 
 where it used to be practiced, and which, nevertheless, still produce 
 excellent figs for eating. If the operation were necessary, whether 
 fecundation be effected by the fertilizing pollen dispersed in the air, 
 introducing itself into the mouth of the fig, or whether nature make use 
 of a little fly to transmit it from one fig to another, as is commonly 
 believed, it is evident that the first fig in flower could not fecundate at 
 the same time as those which have already attained a certain size, and 
 those which are only just appearing, in order to ripen two months later." 
 I do not transcribe the words of Bory, for his narration appears to me 
 to be but a judicious illustration of what Olivier had stated. 
 
 And here I close the history with the following brief recapitulation of 
 different opinions of authors on the mode of operating of caprification: 
 The ancients believed that its virtue depended on the fly of the capri- 
 fig, which, by forcing its way into the domestic fig, facilitated the 
 entrance of light and some fertilizing or fermenting vapor, and enabled 
 the fig to set and ripen, and that a poor soil and northern exposure pro- 
 duced the same effect. Tournefort believed that the insect made the figs 
 set and ripen by pricking and biting them, giving an issue to the super- 
 fluous juices, and perhaps by communicating some peculiar humors of 
 their own produced the saccharine maturation. Pontedera followed the 
 ancients, whose theories were all based on, that of Theophrastus. Lin- 
 naeus concluded, from the observations of Pontedera on the structure of 
 the flowers of the caprifig and the fig, that the latter could not be fecun- 
 dated without the assistance of the caprifig, and that this fecundation 
 enabled them to set more abundantly. Cavolini combined in some 
 measure the theories of Linnaeus and of Theophrastus, affirming that the 
 caprifig fecundates the fig, and thereby causes it to bear more fruits and 
 ripen them better; but that the same fig can also ripen its fruit in certain 
 districts by the sole effect of soil and climate. Gallesio follows Cavolini 
 in so far as regards the action and effects of fecundation, but believes 
 that neither climate nor soil can produce anything of the kind; and that 
 the figs which do not require caprification differ from the others in the 
 internal structure of their flowers. Lastly, the opinion of our cultivators 
 is nearly that of the Greeks. They believe that the caprifig is neces- 
 sary for some figs, which, without it, would lose the whole or the greater 
 part of their fruits, whilst still sour, and that it hastens the maturity 
 even of those figs which do not absolutely require it. They also admit 
 that the quality of the soil and climate may, in some cases, produce the 
 same effect as caprification. 
 
37 
 
 5. Comments on the Above Opinions. The ancient philosophers and 
 naturalists admitted, as every one knows, four elements earth, water, 
 air, and fire the which, combined together in various ways, produced 
 an infinity of phenomena and things. Now, Theophrastus, wishing to 
 explain how it could happen that the fly should cause the young figs 
 to remain on the tree, bethought himself that, whilst the fig abounded 
 in humidity, it was deficient in the air and heat necessary for fermenta- 
 tion, and that the insect, by feeding, carried off precisely the super- 
 abundant humidity, and by opening the mouth gave entrance to air 
 and heat; and as this happened naturally in a poor soil and northern 
 exposure, there was no occasion for the assistance of the fly. But in 
 the present state of science, who would believe in the attribution of such 
 powers to the soil and the north wind? On the contrary, such circum- 
 stances would rather produce an opposite effect; for the want of humidity 
 and cold tend rather to contract the parts. And if any one were to see in 
 the aura cerealis of Pliny that which is now called pollen, or the fertiliz- 
 ing dust generated in the anthers, would probably be mistaken, for it 
 appears to me that the epithet cerealis denotes nothing but fertility or 
 abundance produced by the aura. The opinion of Linnaeus has, in truth, 
 all the appearance, I do not say of probability, but even of certainty, 
 of being simple and analogous to what takes place in a great number of 
 vegetables. And that of Tournefort, if one does not entirely give faith 
 to it, has, nevertheless, much of probability, considering that in other 
 fruit trees the ovary, being pierced by an insect for the purpose of 
 depositing its eggs, does not fall oft' on that account, but ripens like the 
 others, only a little earlier. 
 
 Cavolini's theory is derived directly from Linnaeus, only that his ex- 
 planation of the manner in which the fecundation makes the fruit of 
 the fig set is ingenious, and even rational. Admitting, then, for the 
 moment, that the fact is as stated by that celebrated naturalist that is 
 to say, that in certain figs the nutritive juices cannot pass readily from 
 the branch to the fruit (on account, as he says, of the extreme tenuity 
 and curvature of the vessels), unless attracted by the embryo generated 
 by fecundation yet he has not shown that in the figs which ripen with- 
 out caprification these vessels are really less curved or larger. Now we 
 have proved that the structure of the receptacle in all the varieties of 
 fig is tolerably similar. And his observation that the fine dust of the 
 soil might produce fecundation is now wholly inadmissible. For although 
 towards the close of the last century there were some who believed they 
 had obtained perfect seeds furnished with embryo, by fecundating the 
 pistil with very fine charcoal dust, later experience has entirely dis- 
 proved it. As for the virtue attributed by authors to the alkaline salts 
 of the earth, or the phlogiston of the air, as being capable of producing 
 the same effect, it can now no longer be supported without offending the 
 dignity and grandeur of science. Gallesio's opinion is essentially that 
 of Linnseus, as to the importance and the action of fecundation; and 
 he follows Cavolini in admitting that certain figs require caprification 
 and others do not for the ripening of their fruits. But he does not see 
 the cause of this diversity either in soil or climate, but in their different 
 organization, believing that those figs only which have their flowers apt 
 for fecundation require the caprifig, as well to produce the embryo as to 
 ripen the fruit. Nothing further can be deduced from Gallesio's work, 
 in which, to my mind, there is great confusion, owing partly to precon- 
 
38 
 
 ceived and ill-defined ideas, such as that of the distinction between mule 
 and semi-mule varieties, partly from the author not having precisely stated 
 in what consists the diversity of structure on which he founds his theory, 
 and, above all, from this, that he never himself saw the operation of caprifi- 
 cation, nor examined the variety of fig on which it is performed. More- 
 over, his own theory, which we have perhaps stated more clearly than 
 he does himself, appears to be in contradiction with itself in the two 
 principal points. For if, in the variety called by him semi-mule, the 
 sap of the branch passes into the receptacle, attracted by the action of 
 fecundation and the vital power of the embryo, how is it that in the 
 other variety the same cause does not produce the same effect? And 
 here let us repeat that the different receptacles of the same tree, of 
 whatever sort the fig may be, do not differ from each other in the least 
 in the organization of the vessels, the parenchyma, and the fibers. 
 
 Such are the ideas of authors on caprification. Were we certain that 
 Theophrastus and Pliny had intended by the word aura to denote the 
 pollen, all would have joined in one general idea, that of fecundation. 
 But in the history of the different opinions, as given above, one remark- 
 able fact is included, which may not appear at first sight, which is, that 
 with all the subtle fancies conceived by authors in their theories and 
 explanations, not one of them has put forward a single experiment; but 
 all, preoccupied with the certainty of the fact, have aspired at nothing 
 but discovering the reason even those who had good opportunities of 
 actual observation. And Olivier, in denying to caprification any power 
 whatever, comes to that conclusion not by experience, but by a just and 
 rational operation of the mind. 
 
 But as it appeared to me not only worthy of the labor, but most 
 essential to the consideration of the subject, to ascertain the truth by 
 experiment, I have applied to it all the care in my power. The ques- 
 tions I have chiefly endeavored to solve are: 
 
 1. Does the caprifig fecundate the flower -heads of the domestic fig, 
 and make them remain on the tree in greater numbers? 
 
