FIG CULTURE IN VARIOUS FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 33 
comes from Austria. No regular price list is offered from Smyrna. When the 
_ figs arrive in this country they are at once placed in the hands of brokers in the 
United States. who draw samples and sell on sample boxes. 
The English trade prefers smaller packages, such as 1, 2, 4, 6, and 8 pounds, while 
the United States have them almost all running 8, 10, and 12 pounds. <A small 
quantity of 6-pound boxes will sell, but only a very few. A few of 1, 2, and 4 will 
also sell. 
The price of Smyrna figs varies considerably with the season, as well as with the 
quality. The average price for ten years for the last three grades has been as fol- 
lows: Per quintal of 112 pounds, $4.08, $8,75, and $19.22, all in the Smyrna market, 
packed. 
As may be judged from the foregoing statements, the peculiarities 
of the Smyrna fig trade, through which it has attained the height 
and prosperity it now enjoys, are as follows: 
A peculiar class of figs which require caprification. Of these figs 
there are three principal varieties grown for commerce. <A favorable 
climate—dry, warm, and moderate, both winter and summer; rich 
soil, which retains moisture and which does not require irrigation; 
extreme care in selecting, assorting, grading, and packing; estab- 
lished grades, which can be relied upon year after year. 
EXPORTATIONS. 
The best grades have always been taken by England, Germany and 
the United States coming next. Of late years, however, the United 
States has begun to consume much better grades. The production of 
figs in California is also reducing the importations to the United States. 
The poorest grades are used in France for distillation and are exported 
to Austria and eastern Europe generally for distilling, as well as for 
the adulteration of roasted coffee. The production of figs has greatly 
increased of late years in Smyrna and its vicinity. In 1870 about 
6,000 tons of dried figs were brought to Smyrna for packing from the 
valleys where they were grown. In 1882 about 10,600 tons were 
brought in for packing, while about 7,000 tons, valued at about 
$1,600,000, were exported to France, England, Germany, and the 
United States. At the present time the production has considerably 
increased, and probably about 13,000 tons are now packed yearly. 
FIG CULTURE IN GREECE. 
GENERAL HISTORY. 
The history of the fig in ancient times in Greece has already been 
briefly discussed. Originally the fig was introduced from the Orient 
at a time somewhat later than the Trojan war, or a little before the 
eighth century before Christ. The Grecian islands were the first to 
receive the fig, and the fruit soon spread throughout Greece and 
became highly appreciated by a people who had for ages partly sub- 
sisted on acorns from the native trees. The mythological fables relate 
