ils i-uUivation must expect to lie i-ailsd 

 upon to combat them. The worst of 

 these, in fact about tlie only one 

 wliic.h lias caused rain h trouble so far, 

 is the black scale. The correct reme- 

 dies for this evil, however, are easily 

 ascert unahlc, and by diligence in their 

 application the trees may be preserved 

 from loss. Happily, the pest con lines 

 its ravages Inr^uly if not exclusively to 

 the region that i.s subjected to tUe in- 

 liuencc of the fogs and moisture of the 

 ocean, so tbat those whose orchards 

 are situated in the interior valleys have 

 httle to fear on this account. 



A short description of the methods. 

 of preparing the oil and tbe pickled 

 fruit may be of interest to those who 

 are not posted upon the subject. For 

 oil-making the fruit is gathered when! 

 lipe, which in this State is in No- 

 vember or December. It is then 

 spread out for a week or so in order to 

 allow the superfluous moisture to be 

 evaporaf**, ana when well wrinkled 

 it is crushed in a mill formed of a 

 stone or other vat in which a wheel 

 m:ide of stone is revolved by 

 horse or steam power. It Is considered 

 essential in Italy th^t these imple- 

 ments shall be of stone, but that cus- 

 tom is not adhered to here. When 

 crushed the paste is put into sacks 

 made of coarse material, and a dozen 

 or more of the full sacks are subjected 

 to pressure at the same time in a screw 

 or other press. The result of the firt 



conclusion! 



that the olive thrives side by sid 

 the orange, and that it nuiy In-, 

 successlully wherever the temperature j 

 does not reach lor any extended pc-riod 

 u 15 den. aliovf xero. 



THK FIG. 



the 



What California Ilia Don 



Cultivation of This Fruit. 



From the earliest timo t!ie lig has 

 played an important part in the do- 

 mestic economy of the people who in- 

 habited the countries that border upon 

 the Mediterranean. Sacred and pro- 

 fane history alike are replete with ref- 

 erence to it, and the fig trees of Greece, 

 Syria, Turkey, Italy and other coun- 



Macerating olives. 



pressing, which is made with a gentle 

 force, is called the virgin oil nnd is the 

 most valuable. After this has been se- 

 cured, the paste is mixed with hot 

 water and another pressing is secured. 

 A third pressure follows, which pro- 

 duces an oil of a very low quality and 

 useful only as a lubricant and for sim- 

 ilar purposes. 



' The oil is clarified either by being al- 

 lowed to stand in tanks for a month or 

 more, or by being strained directly 

 after pressure in vessels which' have a 

 layer of cotton batting at the bottom 

 Which catches all the impurities. The 

 greatest cleanliness must be observed 

 in all the operations in order to pre- 

 serve the llivor of the oil. The berries 

 will give from 25 to 50 per cent of their 

 wciirht in oil, dependent largely upon 

 the'time of picking, l^rly gathering 

 gives a smaller amount but a better 

 quality, while late eathering acts in 

 the opposite manner. 



In pickling olives the fruit is first 

 soaked in a bath ma eof potash, some- 

 times a little quicklime being added. 

 This must be kept up till the flesh is 

 saturated with the lye to the pit, and 

 will take from six hours to a day, ac- 

 cording to the strength of the solution. 

 The olives are then put into fresh 

 water which is changed frequently, 

 until :\'i traces of the lye are removed. 

 They are then put into brine, which 

 should not be too strong, and bottled 

 in that liquid for use. Considerable 

 care must be exercised and the changes 

 made at the right time in order to pro- 

 duce a palatable article. 



ftself of the people in a large measure 

 depends. The fig was one of the fruits 

 that was supplied by the Creator to the 

 parents of the human race in the 

 Garden of Eden, and it is the first fruit 

 that is mentioned hy name in the Bible. 

 It was from the leaves of the fig that 

 Adam and Eve made garments for 

 themselves just prior to receiving the 

 primal curse of mankind from God. It 

 is reasonable to suppose that the fruit 

 of the tree was a favorite with the un- 

 fortunate pair, and their liking for it 

 has descended to the present day. No 

 one who has had the. good fortune to 

 consume the fruit when freshly gath- 

 ered need be told how enticing it is, 

 nor how difficult it is to refrain from 

 overindulgence. 



