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THE SMYRNA FIG

AT HOME AND ABROAD

THE SMYRNA FIG

AT HOME AND ABROAD

A TREATISE ON

Practical Smyrna Fig Culture, together
with an Account of the Introduction of
the Wild or Capri Fig, and the Estab-
lishment of the Fig Wasp (Blastophaga
grossorum) in America. *T <& *f *f

GEORGE C. ROEDING.

FRESNO, CAL., U. S. A.

PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR FOR GENERAL CIRCULATION

1903

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

In the preparation of this book, the author has had occasion to consult the writings
of various authorities on the question of fig culture in America, and especially that por-
tion dealing with caprification. Acknowledgment is here made for the kindly
interest manifested in the work by Hon. James A. Wilson, Secretary of the Depart-
ment of Agriculture, at Washington, for placing the matter in charge of Dr. L. O. How-
ard, chief of the Division of Entomology, who was instrumental in successfully import-
ing the insect; to Mr. W. T. Swingle, agricultural explorer of the Department, who
was at the time in Southern Europe, and manifested the deepest interest in this sub-
ject; to Mr. E. A. Schwarz, of the Division of Entomology, for his careful and pains-
taking investigations and observations, made in the orchards of the Fancher Creek
Nurseries, in 1900, bearing on the economic value of the Blastophaga; to Prof. E. W.
Hilgard and Prof. Geo. E. Colby, of the University of California, for their kind efforts
in analyzing the fruit; to Dr. Hermann Behr, for his advice and valuable suggestions
extending over the entire period occupied in establishing the feasibility of caprifica-
tion; and to the fig growers of the State, who have given encouragement, and mani-
fested a deep and lasting faith, in the final and successful solution of the problem.

AT THE OPEN DOOR.

It is a trite saying that "Success comes to him who waits." It is now some twenty
>ears since I first began experimental planting of the fig, with a view to its
successful introduction into the Pacific States, and especially California. Conviction
that it was possible, never for a moment left me, and though the failures, which have
become history and the losses that many have sustained in planting this fruit,
have at times been discouraging, the predominant idea that the genuine Smyrna
Fig could be grown in this State and in the sheltered or thermal belt south of the
Oregon line, in the Gulf and South Atlantic States, as well as in Hawaii, the
Philippines and Australia, and the final solution of the problem, has demonstrated
that my faith was not without good and redeeming qualities.

This monograph is the result of my personal experience with the fig in California,
and it is now published in compliance with a great demand for specific information
on the practical phases of the subject. My correspondence has become so voluminous
as to make it a physical impossibility for me to keep abreast of the inquiries that
keep pouring in. The aim of the book is to give the practice and methods which in
my judgment will lead to the greatest success in the planting and culture of a Smyrna
Fig orchard. The price is purely nominal, and merely covers cost of publication.

371260

1. Smyrna Fig Orchard, Fancher Creek Nurseries. 2. Typical Calimyrna Fig tree, Fancher Creek Nurseries.

Reduced from original photographs.

THE HISTORICAL VIEW.

Who was the man who first recognized the economic value of the fig (Ficus
Carica) in its native habitat, and who first took up a specimen tree from its wild
environment and planted it in some sheltered situation along the thermal or foothill
regions of Asia Minor or Persia? history does not mention. The records of the
remote, as well as of the later period, are indeed sadly forgetful of the achieve-
ments man has wrought in the perfection of plants and fruits, calculated to
contribute to his comforts and provide him food and shelter. Yet history records
the deeds of an Alexander and a Caesar, and the lore of books immortalizes the works
of a Plato and an Aristotle. The aphorism of satirical Dean Swift, "He who makes
two blades of grass to grow where only one grew before, is more deserving of
mankind than the hordes of politicians and literateurs put together," is indeed
sadly out of joint both in the past as well as in the present. The spirit of the
Anglo-Saxon is to the military rather than to the pastoral. He who introduces
and perfects a new fruit of real value is quite as much entitled to the homage of his
fellow man as he who conquers in battle, or wins renown in the halls of legislation,
or in the arts and sciences. Hence, all honor to the pioneers in fig culture, whether
in the valleys of the Orient, on the shores of the Mediterranean, or in the new home
of its adoption in Western America.

The history of Smyrna Fig culture abroad, is shrouded in mystery and uncertainty,
though books on this subject, without number, have been published during the past
decade, in nearly all civilized languages. These, for the most part, deal with the
botany, economic value, caprification, and natural history of the whole genus of Ficus.
In view of this fact, their perusal and study is necessarily limited to people of a
scientific and technical turn of mind, and does not appeal to the practical man of every
day life, who is drawn to the subject on purely commercial lines. It is to this class,
that the exploitation of fig culture on this continent and the islands of the Pacific, will
command the widest recognition and secure for it the place its importance deserves.

The species which yields the famous figs of commerce, is botanically Ficus
Carica, which under the influence of man has been developed into a large number
of commercial sorts, many of which possess qualities of a high order and of value
in the trade. It is quite generally admitted by the highest authorities, that the fig
is indigenous J;p Asia Minor and Syria, but by dissemination through a long series of
years, it is now found in a wild state in most of the countries aligning the Mediterranean
region. Reference is frequent in the Bible to the fig, hence its spread even at the
dawn of the Christian Era must have been quite general. The Greeks are said to
have received it from Caria, hence its name. With them, it was one of the principal

6 ,B. ]^:Tfl"E SMYRNA FIG AT HOME AND ABROAD

articles of diet. From Hellas it must have found its way to Italy and the adjacent
islands. The fig was held sacred by the Romans; the tree that overshadowed the
twin founders of Rome in the wolf's cave, as an emblem of the future prosperity of
the race, testified to the high value set upon the fruit by the Romans. The tree is
now cultivated in all the Mediterranean countries, but the larger portion of the foreign
supply of figs comes from Asia Minor, Syria, Greece, the Spanish Peninsula and the
south of France. Those coming from Asiatic Turkey are considered the best, and
under the name of Smyrna Figs constitute fully ninety-five per cent, of the dried and
cured product in the European and American markets.

In Westerti Asia and Southern Europe, figs constitute a large part of the food
of the natives, and their use among more northern peoples as a food is constantly
on the increase. It is grown for its fresh fruit in all the milder parts of Europe and
the United States, succeeding with protection in winter, as far as Pennsylvania on
the Atlantic sea-board. In England it is usually trained against a wall, and sheltered
with mats or branches against severe frosts, though in warm places near the
southern coast, small plantations of standard bushes exist.

The history of the fig in the United States, and especially in California, is a record
of strenuous efforts on the part of planters to successfully introduce the genuine
Smyrna Fig, together with its essential adjuncts, the wild or Capri fig, and the Fig
Wasp, Blastophaga grossorum. Outside of the Pacific Coast, however, it has never
advanced beyond an amateur fruit. As early as 1833, Kerwick in the "New American
Orchardist" described twenty-three varieties. Along the South Atlantic Coast, and
in all of the Gulf States, figs grown primarily for their fresh fruit, have also been
a feature of family orchards, and in not a few cases, some pretentious have also been
made to produce the fruit in commercial quantities. The history of the fig in
California, together with the successful introduction of the Capri, or wild fig, and the
naturalization of the Blastophaga grossorum by the writer, with an account of his
experiences in Asia Minor and Syria, as a Commissioner from this Government to
investigate the Smyrna Fig industry, will be found in the following pages; also
complete and minute instructions on soils and climates, planting and management
of orchards, caprification and care of the Blastophaga, harvesting and curing of
the fruit, packing, shipping and marketing, with a concise statement of the commer-
cial prospects, and an outline of the industry as a whole.

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PART I.

THE SMYRNA FIG ABROAD.

CHAPTER I.
OUTWARD BOUND.

Having become thoroughly convinced, after successfully producing the Smyrna
Fig on a commercial scale in the year 1900, that we were on the threshold ot
a new industry, which promised to rival raisin and prune growing in importance,
and run the orange a close race for first place, I decided to go to the very heart of
the great fig center of the world, in Smyrna, and by personal investigation clear up
many of the doubtful points in connection with the industry. Aftei- years devoted to
experimental work, and the intense interest, which it naturally developed in connec-
tion with my investigations, this step at the time seemed to be fully warranted — an
opinion since verified by the facts presented in this book.

Leaving San Francisco early in May, 1901, with my wife and family, I went directly
to New York, and from there to Washington.

Dr. L. O. Howard, Chief of the Division of Entomology, having been previously ap-
prised of my contemplated trip, kindly volunteered to secure letters of introduction
to our representatives abroad, at such points as I might touch, but the matter having
been brought to the attention of Hon. James A. Wilson, Secretary of the United States
Department of Agriculture, he kindly gave me an appointment as Commissioner of
the Department. It was largely due to the assistance and standing this document
gave me, that my labors were brought to a successful and most satisfactory termina-
tion. The incidents of my trip across the Atlantic are not of particular interest to
the reader, hence only a brief reference, by way of introduction, is here made to that
phase of my experiences.

Boarding one of the huge express steamers of the Hamburg-American Line, "The
Pennsylvania" (a boat capable of carrying 15,000 tons of freight), at Hoboken, on the
18th of May, we slowly steamed out into the Hudson, accompanied by music and the
good wishes of our friends and the crowd, a common sight when any of these levia-
thans take their departure from New York.

Arriving at Cuxhaven after a pleasant voyage of twelve days, hurried good-byes
were said to many friends and acquaintances, made en route. Our luggage having
been passed by the courteous German custom officers, a compartment in the express
was secured, and we were soon speeding along the banks of the Elba to Hamburg.
Berlin was the next point on the itinerary, where arrangements were made for the
residence of my family during my absence in the Orient. After a few days' rest, prep-
arations were made for the trip to Smyrna.

It will probably strike many of my readers as strange that I should be so anxious to
reach Smyrna so early in the season, as the figs would not ripen until several months
later. This anxiety will be more fully explained later.

On the second of June, I started on my journey across the continent to Constanti-
nople, on the Oriental Express. This train, supposed to be one of the most elegant
and palatial in Europe, consisted of a combination baggage and dining car and two
sleepers, drawn by an engine, whose make-up reminded one of the engines of former
days. An American, who is accustomed to so many comforts and conveniences when

1. A Calimyrna Fig tree in winter, showing habit of growth; orchard of Fancher Creek Nurseries.
'2. Roeding's Capri Fig No. 1 in winter, with crop of Mamme Figs; orchard Fancher Creek Nurseries.

Reduced from original photographs.

THE SMYRNA FIG AT HOME AND ABROAD 9

traveling at home, must make a trip abroad before he can fully appreciate the lux-
uries of our modern palace cars, as compared with those of Europe. Their small
size, lack of cleanliness in the sleepers, as well as the diner, make one long for our
magnificent trains at home.

Passing through Southern Germany, Austria, Hungary, Servia, Bulgaria, and thence
through Turkey, Constantinople was reached after forty-two hours travel. It will no
doubt be of interest to the reader, to digress somewhat from the subject in hand, and
give an idea of the customs and conditions abroad, as well as some interesting experi-
ences, which fall to the lot of all travelers. Through Germany, the train sped along
at a lively rate, but as it passed through the various countries, to the southeast, it
slackened its pace, and when Turkey was reached, a snail would not have envied its
movements.

Being somewhat familiar with the German language, I congratulated myself that I
had some one to converse with during my journey. Imagine my surprise, when, in
each successive country passed through, the entire train crew was changed. This
also necessitated changing money to the denominations of each nation, and in the
short space of forty-two hours, four such inconveniences took place. My utter ignor-
ance of the language of the several countries, and unfamiliarity with the coins, placed
me in a rather awkward predicament, and in paying bills there was no other alterna-
tive than to extend a hand filled with money and allow the collector to take what he
wanted, by no means a pleasant experience for an American.

Every one knows that the Turk is a queer fellow, and that his love for his Christian
brethren is not seasoned with very much honey. No privileges are extended to the
tourist here, and if in his ignorance he transgresses the laws of the country, he pays
the penalty either in fines or imprisonment.

Before reaching the frontier of the Turkish Empire, the conductor in the car in-
formed me that it would be necessary to conceal all books and weapons, or they would be
confiscated by the custom-house inspector, who was expected to board the train early
next morning at a place called Musta Pasha.

Having hidden all articles, which were thought to be prohibited by the government,
I retired with every assurance of being safe from molestation. When my compart-
ment was invaded in the early morning, I confidently opened my valises, with every
expectation that they would be passed. However, disappointment was my lot, for no
sooner were the valises opened than the Turk espied a long black cylindrical object,
which attracted his attention. Innocently I pressed a button and, lo, the compartment
was flooded with light. My desire to show the gentleman the value and use of the
cylindrical tube was the cause of my losing an electric lamp. Through the conductor
I learned that the lamp would be returned to me the next day in Constantinople, but
although several attempts were made to obtain it through the American consul, it
never materialized. Later I learned that all electrical appliances were prohibited
from entering the Turkish Empire, and so strict were the regulations that an edict
had even been issued preventing the introduction of the typewriter. As a result of
this measure, there is not an electric light plant in the entire empire, with one
exception, and that is in the Pera Palace, the leading hotel in Constantinople, this
plant having been installed before the law went into effect, and by special permission
it had been allowed to remain. And why all this foolishness? Simply because a
prophet had warned the Sultan that in electricity there lurked danger and that his
life was at stake if he allowed electric appliances to be introduced into his domain.

Having passed through one inspection, I thought my troubles were over, but, to
tell the truth, they had only commenced. On alighting from the train in Con-
stantinople, I was met by a" delegation of officials, demanding my passport. After
asking several questions as to my occupation, et cetera, this was also to my surprise
taken away from me, due to my not having it vised before leaving Berlin. To my

10 THE SMYRNA FIG AT HOME AND ABROAD

surprise another set of officials requested to see my valises for another inspection.
All the books, etc., had been replaced, and to say that my heart was in my mouth
would hardly express my feelings. However, my fears were groundless, for a few
coins passed into the ever open hand of the officials by my guide, who had been
telegraphed for previously, and who met me at the train, caused the grips to be
closed with a snap. My guide having procured a carriage, and with the baggage piled
around me, our driver dexterously piloted the way through the vile streets of the
city and landed us at the hotel without further mishap.

My stay in Constantinople was to be of short duration, for arrangements had
been made to depart on a steamer for Smyrna the same day. New troubles now
arose. In Turkey, one cannot travel without a Turkish passport, called a Teskera,
and how to get this, after having had my other passport taken from me, was the
problem. In company with my guide I called on the American Consul General, who
by the way was Mr. Dickerson, prominently connected with the rescue of Miss Stone
from the grasp of the bandits. The consul being absent the only credential I
possessed, viz., the commission from the United States Government, was presented to
the vice-consul, my predicament and the importance of departure that day for
Smyrna fully explained, with a request that I might proceed on my journey.
This he stated was an utter impossibility, for not having my passport properly
vised, it would take some time to secure the Teskera. Turkish officials take
their time in attending to business and my experience would have been no exception
to the rule, but by the liberal use of baksesh, the official machinery was accelerated,
and by 2 P. M. a properly vised Teskera was handed to me.

The day before my arrival there had been quite a rain storm in Constantinople,
and the streets were reasonably clean, but the bad odors for which the city is noted
are truly emphatic, and are one of the first disagreeable features noticeable to the
traveler, particularly in the lower part of the city, bordering on the Bosphorus, where
the ground is quite flat. The next feature that impresses itself on the foreigner
is the narrow streets, paved with rough stones, and so full of deep ruts that were
it not for the rattle of vehicles, the yelling of drivers, and the vociferous voices of
the street fakirs, one would almost be led to believe while riding, that he were on the
high seas.

Everyone has heard of the dogs of Constantinople, and the reports have not
been exaggerated, for no matter where you turn, these scavengers are to be seen in
groups of from six to ten, sunning themselves on the sidewalks. Pedestrians rather
than disturb them, pick their way gingerly over the cobblestones in the streets.
A mother dog with a litter of pups, carefully protected from the weather with a
canopy, which some kindly resident had made for her, is no uncommon sight in the
main streets of the city.

Highly elated in having secured the Teskera, I started from the hotel with the
guide, for the quay, fully an hour and a half before the steamer was scheduled to
leave. Calling at the steamship office first, in order to exchange the Tourist
Company's ticket for one of theirs, I was indignant to learn that an additional sum
was necessary to that already paid in order to secure passage on the boat leaving that
afternoon. This steamer, instead of going direct to Smyrna (a trip of twenty-four
nours) called at several ports en route, so that the trip occupied several days, and for
this reason additional fare was charged. As there was no other steamer for a number
of days, my only alternative, after making a vigorous protest, was to pay the
additional sum required. Money flows like water when you travel in the Orient,
and plundering an American is one of the pastimes of all the many nationalities
of the Ottoman Empire. The exciting incidents of the day, however, were not yet
over, for on reaching the pier we were surrounded by a rough and uncouth crowd of
porters, all of whom clamored for the privilege of carrying my baggage to the small

THE SMYRNA FIG AT HOME AND ABROAD 11

boat at the foot of the wharf. A few pointed remarks from my interpreter silenced the
crowd, and having selected two of the porters, we proceeded down to the dock.
Just before embarking another attempt was made to examine my baggage, but a
few coppers placed in the palm of the official had the desired effect, and my baggage
was stamped and loaded on the boat. We were quickly rowed out to the steamer, which
was anchored in the stream. She was a small iron tub of a thousand tons burden,
and her steerage and second class passengers were as untidy and dirty a crowd as
one seldom sees. Among the first-class passengers were several Englishmen and
Germans, so my trip was not as lonesome as I had anticipated it would be. Late in
the afternoon, our staunch but dirty little boat steamed out of the Bosphorus into
the Sea of Marmora, leaving the Golden Horn to our right.

Once away from the dirt and bad odors of the Turkish capital, its many
mosques and striking minarets, and the finer residences on the higher elevations
in the background, with the sun sending its glancing rays along the many colored
roofs, odd buildings and palaces, made a pretty picture, not soon to be forgotten.
The following morning we passed through the Dardenelles, where a short stop was
made to unload passengers and freight.

Our next stop was at Mt. Athos, where we arrived the same afternoon. This is
the most southerly peninsula of Turkey, and is noted for its large and ancient
monasteries. The peninsula is heavily wooded with a luxuriant growth of olives,
arbutus, laurel and oaks, and rises very abruptly from the water's edge.

The monasteries, situated in various parts of the peninsula, make a striking
picture with their white walls, peeping out from the mass of green vegetation which
surrounds them. The steamer drew close to the shore, the water being very deep,
and during the short stay, some of the monasteries near by were visited. Fortunately,
among the inhabitants, I found a Russian who had resided in New York, and who
spoke very good English, from whom much of interest was learned of the inhabitants
and their mode of living. The inhabitants consist mostly of Russian and Greek
monks, members of the orthodox church, and although they are constantly migrating
there are said to be fully 15,000 of them on the peninsula. Females, either bipeds
or quadrupeds, are 'never permitted to land, and I was informed that there were
monks located on the peninsula who had not seen a woman in fifty years. Birds and
insects thrive and increase without molestation, and particularly the bed bug, which
seemed, so I was told by a gentleman who had spent several days visiting the
monasteries, to be very much at home in all of them. The monks make a rather
striking picture in their long hair, their peculiar headgear, and cassocks, and if they
were only a little cleaner would be fine looking men.

