experiments which he had made, and 

 repeated in different years. Their results 

 led to the conclusion that caprification is 

 useless for the setting and ripening of the 



! fruit, and instead of making the figs re- 



| main on the tree, it either causes or facili- 

 tates their fall, especially when the insect 



' has penetrated into the inside, and pro- 

 duced decay by its own death. According 

 to Gasparrini, the practice of caprification 



: ought to be abolished, as it entails expense, 

 and deteriorates the flavour of the figs. 

 The French naturalist, Oliver, says it is 



. being abandoned in some islands of the 

 Archipelago where it was formerly prac- 

 tised, but in which excellent figs are still 

 produced. We have thought it necessary 



; to briefly notice the operation, as so much 

 has been written with regard to its pre- 

 sumed advantageous effects ; but from 

 what has been stated, it will be seen that, 

 according to the investigations of modern 

 science, it is proved to be not only unne- 

 cessary, but positively injurious. 



Figs have been used in the east as an 

 article of food from time immemorial. 

 They were amongst the fruits brought 

 back from Canaan by the Israelites sent 

 by Moses to report on the productions of 

 that land. "We read of a present having 

 been made to David of 200 cakes of figs. 

 They were probably used chiefly in the 

 dried state. The drying is easily effected 

 in a warm climate by exposure to the sun's 

 rays, in the same way as those grapes are 

 dried, which are called from that circum- 

 stance raisins of the sun. Like the grape, 

 the substance of the fig abounds in what 

 is termed grape sugar. Tn drying, some of 

 this exudes and forms that soft white 

 powder which we see on the imported 

 dried figs. They are thus preserved in 

 their own sugar, and rendered fit for stor- 

 ing up as an article of food. ■ 



Figs were considered of such necessity 

 by the Athenians that their exportation 

 from Attica was prohibited. Those who 



, informed against persons violating this 

 law were called ' Sycophantai,' from two 

 Greek words signifying the discoverers of 

 figs. These informers appear to have been 

 especially disliked, for their name gave 

 rise to the term sycophant, used for de- 

 signing liars and impostors generally, as 



I well as flatterers. 



The Figs of Athens were celebrated for 

 their exquisite flavour ; and Xerxes was 

 induced by them to undertake the con- 

 quest of Attica. The African figs were 



: also much admired at Rome, although 



! Pliny says, ' it is not long since they began 



I to grow figs in Africa.' Cato, in order to 

 stimulate the Roman senators to declare 

 war against Carthage, showed them a fig 



| brought from thence. It was fresh and in 

 good condition, and all agreed that it 

 jnust have been quite recently pulled from 



| the tree. ' Yes,' said Cato, ' it is not yet 

 three days since this fig was gathered at 

 Carthage ; see by it how near to the walls 



, of the city we have a mortal enemy.' This 



I argument determined the senate to com- 



J mence the third Punic war, the result of 



which was that Carthage, the rival of i 

 Rome, was utterly destroyed. 

 Only six varieties of Figs were known in 

 I Italy in the time of Cato. Others were in- 

 j troduced from Negropont and Scio, ac- 

 I cording to Pliny, who gives a catalogue of 

 1 thirty sorts. The fig may have been in- 

 | troduced into Britain, along with the vine, 

 ; by the Romans, or subsequently by the 

 i monks. But if it had, it seems to have 

 I disappeared till brought from Italy by 

 [ Cardinal Pole, either when he returned 

 i from that country in 1525, or after his 

 | second residence abroad in 1548. In either 

 I case the identical trees which he brought, 

 j and which were planted in the garden of the 

 I Archiepiscopal Palace at Lambeth, have 

 certainly existed for more than 300 years. 

 This proves that the fig lives to a great 

 age, even under less favourable circum- 

 stances than it enjoys in its native country. 

 Another tree, brought from Aleppo by 

 Dr. Pocock, was planted in the garden of 

 one of the colleges at Oxford in 1648. 

 Having been injured by fire in 1809, the 

 old trunk decayed and was removed, but 

 fresh shoots sprang up, some of which in 

 1819 were twenty-one feet high. In this 

 country a chalk subsoil, and a climate like 

 that near the south coast, appear to suit 

 the fig best. There the trees grow and 

 bear as standards. They are liable, how- 

 ever, to be killed to the ground in winters 

 of excessive severity ; but they spring up 

 afresh from the roots. There was an 

 orchard, not exceeding three-quarters of 

 an acre, at Tarring, near Worthing, in | 

 Sussex, containing 100 standard fig-trees. 

 About 100 dozen of ripe figs were usually 

 gathered daily from these trees during 

 August, September, and October. By 

 selecting similarly favourable spots, it 

 may be fairly concluded that this country 

 could supply itself with abundance of 

 fresh figs. As for dry ones, they are ob- 

 tained in large quantities from Turkey, 

 the Mediterranean, and other countries; 

 but the supply for centuries back has 

 chiefly been from Turkey. The import has 

 been as much as 1,000 tons a year; and 

 now that the duty is taken off, the quantity 

 imported will doubtless be much greater. 

 The wood of the Fig is soft and spongy ; 

 and as it can in consequence be easily 

 charged with oil and emery, it is used in 

 some countries by locksmiths and armour- 

 ers for polishing. [R. T.] 



FIDDLE-SHAPED. Obovate, with one 

 or two deep recesses or indentations on 

 each side, as the leaves of the fiddle-dock, 

 Rurnex pulcher. 



FIDDLEWOOD. Citharexylon. 



FIDTJS, FISSTIS. Divided half-way into 

 two or more parts. 



FIELDIA. A genus of Australian Ges- 

 neracece, having only a single species, F. 

 an straits. It has a five-parted calyx with 

 bifid spathaceous bracts ; a tubular swollen 

 corolla, with a five-parted slightly two- 

 lipped limb ; five stamens, four of which 

 are fertile ; and a style scarcely as long as 



