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CAPRIFICATION OF THE FIG. 79 
fell off last fall. These figs grow rapidly and mature generally in the 
end of May in all southern countries or in June in more northern 
ones. This is the first crop of figs, also known as early figs or bre- 
bas, first figs, or summer figs. This crop of figs has not yet matured, 
or, in some varieties, has hardly matured, when other young figs are 
seen to push out from the leaf joints of the present year. In the course 
of a month or two these figs ripen and constitute the second or main 
erop. With most figs this crop ripens in August, later or earlier, 
according to variety. This crop is also known as second figs, autumn 
figs, or late figs. 
A third or later crop is found in some varieties, forming in August 
and ripening in winter. This may be called the third crop; but 
this third crop is not greatly distinct from the second crop. Both 
develop from the leaf joints of the same season. In reality, this third 
crop of edible figs can only be considered as the last of the second 
erop. The first crop is, however, entirely distinct from the second 
crop, as it is produced on the old wood. Sometimes the last figs of the 
third crop do not fall in the autumn, but winter over and ripen early 
in the next spring, just as the first crop, and are thus hardly distin- 
guishable from it. 
The crops of the caprifiy.—In the ecaprifig the three crops corre- 
spond to those of the edible fig, but, as in that fig, they are not always 
all present in the same tree. Thus ecaprifig trees exist which develop 
only one crop, while others possess two or three crops. The variation 
in crops may be confined to individual caprifigs of the same variety, 
or it may characterize some special variety, in which all the trees are 
exactly alike. The variation may also depend on the seasons. 
At Niles, Cal., the crops of the caprifig succeed each other in the 
following manner: At the time of frost, in the fall, we find a large 
number of figs as large as walnuts or hazelnuts situated at the very 
tips of the branches. These figs began to appear as small buttons 
in July (1900) and continued to increase until they became of size 
to be caprificated in September. This crop of end-figs is known as 
the third crop (the mamme), and is really only the continuation of the 
second crop. But it differs from the second crop in its faculty to pass 
the winter unharmed on the trees. The following year in March 
these third-crop figs; or mamme, become fully mature, and the wasps 
which escape from them enter the first crop (the profichi). 
The first crop (the profichi) began to appear as small buttons 
in December. They increased very slowly at first during the winter, 
but toward spring they beeame quickly larger, and in March they 
had reached the size in which they were caprificated. They then 
varied between the size of a pea and a hazelnut. In June and July, 
according to locality and season, these first-crop figs are fully mature, 
and are then used for caprification. These first-crop figs (the profichi) 
were situated on the old wood—the wood of the previous year. In 
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