 2. Does the caprifig fecundate the female flowers of autumnal figs, and 
 make them set? 
 
 3. Does the caprifig hasten the maturity of the autumnal figs, or of 
 the fruit of any sort of fig? 
 
 4. Does the caprifig operate by means of the puncture made by the 
 fly? 
 
 5. Does the caprifig operate in any other way than any of the pre- 
 ceding, and by any process as yet unknown? 
 
 The figs near Naples which always produce fruit are chiefly of two 
 kinds, the Colombro and the so-called Paradise fig. On two middling- 
 sized trees one of each of these kinds I suspended towards the end of 
 April some cratiri* of the caprifig, called by our cultivators Mamme di 
 propichi, or caprifig teats. The fly entered the flower-heads of the fig, 
 but they did not set in greater numbers on each branch than was the 
 case on similar fig trees not caprified, and growing far from any capri- 
 fig. In the ripe figs I could not find a single seed with an embryo; they 
 were all sterile; some quite empty, others containing albumen only, and 
 when sowed would not germinate. 
 
 * These are explained in the first part of the memoir to be those young figs of the 
 caprifig which first appear in September, and remain through the winter till the follow- 
 ing spring, when they come into flower. 
 
39 
 
 At Baja the Dottato fig almost always ripens its fruit. Whoever 
 passes by that district will readily observe places where the Colombro 
 and the Dottato figs are so close to the caprifig that their branches 
 intermix. Yet there are no signs among them of early maturity, when 
 compared with similar fig grounds far from any caprifig. These figs 
 naturally do not bring all their fruits to perfection; those that fall are 
 at Baja called Sbufoni, and this usually takes place about the end of 
 May or the first half of June. 
 
 In these fallen fruits, in the vicinity of the caprifig, there are generally 
 dead flies, and never seeds with embryos. Out of fifty figs recently 
 fallen from a Colombro, which I examined on June 17th, five only con- 
 tained no insect; the remainder had them in greater or less numbers, 
 but were so destroyed inside, and black and rotten, owing to the insects 
 which had died in them, that to all appearance that was the cause of 
 their falling. On the same tree were a number of figs looking nearly 
 ripe, but slightly pricked and insipid, and which fell off with a slight 
 shaking of the tree. Some of these contained insects, others did not; 
 the former, like the fallen ones, were destroyed, and black inside. As 
 to the permanent or set fruits, which in the middle of June can well be 
 distinguished from the others, there were some with the insects, others 
 without. In the fallen fruits of the Dottato fig I did not find one which 
 had not the fly; but among the permanent ones there were some free 
 from it. These experiments and observations were repeated three con- 
 secutive years, whilst every attempt proved vain at making the seeds of 
 these figs germinate, though they were sown under a variety of circum- 
 stances, and at different seasons. The fly, therefore, which issues from 
 the oratiri of the caprifig towards the end of April produces no effect on 
 the domestic fig, either in fecundating their female flowers or in making 
 them remain on the trees, or in hastening their maturity. If in the latter 
 respect a precocity may sometimes be observed, the difference is so slight 
 as not to be taken into account, considering the diversity of aspect, the 
 trees being more or less exposed to the sun. The size of the tree, the 
 being single and uncovered, or choked by the surrounding vegetation, 
 may also occasion some difference, even at very small distances. Indeed, 
 the different branches of one and the same tree ripen their fruits at dif- 
 ferent times. That the Dottato fig should ripen its fruits at Baja is not 
 to be attributed therefore to the caprifig planted there, but solely to the cli- 
 mate, or perhaps to the soil, for the same variety near Naples will produce 
 nothing, even with the caprifig, and in other localities will do as well as 
 at Baja without it. And on the Lardaro fig, which never ripens nat- 
 urally, at least in the vicinity of Naples, although the fruit enlarge con- 
 siderably, and some remain on the tree till the end of May, often as I 
 have attached to it the cratiri of the caprifig, I never observed a single 
 one ripen. Therefore, I conclude that the remaining and maturing of 
 the figs depend upon two circumstances the intrinsic properties or 
 natural disposition of the variety, and on the quality of the soil and 
 climate. 
 
 6. Does Caprification Hasten the Maturity of Late Figs? In the district 
 of Portici I made the following experiment: In a large property there 
 were two small trees of the Sarnese fig, distant from each other about 
 two stone throws, and about equal in size and vigor. To one of them 
 only, about the end of June, I hung the flower-heads of the caprifig, 
 and I counted the fruits upon each tree. In the first days of September 
 
40 
 
 there was no difference between them. Each had some ripe figs, some 
 still sour, and others commenced ripening. Counting them again, there 
 was here also no difference, each tree having lost about a fourth part of 
 its fruits. The following year I repeated the experiment, with some 
 modification. I marked with thread or with twine the figs into which 
 I saw the fly had penetrated, and I took care that there Was no capri- 
 fig in the vicinity of the other tree. The result of this experiment was 
 precisely the same as that of the preceding year. In the meantime I had 
 suspended five flower-heads of the caprifig to a large branch of a Lardaro 
 fig which rose considerably above the rest of the tree, thinking that how- 
 ever little the caprifig might hasten the maturity, the slight difference 
 would nowhere be more perceptible than in the different branches of the 
 same tree. Yet when maturity commenced numerous fruits on all parts 
 of the tree were in the same state as those of the branch in question. 
 Now it appears improbable, not to say impossible, that those five capri- 
 fig flower-heads should have furnished insects enough for so great a 
 number of figs. 
 
 I repeated the experiment for four years, and always with the same 
 results, though in different localities. At the Camaldoli, where capri- 
 fication is not practiced and the caprifig very rare, I caprified copiously 
 a Dottato fig and two white fig trees, and none of the three showed 
 the least sign of precocity. I believe, therefore, that the insect does 
 not at all hasten maturity. It must only be observed that maturity 
 is not to be confounded with a certain early softening which happens 
 to some of the deciduous fruits pierced by the insect. For, as will be 
 seen hereafter, the fly destroys and corrupts the inside of the fig; when 
 it is already disposed to fall, it falls the earlier, and by rotting inside 
 becomes soft the sooner. 
 
 7. Does Caprification Cause Late Figs to Set in Greater Numbers than 
 Usual f The advocates of caprification affirm that in certain varieties 
 it causes all, or the greater number of fruits, to remain on the tree, 
 which otherwise would have fallen off. To verify this assertion I have 
 many times made the common experiment which would occur naturally 
 to any one, that of comparing fig trees of the same variety to some only 
 of which the caprifig had been brought, in order to observe the difference. 
 Those I have observed with that view are the Lardaro, the Sarnese, the 
 Colombro, and the Sampiero. With regard to the first two, the experi- 
 ments were made in different localities, especially on the Sarnese, which 
 is very common. None of them showed the slightest effect of the action 
 of the fly, in regard to the quantity of the fruit; and if ever any differ- 
 ences were exhibited between the caprified trees and those not acted on 
 by the caprifig, either in favor of or against caprification, they could 
 always, on being well considered, be clearly traceable to other causes 
 (not to speak of soil, climate, vicissitudes of seasons, etc.), as for exam- 
 ple, to the age or vigor of the subject, the number of branches, the 
 having been or not enfeebled by a previous superabundant crop, etc. 
 And what I say of the Sarnese may in like manner be said of the 
 Lardaro, with this exception, that being cultivated almost exclusively 
 in the immediate vicinity of the Capital, I had no opportunity of 
 observing it in distant localities. Cultivators affirm that this variety 
 more than any other stands in need of caprification, and indeed it loses 
 generally nearly the half of its fruits. But of this variety I will only 
 state two things, not to fall into lengthy repetitions: First, that the 
 
41 
 
 caprified trees lose also a great quantity of their figs; and next, that 
 those not caprified ripen many of theirs, with such differences as are 
 occasioned by the above-mentioned causes or others to which I shall 
 presently advert. 
 
