760 FEUIT CULTURE IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES. 



hiseot pests. — ^The Gossus ligniperda, a large night moth, destroys 

 nearly every tree that it attacks. The homopter, the Columnea testu- 

 dinata, covers the trees with little pustules (fig-tree scale or mange) as 

 it feeds on the tender twigs, leaves, and fruit. Remedies : Bleed the 

 tree or sprinkle it with a mixture of kerosene and water — nine-tenths 

 water to one-tenth kerosene. 



The Ealterophora Mspanica eats into the pulp. Eemedy: Smoke 

 the tree during July and August with sulphur fumes. 



There are no parasites of the injurious insects of sufllcient importance 



to mention. 



Wallace S. Jones, 



Consul. 

 United States Consulate, 



Messina, January 27, 1890. 



NAPLES. 

 SEFOUI BT COKSVL OAMPSAVSBN. 



Varieties. — The name of the best variety for drying is the Dottato, 

 and for eating when ripe, the Troiano. The other varieties worthy of 

 culture and for profit are, the Samese, the Nerolello and the Paradise. 



Situation. — The trees that produce the varieties above mentioned are 

 grown in the province of Naples. The Troiauo is largely cultivated on 

 the plains of Sorrento, where it attains a height of from 30 to 40 feet 

 and 18 inches in diameter. Some trees reach a height of 50 feet and 

 yield about 900 pounds of green fruit per year, which matures between 

 August and the first half of October. Some of these trees grow about 

 2,200 feet above the level of the sea in Mojano near Sorrento; but fig- 

 trees grow generally on land, varying from 300 to 600 feet above the 

 level of the sea. Figs are also largely cultivated in Basilicata and 

 Calabria. 



Climatic influences. — Rain is very beneficial to the trees and also to 

 the fruit. What was said regarding the climatic influences regarding 

 lemons and oranges, applies also to figs. During the mouths of June, 

 July, August, and part of September, there is generally no rain at all, 

 but the atmosphere is moist and vegetation hardly ever suffers from 

 drought. 



Irrigation — Fig trees do not require any irrigation ; neither are the 

 orchards cultivated nor fertilized. 



Pruning. — Every two years in the month of January, in the usual 

 manner. 



Picldng and curing. — They are picked from July to September, when 

 they begin to soften and the skins burst. After they are picked they 

 are cut in two and dried in the sun and finally put in boxes. They are 

 not dipped in any solution. The treatment is very simple, about like 

 the drying of apples in the United States. 



