50 PROCEEDINGS OF THIRTY-THIRD FRUIT-GROWERS ' CONVENTION. 



Among the ancient Greeks the fig had a symbolical and mystic mean- 

 ing, an emblem of fertility and propagation, for the flowers of the fig 

 were hidden, while all other flowers were exposed to view. This pecul- 

 iarity of the fig surrounded it with mysticism, and it became a sacred 

 symbol in the festivities and worship of one of the Greek gods. 



From Greece fig culture spread along the northern shores of the 

 Mediterranean and Adriatic until it reached the southern parts of 

 Italy, where it figured in Roman mythology, the infants Romulus 

 and Remus having been reared under the "spreading crown of a fig 

 tree." From Italy the fig made its way to Spain and Portugal, and 

 with the discovery of the New World it obtained a foothold in all 

 the countries visited by the Spanish and -Portuguese missionaries. It 

 is to the Spanish missionaries that we owe the introduction of the fig 

 into California, the first trees having been brought here by the Fran- 

 ciscan fathers. These were the "Mission" or black fig, and this has. 

 been widely distributed all over the State. 



The most delicious fig on the market, however, is the Smyrna, which 

 derives its name from the seaport Smyrna, where these figs are packed 

 and whence they are shipped to almost every country on the globe. 



In 1882 the foundation of this great industry was laid in the Sacra- 

 mento Valley by the late Governor Stanford. In the spring of 1882 

 the Bulletin Company of San Francisco imported 13,500 Smyrna fig 

 •cuttings. Governor Stanford was very much interested in this impor- 

 tation, the success of which was mainly due to his aid in facilitating 

 rapid transit across the continent, and to the fact that he paid most 

 of the expenses. His share of the cuttings were planted on his Yina 

 ranch in the Sacramento Valley. 



For the past seven years I have been somewhat interested in the Lob 

 Ingir Smyrna fig, or Commercial Smyrna fig, as it is sometimes called. 

 From my experience I consider it a great success in this State, par- 

 ticularly in the Sacramento and San Joaquin valleys. 



This industry has the same disadvantages to overcome as new indus- 

 tries generally do. The greatest obstacle is the fertilization of this 

 fruit, which seems to be hard for the ordinary man to understand. He 

 will see the Blastophaga, or fig wasps, as they are generally called, 

 coming from the capri fig. He will take thirty or forty of these figs 

 and place them on a Smyrna fig tree, all at the same time, when per- 

 haps three or four figs would give better results. In fruiting the 

 Smyrna fig, the amount of fruit on the tree is the first thing to 

 consider. Take, for instance, a tree twenty years old in good thrifty 

 condition. Eighteen capri figs are all that should be placed in the 

 tree the first time, and they should be strung on at least three different 

 strings and placed in three different places on the Smyrna tree. This 

 should be repeated every five days until the profichi crop of capris 