 The double-bearing figs, such as the Paradise, the Colombro, and the 
 Sampiero, usually bring many of their early figs to maturity, and but 
 few or none of the late ones; and cultivators affirm that by caprification 
 an abundant second crop may be obtained. Although I had often seen the 
 Colombro ripen many of the late crop without the caprifig, I neverthe- 
 less wished to see the results of comparative experiment. Therefore, in 
 the beginning of July, in the neighborhood of Pianura, I gave the cap- 
 rifig to several trees of the Colombro fig; amongst them many had lost 
 all their figs by the middle of August, some retained a few; they had 
 fared like other trees of the same sort not caprified and placed at a con- 
 siderable distance. Among the fallen fruits some contained the insect, 
 others did not, and it was the same with those that remained on the 
 trees and were advancing toward maturity. Amongst these Colombro 
 figs were several trees of the Sampiero, of which four were caprified. 
 The result was that two of them lost all their figs, both those at the base 
 of the fruit-branches, called pedagnuoli, and those of the extremities, 
 called cimaruoli. The other two trees scarcely ripened a fourth part, 
 and those chiefly cimaruoli, and the fly had penetrated into some of the 
 fallen fruits. It must be noted, moreover, that the above fig trees were 
 all of the same age, in the same soil, with the same exposure, and all 
 more or less had brought to maturity a good, early crop. The same 
 experiment, repeated at Ischia on two trees of the Colombro, produced 
 no result. For if these trees were pretty well loaded, the same thing 
 took place in many other parts of the island without caprification, and 
 not infrequently in the same places were fig trees near to each other, 
 some with and some without fruits, without anything appearing to show 
 a probable reason for such diversity. 
 
 8. Does the Caprifig, by the Assistance of its Insect, Fecundate the 
 Female Flowers of the Late Figs? As soon as botanists learned, from the 
 observations of Pontedera, that the flowers of the different varieties of 
 the domestic fig were always all female, as well in the early as in the late 
 flowers, and as they believed that the caprifig was the male plant, they 
 at once, by common consent, without further observation, concluded 
 that these female flowers could only be fecundated by means of the 
 insect recognizing in this a providence of nature for the accomplish- 
 ment of that important function. And I, myself, having ascertained 
 the correctness of the fact stated, came naturally to the same conclu- 
 sion, although I had ascertained that the caprifig was not the male of 
 the fig, but a very different plant. But in the course of time doubts 
 gradually suggested themselves to my mind, to remove which I devoted 
 myself to ulterior researches. First, it appeared to me impossible that 
 in all sorts of early figs there should never be a single fertile seed, even 
 when male flowers were present. Yet, after repeated examinations, I 
 always found such to be the case. This must not excite surprise, how- 
 ever, on considering that the flies which enter these come from the 
 cratiri (the young figs of the caprifig that were first formed in the 
 previous autumn), in which are either no male flowers or very few, and 
 those almost always imperfect, and with little or no pollen. And then, 
 if in these early figs I occasionally found a male flower, it was only 
 
42 
 
 formed long after the female flowers, and its anthers never opened, so 
 that any one might conclude that if there were no fertile seeds it was 
 for want of fecundation. What is surprising, is the fact that in the late 
 figs the embryo is produced especially in the pedagnuoli (at the base of 
 its branches), and in hot situations, whether the tree be caprified or 
 not. The White fig, the Dottato, and others which the Neapolitans do 
 not caprify, produce abundance of fertile seeds, even in places where 
 caprification is never practiced, and where the caprifig itself is rare, as, 
 for example, at Camaldoli, Ischia, etc. But such observations always 
 leave some doubt whether the insect may not have come from some- 
 where else, and effected fecundation. In reply to which it must be 
 remembered, in the first place, that this insect, when he issues from his 
 nest, flies with difficulty to any considerable distance; and next, that 
 after he has entered the fig he dies there, and is afterwards to be found 
 either entire or partly decomposed; at the least there remains, as a sign 
 of his having been inside, a brown spot, which easily turns to decay. 
 
 Now, in places where there are no caprifigs, and where caprification is 
 not practiced, I have found the seeds perfect in figs which did not show 
 the least sign of the insect having penetrated. Besides, towards the 
 middle of July I impregnated artificially thirty flower-heads on a Lar- 
 daro fig, by introducing into the aperture the pollen of the caprifig; one 
 month after ten of them had fallen from the tree without their seeds 
 being fertilized, and the remaining ones did not differ, either in size or 
 in the number of fertile seeds they contained, from the numerous others 
 of the same tree which had neither been caprified nor artificially 
 impregnated. Not satisfied by all this, I made three consecutive years 
 an experiment which appears to me more important than all the above- 
 mentioned observations. Before any flies began to issue from the 
 caprifig flower-heads, I closed the apertures of some still small figs of 
 the Lardaro and Sarnese varieties with gum arabic mixed with chalk, 
 so as to prevent the insect, should he attempt it, from penetrating 
 withinside; and I took care to add some of the mixture as the figs grew, 
 to keep them well closed. When they attained their full size I opened 
 them; they showed no sign whatever of the fly having penetrated, yet 
 they contained seeds with perfect, well-formed embryo. If this experi- 
 ment is made upon trees to which the caprifig is afterwards applied, it 
 is a curious thing to see the fly, after issuing from its nest, seek a place 
 to deposit its eggs, and, lighting upon the closed fig, exert itself with all 
 its might to penetrate all around the mouth, trying to force it open 
 where it was only slightly green, and finally, seeing -all its endeavors 
 hopeless, turn away from it. This experiment clearly proved that cap- 
 rification was not necessary to generate the embryo of the fig, though it 
 was not conclusive as to impregnation not being requisite. For it 
 might have happened that some organ or other under some strange 
 form might contain the pollen, and be found on or amongst the female 
 flowers. 
 
 With this view I examined with the microscope, with all the care in 
 my power, all the internal parts of the fig in every stage, from its first 
 appearance to the attaining its full size the scales under the mouth, 
 the pedicels, the bracts, the perigone, the pistil from the base to the 
 summit and I never succeeded in discovering anything which con- 
 tained pollen, or any other analogous substance which might be even 
 suspected of producing impregnation. Only it must be observed that 
 
43 
 
 on the style, from its young state till shortly after the changes that take 
 place in the ovulum,*or about that time, there appear certain obscure 
 grains, whiqh at first sight have some resemblance to those of pollen. 
 On attentive examination they proved to be little glands with the ap- 
 pearance of wrinkled grains, composed of cellular tissue; and as they 
 first appear so they remain. The same grains appear also in the capri- 
 fig and in exotic figs. Besides, it appears that the style has not the 
 tissue for conducting the pollen, unless you would give that name to 
 the internal part of the style, formed of longer and more slender cells 
 than those of the exterior, as may be so frequently observed in length- 
 ened slender organs of numerous dicotyledonous plants. Thus every 
 attempt on my part to discover any need of the fecundating substance 
 of stamens to produce the embryo had failed. And, if I am not mis- 
 taken, this is not an isolated fact in the science, Mr. J. Smith having 
 (Transactions of the Linnsean Society, 1840) already announced that 
 the female of a dioecious plant, indigenous to New Holland, of the family 
 of Euphorbiacese, called by him Coelebogyne, bears in London* fertile 
 seeds without a male flower having been discovered on it, and without 
 any suspicion that it could have been impregnated by the pollen of any 
 allied plant; and whoever, in answer to what I have stated of the fig, 
 should allege the assertion of Linnaeus, that this tree only produces 
 good fruit where the caprifig grows, must recollect what I have said 
 respecting it that differences in climate and season more or less hot cause 
 more or less of the seeds to remain empty, and that on that account, in 
 the northern parts of Europe and in stoves, the seeds would probably 
 always remain sterile. 
 
 So it is with our Vernino fig, as to the fruits which it ripens in the 
 open air in November and December, and with that treble-bearing La 
 Cava fig, which will sometimes ripen in a room in the depth of winter. 
 On the other hand, the appearance of the summer figs at a time when 
 the flower-heads of the caprifig are in a state of perfection, the insect 
 ready to come out, shows in a manner a final cause, which can hardly 
 be anything but fecundation. This consideration has always deterred 
 me from publishing the results of the above-mentioned experiments, 
 and has been the cause of my repeating them so often. What may be 
 really the design of nature in this combination I confess I am ignorant 
 of. Nor do I pretend, with the single example of the fig, to disprove 
 so universal a fact as is the necessity of the concurrence of pollen and 
 impregnation for the generating of the seminal embryo, proved by innum- 
 erable experiments made by so many distinguished men for a century 
 back. I only state what I have seen in this plant, it being possible that 
 others with a more acute judgment than my own may loosen the knot 
 and discover one of the numerous contrivances by which nature meets so 
 frequently her wants, when for the fulfilling of some particular end she 
 adopts secret and complicated modes, with strange and unusual dis- 
 guises. 
 
