SMYRNA FIG CULTURE. 31 



moist Tropics. The Smyrna fig, by far the best type in cultivation, 

 is more exacting than the Adriatic class in the relation between cli- 

 mate and fruit production, as its crop of fruit is absolutely dependent 

 on the fertilizing insect (BlastopTiaga psenes) and its culture on a com- 

 mercial scale is therefore confined at present to regions where the 

 winters are sufficiently mild to permit the mamme or winter insect- 

 bearing crop to live through without injury. 



While figs for fresh consumption can be grown successfully in 

 moist and cool coastal regions, fig drying can be successfully carried 

 on only in regions where the weather from the end of August and con- 

 tinuing through September and October is sufficiently warm to ripen 

 the crop. This season of the year should be free from rains. A 

 great commercial industry will always be confined to the production 

 of dried figs; therefore, at this season of the year dry, sunny weather 

 is indispensable. 



PRESERVING MAMME CAPRIFIGS. 



The discovery was made a few years ago by Henry Markarian, of 

 Fresno, Cal., that mamme caprifigs gathered in December before the 

 advent of severe frosts and packed in layers in damp sand or damp 

 sphagnum moss and placed in outhouses or cellars where they may be 

 protected from excessive cold can in this way be carried through the 

 season of cold weather. It appears that the figs contain sufficient latex 

 and the ovaries sufficient protoplasmic matter to feed and develop 

 the insect to maturity, and all that is required is moisture enough 

 in the packing material to prevent drying out. It is found that the 

 insects reach maturity about the same time as those left on the tree. 



Repeated experiments by the writer have shown that the period 

 of issue can be regulated to a considerable extent by adjusting the 

 temperature of the room or building where the figs are kept. A 

 slight increase in the temperature hastens the development, and a 

 corresponding lowering of the temperature retards it. In one instance 

 figs were gathered on December 19, and the insects began to issue 

 early in April. Some of these figs were sent from San Francisco to a 

 location in southern Texas. The receiver reported the arrival of the 

 figs in good condition and the insects began to issue on April 13 and 

 entered the figs of his profichi crop. From these experiments it is 

 evident that detached caprifigs can be successfully carried through 

 winters in storage where the temperature is so low that the figs on the 

 trees might be destroyed, thus making it possible to grow Smyrna 

 figs in regions where frosts would otherwise interfere with success. 



SOIL REQUIREMENTS. 



The soil requirements of the fig are less exacting than those of 

 climate. The size and quality of the fruit, however, are affected to a 

 considerable extent by the character of the land on which it is grown. 



