1901 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
4o3 
SMYRNA FIGS BROWING IN CALIFORNIA 
Curious Bxporimanfs WHh Insects. 
For centuries the cured figs of western Turkey have 
been considered the best in the world. The Smyrna 
brand has long been and now is the most famous, and 
in reality has the most delicious fiavor of any. To 
secure the varieties for our own country, learn the 
method of culture, to obtain the fruit and cure and 
otherwise treat it, so as to equal this foreign product, 
has long been a matter of earnest endeavor by the 
California fruit growers. The foremost experimenter 
in this matter was F. Roeding, and iater George C. 
Roeding, of Fresno. The former sent W. C. West to 
Smyrna in 1885 to make personal investigation, and, 
if possible, procure cuttings of the variety from which 
the celebrated brand was made. This was accom¬ 
plished at a cost of $3,000. The fruit was grown in 
the district of Aidin, 76 miles in the interior. But 
when trees were grown to bearing age they would 
not hold their fruit, but cast it when about the size of 
marbles. The cause was found to be lack of pcllina- 
tion. Something further had to be done. It should 
be understood that the flowers of figs are very small 
and within the fruits, and only reached through a 
small hole opposite the stem. 
In studying the subject of fig pollination the Aidin 
or Smyrna variety was found to contain only female 
flowers. In the varieties that are commonly grown 
in California and elsewhere in the warmer parts of 
other States, they bear only mule flowers, or those 
which are totally Incapable of being fertilized, while 
those of the Smyrna fig being perfect are easily sus¬ 
ceptible to pollination. In a wild variety of the fig 
called Capri, which grows in Asia Minor, there are 
male, female and mule flowers, and besides, what is 
known as “gall” flowers, which are abnormal or par¬ 
tially developed female flowers, in which a very small 
insect breeds. The fruit, however, is 
small and not edible. This insect, popu¬ 
larly known as the Fig wasp, and scien¬ 
tifically as Blastophaga psenes, is the 
secret agent of fig pollination, and in¬ 
dispensable to the production of perfect 
fruit. There are other figs besides the 
Smyrna, that are large and well devel¬ 
oped in flesh, but they lack perfect seeds 
and hence do not have the peculiar rich, 
nutty flavor of the Smyrna, which has 
perfect seeds, when the flowers are pol¬ 
linated. Moreover, as has before been 
stated, this variety depends entirely up¬ 
on the tiny Fig wasp for perfection of 
its fruit and also for that of the seeds. 
Fortunately, the Fig wasp finds in the 
gall flowers of the Capri fig a depository 
for its eggs, where they develop into 
perfect insects, and the females after 
impregnation while yet in the galls, 
emerge from tnem, wander about Inside 
the fig, get covered with pollen from the 
male flowers, which are just then in 
bloom, and some of them crawl outside, 
carrying this covering of poilen. As 
they lose their wings in the act of get¬ 
ting out of the Capri fig they cannot fly to the edible 
fig trees, or they would pollenize their fruit without 
aid. But here comes in the hand of man, who, hav¬ 
ing learned all the foregoing facts, picks off the Capri 
figs when they are in just the right condition, strings 
them on strong threads and hangs them in the 
Smyrna fig trees. There the insects crawl out gradu¬ 
ally and into the forming fruit and thus carry the 
pollen grains to the stigmas of the female flowers in 
their vain search for a new place to deposit their 
eggs. They die soon after. Those that remain in the 
wild or Capri figs deposit their eggs in the gall flow¬ 
ers, and thus perpetuate their own species. 
It was many years after fig growing had been be¬ 
gun in California before all of the above facts were 
known, and even then many believed them to be only 
idle theories. But persistent effort brought about the 
desired result, the production of perfect fruit on the 
Smyrna fig trees that had been grown from the im¬ 
ported cuttings. This, however, was not possible until 
Capri fig trees had been grown and a stock of the in¬ 
sects brought from Turkey. Cuttings of the Capri 
fig were first imported, that the insects would have a 
place in which to breed. Several lots were brought 
over, the largest of which was that imported by the 
United States Department of Agriculture in 1890, hav¬ 
ing been collected under my special directions by our 
consuls in Turkey and distributed by me throughout 
the entire fig-growing districts of the country. These 
grew readily and are now standing and their fruit in 
part inhabited by the Fig wasps, which have been 
.successfully imported from the same source in Tur¬ 
key, under the directions of Dr. L. O. Howard, ento¬ 
mologist of the Department of Agriculture. 
