THE KADOTA FIG 



This fig, true product of our land and spirit of our people, brings us 

 fame and honor, while radiating pure joy and pleasure. 



Vibrating from its very heart are the impulses of the Californian; scat- 

 tering with prodigality and western abandonment its harvest of luscious fruits 

 and fulfilled promises. 



Discovery 



The honor and credit for the discovery of the remarkable fig now known 

 as the Kadota belongs exclusively to that wise old horticulturist, the late 

 Stephen H. Taft, of Sawtelle, a member of the Centenary Club of Southern 

 California. 



When nearing the brave old age of five score years he crossed over the 

 sunset sea, leaving behind him a horticultural triumph whose magnitude and 

 value were but faintly appreciated even by himself. 



As the planted acres of this fig are leaping from hundreds into thousands, 

 and demand outstrips all possible production even now, only then does the 

 true worth of this fig appear and the magnitude of the discovery become ap- 

 parent to those interested in this branch of horticulture. 



The original tree of this variety, then a stranger, discovered and named 

 by Mr. Taft and afterward distributed, first appeared in an orchard grown 

 by Mr. Cyrus Way of Whittier, from cuttings furnished by Mr. Theo. 

 Hockett, from his orchard of Dottatos, which in turn was an orchard grown 

 from cuttings imported from Europe in 1887, by Mr. R. Thompson of Or- 

 ange County, California. 



In the orchard grown by Mr. Way was one only tree of most remarkable 

 vigor, growth, and early production, and in every way superior to the bal- 

 ance of the orchard surrounding it. The discriminating judgment of Mr. 

 Taft immediately recognized in this stranger the very qualities and virtues so 

 long sought by all progressive fig growers the world over. 



Whether it be an off-shoot, a sport, or a freak of nature, matters but 

 little to us now, and its remarkable achievements in the few short years of its 

 existence has astounded the fig growers of central California, and it now stands 

 at the very head of all figs of its class, and has indeed created a branch of 

 the fig industry all its own. 



Introduction 



It is perhaps true that no fruit ever grown has so surely and so swiftly 

 leaped into fame and found a place for itself in the thoughts and the acres 

 of the progressive and discriminating orchardists of California. 



The advent of this fig has revolutionized the planting and pruning of fig 

 orchards. It has created a new industry the canning of fresh figs as other 

 fruits are canned. It has already caused the installation of canning estab- 

 lishments in several of our interior, cities, and more are in the formative stage. 

 Coast cities had first canned our crops. It has created a new department of 

 labor the skilled picking of fresh figs. 



This fig has upset all the established rules for irrigation of fig orchards. 

 It has created a confidence in the fig industry not previously enjoyed by the 



