76 THE FIG: ITS HISTORY, CULTURE, AND CURING. 
winter frosts are over, in February or March, and ascertain if the 
Blastophagas in the mamme-figs have stood the winter. If the mamme 
have remained plump and heavy the crop of wasps can probably be 
depended upon to issue in due time. But if all the mamme of the 
eaprifigs have fallen during the winter, then it will be necessary to 
procure fresh mamme-figs from some other place and suspend them 
on the branches of the caprifig tree in a shaded place. The time 
for doing this will be, according to locality, during the latter half of 
March or beginning of April. The grower must be constantly exam- 
ining his eaprifig trees to ascertain if his colonies of wasps are in good 
condition. If any of the caprifig crops fail, wasps should be imported 
anew. It may thus be necessary to caprificate the profichi, the mam- 
moni, and the mamme, as either of these crops may appear too late 
to be affected by the wasps. Hence the necessity of having caprifig 
trees of different varieties in various localities. 
The Smyrna fig trees are caprificated in the months of June and 
July, according to locality. When the Smyrna figs reach the size’of a 
hazelnut or a large filbert they are generally in condition to be eap- 
rificated. If as large as a walnut they are probably too old for the 
wasps to take hold. When in proper condition caprifigs are procured 
and strung on raphia or esparto grass, one or two figs at each end of 
a string. The number of caprifigs necessary to caprificate a Smyrna 
fig tree depends upon two things—the age of the Smyrna fig tree, or 
rather upon the quantity of its figs, and upon the number of wasps in 
the caprifig. At present there are no Smyrna fig trees in California 
over 20 years old. For a tree of that age, and provided it is growing 
in good soil and has been well cared for, from 10 to 12 caprifigs 
will suffice. If older, more caprifigs will be necessary, and probably 
in any case 50 figs will suffice. This small number of caprifigs 
required in thiS country compared to what is necessary in Asia and 
Africa is due either to the fact that we have imported the Blasto- 
phaga wasps without their natural parasites, or to the lesser age and 
consequent yield of our trees. In Asia, Africa, and Europe the Blas- 
tophagas are decimated or even to a greater extent diminished in 
number by parasitical wasps also infesting the caprifigs. When such 
is the case it is evident that more caprifigs are necessary to caprifi- 
‘ate a certain tree. The crop used for ecaprification of the Smyrna 
figs is the protichi crop. This crop is the first crop of the caprifig— 
the one which appears on the old wood. The crop which the profichi 
caprificates is the second crop of the Smyrna fig—the crop which sets 
in the spring and matures the same summer. 
It is of the greatest importance that no more caprifigs should be 
imported to the United States, as it is almost certain that they would 
introduce the natural enemies of the Blastophaga wasps. In caprify- 
ing the trees the caprifigs are most conveniently strung on any soft 
and flexible grass. This is best done in the shade under the trees or 
ht cininnae 
