70 THE FIG: ITS HISTORY, CULTURE, AND CURING. 
The second crop drops always, as might be expected, it having the 
same habit in Italy. 
The Adriatic fig, of which so much has been said and written, has 
probably been growing in California for nearly forty years, as some 
large trees at Big Oak Flat, in Calaveras County, were supposed to be : 
of this variety. Certain it is that it has been scattered over the Sierra 
foothills for many years, though not known under any special name. 
The first importation of which the writer is fairly certain was made 
by W. B. West, of Stockton, Cal., who received this tree, together 
with 21 or 22 other varieties of figs, from an English nursery, by way 
of Panama, in 1865. He sold trees to several parties, among them 
Captain Gray, of Merced County, who planted them on his ranch at 
Atwater. 
Later another gentleman of Stockton, Dr. Sposati, is also said to have 
received the same tree from its native home on the east side of Italy, 
under the name of Fico di Fragola, and distributed it here under the 
translated name Strawberry fig. The late G. N. Mileo, of Stockton, 
claimed to have been the first importer of this variety, which, how- 
ever, is an error. He found the trees growing on the ranch of Cap- 
tain Gray, the trees then being 10 years old, and, recognizing the value 
of the fig, named it the Adriatic, after his native home (Ragusa), where, 
however, the tree does not grow. His supply of cuttings, however, 
came from a tree planted by Mr. Andrew Simpson, in Stockton, who 
had bought the tree originally from West. 
Mr. Mileo did much toward making the variety known, but also 
much toward keeping the growers in the dark as regards its true 
nature. Since 1884 the variety has been extensively cultivated in 
California and distributed to many of the Southern States, especially 
Florida. It is a fine variety in some localities, but in others worth- 
less. Even at its best it makes only a second-quality dried fig, though 
when fresh the figs are delicious when properly grown. 
IMPORTATIONS OF FIGS BY THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF 
AGRICULTURE. 
By far the most important importations of figs are those made at 
various times by the United States Department of Agriculture. Fig 
cuttings have been distributed by that Department almost yearly for 
the last twenty-five years or longer. In order to obtain for California 
a properly labeled collection of figs the Department of Agriculture, 
under Secretary Rusk’s administration (1889-1893), was requested to 
import the whole collection of figs grown in the hothouses of the Royal 
Horticultural Society of London, the best known collection of figs in 
the world. Professors Van Deman and Taylor, of the Department, 
favored the project, which, however, was only brought to a successful 
issue under the administration of Secretary Morton in February, 1894, 
and mainly through the good will and efforts of the assistant pomolo- 
gist. William A. Taylor. 
