ix STORY OF THE SMYRNA FIG 105 



went to Smyrna, and not only bought plants but 

 also studied methods, and as a result brought back 

 caprifig cuttings as well as the edible fig plants. 



Two years later, that is in 1890, both kinds of 

 figs came into bearing, and the Smyrna figs were 

 artificially fertilised by taking some of the pollen 

 out of the caprifigs, and, with the help of a quill, 

 putting it inside the edible figs. As a result four 

 ripe figs were obtained. The year after we can 

 see what time and patience must go to this 

 kind of work a glass tube drawn out to a fine 

 point was used, and the pollen blown into the 

 edible figs. This time one hundred and fifty 

 edible figs were produced. Thus, after eleven years 

 of experiments, it was shown that the Smyrna fig 

 would grow in California, and that before it would 

 ripen it must receive pollen from a caprifig. This 

 was the second step the introduction of the caprifig. 



Perhaps some one may say, Why not stop here ? 

 If the date-palm is always pollinated by hand, why 

 not the fig ? But let us think for a moment. In 

 the case of the date each duster is fertilised by 

 hand, but each cluster may contain ten or twenty 

 pounds of dates; it is a very different matter 

 blowing pollen into each single fig with a little 

 glass tube that could never pay. If the fig-wasp 

 could be introduced into America, it would carry 

 the pollen from the caprifigs to the edible figs, and 



