CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 



variety was introduced. Trees grew readily from the cuttings; 

 fruit appeared upon them and dropped before maturity. Doubt 

 then arose as to whether importers had not been deceived, and other 

 efforts were made, resulting in other importations. These also cast 

 to the ground immature figs. Discussion turned then upon the fact 

 of caprification the necessity of having the fruit of the Capri or 

 wild fig adjacent to the fruit of the Smyrna fig so that insects from 

 the Capri might visit the fruit of the improved variety and pollinate 

 its inclosed flowers, which, appearing upon the inner wall of an 

 almost closed cavity, could not be reached by ordinary visiting 

 insects. The wild trees had already been introduced and were 

 freely growing near the others, but this fact availed nothing the 

 figs fell just the same from the Smyrna trees. In 1890 Mr. George 

 C. Roeding, of Fresno, essayed to demonstrate the fact that the lack 

 of pollination was the secret of failure, and he succeeded in intro- 

 ducing the Capri pollen into the eye of the Smyrna fig, and secured 

 thereby the retention of such pollinated figs upon the trees, and 

 when ripened and dried these had the Smyrna character. The 

 demonstration was complete that California could not grow Smyrna 

 figs without the pollinating agency found to be essential to success 

 in Smyrna. This agent is a minute wasp called the blastophaga an 

 insect so minute that it can make its way through the mesh of ordi- 

 nary cheese-cloth and can enter the almost closed eye of the young 

 fig S o minute that a magnifying glass is necessary to give one any 

 clear idea of its outline. For years constant effort was made by 

 various parties to secure the introduction of this insect. Urgent 

 appeals were made to the United States Department of Agriculture, 

 after private undertakings failed, to secure the insect alive or other- 

 wise in form for permanent residence. In April, 1899, the feat was 

 accomplished, the blastophagas being received from Algiers as col- 

 lected and forwarded by W. T. Swingle to Mr. Roeding. Their 

 offspring appeared in large numbers during the summer and fall of 

 the same year. On the basis of this achievement the commercial 

 production of a true Smyrna fig in California began and has rapidly 

 developed. Mr. Roeding gave his product the musical patronomic 

 "Calimyrna," which now adheres also to the variety from which it 

 is produced. 



To avail himself of the benefits of caprification, every grower 

 of varieties which require it must also grow suitable Capri fig trees 

 and 'establish the insect in them by securing wild figs infested with 

 the insects and exposing them in the trees. After such introduc- 

 tion the insects will maintain themselves if the proper capri trees 

 are able to carry their fruit on the branches during the winter be- 

 cause frosts are only light. In these carry-over wild figs the insects 

 safely survive the winter. 



FOES OF THE FIG 



The fig is freer from insect pests than any other fruit trees, and 

 t is a mistake to consider it wholly free still, practically, the 

 fig tree m California has not yet suffered from insects. 



