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There ax:>pears to be no record of the cultivation in Nigeria. 

 In Sierra Leone the common fig is said to grow well (Col. Rep. 

 Misc. No. 3, 1893, i\ 40). In Golungo Alto, Angola it is " culti- 

 vated by plant fanciers in various but few places and affords 

 well tasted fruit, but always inferior to that grown in Europe 



(Hi 



the '' purple " variety 



is reported to grow well in Dominica, where it is always 

 in season, but less plentiful in April, May and June (Kew BulL 

 1888, p. 210). Fairly good fruit is produced in Singapore, 

 where the Chinese frequently grow the green-fruiting fig in 

 Ijots and good specimens may often be seen bearing a large 

 crop of fruit (Mlsum, Dept. Agric. F.M.S. Bull, No. 29, 1919, 

 p. 89). The fig thrives in a variety of climates but the best is 

 probably that approaching sub-tropical, with a moderate rain- 

 fall ; the soil should be well-drained, fairly rich, with a good 

 proportion of lime rubble, in situations exposed to the sun. 

 In Palestine numerous varieties are said to grow wild abundantly 

 in the crevices of rocks and shading the opening of the numerous 

 mountain caves (Aaronsohn, U.S. Dept. Agric. Bur. PI. Industry, 

 Bull. No. 180, 1910, p. 21). The cultivation in Nigeria for 

 export may perhaps be inadvisable, but it is probable the tree 

 might be grown with advantage for local use. There are many 

 varieties grown. The good varieties of table figs, used as soon 

 as possible after ripening, develop sufficiently without eaprifica- 

 tion ; but where figs are dried or preserved for commercial 

 purposes, caprification is essential — fruit growers in Cahfornia 

 could not produce figs equal to those of Smyrna until the caprifig 

 insect (Blastophaga grossorum) was introduced (Howard, Year 

 Book, U.S. Dept. Agric. 1900, p. 80). This insect, male and 

 female, is bred in the receptacles of the wild or "' capri-fig 

 (there are specimens of this fig in the Kew Museum, collected by 

 Sir Jos. Hooker in Smyrna, 1860), from which in due time the 

 female escapes and enters the receptacles, through the orifice at 

 the apex, of the cultivated j^lant, carrying with it the pollen. 

 In the Orient pollination is provided for by hanging a branch 

 of ripening capri-figs in those of the cultivated trees at the time 

 of flowering. Bailey (Cycl. Amer. Hort, iii. p. 1237) states that 

 only 30 capri-figs are needed to caprify one large fig tree and 

 one tree of the wild fig is sufficient for 100 Smyrna fig trees- 

 May be propagated by seeds, but the better sorts are usually 

 propagated by cuttings. The Smyrna figs are regarded as the 

 best on the market and the finest varieties grown there are 

 ;*' Sari Lop " — appreciated for its large size and the *' Bardajik, 

 a smaller but sweeter and finer flavoured fruit usually eaten in 

 its fresh state — this when dried goes by the name of '' Sheker 

 Injir " (sweet fig). Some 30 years ago the acreage planted in 

 Smyrna was about 10,000, giving an average crop of 9,000 tons; 

 at the present time (1920) the orchards cover 25,000 acres, 

 yielding on the average 23,000 tons of figs (Bd. of Trade Journ. 

 Feb. I9th, 1920, p. 265). 



9t 



