Novimbpr, 1913 



TUE (lARDEN AND FIELD. 



257 



OaprificatioA of Smyrna Fis«. 



In the followinji article will lind 

 an iulorosting- and verv clear ex- 

 planation of the eaiiriruation of 

 the liji'. What aiiidios to ■ South 

 Africa apiilies witli equal force to 

 our own country where the dried 

 tig- industry is fairlv on the 

 way to becoming successfully and 

 permanently established, largely 

 through the efforts of Mr. T. B. 

 .Robsou, of Ilectorville. For tho.se 

 who haye a tree or two of the 

 Calimvrna lig in the home garden 

 it will be of interest to know that 

 Messrs. E. & AV. Ilackett supph- 

 the all-important insect (Blasto- 

 phagu.s.) in season. The Capri tree 



of cour.se necessary to maintain 

 I permanent supply but the ordin- 

 ary suburljan gardener will find it 

 much less trouble to procure his 

 supply as he requires them. As 

 mentioned in the article referred 

 to it appears to be well estab- 

 lished that second crops in other 

 countries are matured by the 

 insect, which would otherwise not 

 do so. It is also belieyed that it 

 improyes the quality of certain 

 varieties in which its presence is 

 not essential for the actual pur- 

 pose of maturing the crop. 



Lecture deliyered before Pearl 

 Farmers' Association, 5th Decem- 

 ber, 191 1, by I. Tribolet, 'Horti- 

 culturist and Viticulturist, Elsen- 

 burg Croyernment Agricultural 

 School, Cnpe Proyince. 



The rfig is one of the best known, 

 most widely distributed, and most 

 wholesome of fruits, and has been 

 as long.' cultiyated by man as an v 

 of the fruits now used by him. 



During the last twenty-five years 

 or so a great many facts of in- 

 terest have been brought to light 

 .'especially bearing; on the matter of 

 pollination and on the different 

 Ivpes of figs. 



C. A. SMITH & CO. 



ENGINEERS, 

 WAKEFIELD STREET 

 ADELAIDE 

 (0pp. Gawler Place). 



Sole Makers of the 

 " DON " Centrifugal and Double 

 Action Pumps, Horizontal and 

 Vertical. 



The best on the market. Repairs 

 to all kinds of Machinery. 

 'Phone 766. 



The (ig, botanicalh", is known 

 as a spurious fruit (Syconus), and 

 is fleshy, i)aiLly hollow receptacle, 

 with its.llowers and seeds, ot real 

 fruit on the inside, and belongs to 

 the tribe .\rtocari)coe, g«nus Ficns 

 carica, and is divided into tw'o 

 great clas.s'.^s — 



(r) Those which ripen and be- 

 come ediLl.' without developir.g 

 perfect .sejeds, or, in other words, 

 they become pomologically ripe, 

 b\it not botanically ripe, 



(2) Those which are ' unable to 

 ripen ot become fit for eating ex- 

 cept the formation of perfect 

 seeds takes placed. This class be- 

 comes both pomologically and bo- 

 tanically ripe, that is, it can be 

 eaten and also be pronagatad from 

 the ripe seeds it contains. 



To the first great class beSlong 

 all the figs that have been grown 

 in this coimtry till quite reosntly. 

 To the second belong all the figs 

 of the SmRTna type ; some of 

 these have been introduced here 

 during the last few years. 



The initial difference between 

 these two general classes is that 

 the first which can become ripe 

 and fit^for eating without pollina- 

 tion possesses what are known 

 as mule flowers. This class can- 

 not be propagated from seed, but 

 only from cuttings. 



The second class possesses male, 

 female, and gall flowers, . becomes 

 botanically ripe, and can be pro- 

 pagated from seeds as well as from 

 cuttings. This class includes the 

 Smyrna type, which contains only 

 female flowers, and which to be 

 of anr value must be fertilized. It 

 also includes the Capri, or what 

 is called the male fig. 



Now, the Capri section (which, is 

 also Ficus carica possesses male, 

 female, and gall flowers— these ' 

 gall flowers, as will be explained 

 later on, play a very important 

 part in the economy of the fiig. 



Thus the two great classes of 

 figs have four distinct types of 

 flowers, each of which has a dif- 

 ferent purpose to serve. 



The flowers, as already stated, 

 are (i) male, (2) 'female, (3) mule, 

 (4) gall, and vary considerably in 

 shape and size. 



The male flowers are found oc- 

 cupying about a third of the in- 



side area of the fig, and grow 

 round the ostiolnm or eye of the 

 lig, point towards the centre of 

 the fruit, and are not to be seen 

 from the outside e.vcept in the 

 case of abo'rtions or freaks, when 

 they sometinirs burst through and 

 grow there. 



They, as in the case of other 

 flowers, carry the jiollen, and are 

 found in the first and third crops 

 of the Capri figs. 



The fen'.ale flowers occupy, in 

 the Smyrna ligs, nearh- the whole 

 of the interior, and their office is 

 to receive the pollen, b'ecome fer- 

 tilized and ])roduce seeds. If this 

 fertilization does not take place,' 

 the fig fails to come to maturity, 

 and drops off the tree when about 

 half grown. 



The mule flowera are formed 

 throughout the whole of the in- 

 terior of the ordinary edible fig, 

 are incapable of being fertilized, 

 a'nd are probably degenerate fe- 

 male or gall flowers that havie 

 become modified b}^ cultivation. 

 The figs bearing mule flowers 

 ripen without pollination. The gall 

 flower is characteri.sed by an im- 

 perfect stigma and a shorter style 

 than that of the female flower. 

 It is found in all the crops of 

 the Capri fiig treei and is incap- 

 able of being fertilized. It is spe- 

 cially adapted as a receptacle for 

 the eggs of the little wa.sp (Blas- 

 tophaga grossorum). It is in 

 these galls that the wasp is 

 hatched out and lives till it reach- 

 es maturity and is able to under- 

 take the important work of pol- 

 lination. 



— Caprification — 



is the means used for bringing 

 about the fertilization of the 

 Smyrna fig by the transference 

 of the pollen from the male flow- 

 ers of the Capri fig to the female 

 flowers of the Smyrna fig ar figs 

 of that type. 



Unlike the flowers of m'ost other 

 plants the fig flowers are en- 

 closed in a partly hollow, fleshy 

 receptacle, and cannot be visited 

 by passing insects, such as bees, 

 wasps, flies, etc., by: which the 

 pollen from one flower may be 

 carried to another. 



For bringing this about in the 

 fig there is a special insect that 

 is not, as is the case in other 

 flowers, a visitor, but is a per- 

 manent resident in the fruit, and 

 so interdependent is this little 

 insect and the fig tribe that it 

 has been said, and truly so, that 