Like the olive, the fig was first 

 introduced to this continent by the 

 Spanish conquerors of Mexico, and 

 its cultivation was extended wher- 

 ever the new - comers obtained a 

 foothold. The founders of the mis- 

 sions on the Pacific coast planted this 

 fruit side by side with the grape, olive, 

 orange and vine, and found that m 

 *verv respect the soil and climate were 

 tnirably adapted to its products in 

 rge quantity and of excellent quality. 

 jing easily propagated by cuttings 

 there was little diltiouity in currying 

 the fig to all parti of the State. From 

 the early plantings of the missions, 

 which, by the way, consisted of but a 

 single variety, have sprung the thou- 

 sands of mature fig trees of the black 

 or blue variety that are to be found , 

 from one end of the State to the other. S 



For many years this was the only 

 kind o fig cultivated in the State, and 

 no attempt was made to introduce any 

 other varieties. But in what maybe 

 called the great fruit-growing " boon 

 of 1850-70 the tig came in for its share 

 of attention, and the introduction of 

 varieties more nearly approaching the 

 so-called Smyrna tig of commerce was 

 agitated. As one of the immediate re- 

 sults of that agitation some cuttings of r 



white Adriatic trees at the place men- 

 tioned are the largest and most pro 

 ductive in the S'.ste. They nre no* 

 ty-seven year* old and are ten ti 

 twelve feet in circumference and up- 

 ward of sixty tet in height, The fruit 

 is dried and finds a ready market a 

 from 10 to 15 coats a pound, each tree 

 producing as high as if 100 worth an- 

 nually, beaides affording ft large amount 

 of cuttings, which sell for good pru- i. 

 In the same locality is a grove of tt,e 

 common black rig trees. The.e are 

 also claimed to be the largest in tin- 

 State, and yield immense crops, which 

 are dried and sold for 5 to 8 cents a 

 pound. The crop< are larger than 

 those from the white Adriatic, which 

 mak-s np for the diflerence in price 

 and affords a profit very nearly as 



"The white Adriatic has been culti- 

 vated in all parts of the State, with the 

 result that it has been demonstrated 

 that the fojthills produce a far better 

 quality of fruit than can be grown on 

 the plains. Thorough tests have been 

 nade upon this point, and it is now 

 efinitely known that from trees of 

 ientically the same variety, planted 

 n diflerent localities, tbe fruit grown 

 the foothills is so superior as to 



ave been taken for another varie 

 Hogether. 



Many attempts have been made 

 procure what is culled the genuine 

 Smyrna fig, but so tar without success. 

 Some years a?o a large importation 

 vas made of cuttings which were 

 claimed to be the desired variety, but, 

 while thousands of trees have been 

 propagated therefrom, the results have 

 ueen unsatisfactory." 



The white Adriatic of the foothilli, 

 when carefully dried and prepared for 

 market, is the nearest approach to the 

 Smyrna tig that has yet been produced 

 here. It commands a good price in 

 the market and in all respects seem' io 

 be a desirable tree to cultivate. 



Attempts have been made to repro- 

 duce the Smyrna fig by planting the 

 seeds oi the imported fruit, but thb ! 

 suits so far secured are far from satis- 

 factory. The fig, like moat other 

 fruits, does not come true to seed, and 

 while there is a possibility of securing 

 some good varieties, just as with other 

 seeds, the probability is the other way. 

 The trees that have so far been pro- 

 duced from seed have failed to mature 

 their fruit for some reason or other. 



An important point in connection 

 with the culture of the fig is the q les- 

 tion of the necessity of what is i wn 

 as caprification. In Smyrna, where 

 the choicest figs are produced, this cus- 

 tom has been practiced from time im- 

 memorial. About the middle of June 

 the lig commences to mature, and .< 

 this time the fruit of 'he wil 



ject of much investigation, and by 

 some scientific men has been de- 

 nounced as of no value. On the oilier 

 hand other investigators of equal in- 

 telligence incline to the belief that it is 

 essential, and many facts are cited in 

 proof. 