 9. Does the Fly Cause the Setting and afterwards the Early Maturity 
 of the Fig by the Puncture it makes in it? The ancients believed that 
 the quantity of humor in the fig might be the cause of the late ripen- 
 ing of its fruits, or by suffocating them that of their falling off when 
 still sour, and that whatever diminished the quantity of humor, if, it 
 
 * At Kew Gardens. 
 
44 
 
 did not cause them to set, at least would aid in that operation. And 
 the celebrated Tournefort was of opinion that the insect produced that 
 effect by piercing or gnawing the mouth, or the inside of the fig, so as to 
 draw out the superabundant fluids. This opinion has been followed by 
 many among the moderns, it appearing to them that the case of the fig 
 should be in every respect compared with what occurs often in pear, apple, 
 and other fruit trees, in which it is manifest that the blighted fruits ripen 
 some days before the others; and Bernard, of Marseilles, a distinguished 
 agriculturist, as I read in Gallesio, is of the same opinion, it appearing 
 to him that what happens from the fly can be proved artificially by 
 pricking the unripe figs with an awl, or even with a straw, and putting 
 a little oil on the puncture. But I think that such ideas and reason- 
 ings, founded on analogy, are worth nothing in the present case, for 
 before coming to the explanation, they ought first to have ascertained 
 whether in fact the fly does or does not hasten the maturity of the fruit, 
 and we have already seen that it does not. Besides, it is not proved yet 
 that the insect pierces the mouth of the fig at all, nor any other part, 
 excepting, perhaps, the ovary in order to deposit its eggs in it; on the 
 contrary, I believe that it never does; for looking with attention, I have 
 observed it make its way from scale to scale, sometimes unable to over- 
 come the resistance they oppose, nor ever breaking through any of them 
 to clear its way; and these scales, examined under the microscope, showed 
 no injury from the passage of the insect. But supposing the fly to have 
 pierced or otherwise injured* some scale or other, it does not follow thence 
 that the fig must ripen earlier, when we often see it injured or gnawed 
 away in some places ants often enlarge the mouth and carry away the 
 scales and yet these injured fruits either never ripen earlier, or very 
 rarely so, and that from other causes. That puncture and oil hasten the 
 maturity is proved by experiment, but this puncture operates in a dif- 
 ferent manner, in my opinion, from that which insects make into the 
 ovaries of pears and apples to deposit their eggs. For amongst the pears 
 and apples containing insects' eggs, some, whilst they are growing and 
 still acid, become diseased and fall; others, continuing to grow like those 
 that are not touched, become soft when the grub issues from the egg and 
 commences feeding on the pulp; and this pulp is then sometimes, but 
 not always as some believe, of a good flavor. But the fig in the above- 
 mentioned experiment does not ripen from the puncture, but from the 
 oil, as the same effect is produced by putting a little on the mouth of the 
 fig. How it produces that effect on the fig is unknown to me; being put 
 on the mouth it contracts it, then gradually the oil spreads, and wherever 
 it reaches the dark green color of the epidermis changes to a bright green. 
 I thought that I perceived that it did not affect the milky juice in the 
 least, but rather impeded evaporation or other functions of the epidermis, 
 as well in respect of light as of air, and that on that account the anointed 
 fig commenced ripening from the base, and was inferior in flavor to those 
 ripened naturally. But to return to the case of the fly: it neither pierces 
 nor gnaws the substance of the fig, and if it inserts its eggs into the 
 ovary, tvhich I can neither affirm nor deny, it is certain that nothing is 
 hatched from them; but I am inclined to think that it does not even 
 pierce the ovary, as it does not prevent the formation of the embryo, and 
 the difference between the fig and the caprifig is very great. 
 
 10. Action of Fruits which are Ripe and in a State of Decomposition 
 upon those which are Younger and Sour. In making my experiments on 
 
45 
 
 caprification, as I was at a loss to conceive in what manner, visible or 
 concealed, the fly operated, it occurred to me that possibly the caprifig 
 flower-heads suspended to the fig tree and rotting there might pos- 
 sibly, by their close proximity to the sound figs, excite in them some 
 similar alteration, which might bring on a premature softening. This 
 suspicion arose from observing in stores of apples and pears that any 
 rotten ones amongst them readily communicated their decay to the sound. 
 In applying this to our case I did not intend to put forth any theory on 
 the subject, as the science has not as yet any means of determining 
 what it is that brings on the decay of any particular fruit, nor its effect 
 on others around it; but what cannot be known by direct experiment 
 may frequently be admitted or presumed by analogy and comparison; 
 and as to the present question, as we have proved that the caprifig does 
 not hasten the maturity of figs, it follows that such a discussion is idle. 
 Nevertheless it may not be wholly useless, I think, to take the oppor- 
 tunity of relating an experiment I made for the purpose of ascertaining 
 what I have alluded to. 
 
 Oranges, when they decay, produce mold and emit an offensive smell. 
 On that account, and by reason of their temperature being probably 
 affected during the change, I suspected that decayed oranges might, on 
 the tree, cause the healthy ones around them to rot; I therefore gath- 
 ered several oranges with their stalks and laid them by, and as some 
 began to rot I hung them by a bit of twine close to others which were 
 perfectly sound. The experiment lasted about a fortnight, by which 
 time the moldy oranges had dried up, but none of the others, not even 
 a, single one, caught the disease, and all remained sound a long time 
 after. It then occurred to me that if the mold touched the skin of the 
 healthy orange it might produce the decay; I therefore scattered the 
 dust (or otherwise, the seeds or spores) of the mold in great quantities 
 on some oranges, and on others I introduced it underneath the skin, as 
 a contagious disorder is inoculated. But nothing of what might have 
 been predicted happened; the wound, instead of festering, dried up, 
 and in one orange, which after some time began to decay, the rot 
 appeared on the opposite side to that of the wound. From this experi- 
 ment, I should say that if oranges when moldy and exhaling an offen- 
 sive smell do not communicate the disease to healthy ones on the tree, 
 and if the mold only propagates on oranges already decaying, is it 
 credible that ripe figs of the caprifig, beginning to decompose, should 
 produce such an effect on the young domestic fig? 
 
 11. Examination of Fallen Figs. If the insect has penetrated into 
 the fig it can be known at once by opening it, and sometimes even that 
 is not necessary when the insect is entangled and suffocated amongst the 
 first scales of the mouth, leaving outside its wings and the posterior 
 parts of its body. If, however, it reaches the inside of the fig below 
 the scales, it does not easily decay*, but remains nearly entire till the 
 fig begins to show signs of maturity; then it becomes buried in the 
 swelling and softening florets, and soon decays. But whenever the 
 insect dies immediately the surrounding parts turn brown, and subse- 
 quently blacken and rot, even the scales of the mouth, which are harder 
 than the other part*, but especially the stigmata and styles in the cavity, 
 as they project beyond the perigone and bracts, and not infrequently 
 also the ovary and part of the receptacle. This rarely happens where 
 the insect does not penetrate, and if the style discolors or dries up, it 
 
46 
 
 never becomes black or rots. At any rate, experience is a better guide 
 than words, and a single glance of a practiced eye will tell with cer- 
 tainty whether the fly has been in the fig or not. Now, every variety of 
 fig sheds a certain number of its fruits, some more, some less; and in 
 the opinion of cultivators, the Lardaro, the Chiaja, and the Sarnese 
 would lose all or most of theirs but for caprification. If such were the 
 case, one would naturally conclude that what fruits should fall after 
 caprification would be precisely those in which the fly had not entered. 
 With this view I, one year, set to examining all the figs that had fallen 
 from the Lardaro, the Chiaja, and the Sarnese, all caprified. On July 
 29th (the fall of the fig commences towards the end of this month and 
 the beginning of the next) I collected under the Sarnese sixty-seven 
 fruits, of which thirty-five had the insect; three days after thirty-one, 
 of which twenty-four had the insect; the remainder were black inside, 
 but without any fly perhaps it had got out again. Afterwards I found 
 one hundred and twenty-two fruits with the insect, one hundred and 
 forty-one without. They were of different sizes, pedagnuoli which had 
 first appeared in June, and cimaruoli of July. 
 
