20 BULLETIN 732, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



weather hastening development and cool weather retarding it. At 

 this time the weather is very warm in the great valley of California. 

 If large quantities of figs are to be gathered, a considerable saving is 

 effected with no harm to the insect by letting them fall to the ground 

 when detached from the branches, but the figs must not be allowed 

 to remain on the hot ground in the sun longer than a few minutes. 

 With a temperature of 90° F. many insects will be killed in half an 

 hour, and most of them in an hour. In an hour and a half every one 

 of them will have succumbed. The figs in the shade of the tree or 

 those attached to the branches are not affected except at very much 

 higher temperatures. It is therefore necessary to pick up the figs 

 from the ground about as fast as they are thrown down by the men in 

 the trees. 



CAPRIFICATION OF COMMON FIGS. 



To show how erroneous is the conclusion of some authors that the 

 pistillate flowers of the Adriatic class of figs are malformed and can 

 not be pollinated, it may be mentioned that the writer by applying 

 the Blastophaga to the so-called "mule" figs of more than 50 varieties 

 found that in every instance heavy fertile seeds were produced and 

 in as large proportion as in the Smyrna fig. From these seeds, thou- 

 sands of plants have been grown at the United States Plant Intro- 

 duction Garden, Chico, Cal. From such cross-pollinated seeds some 

 interesting and valuable varieties are being secured. The breeder 

 does not have long to wait for results, since most of the seedlings bear 

 fruit at the age of 2 and 3 years. 



A striking instance of the fertilization of common figs occurred at 

 Loomis, Cal., where Mr. Andrew Ryder, a prominent fruit grower, had 

 grafted a portion of an Adriatic tree with Smyrna scions. The 

 Smyrna set quantities of fruit, and wishing to secure a crop the owner 

 hung in the tree caprifigs containing Blastophaga ready to issue. 

 Some of the insects entered the Adriatic figs on the ungraf ted part of 

 the tree. The writer secured three mature Adriatic figs which showed 

 by their abnormally large size that they had been entered by the 

 insects. These three figs contained by actual count 4,800 heavy fertile 

 seeds, or an average of 1,600 for each fig — certainly a good crop for a 

 "mule" fig which, according to some writers, will not breed. 



Experience is showing that the time may come when it will be 

 worth while to caprify all of the common figs, that is, those varieties 

 which otherwise reach an edible condition without pollination. A 

 caprified fig is a more nearly perfect fruit than an uncaprified one. 

 The fruit is considerably increased in size, and the seeds contain 

 plump kernels which give a delicious nutty flavor, not apparent in 

 uncaprified figs. Dr. Eisen was the first investigator to make the 

 suggestion. 



