ON THE 



PHENOMENA OP FERTI1 \TIO 



IN 



FICUS ROXBURGHIT, WALL 



♦ 



BT 



D. D. CUNNINGHAM, M.K., F.L.S . At., 



Surgeon-Major, Bengal Army. 



Sources of materials. 



The trees from which specimens of receptacles were obtained were §e\ n in nu bar. five 

 of which, including four males and one female, are in the Ko\ il Botanic Gardei Calooi 

 while the remaining two, one male and one female, arc in tho / )olo<:iral Garden, Alij re 



In so far as the specimens in this region are concerned, the tree t rictly din « one 

 set of individuals invariably only producing receptacles containing gall-flowers and male* 

 the other only producing receptacles containing true female flo\* 



General phenomena of fruiting of Fictts noxburyhii. 



As far as I have as yet been able to ascertain, two annual crops of receptacles, as ul 

 come to maturity on the male trees. The precise period of maturation differs in differ* 

 trees, but in all cases lies either in the cold weather or in the first half the h 

 weather— that is, between the beginning of November and the middle of Ma In two 



t 





ther 



the trees in the Botanic Garden maturation occurs in the end of Novei ber and l.t 

 beginning of December, and again in February and March. In the other two me rntio. 



occurs somewhat later, apparently in December, and again in the end of April and «r.y 

 part of May. Hardly any new receptacles make their appearance during the hot 

 April to the middle of June-and the* with any immature ones belonging . _-_ 

 weather appear, as a rule, to dry up and abort without having ever reached the jtage « 

 which the fig-insects, whose access is essential to true maturatton, enter then, Some tn 



after the onset of the rains in June new receptacles begm to appear agatn u. number. 



C< 