 This experiment does not prove, indeed, whether caprification had 
 been of use or not, except that if it had worked as the cultivators 
 believed, we ought at least to have found the largest proportion without 
 the insect, when, on the contrary, those with the insect equaled the 
 others, or surpassed them in number, admitting that the fly had left 
 many. Where I made this experiment I left at a certain distance another 
 Sarnese tree without the caprifig, under which I at several times collected 
 two hundred and forty fruits, amongst which thirty contained the insect, 
 which had come from other trees, although at a distance. I wished to 
 compare the number of fallen fruits of the two trees, but I found it 
 almost impossible to ascertain how many fell and how many remained; 
 and where this could be done the conclusions were fallacious, as it 
 was difficult to find two trees of precisely the same vigor and tempera- 
 ment. Near the one of which I speak was a variety of the other, pro- 
 duced from a seed which had sown itself in the fissure of an old wall, 
 with the fruit rather larger, the peduncle rather longer, the pulp rather 
 finer and whiter. 
 
 On July 24th I found fourteen fruits of the Lardaro with the insect, 
 and twenty-seven without; on the 30th, under several caprified Lardaro 
 trees, I collected one hundred and sixty-eight pedagnuoli (about an inch 
 long), and a great number of cimaruoli. Of the first, sixty-six, with the 
 styles decayed and blackened, contained the insect; twenty -nine had 
 them similarly decayed, but the insect had probably escaped, and sev- 
 enty-three without the fly had not altered inside. Amongst the cima- 
 ruoli some had the insect, some not. On August 2d, fifty-five pedagnuoli 
 with the fly, twenty-five without, and a great many cimaruoli, as before. 
 On August 9th, forty-eight with the insect, fifty-six without; on the 17th, 
 about two hundred with the insect, and as many without. Thus, out of 
 seven hundred and ninety-three fallen figs of the Lardaro, a little more 
 than half (four hundred and twelve) contained the insect; the others 
 (three hundred and eighty-one) did not, and showed no sign of decay or 
 other change. 
 
JULTWAt 
 
 - 47 - LIBRARY, 
 
 Of the Chiaja fig I counted of fallen fruits, pedagnuoU'&tid. mm 
 
 Containing the fly 
 
 August 3d _____________ ---- ..... __________________ ........ --------- ......... - ...... 473 
 
 Total _____ ......... - ............ ------ .............. --------------- ......... -- 945 
 
 Without the fly- 
 
 July 24th ......... ------ ............... - .............. .-- ..... ------- ............ 46 
 
 July 27th ........ - ................ ----- ................ - ........... ------- ..... 20 
 
 July 29th ............. . ............ -- .......... - ................ -------- ..... 47 
 
 August 3d _______ ..... . ..................... ----------- ................ - ..... ----- 127 
 
 Total _____________ ......... - ....... ------------ ................ --------------- 240 
 
 In this case there appears a great surplus among the fallen fruits of 
 those into which the insect had penetrated, so that its effect appears 
 rather to have been prejudicial. The trees had been abundantly capri- 
 fied, and in every fruit there were generally more than one insect in the 
 cavity or amongst the scales; but more frequently amongst these, and 
 around the insects, there were evident signs of corruption. The fruits 
 without insects generally showed no alteration, excepting that in some 
 the greater part or all the styles were faded, dried up, or slightly dis- 
 colored. But the results of the above-mentioned enumeration must not 
 be considered as invariable, for the same fig tree bears very differently 
 in different years, according to the season, as well as to the quantity it 
 bore the preceding year; and, besides, the finding more or less of the 
 fruits with insects depends on the greater or less quantity of caprified 
 fruits suspended, and the period when that was done, as there are some 
 cultivators who caprify three times, and then the insect is found as well 
 in the pedagnuoli as in the cimaruoli. Last year, having returned to the 
 same fig trees, and again examining their fallen fruits, I found the pro- 
 portions a little different from those I had ascertained the previous 
 year. In the Sarnese fig the fallen fruits without insects surpassed the 
 others by about a third; in the Chiaja and the White fig the numbers 
 with and without the insect were about equal, and in the Lardaro the 
 proportions were much the same as in the preceding year. 
 
 Although I examined an infinity of ovaries in the fallen caprified 
 fruits, I never could discover with the microscope the least sign of their 
 having been pierced by the insect to introduce its eggs, and never found 
 anything within resembling a grub; thence it is probable that the insect 
 does not pierce them. I say this in order to call attention to the circum- 
 stance that the blackening and decay around the ovary is not to be attrib- 
 uted to the puncture, which we do not know to take place, but to the body 
 of the insect itself, which produces the effect either by some unknown 
 action, or by some acrid humor it contains. Thus, from the above observa- 
 tions, it may be concluded that the fly of the caprifig is rather injurious, 
 and that far from making the fruits remain on the tree, it either causes 
 or facilitates their fall, especially when it has penetrated into the inside 
 and produces decay, where it dies. But this I think will happen rather 
 to the deciduous than to the permanent fruits, because the first, even 
 though they be pedagnuoli, are by their nature disposed to fall, hold 
 but slightly to the branch, have but little firmness in their pulp, the 
 florets but little grown, and the inner cavity large. If with this bad 
 conformation, either natural or superinduced pending the growth, the 
 fly comes to inflict further damage, every one must see that the fruit 
 
48 
 
 cannot on that account remain longer on the tree than it would other- 
 wise. 
 
 Amongst a great number of fallen fruits, some, whether with or with- 
 out the insect, showed a few florets which had grown more than the 
 others, and had had time to form their embryo. 
 
 12. Examination of Permanent Figs. The examination qf the fallen 
 figs was naturally followed by that of those which remain on the tree 
 to ripen, in order to ascertain whether they contained the insect, and 
 whether it induced decay. But in this research a source of error might 
 lie in the mistaking for permanent fruits those which might still fall 
 before they ripen; these, however, although they may appear to hold 
 firmly onto the bough, may be known practically by a peculiar look, 
 by being usually badly formed, imperfectly nourished, of a paler green 
 than the rest, and emitting when pierced a small quantity only of a 
 thinner milky juice than the sound ones. 
 
 On August 1st I cut from a caprified Sarnese fig a branch bearing 
 eight fruits; one ready to fall contained the insect; so did three others 
 of a doubtful kind, that is to say, not showing clearly whether they 
 would come to maturity or fall prematurely, they showed the usual 
 blackening, although slight, of the ovary. The remaining four, inter- 
 mingled with the others, were strongly attached to the bough, had no 
 fly withinside, and showed no sign of alteration. Two days later I cut 
 from the same tree another branch with sixteen fruits, of which one 
 with the blackened styles from the presence of the fly was in the act of 
 falling; two of middling size and firmly attached contained the insect, 
 not in the cavity, but amongst the scales of the mouth, and were little 
 if at all affected; a fourth, the youngest of all, although it contained the 
 insect, appeared to be set, and was not injured. The remaining twelve, 
 all pedagnuoli of middling size, were sound and secure, had neither fly 
 nor any sign of decay. On August 5th I cut a third branch with eleven 
 fruits all set; four contained the insect, the other seven did not. In 
 the district of Portici a branch of the same variety of fig with nine 
 fruits had the insect in two fruits ready to fall and in three permanent 
 ones. At the same time on a Sarnese fig I found, besides a number of 
 fruits ready to fall, with the fly, thirty-seven permanent and large 
 fruits, of which ten had the fly. From a Chiaja fig copiously caprified 
 I detached in the beginning of August forty- three well set figs, of which 
 only thirteen were without the insect, which in the others was either 
 among the scales of the mouth or in the cavity, or in both; but always 
 when among the scales it does little damage. And the following year, 
 among eighty fruits of the same tree thirty-nine only had the fly, which 
 I also found in seventy-four out of one hundred and ninety-four fruits 
 of the White fig. In the first days of July I suspended some caprifig 
 flower-heads to a small tree of the Lardaro which had one hundred and 
 seventy fruits; in the course of the month forty-three had fallen; I 
 gathered on August 14th the remaining one hundred and twenty-seven, 
 which had become consolidated. Having opened them, I found them 
 sound, with good seeds; about thirty only contained the fly, which had 
 done little if any injury to the florets. 
 
