SMYRNA PIG CULTURE. 25 



The medium and large fruits are packed by themselves, making 

 two to three grades with names to suit the fancy of the packers. 

 Those intended for ornamental cartons are flattened out between 

 the fingers of the operator, the eye end is turned under and then the 

 fig is split from apex to stem and spread out to the width of the 

 form in which the brick is packed, being arranged in layers until the 

 form is filled. The bricks are put under the press and thus compacted 

 into a solid block. These blocks or bricks are wrapped in wax paper 

 and placed in fancy cartons upon which the producer's ' name or 

 brand is embossed or are packed in layers in 5-pound and 10-pound 

 wooden boxes. 



Another style of packing, called "lacoum" in Smyrna, in which 

 each fig is pressed by hand into a square shape and then packed into 

 rows in the cartons, is described and illustrated in Dr. Eisen's bulle- 

 tin (11). 



I SHIPPING FRESH FIGS. 



The consumption of fresh or undried figs in the city markets is 

 building up a trade of considerable importance. The large populations, 

 especially of peoples from southern Europe, who count the fruit in 

 this condition as an almost indispensable luxury, have all brought 

 to this country their liking for fresh figs, which demands that fruit 

 growers cater to this trade. The Smyrna fig is so superior to the 

 common varieties that when the supply is sufficient at reasonable 

 prices, the markets can take large quantities of the fruit in this form. 



Only the choicest fully mature specimens of uniform size should 

 be shipped. Such fruit appeals to everybody. The usual method of 

 packing now in use is in wooden boxes about 12 by 16 inches in size 

 and corresponding in depth to the size of the largest figs, holding about 

 8 pounds. The fruit carries best when packed in a single layer, the 

 boxes being lined with white paper and the rows of figs separated 

 by strips of the same. No doubt egg boxes, in which each fruit 

 would be out of contact with its neighbor, would be ideal carriers. 



If a plan not too expensive could be devised by which ripe figs 

 could be laid down in eastern cities, a large trade in Smyrna figs 

 could be built up. Experiments have been made which have met 

 with some success. A shipment of 50 boxes sent from Ceres, Cal., in 

 an iced fruit car was sold readily in Chicago at 20 cents a pound. A 

 smaller lot, shipped in a pony refrigerator from Indio, Cal., reached 

 New York City in perfect condition and brought $4.62 per 1 -layer 

 box of 7 or 8 pounds. In each case the consignee asked for more. 

 The best results were had with the pony refrigerators, but the cost 

 of express charges on the pony and the necessary weight of ice are 

 almost prohibitory. Fresh Smyrna figs are so much superior to 

 any ever seen in eastern cities that they would meet with an active 

 demand at reasonable or even high prices. Here, then, is a field 



