16 



prepared appear dried, they are strung on small canes, forming tresses 

 of various sizes, or made into squares, called tavolieri, or similar odd 

 designs. 



" The smaller figs are dried whole as picked, and preserved separate, 

 they being known under the name of cuzzoli" 



Other notes on the same subject are furnished by the Agricultural 

 Association of Palme, which says: 



" The figs grown in this district are eaten fresh, and what little is left 

 over are dried for winter use in well-regulated families. As a general 

 rule, the dried figs consumed in this district come from the neighboring 

 district of Gerace, where there are very large plantations of that sort of 

 tree. The preparation of these figs is effected with little care. The 

 larger ones are cut longitudinally down to the stalk, and spread con- 

 fusedly over small hurdles. These are exposed to the sun, and in the 

 mountainous regions, where the figs are late in ripening, their desiccation 

 is completed in bake ovens." 



We have also reports from the Agricultural Association of Gerace on 

 the importance of the production of dried figs, which is said to be a 

 source of great profit for the district. The figs grow to perfection in that 

 territory, but, as confessed by the association, their drying is rather 

 defective. Generally the figs are picked when imperfectly ripe, then 

 cut in halves and exposed to, the rays of the sun over hurdles, care 

 being taken to turn them often. After the fruits thus treated are dried, 

 they are strung on cane strips, or else on thin green withes, and exposed 

 anew to the sun, or to artificial heat, to complete their preparation. 



The soil and climate of the greater islands, Sicily and Sardinia, are 

 no less adapted to the culture of the fig than those of Calabria, and the 

 production of this fruit in that part of the country is large. 



The Agricultural Association of Palermo says that the best quality of 

 dried figs produced in this province come from the communes of San 

 Fratello and Pollina, in the Madonie. The preparation is of the simplest, 

 and generally solar heat alone is used. "As to the preparation," says 

 the association just mentioned, "the figs most prized are those disposed 

 in tablets, which last longer and are preserved better. They have also 

 those that are cut and then arranged in pairs in form of tresses, which 

 become mellower and preserve a greater quantity of saccharine matter. 

 There are, lastly, the figs called Messinesi, or Neri, which are dried sepa- 

 rately, without being cut, and, as they preserve their skin, become 

 coriaceous, and keep longer than the others." 



For the province of Messina, we have the following notes from the 

 same Agricultural Association : 



" The dried figs of this district may be considered as a commercial 

 product intended more for home consumption than for export. In fact, 

 some small vessels from Trapani and Naples come into the port of 

 Milazzo, in the month of October, to take cargoes of this produce and 

 transport them to Trapani or to Naples. The islands of Lipari, which 

 give the most exquisite figs of the district, send also their small produc- 

 tion abroad. The city of Messina, on the contrary, receives dried figs 

 from the nearest Calabria. Everything considered, however, we can 

 reckon that the production is limited to the consumption of the inhab- 

 itants. 



"The dried figs are prepared in the following manner: 



"The figs are picked rather ripe; then they are cut through the mid- 