The next day we reached Salonica, June 10, an important seaport town of
Turkey. No sooner had the steamer dropped her anchor in the offing than she was
surrounded by a jabbering crowd of boatmen. Having signified my intention of
going on shore for a few hours while our steamer was unloading freight, I was
beseiged by the yelling, fighting horde, who beckoned, pleaded in their broken
pigeon English to be allowed the privilege of rowing me to shore. The scene became
so animated I was finally compelled to retire to my cabin to get a few moments
respite. Selecting one of the quietest of the lot, in company with a passenger
familiar with the Turkish language, we were rowed to the wharf. The town is well
situated on a slightly elevated plateau, rising gently from the shore. The streets
are paved in a similar manner to all Turkish towns with rough stones, but
the place as a whole was far cleaner than Constantinople. Commercially it ranks
second in importance to that place, and has a population of 150,000, at least one-half
of which are Jews. A close inspection of the city was not possible, due to the
limited amount of time at my disposal, still one of the leading mosques, and a Jewish
school were visited, and also several of the bazaars. This school is situated in a

12 THE SMYRNA FIG AT HOME AND ABROAD

small park, quite prettily laid out, while the children, young and old, were neatly
attired and evidently belonged to the better classes. After partaking of an excellent
meal at one of the leading restaurants, we returned to our steamer, but in a carriage;
as the rain was coming down in torrents and walking was out of the question. Our
boatman was on hand, his anxiety to return us safely being enhanced by his not
having received his fare.

Late on the afternoon of the llth, the steamer touched at Smyrna, situated at the
northeast corner of the Bay of Smyrna. The steamer travels close to the shore for
a number of miles, and the greyish green of the olive trees, interspersed here and
there with the bright green of the vineyards, makes a striking picture with the dark
uncultivated hills for a background.

No sooner had our steamer dropped her anchor than a violent rain storm sprang
up, and it was some little time before we could land. Rain in Asia Minor in June
is very unusual, as I was informed later on, but the season of 1901 was an exception in
this respect.

Examination of my baggage had to be gone through with as usual, but no particular
difficulty was encountered except that all my books were taken from me, but after
they had been scrutinized by one of the scholarly custom house officials, nothing
inimical to the welfare of the Sultan's realm having been found in them, they were
later on, after I had furnished the material to grease the governmental wheels,
returned to me. Guides are always on hand in all Oriental countries, and having
found one who spoke German. I was conducted by him to the "Grand Hotel Huk,"
located close to the quay and the landing place for all passengers coming to Smyrna
by water.

Grand is a prefix which all the hotels are blessed with, whether good, bad or
indifferent. The Huk was nothing to brag of. It was here I had my first experience
with the lively bed bug, but my troubles were mild as compared with my experience
in other places in the interior towns of Asia Minor.

Registers are unknown in these parts, and I therefore handed the portier my card,
little dreaming at the time it might get me into trouble. Events later on will show
I had made a mistake.

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THE SMYRNA FIG AT HOME AND ABROAD 13

CHAPTER II.
IN THE LAND OF THE SMYRNA FIG.

Smyrna is undoubtedly the most important town of Asia Minor, and is the
principal commercial port of the Ottoman Empire. The city is well built, partly
on level ground and partly on the lower slopes of Mt. Pagus. From the bright
blue waters of the gulf, the eye wanders over the harbor crowded with ships of all
nations, to the stately line of buildings along the quay, the towers and cupolas of
the Christian churches, the tapering minarets, the tall cypresses in the cemeteries,
the picturesque ruin that crowns Mt. Pagus, and the more distant hills with their
graceful outlines.

Giaour ("Infidel") Smyrna, as it is called by the Turks, is divided into five
quarters, viz., the Moslem quarters on the hillside in the higher part of the town,
and the ^Jewish, Greek-.; amJP Armenian quarters in the lower and flatter portions.
The Frank quarter consists of three streets running parallel with the quay, and is
occupied mostly by Europeans. The consulates and many fine marble front residences
are located in this quarter on the street facing the quay; here are also numerous
open-air theatres, cafes, all of which face the water's edge. At night from 6
to 10 P. M. in the summer, the inhabitants (that is the better classes) congregate and
promenade up and down the quay, patronize the theatres and caf6s, and have a
general good time. This quay is two miles long, and is a substantial affair, being built
of solid blocks of stone. It was constructed by a French company in 1870-'75. A street
car propelled by mule power, traverses its entire length.

The climate as a whole is delightful; in summer the temperature often runs over
100 degrees in the shade; the heat, however, is tempered by the afternoon trade
winds, so that the inhabitants have little to complain of.

The population is in the neighborhood of 300,000, and includes nations and creeds
from all parts of the world, although the greater number are Moslems.

The following day after my arrival in Smyrna, I called on Dr. Rufus W. Lane,
the American consul, presented my credentials, and explained to him my mission.
In order to carry out my objects successfully he kindly promised to give me all the
assistance in his power. On his advice and suggestion I engaged the dragoman and
interpreter of the consulate as my guide, a Mr. B. .1. Agadjanian, who was born in
Smyrna, spoke excellent English, having resided in New York for a number of years,
hence thoroughly familiar with the country. Having many friends in various parts
of Asia Minor, he assisted me very materially in pursuing my work.

Needless to state here it was for the purpose of learning definitely all the facts
in connection with the caprification of the Smyrna fig, that I made my hurried trip
to Smyrna. It was intimated to me by several, including Dr. Lane and the dragoman,
that I had arrived too late to observe this interesting phase of the question. Very
much perturbed on receiving this information, after having traveled 8000 miles
with only this one object in view, I determined to learn all the facts myself. In
company with my interpreter, we engaged a carriage and drove out into the suburbs.

Numerous fig trees were seen, mostly of the Bardajic variety, and I had almost
given up in despair of finding a Capri fig tree, when on descending into a small valley

THE SMYRNA FIG AT HOME AND ABROAD

close to an ancient Roman aqueduct, I happened to find a tree with the Profichi or male
crop just commencing to mature. Very much elated I returned to Smyrna, and on
the following morning started for the interior. Having learned meanwhile that the
climate of the great fig district was very similar to that of Smyrna, I was satisfied
I had arrived just in time to watch the workings of the insects in this the most
vital stage.

Type of Entrance to a Smyrna Fig Garden in the Herbeyli District.
Reduced from an original photograph.

The first forty-eight miles after our train leaves Smyrna is a rather undulating
plain, with vineyards here and there, but the leading industry is the raising of cereal
crops. To see the natives harvest a crop is a sight which to an American closely
approaches the ridiculous. The laborers gather a few sheaves of the barley and
wheat in their hands, and cut it with a small hand scythe. Even with cheap labor,
this ancient manner of harvesting is rather expensive, but in all the great grain
districts this is the plan usually followed.

Ayassoulook is the first station of any importance in the fig district. It is
situated close to the ancient ruins of Efrhesus, the plateau being rather low and
swampy. It is on the higher lands after leaving this point that the first fig orchards
are to be seen. An agent of the Ottoman Railroad, who spoke excellent English,
happened to be in our compartment during the trip, and from him I obtained much
information of value in reference to the Smyrna figs. After our train left Ayassoulook
the railroad ascends a steep grade, going high into the upper foothills, and then by
a pass it reaches Balachik, practically the commencement of the great fig district
of the Maeander Valley.

The orchards close to Ephesus comprise several hundred acres, bounded by the
railroad on one side, and the ruins of Ephesus on the other. The Maeander Valley
practically grows all the figs for export. It is about 200 miles long and from six to
ten miles wide. The orchard district proper is not over ninety miles long; commences

THE SMYRNA FIG AT HOME AND ABROAD

at Ayassoulook and ends at Denizli. The general direction of the valley is northeast
and southwest, with the fig orchards along the lower foothills and level plains on
the north, just above the swampy ground of the river bottom. The Maeander River is
a rather sluggish, shallow stream, flowing along the opposite side of the valley. The
hills, which rise rather abruptly from its banks, are barren and almost void of
vegetation, entirely unlike the opposite side where the olive, grape and fig thrive

Method followed in planting cuttings to start young trees in the Maeander Valley, Herbeyli District.

From an original photograph.

luxuriantly. The river bottom is devoted to the culture of cereals, cotton and licorice.
The fig orchards are not over a mile wide at any point along the northern slope.
The soils vary from a deep red loam on the higher ground to a rather sandy, gravelly,
but very deep soil on the lower table lands.

Irrigation, except for starting young trees, is never practiced, in fact is not
required, the rainfall averaging from twenty to twenty-five inches annually. The

16 THE SMYRNA FIG AT HOME AND ABROAD

rainy season starts in in October and continues until May. The climate of the valley
is similar to that of Smyrna, except that it is somewhat warmer and the atmosphere
does not cool off so quickly not being so close to the sea. The railroad which passes
through the villages of Blachik, Deirmenjik, Herbeyli, and Karaboimar, derives
an immense annual revenue from the transporting of the fig crop.

After leaving Denizli, the railroad makes a rapid ascent, and no more fig
orchards are to be seen. In recent years, the finest figs have come from Balachik
and the small district just above Ephesus. The railroad runs through the very
heart of the district, and as our train sped along, I had a splendid opportunity to
watch the general condition of the orchards and the trees. I was particularly
impressed with the fact that as far as my hurried inspection went, all the trees were
of one variety, and this was still further confirmed when I examined the trees more
closely later on. Strange as it may seem, not a single tree of the commercial
variety is to be found growing in the outlying districts of Smyrna; the Bardajic, the
great table fig, an occasional Kassaba, and one or two others which I could not
identify and the names of which were unknown to my guide, were the only ones
found. These trees are caprified, but in nothing like the systematic manner in which
the work is carried on in the fig district.

The principal city of the valley is Aidin, which has a population of over 25,000,
and is the commercial center of the fig district. It is situated on both banks of the
Endor, an affluent of the Maeander, at the foot of the precipitous hill on which the
ancient city of Tralles stood. From the higher portion of the town a grand view of
the valley is obtained. Similar to all Turkish towns, the streets are all paved with
rough stone, making walking very difficult. It is a great cotton mart, has a number
of tanneries, in which fine morocco is made, and the helva and other sweetmeats are
famous. The streets are narrow and slope to the center. The town is well supplied
with water from springs, a stream of which flows almost continually through the
streets, keeping them quite clean. Fountains are located in various- parts of the
town, in whose immediate vicinity there is usually a cafe, where the inhabitants
congregate, drink Turkish coffee, and smoke their nargilehs. This is the national
Turkish pipe, and is to be seen everywhere. It consists of a vase-shaped bottle,
partially filled with water, through which the smoke passes before it reaches the
mouth. A curious looking tobacco, especially prepared for this nargileh, is placed in
a metal cup on the top of the jar. These cafes are all well patronized, and from
the early morning hours until late at night they are well filled, particularly in the
summer months. An immense plane tree (Platanus Orientalis) as a rule spreads its
branches over the place in which the caf6s are located, and affords shade for the
easy-going and indolent inhabitants.

Fortunately my interpreter had among his friends in Aidin, a Greek gentleman of
high standing, a Mr. S. G. Magnissalis. At his home I was very hospitably
entertained. Hotels are the bane of the traveler's life in Asia Minor, for bed bugs
are very much at home in all the caravansaries, and the traveler, who has an
opportunity to enter a home of the better classes, has good reason to congratulate
himself, for to sleep in any of the public hostleries is a torture not soon to be
forgotten.

As has been previously stated, the object in making a trip so early in the season
to Smyrna, was for the purpose of clearing up certain doubtful points in connection
with the caprification of the Smyrna Figs.

Murray, in his hand book of Asia Minor, says in his remarks on this fruit: "Figs,
a specialty of Smyrna, are grown in the Maeander Valley, and the curing of them is
a Smyrna mystery." Verily, he told the truth, for the inhabitants are extremely
ignorant of the entire subject of caprification, hence, it is not strange that the layman
with no previous knowledge of the matter should have been still more mystified by

THE SMYRNA FIG AT HOME AND ABROAD

the unintelligible accounts given by men, who have been the possessors of fig
orchards all their lives. All of the people in the fig district and in Smyrna proper
are fully aware that without the Capri fig and the fig wasp (Blastophaga grossorum)
no Smyrna Figs can be produced, but as to the life history of the insect and as to
the manner in which it propagates its species, they know as little at the present
time as did their forefathers of years ago. In fact, the American .consul in Smyrna
was the only person who was aware of the object of my visit to Smyrna. To others
inquiring the nature of my business, I stated 1 was making a trip in the interests of
the United States Department of Agriculture to investigate fruit culture and the

Type of Trunk of a Smyrna Fig tree, Herbeyli District.
Reduced from an original photograph.

methods followed in general in Asia Minor and Europe. Having represented to my
friends that I regarded the necessity of an insect to produce figs a foolish custom,
followed only in my opinion because their forefathers had done the same thing
before them, they were extremely anxious to convince me that my views were
incorrect, and took particular pains to give all the information they could. So
ridiculous were their statements, I would, had I not had a previous knowledge of the
subject, been more mystified than ever by 'What they told me.

The overwintering crop, known by us as mamme, is said to appear in February,
and is called boghadhes. This is followed by the June or male crop, called ashmadhes.
When this drops off, no further insects are to be seen, but in the following year, the
flowers in the young figs appearing in February, are said to breed a new generation
of insects. The number of young figs appearing at that time indicates whether the
male crop will be heavy or not. All this is, of course, incorrect, but it indicates how
little knowledge these people have of the entire subject. Let us now go into the
whole subject more minutely, and get in close touch with the industry where it is
native and where the world's supply of Smyrna Figs was produced until California
horticulturists entered the lists and added a new industry to our rural economy and
development.

1. A typical Smyrna Fig Orchard, Herbeyli District. 2. A Capri Fig tree in the garden of Mr. S. G.
Magnissalis in the suburbs of Aiden. 3. Six-year-oJd Smyrna Fig orchard, showing method of

Reduced from original photographs.

training trees in the Maeander Valley.

THE SMYRNA FIG AT HOME AND ABROAD 19

CHAPTER III.

SMYRNA FIG CULTURE IN ASIA MINOR.

VISITING A SMYRNA FIG ORCHARD.

My first insight into the methods of caprifying the Smyrna Fig was at Karabounar,
in an orchard, the property of my host Mr. S. G. Magnissalis, located in the famous
Herbeyli district. The visit could not have been made at a more opportune time,
for on my arrival there, June 16, 1901, the Smyrna Figs were being caprified for the
second time. Singular as it may seem, the Capri figs in the immediate vicinity of
the orchards are never used, the natives insisting that better results are obtained
when taken from other districts. This is another of their traditional theories, and
cannot be of any importance, for there are so many Capri figs growing in close
proximity to nearly all the orchards, that the Smyrna trees in many instances,
(even if not caprified at all), would still produce good crops. The Capri figs are
always picked in the morning before sunrise, for then the figs are cool, and none of
the insects have commenced to issue. Before distribution, however, they are first
strung on rushes (Scirpus holoschoenus), two at each end; these are found growing
on the lowlands of the valleys in great profusion, the workman with a bunch of rushes
and a basket of figs going through the orchard and stringing the figs, distributing as
he proceeds. How often it was necessary to distribute the Capri figs and the number
required to a tree were two of the important points which I wished to clear up. The
number of times the Smyrna figs must be caprified depends entirely on the develop-
ment of the young figs — a matter requiring some judgment. At the time of my visit,
as already stated, the trees were being caprified for the second time, and as
there were a number of young figs not developed enough to be in the receptive
stage, I was informed another distribution of the figs would have to be made
inside of six days. When the workman comes to a tree, he draws one of the rushes
from the bundle, dexterously forces the stem end of the rush through a couple of
figs, drawing them down to the blossom end, which has a small knob; he then
strings two more at the same end, retaining the last fig in place by a sort of half
hitch in the fig. This and other strings fixed in a similar manner are now thrown
up into the tree at different points. From six to fifteen of these strings are hung in
the younger trees, while in the gnarled old giants as high as twenty-five strings are
suspended, depending, of course, on the quantity of the young figs on the trees.

While in the orchard, I examined a number of Smyrna Figs. When they presented
a glossy green appearance on the outside and the flowers were of a creamy white
color, invariably from two to three insects were found crawling around in each fig
broken open. After the figs had developed beyond this stage, and even of a dull green
color, the insects were found to be dead, indicating that the flowers had been
fertilized and the figs had passed the receptive stage. The figs are distributed as
far as possible in the morning before the insects have commenced to issue freely,
although in many places the work proceeds all day, regardless of the fact that
many of the wasps are lost, through the carelessness of the workmen in this respect.

20 THE SMYRNA FIG AT HOME AND ABROAD

MALE OR CAPRI FIGS.

In my trips through the fig districts, a great many varieties of Capri figs were
found, none of which, however, were named. There seemed to be more or less varia-
tion in all the trees seen except in some instances where the grower had planted
trees and selected the cuttings from a variety, which seemed to be valuable. The
Capri figs are called "Ilek" in the Turkish language, which means male and as a
rule are found growing in the gardens in the villages and towns, close to the high
walls built to keep out intruders and thieves. No care is given them, and they as-v
sume any shape nature provides for them. It is no uncommon sight to see a steep
river or creek bjyQk^av^red_witha dense growth of these trees. Isolated trees are
found growing in the foothills amTas border trees in the vegetable gardens close to
the towns. Occasionally a small orchard is to be seen, in which case the trees were
planted a number of years ago, when there was a scarcity of the Male fig. In recent
years these trees have been grafted over to Smyrna Figs, but the work has been
so badly done, due to the failure of the workmen to cut out the old wood, that all
the trees are a mixed growth of Capri and Smyrna fig wood.

The Black or Purple Capri Figs are never used for caprifying purposes, as they
are said to be wild and are not male figs. Examination of a number of these dis-
closed the fact that they contained just as many insects as the others, but never-
theless they are never used. None of the Capri Fig trees attain a very large size,
a condition brought about by the lack of care bestowed on them, and through the
fact of their being planted in places where they cannot develop properly. The Male
or Profichi crop is the most distinct and the figs vary in color from a dark brown,
purple, to green and yellow shades when maturing.

The general impression has been that different trees are necessary to develop
the several crops. There is some foundation for this theory in the Mammoni and
the Mamme, but without exception, all of the trees produce the Profichi crop. Hun-
dreds of trees were examined and in not a single instance could a tree be found
which was not loaded with the latter.

On my second visit to Smyrna in August a number of the Capri trees examined
in June, were again carefully looked over, and on some of them, Mammoni Figs, were
found, (but only in very limited numbers as this is always a light crop) just commenc-
ing to mature. A few of the Mamme were large enough to receive the insects, but most
of them were quite small and were just forming in the old wood in the axels of the
leaves. Quite a number of trees showed neither Mammoni or Mamme Figs, at that
time, and it is quite possible that all of the trees do not develop these crops.

The ignorance of the people themselves, whether owners of fig orchards or not,
as to the evolution of the insect, prevented my securing any information as to the
development of the last two crops. My conclusions therefore in tne matter are
views based on what I saw. The size of the Mammoni Figs and the rather slow
development of the Mamme crop would indicate that none of the trees produced
more than three crops during the season.

CAPRI FIGS AS MERCHANDISE.

