744 FRUIT CULTURE IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 



Fertilizers. The soil should be manured once every three years and 

 plowed as stated above. 



Pruning. After the fruits have been gathered the dead branches only 

 are cut away. 



Picking and curing. When the fruit is ripe the morning is the best 

 time for picking. If they are to be transported from place to place figs 

 must be gathered before they are fully ripe and placed in boxes, but 

 can not be sent to any distant place. When figs are to be dried they 

 must be gathered when fully ripe, then spread on a lofty spot for from 

 ten to fifteen days and nights. In this way they can be preserved in 

 boxes during the whole year. 



Planting and propagating. The trees are planted.about 13 feet apart 

 and propagated by slips. The orchards are generally small. 



Maturity. Fig-trees attain thirty to forty years of age and produce 

 fruit from the fourth or fifth year. 



Insect pests. There are some insects which infest the soil and invade 

 the trunk of the tree and sometimes cause them to decay, but they do 

 not injure the fruit. Trees so attacked are treated by introducing an 

 iron wire into the affected holes until the insect is reached and de- 

 stroyed. 



Slips. Slips are to be secured in March. 



No printed matter, reports, or statistics exist or are issued by the 

 Government. 



ERHARD BISSINGER, 



Consul. 



UNITED STATES CONSULATE, 



Beirut, February 12, 1890. 



SIDON. 



Varieties. The " green " varieties for drying are the " Bookraty " 

 and "Abyad" for eating when ripe. Other varieties cultivated are the 

 black and one which ripens in the fall. 



Situation. Both in plains and hills ; best kinds within 30 miles of 

 coast; best growth from 500 to 2,000 feet above sea-level; constant 

 exposure to the sun; hilly lands the best; clayey and chalky soil the 

 best. 



Climate. Thirty degrees Fahr. to 90 Fahr. ; rain -fall about 30 inches, 

 on an average, annually ; an abundance of rain is beneficial. 



Irrigation. Never irrigated at all. 



Cultivation. Spring ploughing. 



Fertilizers. None applied. Figs become wormy in rich earth. 



Pruning. Dead branches only are removed. 



Picking. When ripe, and in the morning. 



Curing. Dried in suix only. No solution of any kind used. 



