CHAPTER II. 



THE FIG IN CALIFORNIA. 



A separate volume could be written about the in- 

 teresting history of fig culture in California. It is 

 only within the scope of this work to state briefly 

 the main features of its present condition, and give 

 a few illustrations of the difficulties that have been 

 solved by those tireless, capable pomologists who 

 have devoted so many years to the selection of varie- 

 ties and the perfection of their work. No more 

 graphic nor picturesque recital exists in the history 

 of horticulture than is found in the statement of 

 bare facts about the evolution of fig raising on the 

 Pacific Coast. An enthusiastic naturalist will jour- 

 ney for days, and hunt the wild forests many miles 

 in search of a new specimen to place in his collec- 

 tion; and when found he will toil over mountains, 

 swim rivers, face storms, and consider himself for- 

 tunate if he arrives safely home at last with his 

 discovery uninjured. But those few men of Califor- 

 nia who have been pioneers in fig growing have trav- 

 eled continents, crossed and re-crossed oceans, es- 

 tablished residences in the Orient, and expended 

 fortunes in an effort to develop the finest fig in the 

 world acclimated and accustomed to its new western 

 home. 



California figs are easily divided into the domes- 