There are two plain and undisputed 

 facts bearing upon the subject which 

 will not be contradicted, and from 

 which the non-scieutific mined may 

 possibly be enabled to draw a correct 

 conclusion. 



In Smyrna caprification has been 

 practiced for ages, having been handed 

 down from father to son from the earli- 

 est times. The trees so treated pro- 

 duce an. abundance of the choicest 

 fruit which sells for the highest price. 

 The fruit of the trees not so treated 

 blights and falls to tbe ground. 



In California there has never been 

 any attempt at introducing the insect 

 which is claimed to be essential to the 

 production of mature fruit. Although 

 many thousands of cuttings which 

 were solemnly attested to have been 

 taken from the genuine Smyrna trees 

 have been imported into this State and 

 have attained maturity, except in a few 

 fugitive cases they have never ripened 

 their fruit. Persons who have culti- 

 vated these cuttings upon a large scale 

 report that the trees set heavil; 

 fruit, but that it only grows to a cer- 

 tain staee, when from some cause not 

 apparent it blights and falls to the 

 ground. 



Furthermore, where efforts have been 

 made to produce trees trom tbe seed of 

 the Smyrna tig, the same tendency to 

 blight has been encountered from the 

 very commencement. 



In a single instance it is claimed that 

 the genuine Smyrna fig of the importa- 

 tion referred to has matured fruit of 

 fine quality. On the other hand, it has 

 been shown that the fruit uroduecd in 

 that case is identic*! with the white 

 Adriatic of tbe foothills, and in no 

 particular can a difference be traced 

 between either the tree or the frtrH, al- 

 though it is freely acknowledge! th.it 



A ffteen-year-otfl flu tree. 



the white Adriatic fig were imported 

 and planted at Knights' Ferry, Stanis- 

 laus county, and it is claimed that 

 from these have been derived the thou- 

 sands ot trees ot this variety which are 

 now in successful cultivation in all 

 parts of the Slate. At present the 



Capri fig it gathered, made into les- 

 tcons and strung upon the cultivated 

 trees. It is claimed that there is an in- 

 sect in the wild or male fruit which at 

 once visits the cultivated or female 

 fruit, and in so doing conveys the pol 

 len from one to the other, thereby im- 

 pregnating the cultivated fruit and 

 causing it to mature in perfection, in- 

 stead of blighting and falling to the 

 ground as would otherwise be the 



case. 



practice has ueen made Ua ut>- , 



it is superior to thasaiue variety grown 

 on the plains. 



The advocates of caprification point 

 to these facts and claim that until 

 practical experience in California dem- 

 onstrates that they are mistaken they 

 are at least justified in believing m 

 the utility of a practice that has ob- 

 tained among the producers of the 

 choicest figs for many hundreds if not 

 thousands of years. 



Like the olive, the fig is adaptec 

 very wide range of soil and cl.i 

 It will not successfully withstand so 

 low a degree of temperature as theoHve, 

 but in respect to variety of soil and ex- 

 tent of locality the two fruits named 

 have many common characteristics. 

 Figs are grown in both moist and dry 

 soil?, and both with and without irri- 

 gation. The fruit produced in exces- 

 sively moist localities is not equal to 

 tint grown elsewhere, while, as has 

 been stated, the figs of the foothills are 

 of the choicest desciiption. At 

 proper elevation in that region the 

 temperature at nighttime does not 

 vary so widely from that of the day 

 as elsewhere, and it is this happy mean 

 that is most favorable to the produc- 

 tion of figs of choice quality. 



The fig needs an adequate supply o 

 moisture, and in this respect is more 

 exacting than the olive. Alter the tree 

 matures, however, cultivation is fre- 

 imfiitly abandoned altogether, and the 

 earth beneath the tree either remains 

 pocked and smooth, or a growth of 

 MS is allowel to spring up. 



ug to the groat si;:e which the fig 

 attains, it is best to plant them in 

 or hard form at a greater distance 

 apart than a'.'iiost any other fruit. '. 

 intervening spaces m iy be planted v 



or various crop? may 

 ,n until such time as the extend- 

 ing branches of the tree shall make it, 

 impracticable. 