Selling bugs is something new in the line of horticulture, but it has been carried
on for hundreds of years in the Asia Minor fig districts, Capri Figs being an article
of merchandise just as much as the Smyrna Fig itself. The price of Capri Figs, like
everything else, is regulated by the law of supply and demand. That the Capri
Fig is considered an actual necessity is well illustrated by the prices prevailing in
1898. In that season the Boghadhes crop, corresponding to the Mamme crop, was
practically ruined by frost, and the growers not having a supply of the Male figs,
were compelled to secure their supply from the small island of Chios, about thirty

THE SMYRNA FIG AT HOME AND ABROAD 21

miles off the coast of Smyrna, where a great many Capri Fig trees are growing.
The figs during that season sold for 50 piestas an Oke. An Oke is 2.83 pounds and a
piesta is about 4% cents. In the season of 1901, the crop of Capri Figs was large
and one piesta an Oke was the average price paid. Money is never too plentiful
with these people, but so deep rooted is the fact that the Blastophaga must be pres-
ent to develop their figs, they go to almost any extreme in price to secure what
they want. In this connection it is a novel and interesting sight to watch the
Turkish peasant women, their figures enveloped in a loose cotton garment, and their
faces concealed from too observant eyes, come slowly walking up the narrow streets
of Aidin in the early morning hours, with baskets containing from thirty to forty
pounds of figs perched on their heads, and carrying in their hands bunches of the
rushes neatly tied up for stringing the figs; the small donkey, the beast of burden
for animate as well as inaminate freight, also contributes his share of the male figs.
In this case they are carried in large burlap grain sacks, one on each side of the
pack saddle; all, bound for the fig bazaar, a street designated by this name, deriving
its title from the fact that is has been used for years as a market for selling Male
figs. The fruit comes from the small gardens in the town or is gathered in the im-
mediate suburbs.

The women, with their baskets in front of them, squat down tailor fashion in the
narrow streets, and silently and calmly await a purchaser of their wares. Being
anything but handsome, great care is taken to conceal their faces from the eyes of
the men, particularly of foreigners. Working in the fields and the hard life they
lead makes all the women among the agricultural classes prematurely old. It is
no uncommon sight during the height of the Male Fig season, to see from seventy-
five to one hundred of these women congregated in the bazaar.

The buyers of the figs begin to arrive about 7 a.m. They take a fig from a
basket, break it open, if the female insects are found to be crawling around freely,
and the fig is well supplied with pollen, a sale is quickly consummated. The larg-
est figs always command the best prices. The grower having secured his supply of
figs, loads them in bags on his donkey, and goes to his orchard, which may be a
number of miles distant.

Some remarks made to me by an old Turk, who had been in the business for
years, on the value of the various insects in the figs, were indeed amusing. Break-
ing open one of them, and pointing to the male wasp, I learned through my inter-
preter that it was a very bad worm, the female wasp was pronounced to be a good
insect, but the parasites, Philotrypesis, which were present in large quantities,
were said to be the most valuable of all! Verily, a little learning Is a dangerous
thing.
>

FIG GARDENS.

This is the term applied to all orchards, whether of figs or other fruit trees.
None of these gardens contain as a general rule, more than five hundred to one
thousand trees, and where planted no other variety of tree or crop is grown among
them. None of the orchards present a very attractive appearance. Trees are con-
stantly dying out from want of care and from general debility, many of which are
replaced with others planted in the very same spot. Trees of all ages from one
year to fifty are growing in all the old gardens, giving them an uneven and spotted
appearance. This unsightliness of the orchards is further enhanced by the mass of
dead wood appearing above the green growth in the tops of the trees, caused by the
terrible freeze of 1898. It was only in the season of 1901 that the trees fully re-
covered from this terrible ordeal. No regularity was observed in planting the older
orchards and most of them are very much out of line, the distance between the
trees varying from thirty to fifty feet.

1. Shaking a Smyrna Fig tree to cause such figs as have not fallen of their own accord to drop,
as seen near Herbeyli. 2. Knocking off Smyrna Figs, which have not fallen when at the proper stage
of maturity, with Arundo Donax poles, as seen near Herbeyli.

Reduced from an original photograph.

THT SMYRNA FIG AT HOME AND ABROAD 2H

The bodies of the trees are made up of a number of stems of which all are more
or less twisted together, and in many cases they are badly sunburned and rotted.
Fortunately for the longevity of the tree, of the innumerable stems (although many
of them are dead,) there are always enough to retain vigor in the trees until about
fifty years old. The heart of the old trees are often badly rotted and the orchards
throughout show neglect and lack of knowledge in cultural directions on the part
of their owners. The current year's wood was found to be infested with a large
brown scale, and the foliage with a small white scale, but neither of the pests are of
a very serious nature, most of them perishing in the summer. The gardens arc sur-
rounded by walls, five to six feet high, made of dirt and covered on top with brush
and thorny branches to keep out marauders during the harvest season. The en-
trances are all quite ornamental, heavy adobe or stone pillars, butting up against the
dirt walls. To these are hung heavy wooden doors, on forged hinges.

CLIMATE.

The climatic conditions of the Maeander Valley are much the same as in Smyrna,
except that it is slightly warmer in summer and very often very much colder in
winter. The summer temperature varies from 95 degrees Fahrenheit, and in some
cases the tbemometer registers as high as 105 degrees in the shade. The rainy
season starts in October and ends in the latter part of May. The agents of the Otto-
man Railroad Company have kept statistics for a number of years as to the rain fall.
The agent at Denizli permitted me to examine his report, and I found that the
average for a period of ten years was about twenty inches annually, and in the
year 1901, twenty-five inches had fallen. Irrigating the orchards is never practiced,
and in fact is not necessary, except in starting young trees, when the water is car-
ried to the trees in goat skins. Extreme cold weather occurs in some seasons, and
the severity is evident from the manner in which the fig trees have been injured,
as well as oranges growing in protected places in Aidin, being full of dead wood. As
compared with the interior climate of California, particular reference being made
to the Sacramento and the San Joaquin Valleys, it is very much warmer on an
average in these valleys than in Smyrna, and it is only on very rare occasions it
ever becomes equally as cold.

NEW ORCHARDS, PLANTING, CULTIVATION, ETC.

Before planting a new orchard, the ground is thoroughly tilled, but not very deep,
the crude plows built entirely of wood with a V shaped iron nose, not permitting it.
Two round pieces of wood extend a sort distance back from the iron point and on
both sides of the wooden standard, causing the plow to throw dirt both ways. Greater
care is exercised than in former years to have the trees set in regular rows and in
lines. The trees are set from 30 to 35 feet apart, and on the square system.

Cuttings are used exclusively for starting new orchards, as well as for replant-
ing old ones, where the trees have died out. These are cut about twelve inches long
from good mature wood, the butt end having some two year wood. The cuttings
are taken in January, heeled in, in moist warm ground, and as soon as they com-
mence to callous, are planted in orchard form. Two cuttings are planted in each
hole a few inches apart, in a vertical position, the idea being that in case one does
not grow, the other will. If both of the cuttings start, they are allowed to remain.
Care is taken to tamp the earth firmly around the base of the cuttings, and to water
them to make sure of settlirg the earth well around them. Three short sticks are
placed above the cuttings to show where they are planted, and care is taken in
plowing the orchard not to disturb them in any way. The first season the trees
are watered only when necessary. The following year, a stake is driven down

THE SMYRNA FIG AT HOME AND ABROAD

close to the young tree, and it is trained to branch from four to five feet from the
ground. All the suckers are tied to this stake, and a tree where both cuttings have
started, at three years old will have as many as five to seven separate stems at its
base.

Drying Ground in the Fig orchard of Mr. S. G. Magnissalis, Herbeyli District, showing children of
employees in the foreground. Reduced from an original photograph.

The exposure of so much wood to the sun without adequate protection, causes
many of the trees, when about six years old to deteriorate, and were it not for the
numerous feeders, their lives would be of short duration. On pointing out that this
method of pruning was injurious to the well being of the tree, and that it would
be better to follow another plan, I received the characteristic reply: "Our fore-
fathers grew the trees this way, we know of no other method and follow in their
foot steps." The branches forming the stem are twisted around one another in
many cases, and this is one of the causes of the gnarled appearance in the older
trees. After the body of the tree is strong enough to support itself, the stake is re-
moved, and in after years, little care is bestowed on the trees, except to remove
suckers, and cut out branches extending down too low and interfering with the
cultivation of the orchard. Interfering and crossing branches are never removed,
and as the trees develops, it presents a mass of twisted stems and branches, through
which the sun can never penetrate. All trees present this appearance as they grow
older, and although the density of growth might be obtained to just as good advant-
age by following a more modern plan, the ultimate aim of the method followed is
to have the figs to a certain extent in the shade. Wasps enter figs so protected
more freely than those exposed to the direct rays of the sun.

The plowing of the orchards commences in October, and this work is repeated
four to five times during the winter and spring months, up to the first of June, when
the ground receives EO further cultivation. Clean cultivation is the rule rather than
the exception, but many of the orchards present an unsightly appearance owing
to the presence of Johnson Grass and Wild Morning Glory, which have made them-

THE SMYRNA FIG AT HOME AND ABROAD 25

selves as much at home in Smyrna as in the rich valleys of California. No meas-
ures have been taken to eradicate either of these obnoxious weeds, but their spread
is somewhat retarded, as irrigation is not practiced.

JEALOUSY OF THE INDUSTRY.

My peace of mind was somewhat disturbed during my stay in Aidin by the news
that an article from The Saturday Evening Post of Philadelphia had been -copied in
a Greek newspaper printed in Smyrna. This article referred to an extract from Dr.
L. O. Howard's report on the Smyrna Fig in California, printed in the Year Book of
the United States Department of Agriculture in 1900. My name, with that of others
interested in the introduction of the Smyrna Fig, was mentioned a number of times.
A copy of The Post had no doubt been sent to a correspondent in Smyrna. The sub-
ject was of such vital importance to the Smyrnoites that it was given a great deal
of prominence, and was printed in its entirety. My host and interpreter were under
the impression I knew nothing about the fig business, but after this article ap-
peared, I was compelled to admit that I and the Roeding named therein, were one
and the same person. Not a very pleasant experience after having practiced the
deception on them, to be sure, but as they took the matter in good part, I congrat-
ulated myself on having fallen into such good hands.

Before my departure to Smyrna, I had the pleasure of giving my host an insight
into the life history of the fig wasp. After explaining to him how the insect pro-
pogated its species and the manner in which it passed from one crop of Capri Figs
to the following one, he exclaimed, "I have been the owner of fig orchards all my
life and my father before me, but your explanation of how the little insects per-
forms its functions is the first clear understanding I have ever had of the subject.
Strange you should come here to make an investigation of the matter when you
already know more than any of the residents and owners of fig orchards here." I
explained to Mr. Magnissalis, I had made the trip for the purpose of clearing up
certain practical points, which could only be understood by personal investigation
on my part.

On my return to Smyrna it was deemed expedient by my interpreter as well as
myself, to change my name, from the fact that my being in Smyrna had been widely
circulated in the newspapers. So as not to be annoyed by reporters, who might want
to interview me, and then cause obstacles to be placed in my path, I passed under
the nom de plume of "James George," a wise plan, as I ascertained afterwards, the
public having been warned not to give me any information, as it might lead in the
end to their losing one of their most important industries.

My next trip was to Kassaba, a large town of considerable importance and the
center of the cotton district, and celebrated for the excellence of its melons. Cer-
tainly not entitled to any credit for melons, for those sampled in my second trip in
August were of very inferior quality, no doubt due to the fact that the seed from
the same strain was being used year after year. The Kassaba Fig trees grown here
are fine, symmetrical trees, much handsomer than the Lop Fig grown in the Maean-
der Valley. No trees are planted in orchard form, only a few growing here and
and there in the vineyards are met with. The figs are not dried but are eaten fresh.
The Lop figs are not grown at all. An attempt has been made to grow them, but
the fruit was said to be so inferior to that grown in the Maeander Valley that no
further attempts were made to grow this variety.

With the expectation of finding the "Lop Injir" elsewhere, or varieties equally
-as valuable from a commercial standpoint, other districts were visited, but no gar-
dens were to be seen. The only trees visited were planted as borders or in vineyards
or small gardens for home use. These all required caprification, but no attempt was

1. Spreading Smyrna Figs for drying on rushes, (Scirpus Holoschoenus) Herbeyli District. 2. Gath-
ering Figs in baskets, Herbeyli District. Reduced from original photographs.

THE SMYRNA FIG AT HOME AND ABROAD 27

made to do this artificially, there being enough Capri figs growing in the immediate
vicinity to supply the edible figs with insects. At Narli Dere, located six miles south
of Smyrna, one of the great vineyard sections, a San Pedro fig known under the
name of "Vidi Veren Maning," "7 Giver," was found growing in one of the vineyards.
This and the Bardajic were the only two varieties, in neither of which Capri figs
had been distributed, which does not seem necessary, the insects coming of their
own accord to the female figs, and of course caprify them. The Capri Fig trees
grow in the mountains near by, so I was informed, and the insects migrate pretty
much over the fig district. Having thus obtained all the necessary information on
the subject of caprification during my first visit, I took my departure from Smyrna
the latter part of June with the intention of returning in August to observe the
methods followed in harvesting the crops.

My first stop was at Athens, where four days were spent visiting the vineyards
and ancient ruins. Time did not permit of my visiting the fig districts in the ex-
treme southern part of Greece, where figs of a very inferior grade are grown, and
where caprification is also practiced. Distinct types of Capri Figs and also edible
figs were observed along the roadways leading out of Athens, but information as to
varieties could not be obtained. The Capri Figs here were much later in reaching
maturity than those in Smyrna, due, no doubt, to the season in Greece being some-
what later. Leaving Piraeus, on one of the steamers of the Messargerie line, my next
stopping place was Naples, Italy.

Vesuvius, the ruins of Pompeii, and many other points of interest were visited in
the limited time devoted to this place. My itinerary included a visit to Rome, and
many other important cities of beautiful sunny Italy, before returning to Berlin, but
illness made it imperative for me to go direct to Germany without making any stops.
Having fully recovered from my spell of sickness in Berlin, in company with my
wife, a tour was made through Germany, Switzerland, and thence through France to
Paris. Returning to Berlin the latter part of August, preparations were made for
my second trip to Smyrna.

DIFFICULTIES OF THE SECOND TRIP.

The Bubonic plague, which had been creating more or less havoc in Egypt for
several months, was reported to have made its appearance in Constantinople, and
that port had therefore been quarantined. The Tourist Company would sell tickets
to Constantinople, but no further; none of the steamship lines being permitted to
take passengers from the infected port, or if they did, the passenger had the pros-
pect of spending a couple of weeks in a Turkish lazarette on his arrival in Smyrna,
by no means a pleasant outlook.

Steamer connections from Italy could not be made without a great loss of time,
so wiring to my former interpreter at Smyrna of my predicament, he wired back
that there was a way out of the difficulty, and told me to start for Constantinople
at once. My trip from Berlin was made over the same line I had previously traveled
by, but the experience gained in my travels prevented a repetition of the difficulties
encountered on my first trip.

On arriving at Constantinople, Mr. Agadjanian was there to receive me. Having
taken the precaution to have my passport vised at the Turkish Consulate in Berlin
before starting on my second trip, the vexatious annoyances of my first trip were
avoided. During my brief stay of two days in Constantinople, my time was taken
up in visiting the suburbs around the city, the leading mosques, including the
largest and most historical one, Santa Sofia. It was finished something over thir-
teen hundred years ago, and dedicated to Christ. In the year 1453, when the Turks
captured Constantinople, it fell into their hands, and from that time it has been

THE SMYRNA FIG AT HOME AND ABROAD

1. Flat car loaded with Goat Hair sacks filled with Smyrna Figs. Guards in charge waiting for
train to start. From photograph taken at Aiden. 2. A Fig Train. From photograph taken at Karabounar.

dedicated to the Moslem faith. It still retains much of its splendor and magnifi-
cence, but its walls in many places have been defaced by the removal of the mosaics.

The country in the immediate vicinity of Constantinople is rough and rugged,
vineyards and gardens are neglected, and rapidly going into a state of decay.

The trip up the Bosphorus from Constantinople to the Black Sea is one not soon
to be forgotten. The shores on both sides are lined with pretty villages, and the
hills in the background are clothed with trees and green vegetation. Here are to
be seen the picturesque summer residences of the wealthier Turks and foreigners,
and the summer palace of the present ruler and those of deceased Sultans. The
dirt and the squalor of Constantinople are here forgotten, and the traveler is im-
pressed with the beauty and air of cleanliness of the surroundings.

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THE SMYKNA FIG AT HOME AND ABROAD 29

CHAPTER IV.
THE TRIP TO SMYRNA BY LAND.

To escape the quarantine regulations, the trip to Smyrna was made overland.
Starting from Constantinople on the 26th of August, the Bosphorus was crossed on
a small ferry boat, landing us at Scutari. Here a train was boarded, and for several
hours we traveled close to the shore, getting a beautiful view of the sea of Mar-
mora, and in the distance the snow-covered peaks of the Olympus Mountains. Just
after leaving the coast, the train came to a halt, and we learned we were at the
quarantine station. All the passengers were required to alight. The first and
second-class passengers were marched into a building, their coats and vests were
removed, and after being fumigated in a large cylinder, were returned. The lower
classes were not accorded the same consideration. The women were marched into
one building, the men into another. They were compelled to divest themselves of
their clothes. The women in particular were loud in their objections, but it availed
them nothing for they had to submit. After the better class of passengers had
paid a fee of a quarter of a midjidi, about 25 cents, they received a certificate of
good health. The fact of the matter is the quarantine regulations of the Turkish
Empire are nothing more or less than a farce, and are maintained for the purpose
of supplying the officials of the government with ready cash.

A few hours after leaving the quarantine station, the railroad strikes into the
mountainous districts, and passes through a succession of valleys and narrow
passes, all of which are heavily wooded. The former are very fertile and devoted
to fruit and vineyard culture, but more extensively to the growing of the White
Mulberries, to supply food for the silk worms, the production of silk being the great
industry in this district. The trees are planted very close, about 8x8 feet apart, and
headed three feet from the ground. In the distance they present the appearance of
vineyards.

Late in the evening our train reached Eshki-shehr, where we remained over
night. For fear of being wrecked by the superstitious and fanatical natives, trains
never travel at night in Asia Minor. This town is of considerable importance, and
is located on an immense plateau, devoted largely to the raising of wheat and bar-
ley, and also noted for its marble and meerschaum mines.

The night at the hotel was a constant torture. It was infested with bed
bugs, and the persistence with which all the vulnerable parts of one's anatomy
were attacked put all thoughts of sleep out of the question.

Early the following morning we boarded our train, and at noon arrived at Afium
Kara Hissar, located in the center of a great district devoted to the growing of
cereals, opium, and enjoying also an immense trade in wool, hides and beeswax.
The altitude of the town is 3500 feet above sea level. Close to the town, and rising
800 feet out of the plain, the remnants of the old fortress of Acroenus, built in the
Byzantine period, is to be seen. The place is largely populated by Armenians, many
of whom are wealthy, and who occupy the best and cleanest portion of the town. No
trees relieve the monotony of the low adobe buildings and dirty and crooked streets,
giving to the place a dismal and uninviting appearance.

30 THE SMYRNA FIG AT HOME AND ABROAD

The climate of this district is unlike that of Smyrna, being very cool in summer
and cold in winter, snow storms being a common occurrence. After partaking of a
lunch with some wealthy Armenians, friends of my interpreter, we again boarded
our train, bound for Uschak, another town presenting the same general outline as
all the others located on this plateau, which ranges in elevation from 3500 to 4000
feet above sea level. Uschak is noted for the fine quality of its barley, most of
which is exported to England, from which the famous English ale is made; also for
its "Khali" Turkish carpets, their manufacture being the chief industry of the in-
habitants. The looms used in their manufacture, of which there are said to be 2000.
are all situated in their homes, entire families devoting their time to the manu-
facture of these carpets. The annual output, it is said, has a value close to a mil-
lion dollars.

