Annals of Horticulture. 



"That the fig does not enter into daily use more largely 

 among the people is no doubt to be regretted, for it is a rich, 



varieties in cultivation in this state were not such as to justify 

 their planting on a large scale; but now that it is better 



wider extension of fig culture may be looked for with confi- 

 Fi sinCal- dence. * * * But let us nere inquire just how 

 ifomia. important an industry fig cultivation in California may become. 

 To begin with, it cannot be reasonably hoped that we may 

 successfully compete in foreign markets with those who pro- 

 duce and prepare figs for those markets and our own at the 

 present time. If, through the evolution of a steel-pointed 

 blastophaga* or otherwise, we shall be able to produce a fig 

 good enough to capture and hold the home market, we shall 

 have accomplished much more than most men hope for in this 

 generation. The present consumption of this fruit in the 

 United States must therefore be taken as the limit beyond 

 which fig culture could not probably be made profitable, 

 though an increased consumption might reasonably follow 

 larger production and lower prices. Among the single-fruit 

 enthusiasts of California, the fig man holds a conspicuous 

 place. He would have us believe that the fig should be cul- 

 tivated wherever the soil and climate will permit, which would 



Arizona, Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi and Florida, in 

 parts of which the fig will thrive. But let us submit the fig 

 proposition to the test of mathematics ; and in this we need 



materially affect the conclusions to which the figures force us. 



"Importations of figs into the United States for each year 

 ending June 30th, as follows : 



"Total imports for six years, 56,151,288 pounds, valued 

 $3,127,121 ; or an average of 9,357>53 8 pounds per year, 

 worth $521,187, or $5.57 per 100 pounds. 



