6 , B . ]^:Tfl"E SMYRNA FIG AT HOME AND ABROAD 



articles of diet. From Hellas it must have found its way to Italy and the adjacent 

 islands. The fig was held sacred by the Romans; the tree that overshadowed the 

 twin founders of Rome in the wolf's cave, as an emblem of the future prosperity of 

 the race, testified to the high value set upon the fruit by the Romans. The tree is 

 now cultivated in all the Mediterranean countries, but the larger portion of the foreign 

 supply of figs comes from Asia Minor, Syria, Greece, the Spanish Peninsula and the 

 south of France. Those coming from Asiatic Turkey are considered the best, and 

 under the name of Smyrna Figs constitute fully ninety-five per cent, of the dried and 

 cured product in the European and American markets. 



In Westerti Asia and Southern Europe, figs constitute a large part of the food 

 of the natives, and their use among more northern peoples as a food is constantly 

 on the increase. It is grown for its fresh fruit in all the milder parts of Europe and 

 the United States, succeeding with protection in winter, as far as Pennsylvania on 

 the Atlantic sea-board. In England it is usually trained against a wall, and sheltered 

 with mats or branches against severe frosts, though in warm places near the 

 southern coast, small plantations of standard bushes exist. 



The history of the fig in the United States, and especially in California, is a record 

 of strenuous efforts on the part of planters to successfully introduce the genuine 

 Smyrna Fig, together with its essential adjuncts, the wild or Capri fig, and the Fig 

 Wasp, Blastophaga grossorum. Outside of the Pacific Coast, however, it has never 

 advanced beyond an amateur fruit. As early as 1833, Kerwick in the "New American 

 Orchardist" described twenty-three varieties. Along the South Atlantic Coast, and 

 in all of the Gulf States, figs grown primarily for their fresh fruit, have also been 

 a feature of family orchards, and in not a few cases, some pretentious have also been 

 made to produce the fruit in commercial quantities. The history of the fig in 

 California, together with the successful introduction of the Capri, or wild fig, and the 

 naturalization of the Blastophaga grossorum by the writer, with an account of his 

 experiences in Asia Minor and Syria, as a Commissioner from this Government to 

 investigate the Smyrna Fig industry, will be found in the following pages; also 

 complete and minute instructions on soils and climates, planting and management 

 of orchards, caprification and care of the Blastophaga, harvesting and curing of 

 the fruit, packing, shipping and marketing, with a concise statement of the commer- 

 cial prospects, and an outline of the industry as a whole. 



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