The "Quercus Aegilops," Valonia Oak, occupies great stretches of the plain in
the vicinity of Uschak. The cups, which run from an inch to two inches across, are
gathered in the fall of the year, the acorns are removed, and the cups are then
shipped by rail to Smyrna. Here they are sorted into sizes, and eventually find
their way to Germany, EE gland and Russia. They are prized for their tannin. The
famous Morocco and other high-grade leathers are manufactured by their use.
They contain from 40 to 45 per cent, of tannin. The exports from Asia Minor of
these oak cups, which are grown in many other districts, amount to from 15,000 to
20,000 tons annually.

Leaving Uschak in the morning of August 29, the railway runs through the
mountainous districts until it reaches Ala-Shehr, the "Spotted City," which stands
on a terrace beneath the range of Mt. Tornolus. The growing of licorice is an im-
portant industry, particularly in the swampy sections. From here to Smyrna the
line passes through a level valley, every acre of which is devoted to the culture of
Sultana raisins and cereals. Shortly before entering Smyrna, the train passes
through Burnabat, a charming summer resort of the wealthy Smyrnoites. Some of
the villas, with their well laid out and nicely kept gardens, are very picturesque. On
arriving at our destination, we were in no manner detained, a few baksesh to the
guard and our baggage was passed without examination.

Deeming it advisable to keep my business while in Smyrna as far as possible from
persons of too inquisitive turn of mind, I avoided the hotels, and took up my residence
in a private lodging house. I again assumed the name of James George, thinking
it wise from my former experience not to take any chances in having my identity
known. The day following my arrival, I started with my interpreter for Aidin. Mr
Magnissalis, who had entertained me before, was traveling in Europe, so lodgings
were secured in a private family.

The railroad runs through the very heart of the fig district, and as our train
sped alorg through mile after mile of the fig orchards, I had a splendid opportunity
to observe the general condition of them as well as of the trees, and was particularly
impressed with the fact that all the trees were of one type. My conclusions in this
respect were still further verified when I examined the trees more closely later on.

The harvesting of the Smyrna Figs was going in full sway, and the methods ot
doing the work was closely observed and every phase of the process minutely scruti-
nized and noted.

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nnnnnnanannnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn

THE SMYRNA FIG AT HOME AND ABROAD 31

CHAPTER V.
HARVESTING AND DRYING THE SMYRNA FIG ABROAD.

Before treating on this subject, it will not be amiss to verify my statements made
in an earlier chapter, that there is only one variety of Smyrna Fig, which has any
commercial value, namely the Lop Injir, it being the only one which is dried and
exported, and which has done more than any other one product to make the name of
Smyrna famous the world over. In my first trip to Smyrna, my only guide as to the
variety of fig planted there for commercial purposes was the habit of the trees and
the character of the foliage. My conclusions at that time, as to there being only one
variety of Smyrna Fig, were more fully confirmed on my second trip, when the ripe
figs were examined in many orchards. The Lop Injir was found to be the only fig
dried and exported; it therefore is the only one having any real commercial value.

As has been previously stated, the orchards are well cultivated, but before drying
commences, the ground under the trees is cleaned of weeds, so the figs when they
drop can easily be seen and gathered. In the district from Ayassoulook to Aidin, the
harvesting in the season of 1901 commenced August 5, while further up the valley
the season is fully five days later. In the early part of the harvesting season of 1901,
westerly winds, which always carry a great deal of moisture, prevailed, and in
consequence of this, many of the figs soured, and the complaint was general by the
packers that the quality was inferior to that of the first figs. A few days before my
visit to the orchard district, the winds changed, and blew from the north, the growers
in consequence were elated, for the promise for a better quality of figs meant
correspondingly better returns. In my inspection of the orchards, a number of sour
and split figs were found, some of them having a black fungus growth inside, called by
the growers "Bassarah,". a Turkish word. The best figs are harvested in September,
the figs being larger and the climatic conditions in all years being more favorable for
the maturing of a higher grade of fruit in that month.

Figs are gathered according to the rapidity with which the crop matures, early
In the morning or late in the afternoon. When the harvesting season is at its full
height the figs are gathered daily, but this is a matter in which the man in charge
uses his judgment, and is dependent on the weather and the rapidity with which the
figs ripen. The laborers, either men or women, gather the figs in baskets, holding
fully forty pounds, which are never filled but half full. The figs drop to the ground
of their own accord, but if a number of figs are seen in the trees which have reached
the proper stage of maturity, the trees are shaken vigorously, and those still remaining
are knocked off with Arundo Donax canes (false bamboo). A fig is mature when it
has lost its handsome form, and hangs limp and shriveled in the tree. So tenaciously
does it cling to the branch before reaching this stage it cannot be picked except
by tearing the skin and breaking it from the hard stem end adhering to the branch.
Nature, it seems, has made ample provision to have the figs remain in the trees until
they have reached the proper degree of ripeness. A fig gathered before it is mature
makes an absolutely worthless dried fruit, being without flavor and substance, and
so inferior is the quality it is difficult to believe it came from the same tree.

During the harvesting season, the women receive four piestas and the men eight
piestas per day, working twelve hours, and boarding themselves. A piesta is a
little over four cents.

32 THE SMYRNA FIG AT HOME AND ABROAD

All figs are harvested by the last of September. Should heavy rains occur before
this time, the figs remaining on the trees are unfit for packing, and if gathered are
used for distilling purposes. From a commercial standpoint, only one crop of
Smyrna Figs is borne annually. The fruit appears like small buttons on the young
wood in the latter part of May, is fertilized in June, and matures from August to
October.

The drying ground is usually an open space in the orchard where a few trees have
died out, and have not been replanted. The method of drying is very simple. A
layer of rushes, the same as is used for hanging the Capri figs in the Smyrna Fig
trees, is laid on the ground, two inches thick, in rows three feet wide, and from
sixty to seventy-five feet long, and with a narrow walk between each row, to permit
the workmen to handle the fruit. The contents of the baskets are dumped out on
the rushes, and no attention is paid as to whether the figs touch each other or not, or
how they lie. They are spread out on the rushes by hand, the only precaution exer-
cised to have them all in one single layer.

Each fig is not turned individually, but they are shuffled around every day with the
hands. After the smaller figs, which naturally dry the quickest, have been gathered
up, the larger ones are placed by themselves, and turned by hand. The time of
drying varies from two to four days, the rapidity of desiccation depending on the
weather. The proper degree of dryness is determined by feeling and kneading the
figs between the lingers. If they have a leathery feeling to the touch, it is a sure
sign they are sufficiently dried. It is in determining whether the figs have been
sufficiently dried, that the experience of the foreman in charge of the orchards comes
into play. All the figs which are sufficiently dry are gathered each afternoon just
before sunset. Tule mats are used for covering the figs at night the day before taking
them into the shed, should there be much moisture in the atmosphere. The storing
shed is usually a tumble down adobe structure, in many cases a small room
partitioned from the dwelling in which the foreman and his family live. When the
pile of figs is large enough, they are sorted over into three grades, no care being
taken to separate the split and sour figs from the others. The grades are made
according to size. The lack of cleanliness and the crude and careless manner in
which the figs are handled, show how little regard these people have for those
who are to consume the fruit. They are never processed in any way from the time
they drop from the trees until they finally are packed in the wooden boxes for export.

However, there is no mistaking the fact of their fine quality. When piled in the
sheds, the skin is white, soft and pliable, and has a silky feeling when handled.
The pulp is a mass of honey and seeds, giving to the fig a luscious sweetness not
found in any other dried fruit.

TRANSPORTING TO MARKET.

When enough/ figs have been gathered by a grower they are packed in large
goat-hair sacks, holding about 250 pounds each. A piece of paper is placed in the top
of the sacks acd the flaps are drawn up and over this with heavy twine. Camel
trains visit the various orchards in a certain district, and two of the goat-hair sacks
are loaded on each animal. The train, as soon as the camels are loaded up, starts for
the nearest railroad station, where the bags are unloaded in a large freight shed,
and later to the small box and flat cars standing on the siding.

The Ottoman Railroad Company makes special provision for the transportation of
the figs, and daily trains leave the stations in the fig district every afternoon,
arriving at Smyrna during the night, all stopping at the outskirts, close to the old
Caravan Bridge. Each owner has a letter or brand sown into his sacks, for the
purpose of identifying his figs, and also to recover his sacks, should they be lost.
These goat-hair sacks are rather expensive, and are used exclusively for shipping the

**!' Baz»ar, Smyrna. 2. Smyrna Figs dumped in Packing House: sorting and maccaroning by

in thl *£?,?' preparatory *° Packing. 3. Women sorting; baskets used for taking figs to the packers,
in the foreground. 4. Capri Fig Bazaar in Aidin, Capri Figs being sold as merchandise in June,

Reduced from original photographs.

34 THE SMYRNA FIG AT HOME AND ABROAD

fig crop. They are not only very strong, lasting many years, but the lint does not
come off from them, as in ordinary sacks. Either the owner himself or a trusted
employee travels with the figs, until they are delivered, and the returns are received
from the packing house. The maximum weight carried by the cars is seven tons, and
the fig trains are a mixture of Sat and box cars. Their general appearance reminds
one of the cars used in the Unued States when railroading was in its infancy. In
each car there are from five to ten guards, lounging on the sacks of figs, patiently
waiting for the train to pull out with its sweet and toothsome consignment. When
the train arrives at the Caravan Bridge Station, the camel trains are again brought
into requisition, and the work of unloading and carrying the figs to the fig bazaar
goes on without interruption all night, and by early morning they have all been
delivered to the brokers; or, if they have been consigned, are distributed to the
different packing houses. Early in the morning, the heads of the packing houses
in company with their brokers go to the bazaar and make their purchases. Hundreds
of camels are engaged in this work, and it was a novel sight as our train pulled into
Smyrna, to see row after row of these brutes, resting, and patiently waiting to
commence their night's work.

The fig bazaar consists of a lot of rough adobe buildings and the bags are piled up
in them in a single tier, in many cases extending far out into the narrow streets.
To get through, it was necessary in mar.y instances to walk over the tops of the
bags. The packers, in company with their brokers, examine the various lots, make
their purchases, and by nightfall the bazaar is cleaned up, and the trusted guard re-
ceives his money for what he has delivered, and returns with his load of empty sacks
to his home.

The average receipts of figs daily at Smyrna during the height of the season, is
from 1000 to 1500 tons per day. On the day of my return to Smyrna, from the
interior, I learned that the receipts had been so heavy there was a possibility of
breaking the market, and that the government had sent word to the growers not
to make such heavy shipments.

i
VASTNESS OF THE INDUSTRY.

While in Smyrna during June of 1901 I learned that conservative men estimated
the crop of figs at 100,000 camel loads. All estimates of crops are made in this
manner. In former years where camels were the only means of transportation, the
crop for that season of any agricultural product, was based on camel loads. Approxi-
mately a camel load is 500 pounds. The year 1901 was the first season in which the
Smyrna fig trees had recovered from the terrible freezes of 1898, and as the young
Smyrna figs had set well, and there was an abundance of the male figs, the estimate
no doubt was a conservative one, considering the favorable conditions prevailing at
that time. The rather unfavorable weather when the drying season opened caused a
great many figs to sour, hence, the estimate of the crop was reduced to 60,000 camel
loads; or, to make the matter more clear, 15,000 tons. It is difficult to realize that
such an enormous quantity of figs should all come from the Maeander Valley, where
the fig district proper is, not over ninety miles long and from a half to three-quarters
of a mile wide. What a contracted area when compared to the vast plains of the great
San Joaquin and Sacramento valleys. The price of these figs is from 2% to 4 cents
per pound in Smyrna, the price varying according to the quality.

PACKING HOUSES.

The packing houses, of which there are fully fifty, are located not far from the
quay in the Frank quarter of Smyrna. All the figs go to these establishments,
none being packed in the fig districts. Many of them are rude affairs, old warehouses,
cleared out temporarily for the purpose of packing figs. The houses of the leading

THE SMYRNA FIG AT HOME AND ABROAD 35

packers are substantial stone buildings, two stories high, the lower part being
devoted to the storing of box material, and the upper story for the packing. From
one hundred to as high as six hundred men, women and children are employed in
the largest houses.

The opening of the fig season is the occasion for a grand festival, for it means
employment for the poor classes for at least two months in the year. In Smyrna
during the fig season alone, fully thirty thousand people are said to be engaged in
various capacities, which gives a fair idea of the vital importance of this industry to
the country.

When the figs are brought to the packing houses, they are emptied from the
sacks into large heaps from three to four feet deep. Women and girls sit around
the piles, working the figs between their fingers. This work is called "maccaronia."
The grader takes up a fig, closes the hand over it, then pulls it until it is shaped like
a bag. This handling leaves it soft and pliable, and it is then graded into three grades,
according to size and quality. Nos. 1, 2 and 3 are thrown in circular baskets,
about twenty inches in diameter and three inches deep. When these baskets are
filled, they are taken to the packing rooms, which are long and narrow. Here
narrow benches about three feet wide run the entire length of the room, with one
row of packers on each side, leaving an aisle between for the convenience of the
boys bringing in the figs, and taking away the packed boxes. In the largest
packing houses, where Turks as well as Armenians and Greeks are employed, the
Turks all work in a room by themselves, and have a Turkish foreman over them.
They will not work in the same room with other nationalities. The packing is done
exclusively by men, the women doing the sorting and grading.

On the bench within easy reach of each man are placed pans or small pails filled
with sea water, which is used to moisten the fingers to facilitate the work of pack-
ing and to prevent the figs from sticking to the fingers. This water is dipped from
the quay, close to where all the sewers empty, and is hauled up in hogsheads to the
packing houses; obviously a very inviting prospect to the consumer of the far famed
Smyrna Figs. The men packing No. 1 figs all sit together, likewise those packing Nos.
2 and 3. The No. 4's are not packed, but are dumped into sacks and are exported to
Europe to be used in making a cheap grade of coffee or for distilling purposes.

The packer takes a fig out of the basket before him, squeezes it flat and by using
the thumb and forefinger of each hand he brings the stem of the fig on the upper
side, and the eye or ostiolum underneath; he then pulls the fig as much as possible,
squeezing it very thin; then again takes the fig in both hands, the stem end turned
down, and with the thumbs pressed close together on the opposite side with the two
forefingers placed firmly against the fig underneath; still pressing the thumbs down
he gradually draws them in opposite directions and splits the figs by this process
from the stem to the eye; then turning the stem towards him, he straightens the fig
out making the sides nearly square, when it is ready to be packed in the box. This
is the most difficult part of the packing, the object being to have the bottom look
as well as the top, should the box be opened from the bottom. After the first layer is
packed, the box is changed round, the next layer being packed the other way, and so
on until the box is filled. This mode of packing cannot be done, however, unless the
fig is split, thus permitting the drawing out of the fig until it is almost twice its
original size. The lines, between the layers are perfectly straight, no guide of any
kind being used. In the top layer, however, which is almost a quarter of an inch
above the box, a few leaves of the Bay Laurel (Laurus Nobilis) are placed. The
boxes, without lids, are then taken by the boys and placed in stacks, the weight of
the boxes after a few days pressing the figs down so the lid can be nailed without
difficulty. No presses or machinery of any kind are used, the work being done en-
tirely by hand. This style of packing is known to the trade as "Eleme," meaning

Packing Smyrna Figs. Scenes in the Packing Houses of Smyrna.
Reduced from original photographs.

THE SMYRNA FIG AT HOME AND ABROAD 37

selected. Figs handled in this manner are called "pulled" figs. The majority are
packed in this way, the trade demanding it, but the better class of packers prefer the
'locoum," or bag shaped packing, as it is difficult to practice any deception as to size
when this method is followed.

The packing of "locoum" figs requires much more care and also far more time
than the other style of packing. Only the largest and finest figs are used. The eye
of the fig is first turned to the underside and then the fig is taken between the thumb
and forefinger of each hand, and stretched lengthwise as far as possible. It is now
taken between the thumb and the forefinger of the right hand. The thumb and fore-
finger of the left hand are held at each end, and the third finger is pressed under-
neath; a little careful manipulation and the fig is pressed into the form of a cube,
presenting an even surface on top while underneath there is a deep indention where
the finger was pressed in. When the box is opened, it presents a very neat appear-
ance, the figs looking like small cubes.

BOXES.

The lumber for the boxes is all shipped in from Russia, and during the fig season
the mills, which are located close to the quay, work day and night turning out box
material for the various packing houses. Boxes are made in all shapes, some rec-
tangular, others square, varying of course with the style of fig to be packed. In size
they run from one to one hundred and fifty pounds. Very few of the latter are
packed, however, and those that are, are called elephants, and are shipped to the
larger American cities for exhibition purposes in show windows. The popular sizes
are 1, 3, 5, 8 and 12 pound boxes.

The grade of the figs is indicated by the number of crowns or crescents on the
boxes, the larger the number of same, the better is the quality of the fig. No definite
standard is fixed among the packers, so it is a difficult matter to determine a grade
similarly marked as to crowns and packed by two diferent firms. In recent years
a number of packers who have a large export trade to the United States, have been
packing figs in one pound bricks. These are shipped in twenty to twenty-five pound
boxes, and on arrival are wrapped by the merchants in wax paper, and sent out under
their own brand. This manner of packing has been adopted in many instances to off-
set the method followed of packing figs in California in one pound bricks. The fin-
est figs for export go to England, and the United States. Australia is a heavy im-
porter of figs, but mostly of the smaller grades .

I visited a large number of packing houses, and in only one did I find them en-
gaged in packing figs in baskets. This packer was putting up a special pack for
export to New York, and was packing figs in long rounded and circular baskets,
made of wicker work. The figs were carefully flattened out on the top, none are
split, and when the packing is finished, the baskets are taken to girls, who cover
them with pieces of silk with the name and brand of the packer printer thereon.

None of the figs seen in the United States packed in straw baskets, nor the small
wooden boxes sold on the trains by the persistent train boy, are packed in Smyrna.
The figs used for this purpose are shipped over here in bulk, and after being treated
with glucose, are re-packed.

WAGES.

The wages of the men vary from 50 to 75 cents per day, the average being about
50 cents, and only the most expert receive more than that. The women and girls
receive from 15 to 25 cents per day. I made a number of inquiries to learn as to
what constituted a days work in packing, but no two packers agreed as to the num-
ber of pounds a man should pack, but striking an average from the various estimates
given, it is safe to say that a days work was from 50 to 75 pounds to the man. No
check is kept on the men to determine how much they pack, this being intrusted
entirely to the foreman.

38 THE SMYRNA FIG AT HOME AND ABROAD

WORMY FIGS.

The packers one and all consider the figs as they place them on the market,
clean enough for the consumer. In reply to my question as to the reason why they
did not steam or pass the fruit through boiling hot water before packing, they in-
variably replied that they did not have the time. Knowing that all the fruit has
worms, which usually leave the figs before the shipment reaches its destination, they
flatter themselves that the consumer never sees the unwelcome intruder, hence it is
not necessary for them to incur any more expense in handling the goods. Never-
theless, it is a well known fact that Smyrna Figs always have worms, and it is said
that when a steamer loaded with a cargo of figs is several days out from port, it is
no uncommon occurrence to see worms issuing from the figs and crawling all over
the ship. It is safe to assume that it is a difficult matter to find a single packed
Smyrna Fig from which a worm has not issued. Like all improvements in the ori-
ental countries, changes in old methods are made with reluctance, and the same
methods of treating the figs will be followed until competition with the United States
will compel them to make a change. No more money is spent on the figs to make
them marketable than is absolutely necessary to make them pass muster.