 -The facts noted of the Sarnese and Lardaro figs prove clearly that it 
 is not by the effect of the insect that the fruits remain on the tree, as 
 the greater number of those which were the soundest and most vigorous 
 did not contain it. The experiment made the first year on the Chiaja 
 
49 
 
 fig might perhaps tend to show the contrary, were it not that there 
 was so far a greater proportion of the fallen fruits into which the fly 
 had penetrated. That arose from the great quantity of the caprifig, 
 which had been applied three times, so that few of the fruits, whether 
 deciduous or permanent, could escape the insect. Therefore, from the 
 observations stated under this and the preceding heads, it follows that 
 the insect is not the cause of the permanence and setting of the late 
 figs. If it had been so, it would have been found only, or at least 
 chiefly, in the permanent fruits, whereas the contrary was always ob- 
 served; and I am of the opinion that a fig tree, whether caprified or 
 not, always loses the number of fruits it is destined to lose, from what- 
 ever cause either its own temperament or external causes and that 
 the deciduous ones fall the more readily from the flies having penetrated 
 into the cavity and induced decay and mold; and it may happen even 
 that on this account many a fruit falls which might otherwise have 
 consolidated itself and ripened. As to the permanent fruits which had 
 the fly, I think that from their size, strength, and vigor they had been 
 enabled to resist the effects of it, especially where it remained caught 
 among the scales of the mouth; but as soon as they commence ripening 
 they rot very easily, the flavor becoming affected. 
 
 But as in all our researches and experiments we have been unable to 
 discover any reason in the world why the caprifig fly should render the 
 deciduous fruits of the domestic fig permanent, or hasten their maturity, 
 and as it cannot be denied that some varieties lose every year a great 
 many, others very few, and that some ripen earlier, it would be desir- 
 able to know how this happens; and this question I will now shortly 
 discuss. 
 
 13. For what Reason does the July Fig Commence Ripening Some Days 
 Earlier than the Others f Of this fact I see chiefly three causes: First, 
 the tree shoots out some days sooner than other varieties; secondly, 
 it puts out but few or only very small early figs, which fall off very 
 soon; thirdly, the young branches do not lengthen much and grow 
 pretty equally, throwing out scarcely any coarse, watery shoots. It 
 follows naturally that vegetation commencing early, the flowers are also 
 formed early, and the nutritive juices not being taken for the spring 
 figs, nor drawn away to the extremities of the branches, are directed in 
 greater abundance to the summer figs. What is there then surprising 
 in their ripening a few days earlier than other varieties? The contrary 
 effect is observed in the absence of any one of the above circumstances. 
 The winter fig produces few small and deciduous early flowers (the 
 growth of the branch is rather weak than otherwise), yet vegetation 
 being about a fortnight later than in the Dottato and other figs, that is 
 enough to occasion its fruit to ripen late. The Colombro, worn out by 
 the quanitity of early figs which attain maturity, produces late in the 
 season only a few late ones, and those usually fall off unripe, either all 
 or the greater part of them; indeed, that the vigorous growth of new 
 branches retards the ripening of fruit can be proved by this, that if 
 their ends are pinched off, the ripening will take place much earlier. 
 
 14. For what Reasons do the White and Dottato Figs Carry their Fruits 
 Better than the Others? On this occasion an important question ought, if 
 possible, to be decided, that is, whether these figs are true species distinct 
 from each other and from all others, or whether all the domestic -figs are 
 but varieties of one species. If we could decide for the first alternative, 
 
 4-F 
 
50 
 
 there would be no need of further argument, as it is natural that different 
 species distinguished by external characters should also have different 
 constitutions. But I will admit, although I am not convinced, that all 
 our figs are varieties of one species. The varieties raised from seed are 
 numerous, and in some plants infinite in some respects; but that which 
 has now to be noticed as more especially relevant to the present question 
 is, that sometimes the constitution is altered, so that some varieties arise 
 which feel certain influences more or less than the natural or primitive 
 type from whence they proceed, for in a wood of chestnuts or oaks we 
 often see variations from one individual to another. By this I mean to 
 say that the White and the Dottato figs, whether you consider them as 
 species or as mere varieties, cannot be denied to have been endowed by 
 nature with a power of carrying nearly all their fruits. But difference 
 in habit, however slight, is usually indicated by external characters or 
 signs; and these, caused themselves by the diversity of habit, are again 
 the causes of other differences. So the White and the Dottato figs are 
 the strongest and most vigorous of all those to be found in the neighbor- 
 hood of Naples, and thrive in any soil Their leaves are large, not much 
 divided, coarse, especially those of the Dottato, and support well the 
 vicissitudes of the seasons; and the leaf is the mother and nurse of the 
 fruit. Vegetation in these varieties usually proceeds regularly, as they 
 shoot in March. They set no early flowers, and the shoots are not slen- 
 der, unequal, nor attenuated, but thicken and lengthen moderately; the 
 fruits grow regularly from the base upwards, and in the order of their 
 age; they are, moreover, of a fair size, well proportioned, and, though not 
 few in numbers, are not crowded so as to interfere with each other's 
 nutriment. All these circumstances together produce, according to my 
 opinion, the above effect; and the proof is clear on seeing what are the 
 effects produced when, from the vicissitudes of the season or other causes, 
 the leaves suffer; or when, the sap being irregularly distributed, the 
 branches lengthen moderately, and produce a great deal of wood. Then 
 the trees lose many fruits, but always less than other varieties, being 
 supported by their intrinsic qualities. 
 
 15. For what Reason does the Lardaro Fig Lose the Greater Part of its 
 Fruits? The circumstances stated under the last two heads explain 
 readily the cause of the Lardaro. This variety, though coarse in 
 appearance, suffers by nature much from changes in temperature and 
 from moisture in the atmosphere; and if the moisture is combined with 
 heat, it causes it to throw out a great deal of wood. It produces a good 
 many early figs, which I have never seen ripen, although they often 
 attain a considerable size. The leaves are deeply divided, the vegeta- 
 tion of the branches unequal, and without order here and there coarse 
 shoots, which grow in a short time to a considerable length, with twenty 
 or thirty eyes; and whilst in other figs at the end of August the shoots 
 often cease to grow, or lose much of their vigor, those of the Lardaro 
 continue to lengthen through September, and not infrequently through 
 a good part of October, having always figs in the axils of the leaves. 
 These fruits are very numerous, and many of them ill-shapen, distorted, 
 lumpy, and of irregular growth, often two of different ages in each axil. 
 In such a disorderly activity of vegetation, with such a number of 
 fruits of different sizes and forms, with so much sensibility to atmos- 
 pheric* influences, it is not a matter of surprise that this fig should 
 promise much and perform little, when we see that one only of the 
 
51 
 
 above-mentioned causes will produce the effect; for we have stated 
 already that the Sarnese and Chiaja figs lose a part of their fruits from 
 producing too many. Meanwhile, I have not been able to correct the 
 defect of the Lardaro by pruning, nor by leaving uncultivated the 
 ground where it is growing; for that has appeared always to give it new 
 strength to replace its pruned top, and throw out coarse shoots and 
 make wood. Age, alone, and the enfeeblement of decay tames it, and 
 then its branches, growing little and becoming less disorderly, preserve 
 their fruits better. The difference may be observed, also, among the 
 branches of one tree; and this to such a degree that whoever makes 
 comparative observations on different individuals of this variety, sees 
 that by diversity of age, soil, exposition, disturbed vegetation, or sea- 
 sons, they vary so much that he cannot easily follow the thread of 
 explanation. But, essentially, the facts are the same as those observed 
 in other trees that is, that vigorously growing individuals produce 
 little fruit, and, like coarse branches, only make wood; that those which 
 produce an inordinate quantity lose a good portion, and that generally 
 a scanty crop follows an abundant crop. 
 
