The Sycamore Fig in Egypt 



maximum diameter of 65 mm. and a 

 lenj^th of 45 mm. The figs of the 

 autumn crops are somewhat smaller 

 than those of the summer crops. The 

 inner surface of the fig is occupied 

 entirely with female flowers, with the 

 exception of a group of staminate 

 flowers which encircle the "eye." The 

 f;2male flower consists of a rudimentary 

 perianth enclosing the ovary, and the 

 1 itter is surmounted by a comparatively 

 long style which is curved at the apex 

 as shown in the drawing. It is usually 

 supposed that the male flowers in these 

 flgs are all aborted. This, however, is 

 not invariably true, as, especially in 

 the late summer months, many of the 

 figs have male flowers with well-devel- 

 oped stamens. 



There are, as far as we know, two 

 x'arieties of sycamore in Eg}'pt. The 

 most important of these is that known 

 as "Roumi," Turki or Falaki. As 

 compared with "Kelabi," by which 

 name the second variety is known • at 

 Cairo, the branches of the old trees of 

 the Roumi spread out more horizontally, 

 the shoots are stouter, and the leaves, 

 as a rule, are set more closely together 

 on the twigs. The leaves are broader 

 in comparison to their length and the 

 jjetioles are shorter and stouter than 

 those of the other variety. The fruit is 

 broad and flat, pink in color, and larger 

 than that of the Kelabi. In the 

 Kelabi the branches are ascending but 

 they are not so stout as those of the 

 Roumi. As compared with the Roimii, 

 th2 shoots and petioles are more slender 

 and the leaves and fruits are smaller. 

 The figs are pear-shaped and pale yellow 

 in color. 



The Kelabi is never eaten at Cairo, 

 bat at Alexandria and in some of the 

 provincial districts the same variety is 

 known as the Beledi or Arabi, and the 

 fruit is used in the same way as the 

 Roumi. The Beledi is usually looked 

 upon as being a distinct variety, but 

 careful comparison of the trees has led 

 us to the conclusion that the slight 

 differences which exist in the shoots and 

 leaves are due to climatic effects in 

 maritime districts. 



Figs are found upon the trees at all 



seasons of the year. In the case of the 

 Roumi, which is the principal variety 

 at Cairo, the young fruits of the first 

 crop appear about the beginning of 

 April. They almost all appear within' 

 a period of 4 to 5 days, after which 

 very few fruits are produced until the 

 next crop arises. The first crop is 

 known at Cairo as "Iskat." It is 

 usually a good crop, but not so abundant 

 as the two following ones. 



The fruits of the second crop appear 

 as small buttons in the first week of 

 May. This is known at Cairo as "Dor 

 Kamel." It is always a better crop 

 than the first. 



The production of young figs during 

 the interval between the second and 

 third crops is more plentiful than during 

 the period between the first and the 

 second crops. Nevertheless the reduc- 

 tion of the number produced at the 

 time is sufficiently great to make the 

 third crop quite distinct from the 

 second. The third crop commences to 

 appear in the first half of June. It is 

 known at Cairo as "Sereya." After 

 the appearance of the third crop there 

 is a continuous but less abundant pro- 

 duction of fruit during the autumn and 

 even throughout the winter. Cultiva- 

 tors usually divide this into a fourth 

 and a fifth crop. The fourth is called 

 the "Sayeh" and the fifth is known as 

 the "Dahabiya" crop. There is, how- 

 ever, no definite break in the production 

 of the figs to distinguish the third crop 

 from the fourth and the fourth from the 

 fifth. 



Before leaving the question of crops, 

 it is necessary to point out that all the 

 trees of the same variety of sycamore do 

 not act exactly alike: the crop of one 

 tree may not commence to grow until 

 four or five days or even more after 

 that of a neighboring tree. In the 

 case of the Kelabi, the first crop appears 

 later in the season than that of the 

 Roumi. 



THE FIG-WASP 



What we have said, however, applies 

 in all important respects to the sycamore 

 generally. The fruits of the sycamore 

 are always inhabited by the insect 