Last Fall 1 had a package of cured figs from George 
C. Roeding, of Fresno, Cal., that are from his Smyrna 
orchard of 60 acres. Last year, for the first time, he 
was able to pollenize a sufficient quantity of the grow¬ 
ing figs to make enough of the cured product for mar¬ 
ket. In all he has about two tons. The quality is 
equal to the best of that imported from Smyrna. It 
is sweet, aromatic and has the peculiar nutty flavor 
so much esteemed, and the texture of the skin is soft 
and pliant. We will soon no longer need to send 
abroad for choice figs. This large orchard will be 
brought into profitable bearing and others likewise. 
Many more will be planted, and the Turks will have 
to find a market elsewhere for their figs, just as they 
are having to do with their prunes. The size of the 
fresh Smyrna fig is not so large as that of many other 
kinds, averaging about 1% inch In diameter. The 
shape is flat, like that of a very wide decanter, with 
a slightly curved bottle neck about half an inch long. 
The color is clear, lemon yellow, with faint streaks 
of pale green on most specimens. Inside the color is 
brownish yellow. The flesh is soft yet meaty, with 
a central cavity of medium size. Those who like fresh 
figs would surely eat this variety with relish, for the 
flavor is very sweet and delicious. A iife-size sec¬ 
tional drawing is seen at Fig. 164, made from a speci¬ 
men grown by Mr. Roeding, of Fresno, Cal. 
H. E. VAN DEMAN. 
WHOLESALE WHEAT HARVESTING. 
Many farmers in the Eastern States have witnessed 
the development of wheat harvesting. They started 
with the old sickle or grain cradle, and followed the 
mower and the crude reaper to the modern self-bind¬ 
ing harvester. This machine is considered nearly 
perfect, yet the bundles must be handled again and 
again before the thrasher will turn out the clean 
grain. On the smaller eastern farms the self- binder 
will probably remain the standard for many years to 
come. In California and other western States, where 
thousands of acres may be cultivated as one field, 
larger and more powerful machines are possible. Fig. 
166 shows an outfit quite common in parts of Caiifor- 
nia. The picture is taken from Builetin 24 of the 
United States Department of Agriculture (Division of 
Vegetable Physiology). The machine is a combined 
harvester and thrasher. It requires a strong traction 
engine or 28 to 40 horses to haul it at good speed. It 
performs the whole operation of thrashing and reap¬ 
ing. The straw is taken up in front in the machine, 
passes along and is thrown off at one side, while the 
cleaned grain is delivered into bags. In the dry 
climate of California this is possible—of course it 
could not be done in moist sections of the country. 
The bags are even left for weeks, where they fall from 
the machine, without harm. This is wholesale wheat 
farming, and if it were possible to prepare and fer¬ 
tilize the soil as well as the smaller eastern farms 
are cared for it is hard to see how eastern farmers 
could compete. Surely, the man who will not care 
for his 10 acres any better than the Californian cares 
for his 1,000 cannot hope to raise profitable grain. 
THAT MOTH CATCHER AGAIN. 
We recently referred to the Haseltine moth catcher, 
and told how the manufacturer garbled a letter from 
Prof. Steadman. This seems to be a common trick. 
He did much the same thing with a letter from Prof. 
A. L. Quaintance, of the Georgia Experiment Station. 
Prof. Quaintance tried the trap on the moth of the 
so-called pickle worm, and finally sent the following 
letter to Mr. Haseltine: 
We tested your moth trap during the past Summer. 
We used It particularly to determine the possible value 
of trapping by lights of the so-called pickle-worm moth. 
With this Insect we found that a great many were at¬ 
tracted to the light, and It wouid seem possible to en¬ 
deavor to destroy these moths by some form of light 
trap. We had a good chance to observe the number of 
moths of the boll worm that were attracted to the light. 
