G. GASPAR11INI ON THE KIPENING OP PIGS. 



7 



On the 18th. of August, the mouth of similar green fruit, in a 

 proper condition for experiment, of the Tintore, was washed with 

 sulphuric acid lowered with about four parts of water. On the 

 morning of the 20th they were about double the size (some 

 more, some less), without any fissure, the pulp firm and milky, 

 the flowers red, the seeds with perfect embryos, and no sugary 

 moisture in any part. Granules of a sugary appearance were seen 

 here and there on the withered scales and within the rim of the 

 mouth, which I noticed before in the split receptacles of the 

 Brogiotto and Paradise Pigs above described. This substance 

 came out in the form of a liquid, when the mouth was first 

 touched with the acid, and then condensed in the form of sugar ; 

 but it has no sweet taste, it is not soluble in water, and is 

 rather viscid to the touch. It is derived probably from the action 

 of the sulphuric acid on the globular matter of the latex. It 

 appears, therefore, that the sulphuric acid, more or less lowered, 

 must be regarded as capable of exciting the vegetation of the 

 fruit of the Fig. 



This unexpected effect of the sulphuric acid and hydrochloric 

 acid, the action of the oils and fatty matters used in the experi 

 \ ments (which, acted upon by the air, easily became acid), and the 



inefficiency of the solution of potash and the turpentine have 

 demanded new proofs in the current year. "With a view to see 

 comparatively and with greater precision the operation of cer- 

 tain acids and neutral substances, and also of some alkaline 

 matters, I began w r ith sulphuric acid lowered with a definite 

 quantity of water— 5, 10, 20, 25, 50, 100, 150, 200, 300, 500 parts 

 to one part of acid. 



Taking three varieties of figs, the Brogiotto, Sarnese, and An- 

 dreone, I auointed the mouth of twenty receptacles with acid 

 lowered with five parts of water ; and all on the ninth day were in 

 various states of maturity; six were split, and the rest entire. The 

 action of the acid appeared clear on the second day, as the fruit 

 was nearly twice as large, and some had already begun to split. 



Sixteen figs treated with acid lowered with ten parts of w T atei s 

 gave almost the same results, with slightly diminished energy, 

 which may have depended on the small quantity of the liquid 

 remaining on the mouth, in consequence of the hanging down of 

 the branches or some other cause. With twenty parts of water, 

 out of sixteen, thirteen arrived at perfect maturity, two of which 

 split in the course of ripening : in the other three no action was 



