ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 



In the preparation of this book, the author has had occasion to consult the writings 

 of various authorities on the question of fig culture in America, and especially that por- 

 tion dealing with caprification. Acknowledgment is here made for the kindly 

 interest manifested in the work by Hon. James A. Wilson, Secretary of the Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture, at Washington, for placing the matter in charge of Dr. L. O. How- 

 ard, chief of the Division of Entomology, who was instrumental in successfully import- 

 ing the insect; to Mr. W. T. Swingle, agricultural explorer of the Department, who 

 was at the time in Southern Europe, and manifested the deepest interest in this sub- 

 ject; to Mr. E. A. Schwarz, of the Division of Entomology, for his careful and pains- 

 taking investigations and observations, made in the orchards of the Fancher Creek 

 Nurseries, in 1900, bearing on the economic value of the Blastophaga; to Prof. E. W. 

 Hilgard and Prof. Geo. E. Colby, of the University of California, for their kind efforts 

 in analyzing the fruit; to Dr. Hermann Behr, for his advice and valuable suggestions 

 extending over the entire period occupied in establishing the feasibility of caprifica- 

 tion; and to the fig growers of the State, who have given encouragement, and mani- 

 fested a deep and lasting faith, in the final and successful solution of the problem. 