One light was placed and kept burning adjacent to corn¬ 
fields and cotton fields. Thousands of these moths could 
be observed in the afternoon and evening flying around 
here and there. Despite their unusual abundance, very 
few came to the trap, and I doubt whether this Insect 
is attracted very much by light. The whole question of 
the value of any lamp, it seems to me, depends upon 
the species in question, as it Is well known that certain 
moths will come to lamps when others will not. No 
wholesale claims, therefore, should be made for any 
light trap. I am glad to say that your lamp was found 
very effective in trapping moths of the pickle worm, and 
considered in connection with Its cheapness, I think It 
would not be expecting too much of cucurbit growers to 
purchase it for use. 
That seems plain and fair enough, but the trap 
man left out all reference to what the trap would not 
do, but put in the few lines about the pickle worm as 
though they referred to the Codling moth and other 
orchard insects. This may seem like a smali thing, 
but the principle is a bad one. There can be no tell¬ 
ing where the thing will end if men are permitted 
to garble letters in this way without being exposed. 
THE LAW OF ANIMALS. 
Horses Left Unguarded on the Highway. 
The highway is for the reasonable use of all per¬ 
sons according to the ordinary practices and usages 
of iife and business. One using the highway takes a 
certain amount of risk of accident, while those re¬ 
maining upon their premises are entitled to a more 
absolute security. Farmers and gardeners are par¬ 
ticularly interested in the rule of law relating to the 
practice of leaving horses unhitched or unguarded in 
the streets or highways. Many are called upon to 
pay damages or defend a law suit, growing out of 
despoliation of lawns or runaway 
horses. The prevailing rule appears to 
be that the leaving of horses unhitched 
and unguarded is not negligence per se, 
but according to the decisions it depends 
upon the disposition of the horse and 
many other circumstances, and the ques¬ 
tion of damages is to be determined by 
the jury from the facts of each case. 
In Kansas it was recently held that a 
person is liable for an injury done by 
his runaway horse that had been left 
untied, though the driver is careful, and 
the horse an ordinarily gentle one. The 
court said that “the driver of a horse 
left unhitched ought to be near him and 
in a condition to control him by his 
voice and to reach him, if necessary, 
with his hand in an emergency.” In 
California, Minnesota and other States 
it is held that the failure to comply 
with an ordinance making it unlawful 
to leave a horse unhitched, whereby the 
animals run away and do damage, is 
held to be negligence per se. Where a 
horse is high-spirited or addicted to 
running away, or the place is a crowded 
city street, or there has been negligence in the hitch¬ 
ing or guarding, the owner will be liable. It is not 
material what frightens a horse, if he is not properiy 
taken care of so as to prevent his running. The leav¬ 
ing of a horse unhitched or unattended need not be 
the immediate cause of the injury. An owner was 
held liable where the damage was occasioned by the 
act of a passerby in striking the horse. It is the duty 
of the owner of a horse to guard against such an acci¬ 
dent, and his neglect involves him in liability for the 
consequences as well as the person who caused the 
frightening of the horse. A horse must be'securely 
tied. The fact that a horse would not have run away 
if it had not been hit by stones thrown by boys does 
not relieve the owner from liability to an injured 
person, where the horse was tied with a flimsy and 
defective rope. 
Where the driver of a carriage used to convey pas¬ 
sengers for hire left the horses unhitched and un¬ 
guarded while a passenger was inside, and they ran 
away, and the passenger was injured while trying to 
jump out, the driver and owner were held liable joint¬ 
ly or severally. A carriage at standstill upon the 
highway, the driver of the horses attached is liable 
to the statutory penalty if negligently or wilfully he 
is at such a distance that he cannot have the direc¬ 
tion or government of the horses. When a gardener 
negligently left his horse and cart unattended and 
unhitched in the street, and the plaintiff, a child 
seven years old, got into the cart to play, and another 
child led the horse on, whereby the plaintiff was 
thrown out and hurt, the court said the owner was 
the real cause of the mischief, and therefore liable. 
Where a servant unlawfully left his master’s horse 
unhitched, and the horse strolled away and collided 
with a ladder erected in the middle of the street upon 
which the plaintiff was working, the failure of the 
latter to have the ladder guarded did not relieve the 
owner of the horse from liability. It was the ser¬ 
vant’s negligence that contributed to the damage. It 
was recently said by the highest court of Georgia that 
“every horse whatever, no matter how gentle and 
amiable, must be properly attended or secured In the 
crowded business streets of a city, when there by the 
act of the owner and subject to control.” B. d. v. 
STEAM HARVESTER-THRASHER USED IN CALIFORNIA. Fig. 166. 
