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FIG CULTURE IN VARIOUS FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 49 
inquire into the cause and made no effort toward improvement. The 
consequence has been a ruined business, which is not likely to revive 
soon. With proper care the Portuguese figs would really be very 
good, almost equaling the Smyrna figs. 
CAPRIFICATION, 
Caprification is practiced everywhere in Portugal. The caprifig is 
known as ‘‘figo di toca,” the name not being derived from ‘‘ tocar,” 
to touch, as indicated by Link and other writers, but from the Arabic 
word ‘“‘tokkar” or ‘‘dokkar” (the wild fig), showing that caprification 
was introduced, or at least reintroduced, by the Arabs or Moors. 
This caprifig belongs to the type with broad leaves. The caprifig, or 
figo di toca, ripens its first crop in Algarve at the end of June or 
beginning of July, and a later crop setting at this time becomes ripe 
in August. The process of caprification is the same as in other coun- 
tries and deserves no special mention here. The Portuguese fig grow- 
ers know that not all fig varieties require caprification, and that in 
some varieties the first crop may not require caprification, while the 
second crop does require it. The Lampeira, which is grown princi- 
pally around Tavira, belongs to the class which requires caprification 
for its second crop, but which matures a first crop without it. The first 
crop or camada of the Lampeira is also called ‘‘ figos lampas” and is 
never caprificated. Thesecond crop or camada of the Lampeira, known 
as ‘‘figos vendimos,” is said to never set and mature except with capri- 
fication, which accordingly is always practiced. ‘‘ Figo euchario,” 
which also requires caprification, ripens only one crop, in Septem- 
ber. The ‘‘figo bravo,” which is cultivated along the River Guadiana, 
gives also only one crop, which does not require the figo di toca, and 
accordingly is never caprificated. 
The annual export of Portugal is about 16,000,000 pounds. 
FIG CULTURE IN FRANCE. 
FAVORABLE LOCALITIES, 
In France profitable fig culture extends from the environments of 
Paris to the shores of the Mediterranean. While in the north figs are 
grown for use only while fresh, in the south they are also dried for 
export and home consumption. Provence is the center of the fig 
industry in France. There the climate is mild and favorable for olives, 
figs, pomegranates, and to some extent also for citrus fruits, but on 
the whole the favorable conditions for the fig industry are not equal 
to those in southern Italy and Sicily. In winter the frosts are some- 
times severe enough to greatly injure the fig trees, but their recupera- 
tive nature is such as to readily renew the injured parts. As in all 
the Mediterranean region, the rains are frequent in winter, few or 
none during the summer months. Irrigation is frequently resorted 
