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probably this practice may have been the cause of vulgar prejudice that 

 formerly prevailed against this fruit in England. This prejudice, 

 however, no longer exists in that country, where the fresh fruit is now 

 largely used for dessert, and is highly esteemed by most people. In the 

 south of Europe, throughout Asia and a considerable portion of Africa, 

 dried Figs is an important item in the diet of the inhabitants. They are 

 also an important article of commerce in some countries, and more 

 especially France, Spain, Italy, Turkey, and Syria. 



The process of drying is simple, and easily carried out. In the 

 countries where the Fig is an article of commerce, the practice is to 

 gather the fruit when it is perfectly ripe and dip it in a scalding-hot lye 

 made with the ashes of the tree. The fruit is merely dipped, and not 

 allowed to stand in the lye, after which it is spread out on trays or 

 mats and exposed to the sun. The fruit mu>t be turned daily till it is 

 thoroughly cured, taking care that it is not exposed to the rain or night 

 dews. When the fruit is sufficiently dry it must be piled loosely in 

 boxes or casks lor two or three days. After this is done the Figs should 

 be tightly packed in layers in small boxes or drums, in which they are 

 sent to market. Another method of drying, practised to some extent, is 

 to plunge the fruit into a boiling syrup of sugar for about two minutes 

 and then dry in the usual way. The practice of drying in slow ovens 

 has been introduced of late years, and more especially in America, by 

 growers on a large scale. This plan is no doubt the most economical, 

 easiest, and surest method of curing, as the grower has the most perfect 

 control over his fruit, and the process can go on uninterruptedly through 

 changes of the weather. On the other hand, however, sun-dried fruit, 

 when carefully prepared, is generally superior to that which is manu- 

 factured by artificial heat. 



The Fig may be grown successfully in nearly every part of Australasia, 

 and its cultivation should be more general than it is at present It is 

 one of those fruits that are likely to prove of great value in the future. 

 For the fresh fruit the demand will always be somewhat limited, as in 

 that state the Fig only keeps a short time, and its carriage is difficult for 

 long distances. Probably, however, better and more certain supplies 

 for our local markets may induce a larger consumption. In the pro- 

 duction of dried Figs there is a wide field open to the energies of 

 cultivators residing in favourable localities. The Fig is a fruit specially 

 well adapted for the warm interior districts of Australia, where it 

 flourishes as well as in any other part of the world and yields heavy 

 crops. As yet growers have scarcely turned their attention to this 

 industry, but the results obtained by a few enterprising pioneers show 

 clearly that there is a great deal to be done in this direction. There is 

 no reason whatever why growers should not make the drying of Figs an 

 important business, and they will always be likely to command good 

 markets for their produce. Even to supply the local demand, which is 

 now met from outside sources, a considerable quantity of fruit is 

 required. Then after this demand has been supplied, there ought to be 

 no great difficulty in finding good markets elsewhere for any surplus that 

 we may raise. 



