44 



ROEDING'S FRUIT GROWERS' GUIDE 



Reading's Capri No. 3. It has a magnificent crop of Mamme or winter figs. This picture was taken in December. 

 This was originally a Calimyrna fig tree which was grafted over to this variety of Caprifig three years ago. The 

 handkerchief placed in one of the limbs indicates where this grafting was done. 



Fortunately for the fig industry it is frustrated in its 

 efforts to reach the ovaries of the female flowers with 

 its ovipositor, due to their long styles. In its persistent 

 and determined effort to find a receptacle for them it 

 crawls around the inside of the fig and dusts the pollen 

 on the pistillate organ of the female flowers. The insect 

 is exceedingly small and it finally perishes within the 

 fig, being absorbed by its juices, or it crawls out and 

 dies. One wasp is sufficient to pollinate the numerous 

 flowerets on the inside of the fig, but it very often 

 occurs that on breaking open a fig, three to four 

 insects will be found crawling around. Within a 

 -couple of days after the wasp has penetrated the fig, 

 its entire appearance changes; it becomes plump and 



firm and of a deep green color, while the figs on the 

 same tree which the wasp has failed to reach turn a 

 sickly yellow, shrivel up and drop off. Nature again 

 asserts herself in behalf of man, by delaying the pushing 

 out of the Mammoni crop of figs until the season 

 for caprifying the edible figs is practically over. 

 The Mammoni is the lightest of all the crops, and it is 

 very difficult to find any figs of this crop in the caprifig 

 tree until July. There are just enough of the late Pro- 

 fichi figs on the tree at this time to supply wasps for the 

 Mammoni crop. 



Growers who fail to secure a good crop of figs 'on their 

 Smyrna trees have only themselves to blame for not 

 studying their problem, for a light crop is traceable to 



