FIG 



FIG 



587 



not yet (■.jual iu .|iiality t.u tlic Sjuyniu prodiu-t, but can 

 bi' sold at a lower prict-. 



_ The t'ollowinji; 25 varieties of Fit; are now freely cul- 

 tivated in California, and extensively grown by tiie 

 nurseries : AdriMtic (Grosse Verte), Agen, Angelique, 

 Black Ischia, Black Marseilles (Black Provence" or Re- 

 culver), Bourjassote Blanc, Brown Turkev. Brunswick, 

 California Black, Oapri, Celeste (Celestine), Col di Siy- 

 nora Nero, Drap d'Or, Du Hoi. Gru^sale, Ladaro, Negro 

 Largo, Ronde Noire, Rond.- Violotte Hative, Royal 

 Vineyard, San Pedro, Smyrna. White Genoa (Groysu 

 Marseilles), White Is(dua, While JMarseillrs ( IV-tite 

 Marseilles). The California Ex[K-rinient Station has 

 grown at various places th(^ al:io\-e 2o varieties, and, in 

 addition, about .'if) others, tlms testing a collection of 

 some GO sorls, and these have been widely distril)uted 

 for G or 8 years. The list ineludes Abondance Precoce, 

 Brianzola. Black Brogiatto, Beilona, Bordeaux, Brown 

 Ischia, Dalmatian, Doree Narbus, Rocardi, Rulirado, 

 Verdal Longe, 3 varieties of Smyrna, ( )sborne Priditi<\ 

 Pastiliere and an especially tine variety, Hirta du Ja- 

 pon, a medium-sized, turbinate, dark iVnr])le Fig witli 

 yellowish white flesh and high qualitv. Tliis last named 

 variety, with Angelique, Early Violet. Brown Turkev 

 and a few others, is exeellent for Ikhisc enlture or forr- 

 ing. The best sources in France, Spain and Italy havr 

 been drawn upon for the various imi)ortatiMns of Figs 

 upon which these collections are based. 



Acreage.— About 5,000 acres of land in California 

 have been planted in Figs, mostly in small traets sel- 

 dom exceeding 20 acres. The leading Fig counties, as 

 far as area is concerned, are Los. Angeles, Santa Bar 

 bara, San Bernardino, Butte and I^re.sno, but the 

 counties of Alameda, Santa Clara, Solano, Sacramento, 

 Stanislaus, San Joaquin, Placer, Yuba, El Dorado and 

 Shasta contain some of the linest groves and specimen 

 trees. 



The Snit/rna -/■'/i/.s'. — Aft(U' many attempts, the tiiir 

 Smyrna Figs were introduced on quite an extensive 

 scale by the San Francisco Bulletin in IM82, by the late 

 James Shiun, and by George Roeding, of Fresno. From 

 these difl:Vrent importations. California bi--came we!! 

 stocked with both the Capri and Smyrniaca types. The 

 Fig wasp was obtained in July, 1801, by James Shinn. 

 but the locality was unsuited to its propagation. It 

 was again iiitroduced at various times by the United 

 States Department of Agriculture and by i\Ir. Roeding. 

 until it now seems to be fairly well estal)lished at 

 Fresno. The Smyrna Fig was first hand-pidlinated in 

 1891 at Niles and also for several seasons at Fresno, 

 producing Figs which when dried were of superior 

 quality. In 1809 Mr. Roeding's Smyrna Figs, cajirilied 

 by the little Pig wasp, bore a Fig crop. Several large 

 orchards of the true Smyrna Pigs, in various varieties, 

 and many Capri Fig trees are ready for colonies of this 

 useful Biastophaga, and it is hoped that a new industry 

 can now be developed in various ]>arts of California. 



Propagatfon. — The Fig grows very readily from cut- 

 tings. Use -well ripened wood of the previous seas i 

 growth, cut at the joint, and give them the same ticat 

 ment required for grape cuttings. They will even ^,ro^\ 

 from single-eye cuttings. Bottom heat is not neces ar's 

 in California, where the cuttings are set in the nuiser^ 

 in December or January, and are ready for the orch-ir 1 

 in a year. In the eastern states, winter-made cut- 

 tings can be started with bottom heat, or in tin- 

 open air in April. 



Budding is best done by the annular or rinu; 

 method so useful for the chestnut and walnut. ^ 

 The Fig can be cleft-grafted, say in February in ^ 

 California, but extreme care must be taken to I H 

 exclude the air. Seedlings are easily grown from i . 

 the fertile seeds of the imported Smyrna Pigs. v^,fj 

 and from the few fertile seeds occasionally ap- 

 pearing in common varieties. 



