IN CALIFORNIA 239 



then is its full sweetness developed peels back the 

 outer skin and without further parley plumps the 

 rosy, seedy, mushy pulp into his watering mouth. 

 The fresh fig possesses a mild, sweet taste mawk- 

 ish, you may think it, at first which, until the pal- 

 ate is accustomed to it, is made more attractive by 

 the addition of cream and sugar when served at 

 table. That the old Israelites must have enjoyed 

 the fresh fig, too, is attested by that striking figure 

 of the Prophet Nahum: "All thy fortresses shall 

 be like fig-trees with the first-ripe figs; if they be 

 shaken, they fall into the mouth of the eater." 



Another typical fruit of the Bible is the pome- 

 granate. It, too, thrives well in California a land 

 which indeed conforms markedly to that ancient 

 word to Israel: " Jehovah, thy God, brought thee 

 into a good land ... of vines and fig trees and 

 pomegranates." "A garden shut up is my sis- 

 ter . . ." so runs the Song of Songs "thy shoots 

 are an orchard of pomegranates, with precious 

 fruits." The Spanish settlers in Southern Cali- 

 fornia had an oriental fondness for the pome- 

 granate granada they called it and it is an in- 

 habitant of most old-time gardens, a shrub or small 

 tree beautiful at all seasons except winter, when it 

 is leafless. In spring and early summer the glossy 

 green foliage glows here and there with the fire of 



