BOTANICAL EXTRACTS. 
419 
“ The common tig, originally a native of the East, and abounding in 
Cartel, (whence the specific name, Carica ,) has been naturalised for 
immemorial ages in various parts of Africa and Asia, whence it spread 
into Greece, and thence into Spain, Italy, and other parts of Europe. 
The great estimation in ■which tigs were held in former times, may be 
presumed from the frequent mention that is made of them in the earliest 
traditions and most ancient records we possess. The leaves of the fig- 
tree formed the aprons with which our first parents clad themselves in 
Paradise. Figs are mentioned among the choice fruits of Canaan—the 
promised land f flowing with milk and honey and, in after ages, the 
want of blossom of the fig-tree was considered as one of the most 
grievous calamities by the Jews. Cakes of figs were included in the 
presents of provisions by which the wife of Xabal appeased the wrath 
of David. In Greece, when Lycurgus decreed that the Spartan men 
should dine in a common hall, flour, wine, cheese, and figs were the 
principal contributions of each individual to the general stock. 1 he 
Athenians considered figs an article of such necessity, that their 
exportation from Attica was prohibited; and when Xerxes invaded 
Greece, one of the advantages ■which he proposed as the result of his 
expedition was, that he should have unlimited supplies of Attic figs. 
Either the temptation to evade the law which prohibited the exporta¬ 
tion of figs from Attica must have been very great, or it must have 
been much disliked; for the name which distinguished those who 
informed against the violators of the law, si/cophantas, became a term 
of reproach, from which we obtain our word sycophant. At Rome, the 
fig was carried next to the vine in the processions in honour of Bac¬ 
chus, as the patron of plenty and joy ; and Bacchus was supposed to 
have derived his corpulency and vigour, not from the vine, but from 
the fig. 
“ The Romans, knowing the great nutritious power of this fruit, 
lessened the rations of their slaves during the fig season. The w T restlers 
fed also on figs to strengthen themselves, and pigs and geese were 
fattened on them; the latter especially were fed on figs, when it was 
desired to enlarge the liver as a delicacy. All these circumstances 
indicate that the fig contributed very largely to the support of man; 
and we may reasonably account for this from the facility with wdiich it 
is cultivated in climates of moderate temperature: like the Cereals, it 
appears to flourish in a very considerable range of latitude; and even 
our own country frequently produces fine fruit, without much diffi¬ 
culty, in the open air, especially in the southern counties ; yet, from 
prejudice—probably from the fig having been once a common vehicle 
for poison—it is not so much cultivated here as it. might be, although 