In reply to my many inquiries where the worm in the figs came from, the invari-
able answer was, that it was the egg of the little insect which was necessary for the
production of the Smyrna Fig, which hatched out just about the time the figs were
being packed, or shortly thereafter. That the worms should come from insects lay-
ing their eggs during the drying process, was never considered for a moment.

MY WORK COMPLETED.

Having now fully completed my investigations as to the methods employed in the
development of the Smyrna Figs, from caprification to the final packing and shipping
of the dried product, I made preparations to depart from Smyrna. In addition to my
regular baggage, I carried with me an assortment of fig and grape cuttings, which
I had to smuggle through the Custom House, as the exportation of such articles is
prohibited by the Turkish Government.

Boarding my steamer, the Equateur, one of the large ships of the French Messar-
gerie Line, on September 7, I bade good-bye to the friends whose acquaintance I had
made during my brief visit in Smyrna. As we steamed out of the harbor of Smyrna,
I congratulated myself on having met with so much success in pursuing my investiga-
tions. As the familiar and striking points of interest in the suburbs, and the minarets
of the mosques, and the numerous buildings lining the quay faded away on the hori-
zon, I looked back and my thoughts wandered to the many enjoyable as well as the
slightly disagreeable incidents which occurred during my visit to the Ottoman Empire.

The following day we arrived at Piraeus, the harbor of Athens, in Greece. It was
here that I first learned of the untimely and tragic death of President McKinley.

Our next stop was made at Naples, where I disembarked, and from this point for-
warded the cuttings, etc., collected in Smyrna, to the Agricultural Department at
Washington.

Space will not permit my touching at length on the many pleasurable instances
of my trip through Italy and France. Suffice it to say, however, I stopped on my
return to Berlin, at Rome, Florence, Monte' Carlo, Marseilles and Montpellier. At the
latter place I learned much of interest relative to the Phylloxera and resistant grape-
vines. From that point I went by train through France and Switzerland, and finally
arrived in Berlin on the 21st of September. After my hurried trip of investigation, I
felt that I was entitled to a rest, and my sojourn in Berlin was devoted to sight-seeing
in company with my wife and relatives. In the early part of October we took our de-
parture for home on another express steamer of the Hamburg-American Line, the
"Graf Waldersee." After a few days spent in New York and Washington, we returned
via the Southern route, passing through New Orleans, reaching Fresno the last of
October.

After all, "there is no place like home." My trip, however, was of such an interest-
ing nature, and so much valuable information was gleaned from it, that I will always
regard it as one of the greatest events in my life.

PART II.

THE SMYRNA FIG AT HOME.

CHAPTER VI.
EARLY HISTORY OF THE FIG IN CALIFORNIA.

Fig growing in California is by no means a new industry, and dates back to
the advent of the Mission Fathers, who probably planted the first figs at the same
time the vine and olive were started. Where the trees came from has never been
fully determined, and the early history of their introduction is somewhat shrouded
in mystery. The fig, the olive and the vine, which originated in these Missions have
been widely distributed throughout the state, and their proper names being unknown,
they were all designated as Mission, so that at the present time we have the Mis-
sion Olive, Grape and Fig. The old Mission Fig is the well-known large black variety
common in our gardens and widely distributed throughout the Pacific Coast region.

In after years, when the horticultural possibilities of California became more and
more apparent to £hose, who had interested themselves in this line of work, many
other varieties of figs were introduced notably from Asia Minor, Greece, Portugal,
Spain, Italy, France, Austria and England.

The desideratum of every horticulturist interested in this work was to introduce
and establish a fig, which would equal in flavor ard sweetness the Smyrna Fig of
commerce. Although many figs were to be found growing throughout the state, none
of them compared to the imported article, hence the introduction and establishment
of a fig, which when dried would be equal in flavor and sweetness to the imported
fig, was considered of vital interest to the well-being of this industry in California.

It will not be within the province of this work to go into details in reference
to the importation of other varieties of figs than the Smyrnas, and I will therefore
confine the subject to that class as applied to Pacific Coast conditions.

IMPORTATIONS OF SMYRNA FIG CUTTINGS.

The first shipment of cuttings from Smyrna was made in the year 1880 for the
San Francisco Bulletin Company, through the assistance of Mr. E. J. Smithers,
United States Consul at Smyrna, five hundred cuttings being imported at that time.
In the following year, another importation was made by the same people through
the instrumentality of Mr. Alexander Sidi, an American merchant in Smyrna. These
were widely distributed by the Bulletin Company, gratuitously to its subscribers.
After a few years the trees commenced to bear, but the fruit failed to mature, and
people receiving the trees therefore concluded that they were worthless, and the
Bulletin Company was censured for having innocently placed an article before the
public, of no value. In fact the Bulletin people themselves came to the conclusion
that they had been tricked by the wiiy Smyrnoites.

In the year 1885, Mr. E. W. Maslili raised quite a number of trees from Smyrna
Fig seeds, and the following is an extract from an article read by him before the
State Fruit Grower's Convention at Fresno, November 5, 1889:

"In the spring of 1885, I bought in San Francisco, a box of the largest Smyrna
Figs, which I could find, and sowed in a hot-bed, letting the growth remain until
1886, when the trees were planted on a hillside in a deep, warm soil. They have
made a wonderful growth, the trunks being from four to six inches in diameter, and

40 THE SMYRNA FIG AT HOME AND ABROAD

the trees ranging from ten to fifteen feet high. They have never been irrigated, but
have been cultivated. They have born this year an abundance of fruit, which, while
it remained on the tree, has not matured. The figs are about the size of a pigeon's
egg, the receptacle well filled with flowers, but so far I have not observed any seed.
My impression is that the forces of the tree have been expended making wood in-
stead of fruit."

In the year 1886, Mr. F. Roeding, Proprietor of the Fancher Creek Nursery, after
having given the White Adriatic, then the most popular fig for drying purposes in
this state, a thorough trial, was convinced it could never be made to equal the
Smyrna Fig; hence decided to send Mr. W. C. West, then in his employ, to Smyrna,
for the purpose of investigating the fig industry on that spot, to secure a variety of
cuttings and all possible information for the successful prosecution of experimental
planting.

Mr. West did not reach Smyrna until October. Owing to the jealousy of the in-
habitants in general, and the prohibitive policy of the government in not allowing trees
or cuttings of any kind to be exported, he met with some difficulties. However, with the
assistance of an Englishman and a Greek, both of whom were residents of Smyrna,
he ultimately succeeded in obtaining cuttings. Twenty odd thousand of the true
Lop or Commercial Fig were taken in the vicinity of Herbeyli, several thousand
Wild or Capri fig cuttings; several hundred each of Kassaba, Bardajic and Cheker
Injir were also secured in other districts. In addition to these, numerous cuttings
and seeds were obtained of various plants and trees, the total weight of which was
about ten tons. The consignment came via London, but Mr. West having found that
the expense of transportation would be enormous, abandoned half the shipment
of the Lop fig cuttings, and forwarded the remainder. More or less delay was ex-
perienced in London, and the cuttings for this reason did not arrive in Fresno until
May 24, 1887. The cuttings were in an excellent state of preservation, being
packed in moist sawdust in paper lined cases; many of them had commenced
to callous, and send out young rootlets. They were immediately planted in a nursery
rows, and were given the very best of care and attention, revertheless a large
percentage of them went back after starting, the warm weather having already set in.

In the year 1890, Mr. H. E. Van Deman, chief of the Division of Pomology of the
United States Department of Agriculture, imported a number of cuttings of the Wild
or Capri Fig direct from Turkey Asia, and distributed them among a number of
parties in California, and in several of the Southern States, a few of which are said
to be growing and flourishing. The following is an extract from Mr. Van Deman's
letter, dated November 2, 1890:

"Having recently noted in the public press that you have succeeded in success-
fully pollinating the fig, I write to get direct information from you. I have no doubt
you have the true Capri Fig, or you would not have performed the operation men-
tioned. Last winter, I imported a number of the cuttirgs of the Wild or Capri Fig
direct from Turkey, and sent them all over the fig growing districts of this country.
If I had had your name on my list, as one of the fig growers, would have sent you
some also, but of course that would rot have been necessary, inasmuch as you al-
ready had it growing."

n n D inn n n n DP cm n n D inni n P D n inn: n P n
PPLPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP

THE SMYRNA FIG AT HOME AND ABROAD 41

CHAPTER VII.
AN HISTORICAL VIEW OF OUR ORCHARD.

The history of fig culture in California is indeed fraught with disappointment,
hopes and ambitions, and this grove for the first fourteen years of its existence was
no exception to the rule in so far as results to its owners were concerned. Taking
its inception in 1888 it has been the seat of the largest and most varied line of ex-
perimental fig cultures on the Pacific Coast,— a line of painstaking effort entailing no
end of labor and the expenditure of much money. At particular periods success
seemed almost assured, only to see our hopes again turn to ashes. The first plant-
ings were made in 1888; in 1889 twenty acres additional were set out; and in 1891,
feeling very much encouraged over the experiments in producing the figs by artificial
means, another twenty acres was put out, consisting entirely of the Lop variety, with
the exception of forty-eight Capri trees, planted in a single row.

From letters written by Mr. West, and from what meagre information I had suc-
ceeded in obtaining from reports made by the leading scientists, who had been in-
vestigating the subject of caprification, I was fully aware from the time the ship-
ment of cuttings was received from Asia Minor, that Smyrna Figs could not be pro-
duced without the fig wasp, Blastophaga grossorum. In the year 1890, a few of the
Smyrna Figs as well as the Capri Figs having produced fruit, I determined to try
an experiment of artifical fertilization, although I was extremely doubtful of success.
On June 15, quite a number of the Capri Figs were opened; the stamens or male
blossoms at that time were matured and covered with pollen, which when shaken
into the palm of the hand, and then transferred by means of a wooden tooth-pick
into the orifice of the fig, fertilized the female flowers. Of the half dozen figs thus
treated, every one matured, while all the others on the tree, when one-third grown,
shriveled up and dropped to the ground. When the fertilized fruits were dried, they
were carefully examined and to my surprise, were found to contain a large number
of fertile seeds, with a flavor very similar to the imported fig, but not equal to it, as
only a portion of the female flowers had developed seeds, due to the crude manner
of fertilization.

To my mind this experiment proved conclusively that although other varieties
of figs grown in California would mature their fruit, the Smyrna would not do so
unless the flowers were fertilized, either by artificial means or by the fig wasp.
It will be readily understood that artificial fertilization could only be carried on to
a limited extent, and even these results were not satisfactory for carrying on the
experiment, for owing to the crude method employed, the tissues of the fig be-
came more or less injured.

Experiments of artificial fertilization were carried on for a number of years in
the absence of the insect. In the year 1891, the old method was improved upon by
using a glass tube, drawn to a fine point at one end for introducing the pollen. After
gathering a small quantity of the pollen in the tube, it was inserted in the orifice of
the fig, and by blowing through the other end, the pollen was more evenly distributed
than by the method followed the previous year; 150 fruits represented the results
of this experiment and when dried, they were sent to a number of the leading horti-

THE SMYRNA FIG AT HOME AND ABROAD

culturists and fruit growers of the state, all of whom made most favorable comments,
and the concensus of opinion was that they were the finest figs ever produced in
California, and were equal in flavor to the Smyrna Fig. In spite of these experiments,
the fruit growers and the public at large were loath to believe in the subject of
caprification, and I, as well as others, who had interested themselves in this subject,
were regarded as cranks with some ulterior object in view.

The Calimyrna Fig, the True Fig of Commerce. Very much reduced
From an original photograph

In the year 1891, Dr. Gustav Eisen and E. W. Maslin made similar experiments
on some Smyrna Figs growing on the Shinn place at Niles, and succeeded in obtain-
ing the same results.

The future of the orchard, during the many years attempts were made to intro-
duce the insect, seemed to rest in the balance. I continued to give it the very best of
care, but at times became very much discouraged, due to the many failures in at-
tempting to introduce the insect, and the temptation was great to dig the orchard up,
or graft it over into some other variety of fig, which, although I knew would be of
inferior quality, would at least bring in some returns for the money expended. Ad-
vice was freely given to me during all the years experimental work was being car-
ried on, by men who were supposed to be expert in the fig business in their own
country, as to what should be done to make the orchard bear, but as is usual in such
cases, those giving the advice had no conception of the subject, and their instructions
were more amusing than edifying.

THE SMYRNA FIG AT HOME AND ABROAD 43

CHAPTER VIII.
INTRODUCING THE INSECT.

Having become fully satisfied of the genuineness of my trees, all that now
seemed necessary in order to produce the Smyrna Fig on a commercial scale was to
introduce the fig insect, in which no difficulty was anticipated. That expectations in
this direction were not to be very promptly fulfilled, the following will show.

In the fall of 1891, in corresponding with Mr. Thos. Hall of Smyrna, who had as-
sisted Mr. West in obtaining the fig cuttings, arrangements were made with him to
send several consignments of Capri Figs containing insects, the first of which was
received June 30, 1892, in very fair condition. Those which followed, however,
arriving in July, were mostly rotten and the insects dead. The first figs were
cut open and placed in glass jars, and thousands of insects were seen to emerge from
them. These were then taken to the orchard and hung in branches in which young
figs were growing, the same having been previously covered with cloth in order to
prevent the insects from escaping.

In the same year, during the months of April and May, a number of consignments
of Capri Figs with insects were received from Mr. E. W. Maslin, the same having
been forwarded to him from Mexico, by Dr. Gustav Eisen, who was there at that
time making investigations in the interest of the California Academy of Sciences.
These figs, like the others, were given every attention, but the Blastophaga evidently
objected to making Fresno its abode, for it failed to establish itself.

No further consignments of insects were received until April, 1895, when a pack-
age containing half a dozen specimens of Capri Figs in an excellent state of preserva-
tion, arrived from Smyrna, the same having been forwarded to me by Mr. M. Denoto-
vich, a resident of that place. These figs were green and hard, and upon cutting
them open were found to be full of galls, the insects being in the pupae state. One fig
each OTit of this lot were sent to Mr. Alexander Craw. Prof. W. C. Woodworth and Dr.
Hermann Behr, in the hopes that one of these gentlemen would succeed in breeding the
insect, but they, as well as myself, were unsuccessful. A very important point was
brought to light through the receipt of this shipment. Knowing that the Capri Fig,
as well as the Smyrna, were deciduous trees, it was quite evident that the figs re^
ceived were obtained in a locality free from frost; in other words, it proved that the
insect hibernated in the Mamme or fall crop of figs, which remained on the trees
during the winter months in a dormant condition, the insects during this period re-
maining in the pupae state, in the galls.

Following out these deductions the writer in the year 1896 planted a number of
Capri trees in a canon in the foothills in a place known to be almost entirely free
from frost. Several of these trees are now in full bearing and producing regular
crops. In addition, two old fig trees at this place had been grafted, one of which is now
completely worked over, and many of the grafts are 4 inches in diameter, and from
12 to 15 feet long.

In the year 1896, another series of consignments were received from Dr. Francis
Eschauzier, of the State of San Luis Potosi, Mexico, which were also failures.

Learning that Mr. Koebele was in Mexico in the employ of the Hawaiian Govern-
ment, another attempt was made, with his assistance, to establish the insect, but as

THE SMYRNA FIG AT HOME AND ABROAD

usual nothing materialized. Finally Mr. Koebele wrote that he was satisfied that
each species of Ficus had its own species of Blastophaga, and in his opinion it would
be necessary to import the insect from the locality from which the fig cuttings were
taken, to succeed.

Cross-section of Roeding's Capri Fig No. .3, Proflchi crop. What appear to be seeds are galls con-
taining insects. From an original photograph.

In the year 1897, through the efforts of the State Board of Trade of San Francisco,
the importance of introducing the fig wasp and establishing it here, was forcibly pre-
sented in a letter to Hon. James Wilson, Secretary of Agriculture. This was referred
to Dr. L. O. Howard, chief of the Division of Entomology, who communicated with
Mr. Walter T. Swingle of the Division of Botany and Pathology, who, at that time,
was in the South of Europe, studying at the International Zoological Station at Na-
ples. Mr. Swingle had become interested in the subject of caprification, and had
made a number of investigations on his own account, so that he was well prepared
to carry out instructions given him by Dr. Howard.

In April, 1898, several consignments of the Mamme or winter crop of figs, with
^insects, were received from Mr. Swingle, the first of which were in good condition;
those which followed were mouldy and rotten.

A Capri Fig tree had been previously covered with sheeting so that immediately
upon receiving the figs, they were cut open, placed in jars and suspended by strings
on the branches of this tree. However, none of the insects became established.

In the year 1899 another attempt was made by Mr. Swingle, each fig being wrapped
in tin foil and packed in cotton in a wooden case. A series of consignments were for-
warded by him to Dr. Howard at Washington, and the same were remailed from
there, arriving at Fresno between the 6th and 15th of April. The figs arrived in ex-
cellent condition, due to Mr. Swingle's painstaking method of packing. They were
quite firm, plump and green, and looked as if they had just been picked. On cutting
them open it was found that they contained many live and fully developed insects.

So many experiments had been made in former years to establish the insects in
a similar manner, without success, that the writer foresaw no better prospects in
this ir stance, and the following is an extract from a letter written to Dr. Howard at
about that time:

THE SMYRNA FIG AT HOME AND ABROAD

"I will cut the figs open and place them under the Capri trees, which I have cov-
ered, but anticipate no results, nor do I think a success will be made of this matter
until fig trees with fruit on them are sent out here during the winter months. If this
is done, the insects will have a chance to develop in a natural way, and, being full of
vitality, will enter our Wild Figs, just as they do in their nativity, passing from one
crop of Capri figs to the following one."

While one of my employes was engaged in artificial fertilization, in the latter part
of June, 1899, he informed me he had found seeds in some of the Capri figs, and to
him it was a singular fact, as he had performed this same work of artificial caprifica-

Sorting and stringing the Profichi Figs preparatory to their distribution upon the Smyrna trees
From an original photograph

tion before, and had never found any seeds. On making an examination of one of
the figs which had been left for the writer's inspection, what were apparently seeds
were found to be in reality galls, and the writer's elation after so many years of work
and experimenting can be well understood. A careful inspection of the tented tree
revealed that there were fully forty figs which were still green, but badly shriveled,
and on opening a few it was found that the female wasps had already made their
exit, and those that remained were the wingless males. The figs under the covered
tree had reached maturity much earlier than they would have done ordinarily, because
of the higher temperature maintained by the tree being enclosed. Fortunately, for
the success of the experiment, the tree adjoining was also a Capri fig tree, and some
of the insects having escaped through an opening in the cover, caprified about twenty-
five figs on this tree. These figs were picked and taken to the other Capri trees in
the orchard, which at that time had a few figs, most of which were so small, however,
that it seemed impossible for the insects to enter, none of them being larger than two
peas. A few figs were also taken to the foothill ranch, but no fruits were to be found
on the Capri trees growing there.

THE SMYRNA FIG AT HOME AND ABROAD

During this time the writer was in active communication with Dr. Howard, and
an effort was made to secure the assistance of an entomologist, but all who were
communicated with were absent from their respective homes. All that could be done
now was to patiently await developments. One fact was established, and that was, that
it was not necessary to import trees to secure the insect, and that at least was a
source of gratification.

The Capri trees in the orchard were carefully watched, and on July 19, 1899, for
the first time, a marked change in the development of some of the young figs was

Distributing Profichi Figs upon the branches of the Smyrna Fig trees
From an original photograph

noticed; they being of a dark green color, plump and hard, an indication that they
contained something; the metamorphosis in the appearance of the fruit being the
same as in the Smyrna Fig when artificially p&llinated.

