102 Sir S. S. Saunders' further notes 



ing unripe, and to accelerate their maturity.* _ Others, 

 however, abstaining from traditional theories, have 

 pinned their faith to those principles formulated of old 

 and still maintained unimpaired at Eome, as set forth in 

 the following precept by Cato " de re riistica " — reiterated 

 by Varro — whereby both the aforesaid contingencies are 

 provided for without having recourse to equivocal 

 allies: " Fici ut grosses teneant facito omnia quomodo 

 olece et hoc amplius. Cv7n vcr adpetit terrain adaggerato 

 bene. Si itafeceris et grossi non cadent etfici scahne non 

 fient et mtdto j^rcecociores erunt " (Solms, p. 86). 



Thirdly — we are further informed by Dr. Mayer that, 

 on entering the domestic figs as aforesaid, these insects 

 bring pollen with them, if they should have been fur- 

 nished therewith in creeping out of the wild-figs ; for, 

 notwithstanding their efforts to cleanse themselves there- 

 from as recited by the Count, some of it still remains, 

 whereby fecundation is effected ; no other influence 

 being here ascribed to it. The amount thus retained, 

 however small, must be still further reduced during the 

 "arduous efforts" subsequently made to penetrate through 

 the scales : but, in another passage to which Dr. Mayer 

 adverts, the Count speaks of certain other domestic figs, 

 highly esteemed, termed " Pedagrmoli — "t caprificated in 

 summer by means of the " Projichi — " in whose florets he 

 could generally discover neither perforation (Stichkanal) 

 nor BlastophagcE, but only here and there some very 

 small brown superficial specks (Punkte), which, as he 

 states, must have proceeded from wounds inflicted by 

 the insect, whose puncture had apparently become 

 impracticable from some obscure cause requiring further 

 investigation. Nevertheless, every such floret, which by 

 its brown stains (Flecken) indicated insect-visitation, is 

 encumbered with shifting masses of pollen (mit wech- 



* " Ueber den durcli die Caprification zu erzielenden Erfolg, sind 

 die Meinungen getheilt. Die neapolitanisclien Bauern halten 

 dafiir, dass sie das Abfallen der tinreifen Feigen verhindere imd 

 eiue friihere Eeife bedinge. Doch sind nach ilirer Meinung nicht 

 aUe Sorten derselben in gleichem Maasse bediirftig, wennsclion sie 

 niemals schaden kann " (lb. p. 24). Gasparrini's adverse testimony, 

 founded upon experiments as to the alleged maintenance and 

 earlier ripening, has been already cited (Trans. Ent. Soc. Lend. 

 1883, p. 391). 



■f-_"Die ersten untersten Friichte, die 'j?je(7a^wwoZi ' der NeapoH- 

 tanischen Landleute, sind besser und geschatzter als die oberen, 

 die sie ' cimaruoli ' nennen " (Solms, p. 8). 



