BANANA FIG 331 



not be covered. It thrives on a well-drained, rich, warm, 

 sandy loam. The plants, which can be readily obtained 

 from suckers sent up by the old stems, should be set 

 eight or ten feet apart each way in holes two feet deep 

 and three feet wide, which have been filled with a rich 

 compost. They should be heavily mulched, and water 

 should be freely applied when necessary. 

 Hart's Choice and Martinique are excellent varieties. 



FIG 



Few fruits can be grown under as varied conditions of 

 soil and climate as the fig, which does well in all parts 

 of California, except on the mountains and in the more 

 northern counties ; the only requirements are heat enough 

 to ripen the fruit and a winter that will not injure the 

 trees. It also grows well in Florida and parts of Georgia. 

 They are propagated from cuttings or by budding and 

 grafting. For a permanent orchard, the trees should 

 be forty feet apart, but at first they may be set at half 

 that distance and removed later on, or other fruits may 

 be grown between the rows for several years. Fig trees 

 are headed rather higher than other fruits, especially if 

 the fruits are to be used for drying. The branches should 

 not be very close upon the trunks, and shoots on the 

 under side of the limbs should be removed. After the 

 head has been formed little pruning will be required, 

 and the trees will come into bearing the third year. 



The greatest drawback to the fig industry in California 

 is that growers have not been able to naturalize the insect 

 necessary to secure fertilization of the seeds, which is re- 

 quired for fruit to be of the highest quality when cured. 



White Adriatic is the most commonly grown white fig. 

 Among the other varieties are California Black or Mis- 

 sion fig, Brown Ischia, Brown Turkey, Green Ischia and 

 Celestial. 