On August 12, the first Capri Fig matured on one of these trees, and on examina-
tion it was found to contain pulp, a few galls containing female insects, as well as
fertile seeds. This was a great disappointment, and the writer in his letter to Dr.
Howard said that he was convinced that if all the figs then developing in the trees
should, on ripening, be like the first one, a new and difficult problem had arisen, and
it was feared the insect would be lost, as it would be smothered in the pulp of the
fig before it could make its escape. Between the 20th and 26th of August, ten
Capri Figs came to maturity, resembling very closely the June crop, except that the
staminate flowers were absent, and the figs were much smaller. About the same time
a new crop of figs made its appearance, and the insect entered them. When this crop
began to mature, from the 15th of October to the 10th of November, nothing but
pulpy figs were to be found. On the last date named and during a visit of Mr.
Walter T. Swingle for the purpose of observing the workings of the insect, thousands
of them were found to be emerging from the figs, these again being without pulp.

THE SMYRNA FIG AT HOME AND ABROAD 47

This was a new phase in the matter, for all writers on this subject had described
only three generations of the insect, but in the salubrious climate of California a
fourth generation had developed.

Courtesy of TJ. S. Department of Agriculture.

Branch of Roeding's Capri No. 1, showing two winter or Mamme figs (the two nearest the lower
side of plate), from which the hibernated Blastophaga are about to issue, and the bunch of spring
or Profichi Figs (near the tip of the branch) which are in the receptive stage, — that is, ready to re-
ceive the Blastophagas issuing from the winter figs. Reduced from an original photograph.

Not knowing how low a temperature the Mamme or fall crop of figs would stand,
it was deemed advisable to protect those remaining on the trees during the winter
months, and over three of the trees, those in which this crop was the most abundant,
a cloth house was Built, 28 feet wide, 75 feet long and 16 feet high. This covering
served its purpose admirably, and on March 5, 1900, when Mr. E. A. Schwarz, the
special agent from the Division of Entomology at Washington, arrived, he found
fully 400 or more of the Mamme crop, in fine condition, all of which, from their gen-
eral appearance, indicated that they contained the insect in the hibernating state.
Quite a few figs on the Capri Fig trees, which were not covered, were also found to
be in fine shape, although the temperature during the winter on several occasions
had been as low as 29 deg. Fahrenheit.

At the lower left hand side is represented a twig of a Smyrna tree bearingyoung figs showing the strik-
ing difference between those on tha left hand side, which are caprificated, and those on the right hand
side, which are not. Photographed July 2, 1900, almost natural size. The large specimens on the right
side of the plate, are nearly ripe caprificated Smyrna Figs, reduced. Photographed August 20, 1900.
The small twig with figs in the upper left hand corner, represents the earlier and later Mamme crop of
Rpeding's Capri No. 1. The large fig at the tip being nearly ripe and about ready to give forth the
winged female, natural size. Photographed August 20, 1900.

Courtesy of TJ. S. Department of Agriculture.

THE SMYRNA FIG AT HOME AND ABROAD 49

CHAPTER IX.
AREAS, SOILS AND CLIMATES.

Figs are often classed as products of the tropics or warmer regions, when, as a
matter of fact, the whole family of Ficus cover a wide distribution over the earth's
surface, many species withstanding considerable cold. Specifically, the edible figs,
(Ficus carica), are native of the thermal belts of Asia Minor, from which they
have spread to the warmer localities of the Mediterranean region, the South of
France, the Islands of the Pacific, Australia, the South American States, Old Mexico, the
Gulf States, and throughout California. This statement is literally true, as applied to
the tree; some modification must be made, however, in the yielding of profitable
crops, as a situation subject to cool summers and foggy weather is quite apt to retard
the development and ripening of the fruit, and at the same time decrease the secre-
tion of saccharine or fruit sugars, so essential to the production of merchantable
cured figs. Thus it will be seen that California possesses every requisite for the
exploitation of the fig industry, particularly in the warm and dry interior valleys,
reasonably exempt from biting frosts. Portions of Arizona, Southwestern Texas, the
Gulf States, and Old Mexico, are similarly blessed with climatic conditions calcu-
lated to furnish congenial conditions for commercial fig culture. The great San
Joaquin and Sacramento valleys — veritable empires in themselves — are destined to
be the two great centers of the fig industry in this country. Not only possessing
every advantage of soil and climate found in the fig regions of Asia Minor but in
addition thereto better methods of culture and handling of the product, there is
every reason to believe that the Smyrna Fig will become more of a feature to the
landscape than the orange and the lemon, because it luxuriates over a wider
geographical area, and has a much wider range of soils and climates. Wherever the
summer season is exempt from fogs and frequent rains, and the thermometer does
not go below 18 degrees, Fahrenheit, it is a safe proposition to plant the fig as a
commercial investment.

To people unfamiliar with the fig, the first impression is that it is particular as
to soils and climates, even in its native habitat. Nothing could be further from the
truth. As a matter of fact, it is more indifferent in this respect than any other sort
of our standard deciduous fruit trees, and will thrive with less moisture and more
neglect and abuse. Its range in" this regard is, indeed, a wide one, — a fact which has
been amply demonstrated, not only in California, but wherever conditions are at all
favorable to its successful culture. Situation is also of no great consequence; trees
do equally as well in the foothills and on elevated mesas as on the mountain sides
and in the great interior valleys. These remarks apply more essentially to the tree
and crops for family use; when grown for commercial purposes, the summer tempera-
ture must be sufficiently high to afford ample opportunity for the ripening of the
fruit during the summer months, thus affording sufficient time to harvest and sun dry the
crop before the fall rains set in. For these reasons commercial Smyrna Fig culture will
always command the widest success in the hot and semi-arid interior valleys and
along the higher plateaus and table lands of Arizona, Southwestern Texas, Old Mexico,
and some of the more sheltered regions of the Gulf States. Of course countries like

THE SMYRNA FIG AT HOME AND ABROAD

Australia, Hawaii, the South American States, and Cuba, where the thermometer
never goes below 18 degrees in winter, and ranges in summer from 95 to 105 degrees,
Fahrenheit, with prevailing dry winds and clear weather during the drying season,
fig culture can be safely practiced.

When it comes to character of land, it can be specifically stated that the Smyrna
Fig will grow and bear crops planted in a wider diversity of soils than most any other
fruit. It will give satisfactory growth in soils slightly impregnated with alkali, and at
the same time luxuriate in a red adobe soil along the foothills; orchards of vigorous
constitution and yielding fine crops are features along the mesas of San Bernardino
and San Diego counties, while the slopes of Butte and Placer counties are dotted with

Upper part of Capri Fig tree (Roeding's Capri No. 3) showing abundant crop of caprificated Spring
(Profichi) figs. Courtesy U. S. Department of Agriculture.

fig trees calculated to satisfy the mind, the eye, and the pocketbook for results; the
sheltered sections of the extreme South and the valleys of Old Mexico, with their
varied soils and degrees of moisture, harbor fig trees that are the joy of their owners.
Sandy soils and the heaviest adobe soils are found to be well adapted to Smyrna
Fig culture; the great requisite is good drainage. In soils where the water levels
throughout the year stand too close to the surface, Smyrna Figs should not be
planted, for in such locations the tendency will be for the trees to go largely into
wood, and there is a possibility of some of the figs souring, should cool weather set
in during the drying season. Experience has shown, however, that the Smyrna
varieties suffer far less from this trouble than the ordinary sorts. In the orchard
of the Fancher Creek Nurseries, where a few of the White Adriatic figs are still grow-
ing, from 50 to 75 per cent, will sour on the trees, and in adjoining rows of Smyrna
Figs it is only occasionally that a sour fig can be found.

THE SMYRNA FIG AT HOME AND ABROAD

CHAPTER X.
PRACTICAL SMYRNA FIG CULTURE.

PLANTING THE TREES.

The future of an orchard and its ultimate success from a financial standpoint Is
wholly dependent on the initiatory steps taken in its planting. As has previously
been stated, the fig tree adapts itself to a great variety of soils; nevertheless, it be-
hooves the intending planter to select a piece of land where the soil is of sufficient
depth, well drained, and can be easily tilled. It must not, however, be over-

....u „ ..

u U

u...

.. I, ,,.

i" 4**

..U L, t,..

*„ sj, 4_

^»

%, ?L

The Square System, recommended for planting Smyrna Fig orchards.

looked that the entire success of any culture in fruit growing is dependent on the
care and thoroughness exercised in the work on the outset. Slipshod and careless
methods in the preparation of the ground can only lead to an indifferent success, if
not to utter failure. Hence, it is the part of wisdom to exercise every possible pre-
caution in the preparation of the land to be devoted to this fruit.

In preparing a suitable environment for the future Smyrna Fig orchard, the first
thing to do is to level or grade the land so that the trees can readily be irrigated in
rows or by a system of checks. In localities where other varieties of fruit trees
thrive without irrigation this is not of so much importance, still a little expenditure,
even in such cases, for grading will not be amiss, as there is always a liability of a
dry season when irrigation must be resorted to if we are to maintain the orchard in

52 THE SMYRNA FIG AT HOME AND ABROAD

good condition and secure bountiful crops. In localities where the average annual
rainfall is not less than fifteen inches, it can be safely stated that the Smyrna Fig
tree will flourish and bear good crops without irrigation. The land, after being
leveled and graded, the next thing to do is thorough plowing and cross-plowing to a
depth of not less than 12 inches, to be followed by systematic harrowing until the
entire plot of land to be planted is as friable as an ash heap. Too much emphasis
cannot be given to this point, as the fig, like all other trees, is quickly responsive to
intensive culture.

The land can now be said to be ready for the trees, excepting the laying off of
the ground to the square system and the digging of the holes. The former is ex-

Ten-year-old Roeding Capri No. 2. Tree in prime condition as seen March '30, 1900, when the fol-
iage was not fully developed; had been protected during the winter by a canvas tent, and the illus-
tration shows the framework of the tent. In the background are rows of Smyrna Fig trees.

Courtesy of U. S. Department of Agriculture.

plained by the illustration on page 51. The method of procedure is as follows:
The first thing to observe carefully is to clearly define a true corner as a base from
which to mark off your plot of ground accurately, an allowance of half the distance
between the rows of trees in the orchard to constitute your base line for actual
planting from the line defining the boundaries of your land. Having your base or
boundary lines defined, running at right angles to each other, start at one side
of the field, at a point about 250 feet from your true corner, and run a
row of stakes parallel to the line running at right angles to the base line. In
small fields this work can easily be done by sighting to a stake set at
the proper distance from the corner on the opposite side of the field; in larger
plantings, however, these lines, in order to facilitate the work and insure accuracy,
should be run by a surveyor. Having laid out your field in sections, the stakes where
the trees are to be planted can easily be defined by using a heavy wire 250 feet long,
marked at the proper distances, indicating where the trees are to be set. Before
digging the holes for the trees, the planter should be provided with a narrow board

THE SMYRNA FIG AT HOME AND ABROAD

about 5 feet long, with a hole bored into each end, and a notch in the center. The
notch should be placed against the stake originally set and indicating just where the
tree is to stand. Now pull up the stake, place it and another stake in the holes at
each ,end. Then lift your board and proceed to dig the hole at a point about the
center between the two stakes. Repeat this operation by proceeding to your next
stake, and in this manner complete the digging of the holes over the entire field. It
is at the option of the planter to either dig the holes and plant the trees as he goes

The Bardajic Fig, showing habit of growth and cross-section of fruit. Very much reduced.

From an original photograph.

along, or to dig all the holes before setting any trees at all; obviously the latter
method will require more stakes to indicate the positions over the whole field that
the trees are to occupy. The holes should be at least 18 inches in diameter and of
equal depth.

The Smyrna Fig tree is a great surface feeder, and in its maturity becomes a tree
of no mean dimensions. Owing to these two conditions, it is advisable to plant the
trees not less than 25 feet apart, and, on exceptionally rich soils, 35 feet would be
preferable. Indeed, the experience of planters in California points decidedly in favor
of giving the fig plenty of latitude in this respect. Sunshine is always a desideratum
with this fruit, as it has an important bearing on its proper ripening during the sum-
mer season.

The ground is now ready for the reception of the trees. In planting the Smyrna
Fig extra precaution should be taken to avoid any unnecessary exposure of the roots.
Before planting care should be taken to cut away all bruised and lacerated roots to

54 THE SMYRNA PIG AT HOME AND ABROAD

a clean, smooth surface with a sharp knife. When planting the tree, be sure to fill
in with surface soil first, carefully spreading out the roots in as nearly a natural posi-
tion as possible. When set, the tree should stand at the same height out of the
ground as it stood in the nursery, or at the most not over 2 inches deeper. The earth
should be well firmed around the roots, but in order to insure a successful growth
each tree should be given at least ten to twenty gallons of water. When planting is
completed, the trees should be cut back to at least 20 inches from the ground, and
the wounds covered with rubber paint or grafting wax.

As the reader learns further on in this work, Smyrna Fig culture is only feasible
by the addition to his orchard of trees of the Wild or Capri Figs, and the assistance
of the Fig Wasp (Blastophaga grossorum). Capri Figs are the natural home of this
insect, and though essential to every orchard, do not require the care and attention
of the Smyrnas. The general practice is to plant them in a single row or hedge; or,
if planted in orchard form, in a block by themselves to one corner of the grove. The
trees should be set about 20 feet apart. To insure immunity from severe cold
weather, and to protect the life of the insects, it is often advisable to plant Capri
Figs in sheltered localities against buildings and other protected situations.

AFTER CARE AND IRRIGATION.

The after care of the fig tree is less exacting than the average citrus or deciduous
fruit orchard, and in this respect much resembles the care and labor bestowed on an
olive grove. While it is conceded that the Smyrna Fig will withstand more or less
neglect, it is nevertheless keenly alive to good culture and healthy growing condi-
tions. Clean culture will pay the grower, and where the rainfall is less than eight to
ten inches annually, irrigation must be resorted to, especially in the warm interior
valleys of Central and Southern California and portions of Arizona. As a general
proposition, only one irrigation is necessary, namely, before or just about the time
that the Smyrna crop is fertilized by the Blastophaga, which occurs usually during
June and July in the San Joaquin and Sacramento valleys. Irrigation, in sections of
scant rainfall, or during seasons of drouth, may be essential oftener than once a year;
of this the grower must be his own judge. A want of proper moisture in the soil
during the growing season is quite as apt to check the development of the Smyrna
Fig as any other crop. On the other hand, care must also be exercised to avoid
irrigating orchards situated on lands that are sub-irrigated by waters from running
ditches seeping underground and spreading under the land. Soils of this nature
when cultivated, are quite apt to bring up this moisture from below by capillary attrac-
tion. A safe guide to follow is to learn the character of your soil. In digging the
ground, if it should turn up at a depth of say ten inches dry and crumbly, refusing to
mold to the form of the hand when sampled, it is safe to say that your ground can
be irrigated to the advantage of the trees and growing crop.

A Smyrna Fig orchard should be plowed reasonably deep (except close to the
trees), and cross-plowed once a year, and well cultivated during the growing season.
Should the trees be wanting in vigor and robustness, or fail in producing good crops
of merchantable fruit, it is an indication that the soil is poor in plant food, and needs
an application of fertilizer.

PRUNING.

The fig requires less work with the saw and shears than any other variety of fruit
tree; notwithstanding this fact, it is important to observe a few simple rules, for
mistakes in pruning are difficult to rectify, and an error in using good judgment in
this line may result in a loss of a crop for several years to come, as well as impair
the vitality of the tree.

The first season, from three to four branches should be allowed to diverge from
the body of the tree, none of which should start at a point closer than twelve inches

THE SMYRNA FIG AT HOME AND ABROAD 55

from the ground. To prevent the stems from becoming sun-burned, the tree should
be protected by wrapping paper or burlap around the trunk, or, better still, use a
tree protector, of which there are several makes in the market. After the branches
forming the head have started and they have been thinned out to the required num-
ber, no further priming except to remove suckers starting from the base of the tree
close to the ground, will be necessary.

The importance of starting a tree so it will have a single stem to begin with, thus
forming a base, so to say, for the main branches which will eventually form the head
of the tree, should not be lost sight of. It would be a great mistake to permit the tree
to start its branches close to the ground, for such trees are difficult to handle, and
as they grow older, the workman is always puzzled how to prune them. Furthermore,
the branches of such trees will break off close to the ground quite often, and where
this happens, the symmetry of the tree is destroyed.

What is finally the object in training a tree? Surely there can only be one definite
aim in view, and that is, when the tree comes into bearing, to secure as large a fruit-
producing surface as possible to insure the very largest crops obtainable. The
branches diverging from the main body of the tree must be sturdy and strong, for
they are the ones which must eventually support the numerous laterals forming the
head of the tree. Care should be observed the first season in not allowing them to
grow too close together on the stem, otherwise they will be cramped and cannot de-
velop as they should. The second year after planting the laterals should be shortened
in from one-third to one-half of their growth, the amount of pruning depending, of
course, on the growth made during the previous season. From each one of the
branches shortened in, from two to three shoots should be allowed to develop, evenly
distributed and close to the point, where the main branches were cut off. The head
now is practically formed, and in the third season not much pruning is necessary,
except to cut out all interfering branches. In subsequent years, provided the tree
grows thriftily and is covered during the growing season with a sufficient amount of
foliage to afford partial shade no pruning is required. Should this condition not be
maintained, then a shortening of all the laterals and a method of thinning out should
be followed to promote new growth. It has been a fixed rule that fig trees should
never have their lateral branches shortened in, like the peach, pear and many other
deciduous trees; experience, however, in the orchard on the Fancher Creek Nurseries,
has impressed me with the folly of this rule as applied to Smyrna Fig trees. An
open top into which the sun can penetrate is not a desirable condition to have. Cli-
matic conditions may make it necessary to deviate from this in other sections,
but in the hot, dry valleys of the semi-arid regions, the best success and largest crops
will be obtained when the trees are maintained in the condition already described.

The Fig Wasp (Blastophaga grossorum), seeks the shade when flying in the trees,
and the largest number of fertilized figs will be found where the sun does not pene-
trate too freely. It is not necessary to follow the shortening-in method each season,
but only in cases where the tree is not making much new wood, and in consequence
of which the young figs are not shaded sufficiently for the insects to properly per-
form their functions.

Attention is here also called to the treatment of the Wild or Capri Fig tree. This
being the natural home of the Fig Wasp, it is important that the tree be developed
along lines calculated to meet the wants and requirements of the insect. In view of
this, the tree should be pruned sparingly, and then only with a view to producing a
dense head, even to the exclusion of direct sunlight. In other words, cut back only
strong, straggling branches which may at times make their appearance and prevent
the development of the dense growth which the insect demands for its best develop-
ment and propagation.

56 THE SMYRNA FIG AT HOME AND ABROAD

CHAPTER XI.
THE FIGS OF ORCHARDS AND GARDENS.

In the orchard of the Fancher Creek Nurseries, fully seven varieties of Smyrna
Figs entirely distinct from the true fig of commerce have been found. Three of
these were received in the original importation, viz., Kassaba, Bardajic and Cheker
Injir. The other varieties, several of which are still unidentified as to their correct
names, have been found growing here and there in the orchard of the Lop Figs.

