INTRODUCTION 



The following pages are little more than a chron- 

 icle of field investigations and personal experiences 

 of the writer, to which are added a few observa- 

 tions upon the work of other fig growers and a 

 short historical statement. The effort to obtain defi- 

 nite knowledge of this special subject led to the dis- 

 covery some years ago that an entire lack of har- 

 mony of methods existed among growers, the pro- 

 cesses of preservers were without uniformity, while 

 informed persons usually withheld information 

 which they considered business secrets. Investiga- 

 tions were also hindered by a conspicuous lack of 

 recent literature upon the subject, while growers, 

 themselves, had not written of their work, and the 

 few bulletins in print at experiment stations were 

 topical essays and reports rather than detailed dis- 

 cussions. Gustave Eisen's careful statement of the 

 history, botany, tillage, classification, diseases and 

 curing of figs, published in 1901 as a circular of the 

 Department of Agriculture, is valuable as a con- 

 densed scientific treatise. 



The facts sought by growers are sometimes con- 

 cealed as a result of the unjust methods of many 

 current writers, for exaggerated reports of crops, 

 markets and profits not only prepare the public to 

 believe glowing misrepresentations, but such is 



