FID 



former they gather that fruit which can 

 only be brought to perfection by the as- 

 sistance of the latter, or wild fig, which 

 has been named taprih'cus, and in the 

 country, ornos. This tree bears succes- 

 sively, in the same year, three sorts of 

 fruit, to which the natives of the Archipe- 

 lago have given differen. names. The 

 first fruit, which they name fornites, are 

 the autumnal figs ; they appear in August, 

 and fall in September and October. The 

 second figs, called cratitires, are the win- 

 ter figs, and remain on the trees from Sep- 

 tember till May ; then come the third 

 kind, or spring figs, known in the coun- 

 try by the name of orni. None of these 

 fruits ripen, but they have a sleek even 

 skin, of a deep green colour, and contain 

 in their dry and mealy inside several male 

 and female flowers, placed upon distinct 

 footstalks, the former above the latter. In 

 the first figs, or fornites, are bred small 

 worms, which change to a species of cy- 

 nips, peculiar to these trees. In October 

 and November, these insects of them- 

 selves make a puncture into the second 

 fruit, after which the autumnal figs fall; 

 but the winter fruit, or cratitires, remain, 

 as we have observed, till May, and en- 

 close the eggs deposited by the gmts 

 when they pricked them. In May, the 

 third sort of fruit, called orni, begin to be 

 produced by the wild fig-trees. This is 

 much bigger than the other two ; and 

 when it grows to a certain size, and its 

 bud begins to open, it is pricked in that 

 part by the cynips of the winter figs, 

 which are strong enough to go from one 

 fruit to another to deposit their eggs. It 

 sometimes happens that the insects of the 

 cratitires are slow to come forth in cer- 

 tain parts, while the orni in those very 

 parts are ready to receive them. In this 

 case the husbandman is obliged to look 

 for the cratitires in another part, and fix 

 them at the ends of the branches of those 

 fig-trees whose orni are fit to be pricked 

 by the insects. If they miss the opportu- 

 nity, the orni fall, and the insects from the 

 winter figs fly away. None but those who 

 are well acquainted with the culture 

 know the critical moment of doing this ; 

 and in order to know it, their eye is per- 

 petually fixed on the bud of the fig ; for 

 that part not only indicates the time that 

 the insects are to issue forth, but also 

 when the fig is to be successfully prick- 

 ed : if the bud is too close, the fly cannot 

 deposit its eggs? if, on the contrary, it is 

 too open, the fruit falls to the ground. 

 None of the wild figs are good 'to eat ; 

 their chief use is to assist in ripening the 



domestic kind, and the manner in which 

 this is effected is as follows : during the 

 months of June and July, the peasants 

 take the orni at the time their insects 

 are ready to break out, and carry them to 

 the garden fig-trees ; if they miss the 

 proper time, the orni fall, and the fruit of 

 the domestic fig will in consequence 

 prove barren, and fall also. The natives 

 are so well acquainted with these pre- 

 cious moments, that, every morning, in 

 making their inspection, they only trans- 

 fer to their garden fig-trees such orni as 

 are well conditioned, otherwise they lose 

 their crop. In this case, however, they 

 have one remedy, which is to strew over 

 the garden fig-trees another plant, in 

 whose fruit there is also a species of in- 

 sect, which, in some measure, answers 

 the purpose. The countrymen so well 

 understand how to manage their orni, 

 that the flies which proceed from them 

 ripen their domestic figs in the space of 

 forty days. 



FIDDLE. See VIOLIN. 



FIELD, in heraldry, is the whole sur- 

 face of the shield, or the continent, so 

 called, because it containeth those a- 

 chievements anciently acquired in the 

 field of battle. It is the ground on which 

 the colours, bearings, metals, furs, char- 

 ges, Gtc. are represented. Among the 

 modern heralds, field is less frequently 

 used in blazoning than shield or escut- 

 cheon. See SHIELD, &c. 



FIELD book, in surveying, that wherein 

 the angles, stations, distances, &c. are set 

 down. See SURVEYING. 



FIELD colours, in war, are small flags of 

 about a foot and a half square, which are 

 carried along with the quarter-master 

 general, for marking out the ground for 

 the squadrons and battalions. 



FIELD fare, in ornithology, the English 

 name of the variegated turdus, with n 

 hoary head. See TUHDUS. 



FIELD pieces, small cannons, from three 

 to twelve pounders, carried along- with an 

 army in the field. See CANSTON. 



FIELD staff", a weapon carried by the 

 gunners, about the length of a Jjalbert, 

 with a spear at the end; having on each 

 side, ears screwed on, like the cock of a 

 match lock, where the gunners screw in 

 lighted matches, when they are upon 

 command; and then the field-staffs are 

 said to be armed. 



FIELD works, in fortification, are those 

 thrown up by an army in besieging a for- 

 tress, or by the besieged to defend the 

 place. Such are the fortification's of 

 camps, highways, Sec. 



T 