Planting, CuUiirt', e/c — The Fig tree in Cali- 

 fornia requires much space, hence it is used as 822 

 an avenue tree, or if in orchard form other trees 

 are set between, to be afterwards removed. In good soil 

 Fig trees, like walnuts, should finally stan<l not less 

 than 40 feet apart. 



Little pruning is re<[uired for the Pig. Trees i,^rown 

 for table Figs an- headed litw, about 18 inches from the 



ground, to facilitate picking. Trees grown for drying 

 Pi;^s are headed higher, so that the ground can better 

 be kept smooth and clean, for the Figs are usmdly al- 

 lowed to ripen and fall. Cultivation is necessary until 

 the trees comjdetely shade the i^^nauel. 



Figs begin to bear early in California, often the sec- 

 ond or third year. Some trees prove barren, or very 

 poor bearers, and nmst be replaced by others. Cuttings 

 for pro]i;iLCation should always be taken from well-ma- 

 tured wood of bearing trees. The tree appears to be as 

 long-lived as the olive, has very few insect enemies, ami 

 is not subject to disease. The fruit in some districts in 

 some seasons ferments on the trees (''Fig-sour"). This 

 sometimes seems to come from over irrigation, some- 

 times from lack of vitality, and more often occurs with 

 very juicy and tender varieties. 



Ca pri fi rat i on . — 'Y\\i.' problems connected with Fig 

 capritication have long been discussed, and the neces- 

 sity for the process has been strenuously denied by many 

 writers. But there is no doubt that Figs of the true 

 Smyrna type cast their Figs unless caprified, for old 

 trees are now growing in California and V)ear no crop. 

 Cases otherwise rejiorte'l prove ti' bo of some different, 

 or Jiorfrtisis, variety. Fig capritication has l)een dis- 

 cussed in various pa|)ers iu the publications of the State 

 Board of Horticulture, by Dr. Eisi-n and others, in the 

 publications of the Divisions of Poinology and Ento- 

 mologv, at Wasliington, and bv W. T. Swingle in Science, 

 O.'tober 20, 1899. 



The true Smyrna Figs, whiidi jiri' nf seviTal varieties, 

 and doubtless capable of much im[)rovement, yield tw-* 

 crops, the first of which fails, because no pollen is then 

 obtainable from the wild or Capri trees. Both earlier 

 and later varieties of wild Figs than we now have are 

 needed by hm-ticulturists. Tlii^ wild Fig tiow jiroduces 

 three crops, but only one is useful for cajirihcation ; the 

 others are bai'ren of pollen, but are necessary to main- 

 tain the Fig wasp. (.)nly 'SO <_'apri Figs are needed to 

 caprify a large Fig tree, so abundant are the insects and 

 the pollen in good seasons, and one tree of the wild Fitr is 

 sntfici(uit for one hundred Smyrna trees. The male of th(^ 

 FiLT wasp is without wings, but the female has wings 

 and s;nv-Iike mandibles ; she cuts }irr wa>' through scales 

 which interlock over the apex of the half grown Smyrna 

 Fii,'. She h>ses her wings in entering, dies in the Fig, 

 and is absorbed by the vegetable cells; if her eggs are 

 deposited they also perish, and the continuance of the 

 species (lepends upon thr)se individuals that remain upon 

 the wild Fig trees. The whole story is one of the most 

 interesting known to entomologists. 



Fig -drying in CciUforu ia ( Fig. 822 ) . — Thf- foreign 

 methods so far as tested in California are not practi- 

 cable under lalior conditions, and not entirely satisfac 

 tory in any case. Some growers let Figs fall from the 

 trees, picking such as shrivel on the trees without 

 droppiii>r ; ,,thers let all the Figs fall. Picking is best 

 with the finer sorts. Allow the Figs to shrivel on the 

 trees; ]uck with great care, place on slat travs, bloom- 

 ei 1 1 1 sul lect 



Youne F g tree and F e dry n^ n open a r Cal forn a 



next day begin to "Fig-pull," or press each Fig between 

 the fingers to keep it from"drying hard." In 4 or 5 days 

 the Figs can be placed in the shade, and in a day or two 

 ''dipped" in boiling water, to further reduce the coarse- 

 ness of the skin, close the pores and color the fruit. 



