COMMCN FIG-TREE. 471 



ous, and fill the remainder of the hollow space within. The greater part of the 

 latter prove abortive, either with, or without, tiie process of caprification. The 

 fig, in warm, temperate climates, as in many parts of the east, unlike almoct 

 every other tree, bears two, and sometimes three successive crops of fruit in the 

 same year, each crop being generally producfd on a distinct set of shoots. 



Varieties. The varieties of this species are very numerous. Hesidps the com- 

 mon wild fig, (Caprificus,) there are noticed in the " Nouveau Du Hamel," 

 thirty-six choice kinds, several of which are figured. In nurserymen's cata- 

 logues there are enumerated upwards of one hundred sorts, exclusively of syno- 

 nymes. The following are a few of those most celebrated : 



1. F. c. CANDIDA. White-fniitcd or Marseilles Fig ; Figuier blanc, of the 

 French. The leaves of this variety are very large, but not very deeply lobed. 

 It produces an excellent fruit, known in commerce by the name of figues ninr- 

 seillaises. It forms a very desirable tree, when treated as a standard, and is 

 well adapted for the climate of London, and of the southern parts of the United 

 States. 



2. F. c. LUTEA. Yellow-fruited Fig ; Figuier jamie, of the French. The 

 fruit of this variety is known in France, by the names o( figucs angtlif/ues, or 

 figues grasses. 



3. F. c. pvRiFORMis. Pear-shaped Fig ; Figuier pi/riforme, of the French, 

 producing thejigues de Bordeau.v. 



4. F. c. viOLACEA. Violet-coloured-frulted Fig ; Figuier violet, of the French. 

 Geography and History. The common fig is indigenous to the west of Asia, 



and the shores of the Mediterranean, both in fiurope and in Africa. In no coun- 

 try is it found at a great distance from the sea, and rarely in very elevated situa- 

 tions. Hence its abundance in the islands of the Grecian Archipelago, the Azores, 

 Madeira, and the Canary Isles, and on the adjacent continent. 



According to the traditions of the Greeks, the origin of the fig may be traced 

 back to the remotest antiquity. It was probably known to the people of the 

 east before the cerealia, and stood in the same relation to the primitive inhab- 

 itants of society, as the banana does to some of the present tribes of Africa, or the 

 Indians of South America. With little trouble of cultivation, it supplied their 

 principal necessities; and afi'orded, not only an article of occasional luxury, but 

 of constant food, either in a fresh or in a dried state. As we proceed to a more 

 advanced stage of civilization, we still find the fig an object of general attention. 

 It is often mentioned both in the Old and in the ^'ew Testament, in a manner to 

 induce us to conclude tliat it formed a principal part of the food of the Syrian 

 nation. The want of a blossom on the fig-tree was considered as one of the most 

 grevious calamities of the Jews. It is also a fruit that appears to have been 

 highly esteemed by the Israelites, who broutrht figs out of the land of Canaan, 

 when they were sent by Moses to ascertain the produce of that country. Cakes 

 3f figs were included in the presents of provisions by which Abigail, the wife of 

 Nabal, appeased the wrath of David. King Hezekiah's boil was cured by a 

 lump or poultice of figs, applied according to the directicMi of Isaiah, and wliich, 

 a learned doctor observes, is the first poultice we read of in history- 



Among the Greeks, we find, by the laws of Lycurgns. that figs formed a part 

 of the ordinary food of the Spartans. It would seem that the Athenians were so 

 choice of their figs, that they did not allow them to be expiirted : for. by a law of 

 Solon, no production of the Attican lands, except oil, was allowed to be sold to 

 strangers; and therefore, it is not imjirobable, what some aliirm. that the (expor- 

 tation of figs was forbidden, and that the iiiforuiers ai^aiust th<^ (leliu(|UtMits were 

 . called snkophnntal (from the (jJrcek sukoii, a fig, and jiltuino, to show, or give 

 proof of) : and as they sometimes gave malicious information, the term was after- 