 16. Effects of Grafting. After so many experiments had proved the 
 nullity of any supposed effects of the fly on the domestic fig in making 
 it retain its fruits, I one day, in the village of Ischia, came upon a 
 Colombro fig, which seemed to show the advantage of caprification in a 
 way to turn one's brain. It was in the center of an airy, open garden, 
 with a good soil, situated in a flat, and far from the sea, a large and 
 beautiful Colombro fig, with a handsome, well-formed head, the bark 
 uninjured, the wood everywhere sound, and of a vigor and health 
 without equal. From its foot arose a fine, large caprifig, its boughs 
 intermingling with those of the Colombro. This tree, which had ripened 
 its early figs, had, towards the middle of August, an abundance of the 
 late crop, almost all with the fly withinside, firmly attached, and many 
 approaching towards maturity. At some distance were other trees of 
 the same fig, some with few, some with many of the late fruits, but 
 none which approached in beauty to the other. 
 
 The circumstance of its having ripened two good crops, which, in the 
 Colombro, so rarely happens, induced me to try and ascertain the cause. 
 In the first place, I thought of the strength and vigor of the tree, the 
 moderate and regular growth of its branches, the fact of its being at 
 such a distance from the sea as not to be affected by its breezes, and the 
 fertility of the soil, all of which together might account for the abun- 
 dance of fruit. But, after some consideration, I did not feel satisfied, 
 and had the tree cleared at its base to ascertain whether these two trees 
 of different natures might not be naturally united, or, as cultivators 
 term it, grafted by approximation. I found that such was the case; 
 and further, that the two were both united in the same manner just 
 below the surface of the soil with a Dottato fig, a few of whose suckers 
 grew up at a little distance. 
 
 Here were two subjects of consideration suggested: first, whether, 
 among the various effects of the stock upon the graft in influencing the 
 abundance of size of the fruits, a similar effect might be produced by 
 the above-mentioned intergrafting of three different things. The second 
 point appeared to me of more importance. The vegetation of the domes- 
 tic fig, by the effect of atmospheric vicissitudes, never flags nor rests, at 
 least sensibly, from spring to autumn, whether with the growth of the 
 
52 
 
 branches or of the fruits; but that of the caprifig rests a little after 
 having produced the first crop, so that when these are ripening in June 
 or July, the young ones of the next crop are not yet appearing on the 
 new branches, whilst those of the domestic fig are a month old, and in 
 full growth. Such being the case, where the stems of a Colombro and a 
 caprifig are united, and both together grafted on a Dottatd, it must be 
 admitted, in the first place, that the roots are sufficient for all three; and, 
 as between two trees joined at the base, the sap must pass more or less 
 readily from the one to the other, and as the periods of vegetation of 
 the two do not precisely agree in the present case, who would not see 
 that the Colombro fig, forming its second crop whilst the caprifig is at 
 rest, must receive the greater part of that which is absorbed by so many 
 roots, and perhaps even a little of the sap of the caprifig itself ? But 
 leaving conjectures, which, indeed, are neither strange nor new, on the 
 effects of grafting, let us return to facts easily appreciated by the senses. 
 If the Colombro fig above mentioned bore so large a crop of fruits, not 
 by the effect of the graft, but merely by having its boughs intermingled 
 with those of the caprifig, the same effect ought to be produced where 
 they are so placed without being united. And so I have seen it at Baja, 
 but without the Colombro having, on that account, any more fruits than 
 others far from the caprifig. 
 
 And I may now declare, that after many years' researches, and follow- 
 ing up all the accounts and stories of cultivators, it has never happened 
 to me to hear of any fact, however strange, new, or singular, on this sub- 
 ject, that might not be accounted for otherwise than by the effects of the 
 insect. 
 
 17. What Account should be Taken of the Maxims and Experience of 
 Cultivators on Caprification f From all that is stated under the pre- 
 ceding heads, I should place no certain reliance on comparative obser- 
 vations made by the lower orders on two trees, one caprified and the 
 other not, to observe the differences. For as differences in humidity, 
 heat, rain, atmospheric influences, soil, etc., often occur, that which you 
 may have thought you have ascertained one year will turn out quite 
 different another. Above all, a frequent cause of error with us is, that 
 two trees, believed to be individuals of one variety, are, in fact, two dis- 
 tinct varieties raised from seed, but so near to each other that cultiva- 
 tors do not perceive the differences. Varieties from seed have no limits 
 in certain plants, and are produced in such numbers that often they 
 may not be distinguished at first sight by external signs, and often these 
 differences are only in the constitution, as, for example, in the horse- 
 chestnut, the seeds of which, taken from one tree, will produce a hun- 
 dred individuals, which may be all alike in all their parts, raised on the 
 same soil, with the same exposure, and yet many of them differing from 
 the others in the number of fruits they bear in proportion to their vigor, 
 in their size, in the periods of their budding and flowering; and that 
 happens often to certain figs which spring up everywhere about us 
 from seed. Thus, in the commencement of my researches, I was often 
 deceived, believing two trees to belong to one variety, when, after a time, 
 I ascertained that they were distinct varieties; and this happens more 
 frequently to those races to which the caprifig is given, that is to say, 
 to the Lardaro, the Chiaja, and the Sarnese, which partake much of the 
 wild nature, and for that reason bear so much fruit. 
 
 I have often discussed the subject with cultivators well informed, but 
 
53 
 
 preoccupied with the idea of caprification. To every contradiction of 
 mine they put forward that the experience of many years had proved 
 to them the importance of it. Sometimes we came to the proof. When 
 I showed them fruits not caprified ripening at the same time as others 
 that were caprified, the most sensible of them replied that that depended 
 on the soil, but that did not affect the property the insect has of mak- 
 ing those fruits into which it penetrates set and ripen early. If, then, I 
 showed them the number of fruits fallen from a caprified and non-cap- 
 rified tree, they always claimed the advantage; and if I said that the 
 same fig, as the Sarnese, for instance, ripened at Ischia abundantly 
 without the caprifig, they said that depended on the soil and on habit. 
 Our cultivators hold it for a maxim that if a fig has once had the capri- 
 fig applied, even the White fig, which in their opinion does not require 
 it, it feels ever after the influence; and as if having once tasted of it 
 gets a bad habit, will the following year only produce few fruits without 
 the caprifig. Besides, seeing the insect with so much industry and ardor 
 work its way from scale to scale into the inside of the fig cannot, in their 
 opinion, but produce some effect. With such and similar matter it will 
 be admitted that I may be quite satisfied. 
 
 18. Conclusions. From the facts above stated it appears clearly: 
 
 1. That to understand well the effects of caprification, it is in the first 
 instance necessary to know the nature of the fig and of the caprifig, and 
 what connection they have with each other. And we have seen that 
 the caprifig is not the male of the fig, as has been hitherto believed, but 
 a species so different from it that it may well be taken as the type of a 
 distinct genus. 
 
 2. The structure of domestic figs, as well of those to which the capri- 
 fig is applied as of others, is perfectly similar in so far as concerns the 
 organs of the flower, the structure of the seed, and of the receptacle; so 
 that it does not appear how the insect of the caprifig can be necessary 
 to some varieties only. 
 
 3. And we have seen by experiment that the insect neither hastens 
 the maturity nor causes the fruit to set, whether of early or late figs, 
 nor yet is it necessary for fecundation. 
 
 4. That the circumstance of the caprifig losing early many of the 
 fruits in which the fly has not been bred, does not serve to prove the 
 necessity of caprification, but rather to refute the doctrine completely, 
 as the fly does not breed in the domestic fig; and besides, we have' seen 
 that when the caprifig bears a large crop of fruits, many of them fall 
 unripe, even though the insect has been in it, and the grub be found in 
 the ovaries. 
 
