SMYRNA FIG CULTURE. SHS) 
The medium and large fruits are packed by themselves, making 
two to three grades with names to suit the fancy of the packers. 
Those intended for ornamental cartons are flattened out between 
the fingers of the operator, the eye end is turned under and then the 
fig is split from apex to stem and spread out to the width of the 
form in which the brick is packed, being arranged in layers until the 
form is filled. The bricks are put under the press and thus compacted 
into a solid block. These blocks or bricks are wrapped in wax paper 
and placed in fancy cartons upon which the producer’s name or 
brand is embossed or are packed in layers in 5-pound and 10-pound 
wooden boxes. | 
_ Another style of packing, called “lacoum” in Smyrna, in which 
- each fig is pressed by hand into a square shape and then packed into 
rows in the cartons, is described and illustrated in Dr. Kisen’s bulle- 
tin (11). } 
SHIPPING FRESH FIGS. 
The consumption of fresh or undried figs in the city markets is 
building up a trade of considerableimportance. The large populations, 
especially of peoples from southern Europe, who count the fruit in 
this condition as an almost indispensable luxury, have all brought 
to this country their liking for fresh figs, which demands that fruit 
growers cater to this trade. The Smyrna fig is so superior to the 
common varieties that when the supply is sufficient at reasonable 
prices, the markets.can take large quantities of the fruit in this form. 
Only the choicest fully mature specimens of uniform size should 
be shipped. Such fruit appeals toeverybody. The usual method of 
packing now in-use is in wooden boxes about 12 by 16 inches in size 
and corresponding in depth to the size of the largest figs, halding about 
8 pounds. «The fruit carries best when packed in a single layer, the 
boxes being lined with white paper and the rows of figs separated 
by strips of the same. No doubt egg boxes, in which each fruit 
would be out of contact with its neighbor, would be ideal carriers. 
If a plan not too expensive could be devised by which ripe figs 
could be laid down in eastern cities, a large trade in Smyrna figs 
could be built up. Experiments have been made which have met 
with some success. A shipment of 50 boxes sent from Ceres, Cal., in 
- an iced fruit car was sold readily in Chicago at 20 cents a pound. A 
smaller lot, shipped in a pony refrigerator from Indio, Cal., reached 
New York City in perfect condition and brought $4.62 per 1-layer 
box of 7 or 8 pounds. In each case the consignee asked for more. 
~The best results were had with the pony refrigerators, but the cost 
of express charges on the pony and the necessary weight of ice are 
almost prohibitory. Fresh Smyrna figs are so much superior to 
any ever seen in eastern cities that they would meet with an active — 
demand at reasonable or even high prices. Here, then, is a field 
