144 ANNUAL KEPOKTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTUEE. 



The progress of the bud-selection department of the California 

 Fruit Growers' Exchange, which is the direct outgrowth of the work 

 of the Bureau of Plant Industry, is of interest in the present connec- 

 tion particularly in view of the fact that more or less supervisory 

 attention is being given to it. In the first year of this work, the rep- 

 resentative of the exchange in charge of it handled a total of 260,000 

 citrus buds. These buds were sold to members of the exchange at 

 the rate of 3 cents each and to nonmembers at SJ cents each. Under 

 these conditions the work was found to be self-supporting. The past 

 year, owing to the increased knowledge that could be brought to bear 

 in the work and the consequent better selection of bud wood, the 

 price of buds was raised to 5 cents each to members of the exchange 

 and 6 cents each to nonmembers. Under these conditions, the demand 

 for buds has increased to such an extent that at the present time there 

 is a greater demand for them than can be met. The citrus nursery- 

 men who have used these buds have obtained better results from them 

 than from the sucker-wood buds that were formerly used in propaga- 

 tion. Furthermore, it has become exceedingly difficult for nursery- 

 men who do not use the selected buds in propagation to dispose of 

 their stock when it is grown. 



The w^ork with olives has continued along the line of standardizing 

 the varieties, of which there are apparently several being planted 

 under the name "Mission." The varieties commonly planted have 

 also been studied for the purpose of standardizing the product. 



THE COMMERCIAL CULTURE OF SMYRNA FIGS. 



The work on the life history and breeding of figs and caprifigs 

 lias been given a great impetus by the publication of a bulletin on 

 the commercial culture of the Smyrna fig in this country. 



The Smyrna fig industry is growing very rapidly in California, 

 and thousands of acres are being planted every year. It is not im- 

 probable that this country will soon produce all the figs it needs. 



Much of the success of Smyrna fig culture in California has been 

 due to the fact that the United States Department of Agriculture 

 has been able to maintain a caprifig orchard at Loomis, Calif., from 

 which caprifigs have been distributed free to growers. Before this 

 distribution was arranged for, many small growers of Smyrna figs 

 became discouraged, and some even dug up their orchards. When 

 Smyrna figs and caprifigs are planted together, the caprifigs do not 

 bear enough fruits to properly caprify the crop until several years 

 after the trees begin to bear. For this reason, a young orchard is 

 dependent on importing the needed caprifigs during the first few 

 years. It was to supply this need that a seedling fig orchard at 

 Loomis was leased by the Bureau of Plant Industry and the general 

 distribution of caprifigs to Smyrna fig growers arranged. 



Many new varieties of caprifigs have been brought to light, some 

 of them very important in commercial Smyrna fig culture. A num- 

 ber of strains of the Lob Ingir (the best type of Smyrna fig) have 

 been found that seem to be immune to splitting and so appear very 

 promising for commercial culture. 



Many thousands of seedling figs have been distributed to cooper- 

 ators in the fig-growing regions of California, Arizona, and Texas, 

 and some promising new varieties have been originated by proper 

 selection of male pollen. 



