FIG 



587 



re no f eelj c 1 



eh grown by the 



I Agen \ngel que 



I Ilk. Pro ence or Re 



B Turke Brunsw ck 



:ele te (Celest ne) Col d S g 



1 Ro Cro ale Lalaro Isegro 



nde Violette H it ve Royal 



rna Wh te C enoa (Crosse 



White Marseille (Pette 



a Exper ment Stat on has 



1 1 e elle t tur hou e 1 e ol tore 



II en Prance Sj a n a d Italy have 



II I for the 1 ou m] ortat ons of Figb 



I 111 oUect ons are bas>ed 



J r/- ,/;/.. — Altout 5,000 acres of land in California 

 iKivr l.r.ii iihinted in Pigs, mostly in small tracts sel- 

 iluHi iXiTi iliiiLT 120 acres. The leading Pig counties, as 

 f:ir ;i-i art-a is concerned, are Los Angeles, Santa Bar 

 hara, San Bernardino, Butte and Presno, but the 

 counties of Alameda, Santa Clara, Solano, Sacramento, 

 Stanislaus, San Joaquin, Placer, Yuba, El Dorado and 

 Shasta contain some of the finest groves and specimen 



The Smyrna Figs.—\ttet many attempts, the true 

 Smyrna Pigs were introduced on quite an extensive 

 scale by the San Francisco Bulletin in 1882, by the late 

 James Shinn, and by George Roeding, of Presno. Prom 

 these different importations, California became well 

 stocked with both the Capri and Smyrniaca types. The 

 Pig wasp was obtained in July, 1891, by James Shinn, 

 but the locality was unsuited to its propagation. It 

 was again introduced at various times by the United 

 States Department of Agriculture and by Mr. Roeding, 

 until it now seems to be fairly well established at 

 Fresno. The Smyrna Pig was first hand-pollinated in 

 1891 at Niles and also for several seasons at Presno, 

 producing Pigs which when dried were of superior 

 quality. In 1899 Mr. Roeding's Smyrna Pigs, caprified 

 by the little Fig wasp, bore a Pig crop. Several large 

 orchards of tlio tnic Smyrna Fi^s, in v.irious varieties, 

 and many Cai.ri Flu' tn rs ai-f r.aily for colonies of this 

 useful Bia^.ti.i.hai.-a. ami it is 1],.|m('i that a new industry 

 can now br iir\-.-!n[M-<l in xarinus ]iarts of California. 



Proimii'it:..if.-'T\ii- Fi- -rows v.ry readily from cut 



tings. I'si- wU rip.-ii.'.l \v 1 lit' tin- ).r.'viou^ season s 



growth, cut at III.- j.iiiif. ami 'jivf tli.ia the same treat 

 ment reipiii-.-.l t'.ir -i-aii.- .■utiiuL'-. 'I'Im y will even grow 

 from siiiirli' rye ciittiiii^s. Hi.ttom hiat is not necessary 

 in California, where the cuttings are set in the nursery 

 in December or January, and are ready for the orchard 

 in a year. In the eastern states, winter-made cut 

 tings can be started with bottom heat, or in the ^ f 

 open air in April. 



Budding is best done by the annular or img ' - 

 method so useful for the chestnut and walnut 

 The Pig can be cleft-grafted, say in February m ' 

 California, but extreme care must be taken to 

 exclude the air. Seedlings are easily grown from 

 the fertile seeds of the imported Smyrna Pigs 

 and from the few fertile seeds occasionally ap 



Planlnnj. i'<<!ti,,; . ,'- .-The Fig tree in Call 

 fornia r. ,,; i , -liaii-. hence it is used as 



an avemi. , . i : iichard form other trees 



are set 1.. i- , . n, i,. i., iin-rwards removed. In good soil 

 Pig trees, like walnuts, should finally stand not less 

 than 40 feet apart. 



Little pruning is required for the Pig. Trees grown 

 for table Figs are headed low, about 18 inches from the 



gro n 1 to fac 1 tate pick ng Tree gro n for drying 

 F g 1 e heade 1 h gher so that the groun 1 can better 

 be kept mooth and clean for the F gs are usually al- 

 lowed to r pen and fall Cult vation s necessary until 

 the trees completely shade the ground 

 F gs heo- n to bear el (II tin tin si < 



1 c nnected with Pig 



I 1 cussed and the neces- 



1 } ) no sly denied by many 



b tl 1 1 1 tl t F gs of the true 



S uyrna tj pe cast the r F g nl pr fled, for old 



trees are now grow ng n Gal for a i 11 ear no crop. 

 C ases other v se rei orte 1 prove to 1 e f s ne different, 

 ov 1 t s va et Fg caj r flcit has been dis- 

 cussed n var o paper n tl publ at on of the State 

 Boari of Hort cult re 1 v Dr E en a 1 others, in the 

 publ cat ons of the D n of Pomology and Ento- 



mology atWa h ngton and b> ^^ T bwiugle in Science, 

 October 20, 1899. 



The true Smyrna Figs, which are of several varieties, 

 and doubtless capable of much improvement, yield two 

 crops, the first of which fails, because no pollen is then 

 obtainable from the wild or Capri trees. Both earlier 

 and later varieties of wild Pigs than we now have are 

 needed by horticulturists. The wild Fig now produces 

 three crops, but only one is useful for caprification ; the 

 others are barren of pollen, but are necessary to main- 

 tain the Fig wasp. Only 30 Capri Figs are needed to 

 caprify a large Pig tree, so abundant are the insects and 

 the pollen in good seasons, and one tree of the wild Fig is 

 sufficient for one hundred Smyrna trees. The male of the 

 Pig wasp is without wings, but the female has wings 

 and saw-like mandibles; she cuts her way through scales 

 which interlock over the apex of the half grown Smyrna 

 Pig. She loses her wings in entering, dies in the Pig, 

 and is absorbed by the vegetable cells ; if her eggs are 

 deposited they also perish, and the continuance of the 

 species depends upon those individuals that remain upon 

 the wild Fig trees. The whole story is one of the most 

 interesting known to entomologists. 



Fig-drying in California (Fig. 822). -The foreign 

 methods so far as tested in California are not practi- 

 cable under labor conditions, and not entirely satisfac- 

 tory in any case. Some growers let Pigs fall from the 

 trees, picking such as shrivel on the trees without 

 dropping ; others let all the Pigs fall. Picking is best 

 with the finer sorts. Allow the Pigs to shrivel on the 

 trees, pick with great care place on slat trays, bloom 

 end down and subject 

 to sulphur fumes if 

 bleaching is desired 

 Expose to the sun 

 turn the fruit over m 

 an hour or so and the 



822 Youne Fig tree and Fie drying 



next day begin to "Pig-pull," or press each Pig between 

 the fingers to keep it from "drying hard." In 4 or 5 days 

 the Figs can be placed in the shade, and in a day or two 

 "dipped" in boiling water, to further reduce the coarse- 

 ness of the skin, close the pores and color the fruit. 