 5. And in respect of the caducity of the fruits of some figs, the 
 causes must be sought for chiefly in the constitution and mode of vege- 
 tation of those varieties; and also in the soil, climate, and vicissitudes 
 of the season. 
 
 6. That thus caprification is useless for the setting and ripening of 
 fruit, and therefore this custom, which entails expense and deteriorates 
 the flavor of the fig, ought to be abolished from our agriculture. 
 
 19. Conjectures on the Origin of Caprification. Having now reached 
 the term of my labors, I cannot conceal a certain anxiety which has 
 secretly grown up in my mind. I fancy I hear from all quarters that 
 the custom of caprification being of such ancient date, and having been 
 upheld by so many distinguished men of science, both ancient and 
 
54 
 
 modern, cannot but be founded on experience, against which no theories, 
 no subtleties of science, are of any avail. Verily does the rise of such 
 ideas in my breast so agitate me, that many times in the midst of my 
 labors my breath has been stopped by the fear that some fact illy under- 
 stood has drawn a veil over my mind. Nor should I ever have ventured 
 to publish this treatise were it not that I thought some consideration was 
 due to the labor I had bestowed on it. Where the love for a subject 
 induces one to undertake a work, the work itself increases that love. 
 Besides there is the hope that, if not the whole, some part of it, at least, 
 may prove useful to science. Of this it behooves others than myself to 
 judge. 
 
 But independently of all such considerations, I may, in courtesy, be 
 allowed some conjectures on the origin of caprification, and how it has 
 become spread among us. The time when it began is entirely unknown, 
 for the first record of it is in Herodotus, who lays it down as a proof of 
 the dependence of the female date on the male, as of the fig on the cap- 
 rifig. Certainly experience proved to cultivators the case of the date 
 tree. Experience, therefore, many would say, proved to the Greeks the 
 necessity of the caprifig for the fig. But it is not everything which our 
 ancestors have handed down to us, by history or by popular tradition, 
 that has been proved by experience, and often has analogy been con- 
 founded with experience. Let us suppose that the case of the date tree 
 was first known, and that some one observing the caprifig, with its 
 coarse, wild aspect, and with its fruits not good to eat, containing the fly 
 withinside, should have conceived the idea that it was necessary for fer- 
 tilizing the fig; this would not have been a demonstration, indeed, but 
 a plausible supposition. And how many theories are there not built 
 upon a few facts generalized by conjecture, analogies, and possibilities? 
 These theories, in course of time, are proved or refuted, and often last a 
 long time in spite of refutation, so difficult is it to turn the mind away 
 from strong impressions and preoccupations, and to turn it away from 
 habit; and habit is of such force that it becomes a second nature, as the 
 old and popular saying has it. And when a maxim is once taught to 
 the lower orders, especially to those living in the country, who are more 
 tenacious of their habits and customs, every one knows how difficult it is 
 to get the better of it, especially when it is connected with the hope or 
 possibility of gain, and is ancient. Now, who can say that the custom 
 of caprification did not rise and spread amongst cultivators in some 
 such way? And habit is so great in this class of persons, that often 
 they will not see their own loss and the gain of others, preferring to die 
 in their errors rather than better themselves by the example of others. 
 
 Certain facts, either at first inexplicable or marvelous in appearance, 
 have often given rise to popular opinion, which, from the remotest an- 
 tiquity, have come down to us from generation to generation. Certainly, 
 from the sight of the moon springs up at once the desire to know its 
 properties; and at its brilliant and even marvelous aspect every one is 
 naturally disposed to grant to it a large influence over the things of 
 this world; and cultivators of old consult its phases for the periods of 
 confiding seeds to the earth, or felling trees; from that body, in short, 
 they deduce either the probability or the certainty of good or evil. I 
 myself have no experience on the influence of the moon; but I believe 
 that among popular credences, supposing them not to be all erroneous, 
 none are more so than this on seed sowing. In vain, however, would it 
 be to tell the cultivators of their error; all with one voice cry you down 
 
with experience, and you must be silent. Experience being the sensible 
 ground for reasoning on phenomena, there is no appeal against it; and 
 however great and numerous the proofs you have to the contrary, the 
 general opinion, resolutely maintained, at length puts you to silence. 
 But the case of the moon, you say, has nothing to do with caprification. 
 But do you believe, that on seeing for the first time the different kinds 
 of receptacles of the caprifig, the insect propagated within them, this 
 same insect afterwards issuing forth and penetrating into the domestic 
 fig, forcing its way from scale to scale of the mouth, in a manner which 
 one would have been at a loss to imagine do you believe, I repeat, that 
 this fact would not suggest to your mind some great design of nature to 
 be fulfilled? And this was observed by the ancient Greeks, a people of 
 lively imagination, who in all natural phenomena, in many plants and 
 flowers, saw secrets, and wonders, and records, and living signs of 
 human affairs. 
 
 It is certain that the practice of caprification came to us from Greece, 
 if we give faith to Pliny, who says that in his time it was in use in the 
 islands of the Archipelago, and entirely unknown to the Italians; but 
 at what precise time it was imported I am unable to say. Writers on 
 rustic affairs in the thirteenth century speak of it as a thing practiced 
 in some places, and they then knew not how it came amongst us. What 
 appears to me to be interesting is, that it was adopted by us precisely 
 as the ancients had it the opinions of our cultivators being the same 
 as those of the Greeks as to its utility. Among country people the 
 most remote traditions are perpetuated without any alteration of conse- 
 quence. We read, for instance, in Dioscorides, that the mandrake has 
 secret virtues, and that it is used by witches. Now, in some parts of our 
 country, where the plant is common, the same opinions are held of it. 
 As I was wandering one day about some fig grounds near Naples, I 
 observed suspended to some fig trees some of those spongy excrescences 
 found on elm trees, and occasioned by some aphis or pulex for the pur- 
 pose of propagating within it. Having asked what was the use of it, I 
 was answered by the cultivator that those spongy excrescences were as 
 good as the caprifig to make figs set in abundance, and that he had been 
 taught the recipe by his father, who had proved it, and his own expe- 
 rience had confirmed the advantage of it. This is, without doubt, an 
 absurdity, yet the same thing may be read in Theophrastus; and after- 
 wards Palladio, in his chapter on the fig, says: "And if there is none 
 of this" (i. 0., of the caprifig), "a branch of wormwood may be sus- 
 pended, or the excrescences which are found among the foliage of the 
 elm." Such is one of the numerous examples of ridiculous and strange 
 practices in use among the lower orders from the remotest periods; 
 however contrary to reason, they remain in vogue, and those who believe 
 in them and practice them allege experience in justification. Certainly, 
 as we have already said, experience is the groundwork of all sound 
 reasoning or phenomena, and we ought on every occasion to follow it; 
 but in speaking of experience, we must know by whom and in what 
 times it was had. 
 
 Returning to caprification, from which we have somewhat diverged, 
 neither its antiquity nor the experience of cultivators are of any account. 
 I do not wish to disparage the labors of so many great men who have 
 written upon it, but I only say they made no experiments; the ancients, 
 like Aristotle and Theophrastus, relating what was the practice, and 
 Cavolini and Gallesio preoccupied with Linnaeus' opinion. 
 
RETURN TO the circulation desk of any 
 
 University of California Library 
 j or to the 
 
 NORTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY 
 Bldg. 400, Richmond Field Station 
 University of California 
 Richmond, CA 94804-4698 
 
 ALL BOOKS MAY BE RECALLED AFTER 7 DAYS 
 2-month loans may be renewed by calling 
 
 (415)642-6233 
 - 1-year loans may be recharged by bringing books 
 
 to NRLF 
 Renewals and recharges may be made 4 days 
 
 prior to due date 
 
 DUE AS STAMPED BELOW 
 
 LIBRARY USE NOV 1 3 '87 
 
 MOV 17 1988 
 
 37 REC'B 
 
 Returned by 
 
 NOV 2 01987 
 
62C 
 
 IVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY