40 BULLETIN 732, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
OPPORTUNITIES IN THE INDUSTRY. 
At the present time the annual production of dried figs in Califor- 
nia amounts to about 6,000 tons, one-third of which are of the- 
Smyrna type and the remainder chiefly Adriatic and Mission, the 
Adriatic including by far the largest quantity. The reason for this 
is that the Adriatic was extensively planted many years before the 
Smyrna was introduced. In a few instances Adriatic figs are still 
being planted under the mistaken idea that they are more prolific 
bearers than the Smyrna variety. One prominent grower in the San 
Joaquin Valley who has orchards of both Smyrna and Adriatic finds 
that by a lberal supply of caprifigs he gets a ton to the acre more 
from the Smyrna than from the Adriatic variety, while the former 
sells for about double the price of the latter. At the present time he 
is engaged in grafting his Adriatic trées to the Smyrna variety. The 
fig plantings at present are confined almost entirely to the Smyrna 
type and it is only a question of a few years before the markets of 
this country will be supplied with home-grown Smyrna figs. 
The cutting off of the supplies of figs from Asia Minor and the 
countries of southern Europe by the war has so raised the prices as 
greatly to stimulate the planting of figs in this country. It is a rea- 
sonable estimate that 10,000 acres of Smyrna fig trees have been 
planted in the central San Joaquin Valley alone during the last two 
years. When these large plantings come into bearing, this country 
will be independent of importations from Smyrna, and dried figs by 
the carload will be as evident in commercial movements as raisins 
are at the present time. ; 
_ To show the increasing demand for the best figs, the purchasing 
agent for the eating houses and the newsboy trade on one of the large 
railroad systems of the country m 1913 contracted with a leading 
packer for 80,000 hali-pcund cartons of California-grown Smyrna 
figs, and the supply proved insufficient. In 1914 he contracted for 
100,000 packages, and the supply -was still msufficient. Im 1915 he — 
contracted for 120,000 packages. This buyer never handles any other 
figs as long as the California-grown Smyrna supply holds out. 
A 4-year-old Smyrna fig orchard ought to produce sufficient fruit 
to pay all the expenses of cultivation, and from that age will yield 
increasing crops indefinitely. The owner of one 20-acre orchard 9 
years of age in 1914 reported a net yield of the value of $115 per 
acre. The owner of a 40-acre orchard in the same locality, 13 years 
old, reported an income of $250-per acre. However, it should be 
mentioned that part of the last-mentioned crop was shipped to city 
markets undried. Appearances at the present time indicate that 
it will be but a few years before the 15 or 16 million pounds of figs 
annually imported from Smyrna will be supplied by the home-grown 
product. | 
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