FIG 



2168 



FIG 



(15) Waterloo (1815). Napoleon was finally 

 defeated by the allied forces under the Duke of 

 Wellington, and Europe was freed from his am- 

 bitious demands. See NAPOLEON I. 



Later Crises. Many of the battles named 

 above all historians agree in regarding as turn- 

 ing-points, but as to others opinions differ. 

 Later battles, too, must rank as equally de- 

 cisive, those of Gettysburg (1863), Manila 

 (1898) and Mukden (1905) having been partic- 

 ularly important. It is probable that some 

 future historian, looking backward, may count 

 the Battle of the Marne, the Battle of Verdun 

 or the Battle of the Somme, or some other 

 conflict in the great War of the Nations among 

 the most decisive struggles the world has ever 

 seen. See WAR OF THE NATIONS. 



Sir Edward Shepherd Creasy (1812-1878) is 

 remembered chiefly for the book discussed 

 above, though he wrote several other historical 

 works not unworthy to rank with it. His 

 Historical and Critical Account of the Several 

 Invasions of England, History of the Ottoman 

 Turks and Imperial and Colonial Constitutions 

 of the British Empire show a breadth of learn- 

 ing and true historical judgment. Creasy was 

 born at Bexley, in Kent, studied at King's 

 College, Cambridge, practiced law, and in 1860 

 went to Ceylon as chief justice. 



FIG, commonly seen in its dried state as a 

 light or dark brown sugary pulp with slightly 

 tough exterior, filled with little golden edible 

 seeds. It grows on trees about fifteen or 

 twenty feet high. The leaves are deeply lobed, 

 and the so-called fruit, when ripe, is pear- 

 shaped, green, yellow, red or blue-black. It is 



THE FIG 



Branch of the tree ; and fruit, showing cross 

 section. 



eaten fresh with sugar and cream, also when 

 canned or preserved, or in a dried state. Figs 

 are more nourishing dried than when fresh, 

 being almost as nutritious as dates. Stewed, 

 they are more nourishing than apple sauce. 



Figs have been known since the earliest times, 

 references to them occurring frequently in the 

 Bible, as "Do men gather figs from thistles?" 

 Every ancient householder was supposed to 

 cultivate at least a few trees, and from this 



California 

 23 



Texas 



Louisiana 



Mississippi 

 2 



Alabama 



Georgia 

 i 



Figures Represent Millions of Pounds 



A YEAR'S PRODUCTION 



The fig industry in the United States is yearly 

 on the increase. 



custom arose the expression "under his own 

 vine and fig tree," denoting a home. 



There are over one hundred kinds, most of 

 them grown in the countries around the Medi- 

 terranean Sea, but certain varieties are also 

 cultivated in the Southern and Western states 

 of America, especially in California. 



Smyrna Figs. The successful raising of the 

 Smyrna fig, the most delicious variety, depends 

 upon the presence of the fig-wasp, a parasitic 

 insect. A fig, unlike most fruits, does not 

 develop from a flower, but is itself the con- 

 tainer of the flowers, which are crowded thickly 

 on its inner surface. At the bases of the 

 flowers of the inedible, wild capri-fig, the fig- 

 wasp's eggs are laid, and within the fig the 

 new generation of wasps hatches and develops. 



Water, 18.8 



FOOD VALUE OF DRIED FIGS 

 The fuel value of figs is about 1,500 calories 

 per pound. This is one-half greater than that 

 of sirloin steak, nearly equal to that of beans, 

 and almost three times that of peas. 



If a branch from the capri-fig tree is sus- 

 pended in a Smyrna tree, the female wasp, 

 crawling about within the figs in search of a 

 place to lay her eggs, will distribute the pollen 

 of the male flowers of the fig from which she 