As only the commercial side of the question is involved in this book, the other
varieties of Smyrna figs having only value for table purposes, it is not considered
necessary to give them more than a passing mention. They, like all other varieties
of Smyrna Figs, require caprification to mature their fruits. Originally the name
California Smyrna was given to the fig of commerce, the Lop Injir of Smyrna, in
order to give some distinction to the variety growing at home. Fully appreciating
that others having an inferior fig would not only pack figs and sell trees under this
name, as soon as the superiority of the California Smyrna was established, it was
deemed of sufficient importance to adopt for this particular fig a distinctive name.
Following out this idea, a premium of $25.00 was offered for the most appropriate and
euphonious name for this fig. Among the hundreds of names submitted, the word
"Calimyrna," a cortraction of the two words California and Smyrna, was selected as
being the most satisfactory name for the new fig. The name "Calimyrna" has been
copyrighted, with a view of giving protection, not only to this brand of dried figs, but
to the trees as well. To be plain, the Calimyrna Fig is a distinct variety of Smyrna
Fig, and there is as much difference between it and the other varieties of Smyrna Figs,
as there is between a Muir and an Early Crawford Peach. This statement is not
made for the purpose of discrediting in any way the genuineness of Smryna Figs
received in other importations, but merely to show that the Calimyrna is a variety in
itself.

For the benefit of those who may be interested in the group of economic figs, the
following brief descriptions of Smyrna classes and varieties are here given:

THE SMYRNAS.

Bardajic. Derives its name from its close resemblance to the form of a water-
jug used by the people of Smyrna. Medium to large, ovate pyriform, neck long;
stalk long and slender; ribs distinct, of a greyish green color; orifice small; skin very
thin, greyish green, and sprinkled with small light grey dots, becoming seamed when
fully matured and showing the white meat beneath; pulp rich deep crimson; seed
small, fertile and numerous. Tree a compact, low spreading grower with very thick
closely jointed branches; leaves very large and only slightly lobed. A magnificent
table fig, but of little value for drying, for, although it is exceedingly sweet, the skin
presents a dirty brown color, and is quite tough. It is used exclusively as a table
fig in Smyrna; scattering trees are to be found growing in the gardens near Smyrna,
and in the foothills a few miles from the city. They are always caprified, but not
systematically as is done in the fig district proper.

THE SMYRNA FIG AT HOME AND ABROAD 57

Calimyrna, Lop Injir. A copyrighted name given to the world famous fig of
commerce to distinguish il from the other varieties of Smyrna Figs. Very often
packed in Smyrna under the name Erbeyli, meaning superior fig, and indicative of
the district of "Herbeyli," in the Maeander Valley, Asia Minor, where the finest
grade of these figs are supposed to come from. Known in the Turkish language as
"Lop," and in the Greek as "Lopia," meaning sweet fig. Fruit large to very large,
turbinate, almost globular, except that it is very much flattened at the apex; neck
very short, in many instances almost entirely absent; stalk short and breaking from
the tree readily when the fig has lost its form and hangs limp, shriveled and seamed on
the tree; ribs very distinct, and of a slightly greenish shade; skin lemon-yellow, smooth
and very thin, turring nearly white when the fig is dried, and feeling almost like silk
when in this condition and rubbed between the fingers; orifice large, of pale ochre color
and widely open when the fig is mature and before shriveling; pulp reddish amber,
sometimes pale amber turning to dark amber just before falling; seeds large, yellow
fertile, overspread with a clear white syrup, giving the fruit a richness and meatiness
surpassed by no other fig. Tree a strong grower, of spreading habit and inclined
to be straggling, a difficulty readily overcome by shaping the trees when young;
leaves medium to large, of a dark green shade, slightly downy underneath, lobes very
deep, and five lobed. The dried figs contain 63.92 per cent, sugar, which is 1%
per cent, more sugar than found in the imported Smyrna Fig. Dries readily and
with less trouble and expense than any other fig, dropping to the ground of its own
accord and being practically dry when it falls. The only variety of fig planted in
Asia Minor for export, and the only one having any commercial value.

Black or Purple Smyrna. Small, globular, stems short; no neck; skin very thin,
purplish, with prominent light greyish ribs, sprinkled with round, brownish dots;
pulp dark amber; a most delicious fig to be eaten out of the hand. Dries well, but
the skin is thick; fruit is too small for commercial purposes. Tree a dense, compact
grower, giving as dense a shade as the Texas Umbrella; leaves small, five lobed,
slightly serrated. Name local, found as a mixture in the orchard of Calimyrna Figs.

Black or Purple Bulletin Smyrna. Fruit large to very large; obtuse pyriform;
neck short, stalk long; skin light purple, streaked and ribbed with grey and sprinkled
with small brown dots; pulp reddish pink, very rich and luscious; seeds large,
fertile; orifice open when mature and very small. A superb fruit in the fresh state.
Of little value when dried, the skin being thick and leathery. Several trees of this
variety (the name being local) were received among the Bulletin Smyrna Figs from
the Bulletin Company in 1883.

Cheker Injir. Signifying "Sugar Fig," and grown in the Island Scios. Tree a very
strong grower, branches heavy and closely jointed; of upright growth; leaves very
large, deeply lobed and slightly serrated; fruit roundish, oblate, short neck; pulp
reddish-pink, seeds small, fertile; skin greenish-yellow, very thin, ribs distinct,
light green. Of no particular value for drying purposes.

Kassaba. Medium to large, rounded; obtuse pyriform, flattened at the apex;
short neck and stalk; ribs slight; orifice decidedly large and open; skin pale green;
pulp reddish pink; seeds small, fertile. Deliciously sweet both fresh and dried, the
analysis showing higher sugar content than the Calimyrna, and when dried
the skin is even whiter than that variety. The objection to it is that it ripens late.
Tree is a beautiful, erect, upright grower, of good habit. More trees of this
variety are to be seen scattered among the "Lop" figs of the Maeander Valley than
any other. In drying no effort is made to separate these figs from the "Lop" figs.
The men in packing the figs, however, invariably discard them, remarking that they
are no good. They are readily distinguished by their deep red colored pulp. This
variety is found principally in the vineyard district of Kassaba, as a border tree, or
growing as isolated specimens, when they attain an immense size. No attempt is
made to dry them, the inhabitants claiming they are of no value for this purpose.

Maple Leaved. Medium, turbinate, rounded at apex; stem short; slight neck;
pulp red; no ribs; orifice widely opened, dark straw-colored; skin pale, yellowish-
green; seed fertile, small. Tree of spreading habit, branches short jointed; leaves
large, deeply lobed and heavily serrated. A rather inferior fig and possessing no
value for drying purposes. Not seen by the writer during his inspection of the
fig orchards in Asia Minor, and it probably is only found as an occasional mixture in
the gardens of the "Lop" figs. The name given is a local one derived from the
peculiar form of the leaves.

58 THE SMYENA FIG AT HOME AND ABROAD

WILD, OR CAPRI S.

Allusion has already been made in previous chapters to the Capri Fig, and its
economic relation to the Smyrna type of figs, so it is not necessary to repeat these
facts again. The group is a very extensive one, and comprises hundreds of varieties,
which have originated, no doubt, as seedlings in the countries bordering on the
Mediterranean where caprification is practiced, and later on the varieties having the
greatest value for caprification purposes were propagated and planted in the gardens
and suburbs of the towns in the fig districts. Distinct types of these figs are to be
found growing in Asia Minor, Greece, Italy, Algeria and Spain. In Asia Minor none
of the Male or Wild Figs are named, but in Greece, Italy and Algeria, according to
statements made by Messrs. Swingle and Fairchild, agricultural explorers of the
United States Department of Agriculture, many of them are described and named.
As a rule the trees are readily distinguished from the other figs, by their slender
branches and radically different habits of growth. While the writer was examining
Capri figs in Asia Minor, however, one variety was discovered which so closely
resembled the "Lop" type of figs, not only in its character of growth but in the
formation of the leaves as well, he would have pronounced it to be of that variety
had it not been loaded with Profichi figs at the time this observation was made.
There are fully thirty distinct types of Capri Figs, growing in California today; time
and experience will alone determine their value. A short description of the three
varieties used in caprifying the Smyrna Figs on the Fancher Creek Nurseries is
given herewith. The Profichi crop of figs are by far the largest figs, and are the
only ones described, the others possessing no value in the caprification of the Smyrna
Figs.

Roed ing's Capri No. 1. Profichi, about \VZ inches wide by 2y2 inches long; oblong
pyriform; neck long; very few ribs and not pronounced; skin dark, dull green, orifice
large; gall flowers very numerous, and male flowers producing an abundance of
pollen; tree of a low spreading habit, limbs heavy; leaves very large and dark green
color without gloss. Profichi come to maturity a week earlier than Roeding's Capri
No. 2. Particularly valuable on account of its producing all the crops necessary
for successfully carrying through all the generations of the Blastophaga. Six
hundred female insects have been counted coming out of a single fig of this variety.
The first Blastophaga were established in the Profichi crop of this variety from the
importation made by Mr. Walter T. Swingle, in April, 1899.

Roeding's Capri No. 2. Profichi about 1% inches wide by 2*£ inches long, almost
globular, with short stalk and neck; ribs distinct; skin very smooth, waxy, greenish
yellow; gall flowers numerous; tree of rather erect growth, with slender limbs,
leaves medium, light, glossy green color; produces an abundance of the Pro-
fichi crop and a limited number of the Mamme, some individual trees, however,
producing this crop in abundance. Its value lies principally in the fact of its
lengthening the season for caprifying the Smyrna Figs.

Roeding's Capri No. 3. Profichi about 1% inches wide by 3 inches long; stem
short, turbirate, with an extremely short neck; ribs very pronounced and running
the full length of the fig; skin light, shining green; orifice very large. Gall flowers
as well as male flowers very abundant; tree a rather straggling grower, with heavily
noded branches, and of dwarf habit; leaves medium, light green, very rough and
serrated; ripens a few days earlier than No. 1, and valuable on this account, being
sure to have insects for the first Smyrna Figs, which are in the receptive stage. As
high as 1000 female insects will issue from one of these figs. The Mamme of this
crop are easily distinguished from the others, by their larger size, distinct ribs, and
dark purplish green color.

THE SMYRNA FIG AT HOME AND ABROAD 59

CHAPTER XII.
GRAFTING THE CALIMYRNA (SMYRNA) FIG.

With the successful establishment of the Calimyrna Fig, identical with the
true Smyrna Fig of commerce, the culture of this particular sort is destined to create
a revolution in the fig industry in America. Obviously, all the common varieties of figs
that have been planted in this State, excepting a few garden sorts for family use in

Fig Grafting. Preparation of Stock and Scion.
From an original photograph.

the fresh state, are destined to become obsolete as factors in the fig market. In view
of this, many orchards of the Adriatic class will be grafted to the Calimyrna, or True
Fig of Commerce, which is perfectly feasible and easy of accomplishment, as has been
thoroughly demonstrated in the experience of the writer in his own orchard. The
following paragraphs give a concise statement of proper methods to be employed in
working over undesirable varieties of fig trees by means of grafting:

THE SMYRNA FIG AT HOME AND ABROAD

White Adriatic Fig tree, grafted with Calimyrna (Smyrna) Fig scions.
From an original photograph.

In grafting over orchard trees the branches to be grafted should be cut off to
within 18 to 24 inches from the point of divergence from the body of the tree, allow-
ing at least two branches to remain, one of which should be on the southwest, if pos-
sible, so that the grafts will be shaded from the afternoon sun.

The object of leaving the branches, is for the purpose of having an outlet for the
sap, for the removal of the entire top of the tree is dangerous. In the Coast counties
trees can have their entire tops removed, and still withstand the shock, the scions
taking readily, if properly inserted; but in the interior valleys, where the atmosphere
is dry and warm, to remove the entire top of a fig tree close to the main body would
result in the loss of the tree, a fact which has been fully demonstrated by actual
experience. The two branches which have been allowed to remain can be
sawed off entirely the following season, or they can be in turn grafted, if the scions
of the year before have not taken well.

THE SMYRNA FIG AT HOME AND ABROAD 61

After having sawed off the branches the stumps or subjects to be worked on
should have the tops neatly smoothed over with a sharp knife, so as to have a clean,
smooth surface, particularly along the edge. From two to four scions should be
placed in each stock, the number of course being regulated by the size of the stump.
Cut out a V-shaped piece of bark; the distance from the top of the stock to the point
of the V should be from 1 to 1^4 inches.

Select a scion of the proper size, making a sloping cut along the lower end, as long
or somewhat longer than the incision on the stock. The scions should be cut the
same as for a whip graft, except that the cut is all on one side and should have a

White Adriatic Fig tree, with summer growth of graft.
From an original photograph.

little more bevel, and the second cut for the tongue of the whip graft should be
omitted. The scions should never be smaller than an ordinary lead pencil; as a rule
scions from 2-year-old wood, as they have very little pith, with a diameter of five-
sixteenths to one-half inch, will be found to give the best results.

The scion should be of such a size that it fits snugly into the opening in the stock,
so that the bark on both sides of the scion touches the bark of the stock. After the
scions are inserted, wrap tightly with five or six-ply cotton twine, so as to hold them
in place, and cover the wounds as well as the stub with liquid grafting wax. Also be
careful to wax the top of the scion to prevent drying out. Never use wax cloth for
wrapping, or if you do, be careful to remove it early in the summer before the warm
weather sets in or the bark, when the grafts are set, will be smothered and the grafts
will die. After the scions have become well united, which takes from two to three
months, the strings can be cut.

The writer prefers this method of grafting to all others, and has had no difficulty
in making fully 90 per cent, of the scions grow, many of them making a growth of
five to seven feet in a single season. This method of grafting cannot be practiced
until the sap begins to flow, and from the latter part of February to the 1st of April
has been found to be the best time. The scions should never be more than four
inches long.

The grafting wax should be melted in a pot and put on hot, using a small paint
brush, or a brush made out of short pieces of hay rope tied to a small stick

62 THE SMYRNA FIG AT HOME AND ABROAD

answers the purpose just as well. The best results have been secured by using a
wax made of one pound of beeswax, three pounds resin and three ounces of raw
linseed oil by weight. Place the beeswax and resin in a kettle and cook same until
thoroughly dissolved, then add the oil and allow the ingredients to cook slowly for
ten or fifteen minutes longer. Remove from the fire, and as soon as the wax has
cooled some, pour a small quantity into a bucket of lukewarm water. Grease the
hands and take the congealed mass and knead and pull it until it becomes very tough;
wrap in oiled paper and it is ready for use. By preparing the wax beforehand the
ingredients are mixed in proper proportions, which is not easily done when you have
a large amount of work to do in the field. This wax is also far superior to wax
which has not been pulled.

CHAPTER XIII.

INSECT PESTS AND DISEASES.

It is pleasant to note the fact that among all the fruits now grown commercially
in California, and, for that matter, in sections with similar soils and climates, t,he
Smyrna Fig is strikingly alone in being almost wholly exempt from the attacks of
injurious insects and immune from many of the diseases to which general orchard
crops are subject. In so far as the writer's observations and experiences go — now
covering nearly a score of years — the Smyrna Fig in this State is practically exempt
from attacks of this nature. The same may be said of the Smyrna Fig orchards in
Asia Minor. So striking is this fact that the statement seems almost Utopian; never-
theless, it is borne out by the facts. The Smyrna Fig in this respect presents an
anomaly in California horticulture, — instead of being the subject of attack from in-
jurious insects its well-being and commercial importance depend wholly on the at-
tacks of what must be considered the greatest beneficial insect which ever found its
way into the realm of an enlightened horticultural practice, viz.: the little fig wasp —
Blastophaga grossorum.

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THE SMYRNA FIG AT HOME AND ABROAD 63

CHAPTER XIV.

HARVESTING AND DRYING CALIMYRNA (SMYRNA) FIGS.

No proposition receives more careful thought and investigation by the fruit grower
before he embarks in a certain line of fruit growing than what the expense will be
in harvesting the crop. In California, where labor is so scarce during the summer
months, a grower is certainly justified in giving this subject earnest and careful con-
sideration. A large fig orchard can be handled at far less expense in the matter of
harvesting the crop, than any other variety of deciduous fruit. One advantage it has
over all other varieties is that all the fruit does not mature at the same time, but
extends over a period of about six weeks; hence a few laborers can take care of an
orchard. This alone is a point which appeals to all practical fruit growers. The
Smyrna Fig possesses an advantage over all other figs, inasmuch that its fruits
do not drop from the trees until they are practically dried. In the early part of the
season, two days' exposure, and, in some cases, when it is very dry and warm, the
figs will dry sufficiently in a single day. The figs commence to ripen about the
middle of August, and continue to mature their fruits until the latter part of Septem-
ber. The trees are gone over every few days. When the figs first commence to
ripen, the laborers simply pick the fallen figs from the ground into small buckets or
baskets. As the season advances, the harvesting is expedited by shaking the trees.
This, however, is not advisable when the figs first commence to drop, for many green
figs, (that is, figs which have not commenced to shrivel), would drop off. All of such
figs are valueless for drying purposes, for they have not a sufficient amount of sugar,
when dried, and have an insipid and unattractive flavor, entirely unlike the figs
which have reached their full maturity. It is remarkable how tenaciously the figs
cling to the tree, and hang limp and shriveled, with their skins seamed, until they be-
come dry and fully matured, before they will fall. Any attempt to pick the figs
before this stage is very difficult; the succulent part will tear off before the hard
stem can be detached from the tree.

After the figs have commenced to ripen freely, it is advisable to divide the gath-
erers into two crews. One crew goes from tree to tree giving the branches a vigorous
shaking, causing all shriveled figs, which have not fallen of their own accord, to
drop, while the other follows, gathering the fruit in small galvanized iron buckets.
When filled, the figs are dumped into picking boxes, which have previously been
distributed by a truck in that part of the orchard where the crop is being gathered.
After a number of the picking boxes are filled, they are hauled to the drying ground.
In a small orchard there is no need of a special drying ground, but where a large
crop of figs is to be handled, a place to dry them should be selected and all arrange-
ments should be made to have everything in readiness to handle the figs expeditiously,
so there will be no hitch when harvesting actually commences.

The drying ground in the Fancher Creek Nurseries is a large open space, sloping
to the south, and is admirably situated for this purpose. In the northerly end of the
grounds a large open shed was built 40x60 feet. In one end is a room raised
off the ground about a foot, enclosed throughout with tongue and grooved lumber, to
be used for piling up the figs after they are dried, allowing them to pass through
a sweat. Directly back of this room there is a large sixty-gallon cauldron set in

66 THE SMYRNA FIG AT HOME AND ABROAD

brick. The boxes of figs, as they come to the drying shed, are piled up until several
tons have been gathered, when the work of dipping and spreading out on the trays
proceeds without interruption. The water in the cauldron, in which about three
ounces of salt to the gallon has been dissolved, is heated up to the boiling point. A
large perforated bucket is used for dipping the figs. This is attached by a rope and
pulleys to a short wooden arm, hung on a pivot to the upper part of the building,
one end of which hangs directly over the cauldron, about seven feet above it. The
bucket containing the figs is submerged in this hot brine for about a minute, it being
raised and lowered several times during this interval to allow the water to drain
off and also to remove any grit or sand adhering to the figs. The figs are dipped in
salt water to hasten the drying and to soften the skins; the beneficial effect of this
treatment is especially noticeable in figs which have become somewhat over-dried
on the trees before falling off. As soon as the figs are dipped, the beam is swung
over to one side, the bucket is tilted, and the figs are dumped on wooden trays,
which have been previously placed on a truck running on an iron track. These
trays are 2 by 3 feet, and have a three-quarter cleat nailed all around them
to prevent the figs from falling off. Three of these trays are filled at a time, being
placed close together on the truck. The figs are spread out on them in a single
layer, no care being taken as to the position in which they are placed, or whether
they touch each other or not. As soon as one tier of trays is filled, another set is
placed above them and also filled, this continuing until the trays are piled ten to twelve
deep. The truck is now run out on the track to the drying ground, and the trays
are spread out on both sides of the same. The drying ground should be firm and
hard, the harder the soil the better. In the early part of the season, the figs distrib-
uted are not allowed to remain on the trays in the sun for much over two days.
The second day the figs are turned, a very simple matter. An empty tray is placed
over a full one. Two men standing at each end of the trays, by a dexterous move-
ment of their hands, transfer the figs from the filled to the empty one. If the figs
pile up when turned, they can easily be spread out again by merely shuffling them
around with the hands. The trays, after two days' exposure, are piled up so the
air will pass freely through them. This stacking is not actually necessary, but it
benefits the figs, first in preventing them from drying out too rapidly, causing the
skins to become tough and hard, and, secondly, they dry more evenly. One great
mistake made in handling figs is that in many cases they are over-dried, which more
than anything else is the cause of tough skins. The proper degree of dryness is de-
termined by examining the figs in the early morning hours, before they become
warm. If, when worked between the fingers, they have a slightly leathery feeling,
they are sufficiently dried.

