310 EXPERIMENTS WITH PLANTS 



In the Fig the end of the stalk develops as a 

 hollow, fleshy structure, which is lined with numerous 

 flowers closely crowded together (like the flowers in a 

 Sunflower head). These produce the seeds 1 which we 

 see in the Fig as it comes on the market. In some 

 varieties the Fig develops without fertilization, while 

 in others it drops off without developing unless the 

 seeds are fertilized. This peculiarity of Figs has led 

 to a great amount of confusion which has only recently 

 been cleared up. 2 



Aristotle described the practice known as caprifica- 

 tion as it is still practiced today. It consists of taking 

 figs from the Wild Fig (or "caprifig") and hanging 

 them in the branches of the cultivated Fig tree of the 

 orchards. Ever since the time of Aristotle, scientific 

 men have disputed whether this process were useful 

 or not. Recently it has been shown that in the case 

 of the best Figs of commerce, i.e., the Smyrna Figs, 

 the process is absolutely necessary, while in the case 

 of some others it is not. The key to the puzzle lies in 

 the fact that the most valuable varieties of Figs are 

 like the Hop plant in having the pollen -bearing flowers 

 on one plant and the seed -bearing flowers on another. 

 The "wild Fig," or "caprifig," is the pollen -bearing 

 plant, and when 'its figs are hung in the branches of 



1 Each one of these "seeds" is really a fruit, since it is contained in a 

 separate seed-case. 



2 See the article by Swingle on "Smyrna Fig Culture in the United States," 

 in the Year-Book of the Department of Agriculture for 1900. 



