45 



caprification, as I was at a loss to conceive in what manner, visible or 

 concealed, the fly operated, it occurred to me that possibly the caprifig 

 flower-heads suspended to the fig tree and rotting there might pos- 

 sibly, by their close proximity to the sound figs, excite in them some 

 similar alteration, which might bring on a premature softening. This 

 suspicion arose from observing in stores of apples and pears that any 

 rotten ones amongst them readily communicated their decay to the sound. 

 In applying this to our case I did not intend to put forth any theory on 

 the subject, as the science has not as yet any means of determining 

 what it is that brings on the decay of any particular fruit, nor its effect 

 on others around it; but what cannot be known by direct experiment 

 may frequently be admitted or presumed by analogy and comparison; 

 and as to the present question, as we have proved that the caprifig does 

 not hasten the maturity of figs, it follows that such a discussion is idle. 

 Nevertheless it may not be wholly useless, I think, to take the oppor- 

 tunity of relating an experiment I made for the purpose of ascertaining 

 what I have alluded to. 



Oranges, when they decay, produce mold and emit an offensive smell. 

 On that account, and by reason of their temperature being probably 

 affected during the change, I suspected that decayed oranges might, on 

 the tree, cause the healthy ones around them to rot; I therefore gath- 

 ered several oranges with their stalks and laid them by, and as some 

 began to rot I hung them by a bit of twine close to others which were 

 perfectly sound. The experiment lasted about a fortnight, by which 

 time the moldy oranges had dried up, but none of the others, not even 

 a, single one, caught the disease, and all remained sound a long time 

 after. It then occurred to me that if the mold touched the skin of the 

 healthy orange it might produce the decay; I therefore scattered the 

 dust (or otherwise, the seeds or spores) of the mold in great quantities 

 on some oranges, and on others I introduced it underneath the skin, as 

 a contagious disorder is inoculated. But nothing of what might have 

 been predicted happened; the wound, instead of festering, dried up, 

 and in one orange, which after some time began to decay, the rot 

 appeared on the opposite side to that of the wound. From this experi- 

 ment, I should say that if oranges when moldy and exhaling an offen- 

 sive smell do not communicate the disease to healthy ones on the tree, 

 and if the mold only propagates on oranges already decaying, is it 

 credible that ripe figs of the caprifig, beginning to decompose, should 

 produce such an effect on the young domestic fig? 



11. Examination of Fallen Figs. If the insect has penetrated into 

 the fig it can be known at once by opening it, and sometimes even that 

 is not necessary when the insect is entangled and suffocated amongst the 

 first scales of the mouth, leaving outside its wings and the posterior 

 parts of its body. If, however, it reaches the inside of the fig below 

 the scales, it does not easily decay*, but remains nearly entire till the 

 fig begins to show signs of maturity; then it becomes buried in the 

 swelling and softening florets, and soon decays. But whenever the 

 insect dies immediately the surrounding parts turn brown, and subse- 

 quently blacken and rot, even the scales of the mouth, which are harder 

 than the other part*, but especially the stigmata and styles in the cavity, 

 as they project beyond the perigone and bracts, and not infrequently 

 also the ovary and part of the receptacle. This rarely happens where 

 the insect does not penetrate, and if the style discolors or dries up, it 



