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CHAPTER V. 
CLIMATIC CONDITIONS. 
GENERAL REMARKS. 
The climatic conditions under which the cultivated fig will thrive 
and bear fruit are less restricted than those which favor or disfavor 
many other fruits. What other fruit can be grown out-of-doors with 
moderate success through a district ranging from the south of Scot- 
land to the Cape of Good Hope, from the shores of the Atlantic 
through Europe and Asia to China, from Chile to California and 
Oregon, and on the eastern coast as far north as Washington? 
Nevertheless, there are, necessarily, certain conditions which are par- 
ticularly favorable to the cultivation of the fig. Unfortunately, the 
information at hand is very unsatisfactory, as the countries where 
fig culture has been most successful are those where the horticulturist 
has not found it necessary to invoke the aid of the scientist in securing 
good results. Aside from our own personal experiences, almost the 
only sources of information are consular reports and works of travel 
by northern tourists and explorers; but they seldom contain the 
information desired. 
The warm, temperate climate of the Mediterranean region is the 
most favorable to the varieties of the fig that are useful for both dry- 
ing and eating fresh. Even in this region some parts are much more 
favorable than others, and we look upon Smyrna, Sicily, Provence, 
Andalusia, and Algarve as ideal places and climates for the highest 
development of the fig. But even in these localities the areas are 
restricted, and in the study of climates and the search for ideal eli- 
matie conditions comparison must be made with such places as Aidin, 
Palermo, Draguignan, Solon, ete., in which the climatic conditions 
must be the standard with which to compare our own. It will be seen 
that the area of the most perfect fig culture nearly coincides with that 
of the olive. Taken as a whole, the olive and the fig thrive under the 
same conditions, but the accommodative powers of the fig are much 
greater than those of the olive; it quickly repairs injuries from frost 
and hurricanes and accommodates itself to almost any environment. 
But while the famous figs are grown in less than half a dozen locali- 
ties, a first-class olive cult is spread over an immense territory and, 
remarkably enough, in localities where the finest figs are not found. 
The two cults, therefore, while agreeing in general, do not coincide in 
details, for the fig, while less exacting as regards climatic conditions 
than the olive, demands peculiarities in climate in order to attain per- 
fection, which few localities can supply. 
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