752 FRUIT CULTURE IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 



of ripeness are complete softening of the fig, slight bursting of the skin, 

 a tear or drop of gum oozing out of the center. 



Figs must be gathered by hand, and in plucking them off the branches 

 care should be taken to pick them with the short stalk that attaches 

 them to the branch. 



The state of the weather and the time of day are points to be taken 

 into consideration when gathering figs for drying. It is true that in 

 this district it is seldom that the weather is not fine during August and 

 September. However, fine days should always be selected, and pick- 

 ing should not commence until the morning dew has disappeared from 

 off the fruit. As soon as the figs are picked they must be laid in rows 

 on wicker or basket-work hurdles or boards and well exposed, but in a 

 sheltered position and raised from the ground, to the full force of the 

 sun. The figs should not be placed too close together, and they must 

 be turned round every day about midday, when the sun is hottest, so 

 that every day a fresh surface is exposed to the direct rays of the 

 sun. The hurdles or boards, without touching or disturbing the figs, 

 must be taken indoors every evening and placed in dry, airy rooms till 

 the morning, when they are brought out again in the same way. No 

 dampness nor moisture must be allowed to get to the figs whilst dry- 

 ing, and if the weather be uncertain one should be near at hand and 

 take them in at the first sign of rain. 



In fine weather six days suffice to dry figs, and this is generally the 

 case with the first batches in August and beginning of September. But 

 as the days grow shorter and the sun becomes less powerful more time 

 is required and the process of drying lasts from ten to fifteen days. 

 Wet weather is exceedingly detrimental to drying, as it is a very diffi- 

 cult and uncertain operation to dry figs indoors by artificial heat. Arti- 

 ficially dried figs are never as good as sun-dried ones. 



The quicker the drying takes place the better the figs are, and the 

 exact stage of complete dryness can generally be ascertained by the 

 firmness of a fig taken between two fingers and rolled. The interior 

 seeds lose their red color when the fig is quite dry, and this is one of 

 the signs that the process is completed. 



They can then be classified according to size, appearance, and quality, 

 and packed in baskets of flat wicker, or boxes, ready for storing or for 

 shipment. They are usually packed in rows and layers, pressed down 

 one by one with the thumb, in such a way that the stalk is in the center 

 underneath, and then each layer should be pressed down with the aid 

 of a small board, slightly, until the v basket or box is full. 



Prices, Fresh ripe figs sell very readily at the time of the crops, es- 

 pecially the early ones, for a few cents a pound. No exact price can be 

 given, as the value varies from 3 to 7 or 8 cents a pound according to 

 time, quantity, and quality of crop, also place where they are sold. In 

 unfavorable seasons for drying and in late crops, quantities are made 

 into jam and are sometimes even boiled into other fruit jams, such as 



