74 THE SMYRNA FIG AT HOME AND ABROAD 



firmness. In my opinion there would be no polleniferous figs at all, if there was a 

 sufficient supply of insects to pollinate the Profichi figs in the spring. This condition 

 is brought about mainly either by the shortage in the supply of insects, or is caused 

 by the Profichi figs passing beyond the receptive stage before the insects enter them. 

 All the wasps do not emerge from the Capri figs at the same time; the flight 

 continues for several days after the figs are suspended, usually taking place in the 

 morning as soon as it commences to get warm, and continuing for about an hour. 

 The insects continue to issue daily from the figs, until they become dry, when the 

 insects still remaining inside, perish. Before entering the Smyrna Fig, the wasp 

 crawls all around it, carefully examining it, and if not satisfactory, flies to another 

 fig. The number of Capri figs which should be placed in a Smyrna Fig tree depends 

 largely on the size and age of the tree, and the condition that the Smyrna Figs are 

 in when the distribution is being made. A five year old tree should have about 

 twelve to fifteen figs placed in it, increasing the number of Capri figs at the rate of 

 three figs for each additional year. After all, no fixed number can be laid down as 

 to the quantity of figs necessary for a tree, except in a general way, for it is one of 

 those cases where experience is the safest and most reliable guide. 



The baskets, in which the figs are placed from time to time during the period of 

 caprification have been found to be a valuable adjunct in expediting this work, for 

 in using them, the Capri figs can be much more quickly distributed than where it is 

 necessary to first string the figs before distributing them. The baskets alone, 

 however, would not answer the purpose, and the use of raffia to suspend figs in 

 various parts of the trees must also be resorted to. The method of doing this is 

 to gather the figs early in the morning, as soon as it is daylight, and dump them 

 in a pile under a tree. The work of stringing is very simple, a ptfece of raffia, 

 into which a darning needle has been threaded is used for this purpose. From 

 twenty to twenty-five figs are strung on each piece, and every fifth fig is held in 

 place by a half hitch. These strings, before the figs are distributed, are cut in pieces 

 with five figs each, and carried out into the orchard on short poles. The strings are 

 thrown up into the trees, the workmen, as far as possible, getting them into the 

 shady parts. After an interval of four to five days, another distribution of the figs 

 should take place, and this should be followed by another distribution, if young figs 

 are found to be making their appearance on the trees. Too many insects may cause 

 trouble, so many of the female flowers becoming fertilized, that, when the fig 

 commences to ripen, it splits open, a very objectionable feature, but which can easily 

 be avoided in using good judgment in the number of figs suspended in the trees. 



It has been suggested that the labor of hanging the Capri figs in the Smyrna 

 trees could be avoided by having the Capri figs distributed throughout the orchard. 

 This is true enough, but there is one point to be considered in following this plan, 

 and that is, that all the trees close to the Capri figs will be fertilized too heavily, 

 resulting in some of the figs bursting open just obout the time they mature. There is 

 no doubt in my mind that this oversupply of insects in the figs is the cause of this 

 difficulty, for the Smyrna Figs growing close to the Capri figs at the Fancher Creek 

 Nurseries, are full of split figs, while in other parts of the orchard where the Capri 

 figs have been distributed in the regular way, split figs are a rareity. 



The remarkable change in the appearance of the Smyrna Figs within ten days 

 after they have been fertilized, is one of the most interesting features in connection 

 with this subject. The caprified figs are readily distinguished from those which the 

 insect has not entered by their healthy green color, absence of ribs, and their firmness. 

 The unfertilized figs have an unhealthy, yellowish green color, the ribs are distinctly 

 outlined, and, when pressure is exerted, they collapse. As the caprified figs develop 

 and expand, the unfertilized ones cease to grow, shrivel up and finally drop from 

 the trees; therefore a month before the crop matures an estimate of about what it 

 will be can be easily made. 



