974 CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES. 



As regards the Smyrna figs at the time of caprification 

 it may be stated that at the moment when their female 

 flowers are receptive, the scales at the eye loosen or rather 

 becomes flexible, allowing the wasps to enter. This 

 softness of the scales may be easily ascertained as by 

 pushing a quill or a stick against the fig eye, it easily 

 penetrates between the scales, without injury to them and 

 without causing any juice to exude, if the fig is of proper 

 size. While on the contrar}^ if the fig is too young the 

 scales will be found to be hard and fixed, cannot be 

 pushed back, and the least wounding will cause an abun- 

 dance of milky juice to exude. If again the fig is too 

 old, the scales will be equally hard and fixed and the fig 

 will be yellow and will early drop. 



If the fig is cut open, the stigmas should be fresh and 

 moist, the styles erect and greenish, not brown. 



What Takes Place in Caprification. — We have alread}^ 

 followed the life history of the Blastophaga in the caprifig. 

 Its history in the edible fig is somewhat different. The 

 wasps cannot breed in the edible figs, they can only visit 

 thein. Shortly after the caprifigs have been suspended, 

 or sometimes even before, the Blastophagas begin to 

 hatch. It even appears that the pulling of the caprifigs 

 hastens the maturity and escape of the wasp. As soon 

 as these have hatched the}" crawl out of the caprifigs in 

 search of young caprifig mammoni, in them to la}^ their 

 eggs, as has been already described. But as the caprifigs 

 are not near, no such mammoni are to be found. In place 

 of them the wasps only encounter edible figs, and not 

 being aware of the deception practiced, the}^ enter these 

 edible figs for the purpose of breeding. The flowers of 

 the edible figs are, however, so constructed that the inten- 

 tions of the wasps are completely frustrated. Instead of 

 the necessary gall flowers, which are especially adapted 



