PRACTICABILITY OF STERILIZING ALL FIGS. 63 
The following table gives the lengths of exposure, the tempera- 
tures, and the number of larve that issued from the figs after 
treatment: 
. 
Temperature. pilin hal es 
Average | Length | Number |———-————| Per cent 
temper- | of eXpo- | “oF figs, killed, 
Maxi- | Mini- | 4 verage mabe i uaak? Oct. 16. | Oct. 28 
mum. mum. |~ : ae aa S4 
oi 7G. bax Gs OR Minutes. 
132 92 112 233 20 13 0 0 100 
121 93 107 224 15 8 0 0 100 
112 94 103 | 217 10 8 0 1 87 
94 2 88 190 5 10 8 14 0 
It is plain that any exposure to exceed 224° F., for 15 minutes, 
will destroy the life of practically all larvee present in the figs. This 
exposure, however, apparently has no injurious effect upon the fruit. 
A quantity of figs sterilized in the same oven by the management 
of the “khan” in which it is located was shipped to one of their 
New York representatives for examination and report. These figs 
were exposed for 15 minutes at an average temperature of about 
212° F. Six boxes of them were forwarded to the Lederle labora- 
tories, whose report on their condition, dated November 1, 1910, is 
summed up in the following table:¢ 
Percentage 
Treatment. eter Ene pee General condition of the figs. 
of larvee. 
Unsterilized... =... 22:-- Layer. .... 100 12 
LEMMZEG so dececsecemcle donseees 100 None. | Less fermentation in top layers. More fer- 
mentation in bottom layers. 
Wirsterized so oecc == oe) =< Go. F458 84 6 | Contain living molds. 
WHENNIZCE pet ecs ses coal Core 89 None. | Clean and moist; no molds. Slightly greater 
fermentation. 
Unsterilized=.-3-<=5.~: Macaroni. . 85 79 
BLCELIZEC ere loci e = |e dos recs 68 56 | Slightly greater fermentation. 
In the layer figs sterilization by hot air destroyed all larvee in the 
two boxes examined. In case of the “macaroni” figs the same 
treatment reduced the number of larve present over 25 per cent 
without perceptible injury to the figs. These results argue very 
strongly for the use of dry heat, in preference perhaps even to steam 
or hot water, in ridding dried figs of the objectionable larve. 
PRACTICABILITY OF STERILIZING ALL FIGS IN SMYRNA. 
Some packers hold that in sterilizing figs the dead bodies of 
larvee remain to decay inside the fruit, whereas if not killed the larvee 
2 These figures were given by kind permission of a dealer of figs in New York City. 
