310 
FIG TREE. 
in the little aperture which they would form for 
themselves. At Malta, where there are seven or 
eight varieties of the domestic fig, this operation is 
only performed on those which ripen latest ; the 
former are of a proper size, fine flavour, and in great 
abundance without it ; so that he thinks the capri- 
fication only hastens the ripening. The probability 
of this conjecture is strengthened by knowing that 
the figs in Provence ripen much sooner, for having 
their buds pricked with a straw dipped in olive oil. 
There are other kinds of figs growing naturally 
in the warmer parts of Asia, Africa, and America ; 
the most part of which produce fruit which are not 
fit to eat, though many have their uses, and are 
highly curious in other respects. The most in- 
teresting of these are, 
The sycamore fig, Ficus sycamorus Linn., which 
grows to an amazing size, and to a great height. 
The branches spread so prodigiously, that, accord- 
ing to Forskal, they sometimes overshadow a circular 
space of ground equal to forty feet in diameter. 
The fruit, which grows close to the stem and 
branches, is pierced in a remarkable manner by 'an 
insect. A little below the scales, on the side of the 
flower-cup, there appears a spot before the fruit is 
ripe ; the fruit in this place is affected with a gan- 
grene which extends on every side, and frequently 
occupies a finger’s breadth. It withers; the place 
affected becomes black ; the fleshy substance in the 
middle of the calyx for the breadth of a quill is cor- 
roded ; and the male blossoms which are nearest to 
