52 



branches or of the fruits; but that of the caprifig rests a little after 

 having produced the first crop, so that when these are ripening in June 

 or July, the young ones of the next crop are not yet appearing on the 

 new branches, whilst those of the domestic fig are a month old, and in 

 full growth. Such being the case, where the stems of a Colombro and a 

 caprifig are united, and both together grafted on a Dottatd, it must be 

 admitted, in the first place, that the roots are sufficient for all three; and, 

 as between two trees joined at the base, the sap must pass more or less 

 readily from the one to the other, and as the periods of vegetation of 

 the two do not precisely agree in the present case, who would not see 

 that the Colombro fig, forming its second crop whilst the caprifig is at 

 rest, must receive the greater part of that which is absorbed by so many 

 roots, and perhaps even a little of the sap of the caprifig itself ? But 

 leaving conjectures, which, indeed, are neither strange nor new, on the 

 effects of grafting, let us return to facts easily appreciated by the senses. 

 If the Colombro fig above mentioned bore so large a crop of fruits, not 

 by the effect of the graft, but merely by having its boughs intermingled 

 with those of the caprifig, the same effect ought to be produced where 

 they are so placed without being united. And so I have seen it at Baja, 

 but without the Colombro having, on that account, any more fruits than 

 others far from the caprifig. 



And I may now declare, that after many years' researches, and follow- 

 ing up all the accounts and stories of cultivators, it has never happened 

 to me to hear of any fact, however strange, new, or singular, on this sub- 

 ject, that might not be accounted for otherwise than by the effects of the 

 insect. 



17. What Account should be Taken of the Maxims and Experience of 

 Cultivators on Caprification f From all that is stated under the pre- 

 ceding heads, I should place no certain reliance on comparative obser- 

 vations made by the lower orders on two trees, one caprified and the 

 other not, to observe the differences. For as differences in humidity, 

 heat, rain, atmospheric influences, soil, etc., often occur, that which you 

 may have thought you have ascertained one year will turn out quite 

 different another. Above all, a frequent cause of error with us is, that 

 two trees, believed to be individuals of one variety, are, in fact, two dis- 

 tinct varieties raised from seed, but so near to each other that cultiva- 

 tors do not perceive the differences. Varieties from seed have no limits 

 in certain plants, and are produced in such numbers that often they 

 may not be distinguished at first sight by external signs, and often these 

 differences are only in the constitution, as, for example, in the horse- 

 chestnut, the seeds of which, taken from one tree, will produce a hun- 

 dred individuals, which may be all alike in all their parts, raised on the 

 same soil, with the same exposure, and yet many of them differing from 

 the others in the number of fruits they bear in proportion to their vigor, 

 in their size, in the periods of their budding and flowering; and that 

 happens often to certain figs which spring up everywhere about us 

 from seed. Thus, in the commencement of my researches, I was often 

 deceived, believing two trees to belong to one variety, when, after a time, 

 I ascertained that they were distinct varieties; and this happens more 

 frequently to those races to which the caprifig is given, that is to say, 

 to the Lardaro, the Chiaja, and the Sarnese, which partake much of the 

 wild nature, and for that reason bear so much fruit. 



I have often discussed the subject with cultivators well informed, but 