The work of sorting now commences. Many of the larger plump and meaty figs
will on examination be found not to be dried sufficiently; these are sorted out placed
on trays, and exposed to the sun once more until they become dry enough. The other
figs are thrown into a pile in the sweat room. The piles of figs are turned over in
this room every few days; meanwhile the sweating process continues, the skins of
the figs become moist and pliable, and, although the figs are apparently wet, it is in
reality nothing more than the sweating and curing process they are passing through.
After remaining in the pile for ten days, the figs are now in condition to be packed.

During the process of drying and handling, more or less dirt adheres to the figs,
so they are given another washing before hauling to the packing house. A trough,
made of two-inch lumber, two feet wide, one foot deep, and from ten to twelve feet
long, is half filled with cold water, in which four ounces of stock salt to the gallon has
been dissolved. From 100 to 150 pounds of figs are dumped into this trough at a time.
All figs which float to the top are removed first. These are over-dried, and are called
"floaters." The figs which sink to the bottom are given a thorough washing between

THE SMYRNA FIG AT HOME AND ABROAD 67

the hands, and are then taken out and placed on large trays, 3x6 feet. The figs
are piled in these trays a couple of inches deep, and are then exposed to the sun a
half a day, being turned once during this time. This final exposure is made to re-
move all superfluous moisture from the figs.

The trays are then taken to the drying shed, and their contents are dumped into
sweat boxes. A sweat box is made of one-inch lumber, is eight inches deep, two feet
wide, by three feet long. The figs are now ready for packing.

If the figs have been carefully handled they will have a tender skin, and
be soft and pliable, and present a fine, glossy white appearance. The skin of the
Smyrna Fig when dried is white, and to one not familiar with its natural tendency,
to have this color, the inference would be that the figs had been sulphured. Sulphur-
ing of figs is always objectionable, but it is found necessary with the ordinary White
Adriatic, in order to give the skin a white color, but this gives that fig a bitter flavor,
and extracts what little of the true fig flavor this variety originally possessed.

PACKING.

The Packing House for handling the product of the Fancher Creek Nurseries is
located in the city of Fresno, and as the quantity of fruit to be packed is limited,
the building is of modest pretentions, fully large enough, however, to accommodate
the force of twenty-five to thirty men and women engaged in packing the Calimyrna
Figs.

The figs are hauled in the sweat boxes to the packing houses. Here they are
piled up, each box being carefully placed above the one below it to prevent the en-
trance of insects, which are attracted by the sweetness of the figs. The first step
before packing is to grade the fruit into sizes. This is quickly accomplished by a
fig grader run by power, and especially designed for this purpose. This grader con-
sists of a series of trays, in a frame, all on the same plane; underneath are the hop-
pers, partitioned off to receive the several grades. The trays are made of galva-
nized iron, and are perforated with round holes. The first tray has holes % of an
inch in diameter, second one, 1 inch, the third one, l1^ inches. The figs dropping
through the first tray are designated as three-crown, the next, four-crown, and the
last one five-crown. Those passing over all these trays and into the hopper at the
end of the machine are the six-crown. The trays are fastened to a frame built
inside of the main frame of the machine, but not touching it. This frame is sup-
ported by levers, which are so adjusted when the machine is started that it is
given a quick up-and-down motion, causing the figs to pass from the trays with the
small holes to the larger ones.

The three-crown figs are not packed, but are dumped loose into fifty-pound boxes,
as they are too small; only the four, five and six-crown are packed in cartons.
The six-crown are extra large, fine, meaty figs, and run from sixteen to twenty to
the pound. Just before packing, the figs are placed in a steam chest lined with
galvanized iron, and steamed. The trays used have a wire screen bottom, and hold
about thirty-five pounds of figs. From three to four of these trays are placed in the
box at one time. The steaming is done with a twofold object in view, viz., to heat
the figs through thoroughly in order to destroy all insect life and germs, and to
soften the fruit so that it can be easily handled by the packers. The packing is done
entirely by women. A long table, about two feet high and four feet wide, is provided
for this purpose.

The figs, when taken out of the steam chest, are dumped into small boxes, placed
in front of each packer, who selects a fig, and, flattening it out between the fingers,
turns the orifice end to the under side, and then with a small knife, slits the fig from
the orifice to the stem end; meanwhile spreading it out to the proper width, so the
sides of the figs will fit snugly into forms, which are made of hard wood and divided

70 THE SMYRNA FIG AT HOME AND ABROAD

into four sections, each of which is the exact size of the carton into which the figs are
to be packed. The first layer of figs is placed face down, so the bottom of the package
when examined will present the same finished appearance as the top layer. After
three layers of figs have been placed in the form, it is taken to the press, a wooden
board with small blocks, which fit exactly in the forms is placed on it, and the figs
pressed down into the form, thus making room for the top layer. An ordinary letter
press is used for pressing the figs, it being more serviceable than a lever press, due
to the pressure being exerted gradually, which could not be done with the latter.
This branch of the work is in charge of a small boy, who, after pressing the figs,
takes them back to the packer to be finished. As soon as a form is filled, each brick
of figs is weighed; if the weight is found to be correct, it is again placed in the form,
which is then taken to the packing table, the false bottom underneath is taken out,
and the bricks piled up ready for wrapping. In each brick of figs, a leaf of the
Bay Laurel (Laurus nobilis) is placed. This leaf does not affect the flavor of the figs
but imparts to the package a pleasant appetizing odor when opened. The brick is
next taken in hand by the wrapper who neatly wraps it in wax paper, but before so
doing, the package is once more weighed, and if the weight is not correct, it is
returned for repacking.

After wrapping, the package is sent to the next girl at the same table, who
places the brick in a very attractive paper carton, neatly engraved and embossed.
These cartons are made in two sizes, half pound and one pound. The background is
all in green. The cover has the words "Calimyrna Figs" in gold, and white embossed
on it; one side of the box has a view of the residence of the Fancher Creek Nurseries
surrounded by a grove of Calimyrna Fig trees and the other is embossed with the
name of the grower and packer, in white and gold letters. Underneath the
scroll in which this view is enclosed are the words, "Where these figs are grown."
On the ends of the carton are the initials, G. C. R., embossed and worked in white.

The package now comes into the hands of another girl, who pastes a gold seal on
the carton, to hold the top in place. The cartons are now finished, and all that
remains to be done is to place them in wooden boxes when they are ready for shipment.
These wooden boxes hold ten one-pound, and twenty one-half-pound cartons.

The fig packers are in charge of a fore lady, who watches the work of packing
carefully, and sees that no inferior or defective figs are packed. She also keeps
track of the work done by each- packer by means of tally slips, so that the number of
pounds packed can be seen at a glance by examining the form book in which a daily
record of the work is kept.

The descriptions of the harvesting, curing, and packing of the Smyrna Fig
elaborated in the foregoing paragraphs are based on the personal experiences of
the writer. For this reason the frequent reference to his own business affairs was
almost unavoidable — a condition to which he is more or less sensitive, for the reason
that the text may impress the reader as a trifle egotistical in places, and this,
let it be distinctly understood, was in no way a motive in their preparation. Quite
to the contrary, the matter is thus given prominence with the hope that his facts and
experiences may prove of service to intending planters of the Calimyrna Fig, wherever
it can be established as a commercial proposition.

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THE SMYRNA FIG AT HOME AND ABROAD

CHAPTER XV.
CAPRIFYING THE CALIMYRNA (SMYRNA) FIG.

This is the important function in connection with the production of the Smyrna
Fig, as it is now generally conceded that no Smyrna Fig can be produced except
by caprification. Not over five years ago, it was derided by horticulturists, and the
inclination to ridicule the whole subject was general. That caprification was known
and practiced for several thousand years is evidenced by the writings of Aristotle and
Theophrastus, the latter for the first time having noted that all sorts of figs do not
require caprification. To all outward appearances, the fig tree, unlike other trees,
develops fruit without producing flowers. These appearances are misleading, however,
for on cutting the fig open, it will be found that it contains a large quantity of
inconspicuous flowers, closely grouped around the rind, which is really the receptacle
for them. In the Smyrna varieties, it is essential that these flowers be fertilized to
develop and perfect their fruit. Unless the flowers are pollinated, the figs fall off
when about the size of small marbles. This fact draws the line of distinction between
the Smyrna varieties of figs and those classed with the Adriatic* family, which mature
their figs, (although they are imperfect), without the agency of the insect.

There are four distinct kinds of flowers found in figs, namely, male, female, gall
and mule flowers. Male flowers are found only in the Capri Fig, and are particularly
abundant in the Profichi or Spring crop. Female flowers are found in the Smyrna, or
edible figs, and in a limited number in the Mammoni, or Summer crop of Capri figs.
Gall flowers are found only in the Capri Fig, and are present in all the crops, Profichi,
Mammoni, late Mammoni and Mamme. It is in these flowers that the Blastophaga
develops and propagates its species. Mule flowers, or rather mal-formed female
flowers, are found in the Adriatic type of figs, and are present in the Breba, or first
crop of Smyrna Figs.

The caprification of the Smyrna Fig by the fig wasp (Blastophaga grossorum)
is not a difficult, complicated matter, as many would suppose. When the Smyrna Figs
are in the receptive stage, is the first point to be understood. This is indicated by the
glossy green color of the figs, and by the creamy white color of the flowers. The next
point is to be in the position to decide how many times the Smyrna trees must be
caprified in order to secure a full crop of fruit.

The only crop of any importance in the production of the Smyrna Fig is the
Profichi, or male crop of the wild, or Capri fig, maturing its fruits in the San Joaquin
Valley in June. In counties along the coast, where the weather is cooler, the figs
are much later. At Niles, on the grounds of the California Nursery Company, the
Profichi figs ripen in the latter part of July, and continue to do so until late in
September. This illustrates how climatic conditions, in so short a distance, (150
miles), materially change the development of the little insect. Under normal
conditions, the Profichi crop on the Fancher Creek Nurseries matures the second
week in June.

Two varieties of Capri figs have been found to be sufficient to carry out all the

*It has been found that the Adriatic type of figs do contain a limited number of female flowers, for fertile
seeds have been developed in a number of these varieties where the Blastophaga has entered. This fact has
been demonstrated by experiments made at the California Nursery Company's grounds at Niles, California,
and at the Fancher Creek Nurseries.

THT SMYRNA FIG AT HOME AND ABROAD

requirements to caprify a Smyrna Fig orchard; as has been demonstrated in using
Roeding's Capri No. 1 and No. 2 in the orchard of the Fancher Creek Nurseries.
Capri No. 1 matures its fruits first, and this is followed in about a week by No. 2.
As all the Smyrna figs are not in the receptive stage at the same time, but keep
on developing figs for ten or twelve days after the first figs appear, the necessity of
having more than one variety of Capri fig can be better understood. Simultaneously
with the ripening of Capri No. 1, the first Smyrna figs are in the receptive stage.
To know when to commence picking the Capri figs is not difficult, close observation is
all that is required. When the Capri figs, from their appearance, indicate they have
reached full size, they should be carefully watched. If on breaking one open, a

FIG. 1— Blastophaga grossorum,— a, adult female; 6, head of same from below; c, head of same
from side; d, male impregnating female; e, female issuing from gall; f, adult male, (after West-
wood.) All greatly enlarged. Courtesy of 17. S. Department of Agriculture.

number of the male insects are to be seen crawling around in the fig, it is safe
to assume that the female wasp has commenced to issue. The color of the fig is
no indication of its maturity, for in many instances figs, while outwardly green, are
ripe, and the insects have commenced to leave, and are looking for new figs in
which to deposit their eggs. Another way of determining the proper stage of
ripeness is to press the fig between the fingers; if it gives to the touch it is mature
and ready to be picked. After a little experience, the proper stage is apparent by
the general appearance of the figs.

Outside of the work of caprifying, there is no extra expense incurred in growing
the Smyrna Figs, over the ordinary varieties. The first distribution of Capri figs,
containing the Blastophaga, is made in small wire mesh baskets, which have been
previously hung in the Smyrna Fig trees. From five to six figs are placed in each
basket. The Capri figs are knocked off the trees with light bamboo poles, gathered
in buckets, and are then taken by a crew of men, and the figs are distributed
through the orchard, commencing at one point and giving each tree its quota of figs.

All the Profichi figs do not contain insects, but if the supply of insects from the
Mamme crop is sufficiently large, and the weather has been favorable, it is difficult
to find a Profichi which does not contain galls. Two classifications of figs have
been named by Mr. E. A. Schwarz, of the Division of Entomology, viz., polleniferous
and insectif erous ; the former being without insects, some of which drop off before
reaching maturity, while others of the same class, although they mature their
staminate flowers, are of no value for the reason of there being no insects in them
to transfer the pollen. The latter, (insectif erous figs), are full of galls, mature their
fruit somewhat later than the polleniferous, and are easily distinguished by their

74 THE SMYRNA FIG AT HOME AND ABROAD

firmness. In my opinion there would be no polleniferous figs at all, if there was a
sufficient supply of insects to pollinate the Profichi figs in the spring. This condition
is brought about mainly either by the shortage in the supply of insects, or is caused
by the Profichi figs passing beyond the receptive stage before the insects enter them.
All the wasps do not emerge from the Capri figs at the same time; the flight
continues for several days after the figs are suspended, usually taking place in the
morning as soon as it commences to get warm, and continuing for about an hour.
The insects continue to issue daily from the figs, until they become dry, when the
insects still remaining inside, perish. Before entering the Smyrna Fig, the wasp
crawls all around it, carefully examining it, and if not satisfactory, flies to another
fig. The number of Capri figs which should be placed in a Smyrna Fig tree depends
largely on the size and age of the tree, and the condition that the Smyrna Figs are
in when the distribution is being made. A five year old tree should have about
twelve to fifteen figs placed in it, increasing the number of Capri figs at the rate of
three figs for each additional year. After all, no fixed number can be laid down as
to the quantity of figs necessary for a tree, except in a general way, for it is one of
those cases where experience is the safest and most reliable guide.

The baskets, in which the figs are placed from time to time during the period of
caprification have been found to be a valuable adjunct in expediting this work, for
in using them, the Capri figs can be much more quickly distributed than where it is
necessary to first string the figs before distributing them. The baskets alone,
however, would not answer the purpose, and the use of raffia to suspend figs in
various parts of the trees must also be resorted to. The method of doing this is
to gather the figs early in the morning, as soon as it is daylight, and dump them
in a pile under a tree. The work of stringing is very simple, a ptfece of raffia,
into which a darning needle has been threaded is used for this purpose. From
twenty to twenty-five figs are strung on each piece, and every fifth fig is held in
place by a half hitch. These strings, before the figs are distributed, are cut in pieces
with five figs each, and carried out into the orchard on short poles. The strings are
thrown up into the trees, the workmen, as far as possible, getting them into the
shady parts. After an interval of four to five days, another distribution of the figs
should take place, and this should be followed by another distribution, if young figs
are found to be making their appearance on the trees. Too many insects may cause
trouble, so many of the female flowers becoming fertilized, that, when the fig
commences to ripen, it splits open, a very objectionable feature, but which can easily
be avoided in using good judgment in the number of figs suspended in the trees.

It has been suggested that the labor of hanging the Capri figs in the Smyrna
trees could be avoided by having the Capri figs distributed throughout the orchard.
This is true enough, but there is one point to be considered in following this plan,
and that is, that all the trees close to the Capri figs will be fertilized too heavily,
resulting in some of the figs bursting open just obout the time they mature. There is
no doubt in my mind that this oversupply of insects in the figs is the cause of this
difficulty, for the Smyrna Figs growing close to the Capri figs at the Fancher Creek
Nurseries, are full of split figs, while in other parts of the orchard where the Capri
figs have been distributed in the regular way, split figs are a rareity.

The remarkable change in the appearance of the Smyrna Figs within ten days
after they have been fertilized, is one of the most interesting features in connection
with this subject. The caprified figs are readily distinguished from those which the
insect has not entered by their healthy green color, absence of ribs, and their firmness.
The unfertilized figs have an unhealthy, yellowish green color, the ribs are distinctly
outlined, and, when pressure is exerted, they collapse. As the caprified figs develop
and expand, the unfertilized ones cease to grow, shrivel up and finally drop from
the trees; therefore a month before the crop matures an estimate of about what it
will be can be easily made.

THE SMYRNA FIG AT HOME AND ABROAD 75

LIFE HISTORY OF THE WASP AND HOW IT PROPAGATES.

It must be borne in mind that the Capri figs and Smyrna Figs are entirely distinct
in their characteristics. The Capri figs merely serve as a home for the insect, and
stand in the relation of males to the Smyrna Figs, which produce only female
flowers. During the season the Capri figs produce from three to four crops, the
number varying under different climatic conditions. In our fig orchard four crops
matured annually since the establishment of the insect. The first crop appears in
March and ripens in June, and is called the Profichi; the second is called the Mam-
moni, and commences to push out in the form of small buttons in June, and is
in the receptive stage in July, maturing in the latter part of August, and early
in September, when a new crop of figs appears on the trees, called the Second
Mammoni, or third crop, which the insects enter in the same manner. The fourth
in October. In the San Joaquin Valley, this crop is the final crop. The fact of the
matter is, however, the last two crops, Second Mammoni and Mamme, are so closely
interwoven, it is very difficult to make any distinction. In some seasons where the
frosts do not occur until December, insects can be found to be issuing even as late
as this; but this is the exception rather than the rule.

To properly understand the manner in which the insects propagate it must be
borne in mind that the Capri fig is a hollow infloresence, the greater part being lined
with gall flowers, which are ready to receive the egg deposited by the Blastophaga
fully six weeks before the male or staminate flowers, occupying a limited zone near
the eye of the fig, mature. The propagation of the fig wasp takes place in the
following manner:

The overwintering Capri figs mature from the latter part of March, and continue
to ripen until late in April. The wingless male wasps make their appearance first;
they gnaw their way into the galls where the females lie, using their powerful
mandibles for the purpose, and impregnate them, and then perish within the fig
in which they were born. The winged female then escapes by widening the passage
made by the males, leaves the fig and enters the Profichi crop of figs, then in the
proper stage to receive the insect. This crop develops on the old wood, and
is about the size of a marble when in the receptive stage. The ostiolum, or orifice,
appears to be closed, but the insect with the saw-like projection under the thorax, cuts
its way in through the scales, losing its wings in the operation, which may be seen
later adhering to the scales, like two iridescent rays. Once inside of the fig, it
erawJs around and deposits its eggs in the gall flowers; one egg is deposited In
each flower between the nucleus and the integument of the ovaries. After having
performed this function, it perishes within the fig to which it has entrusted its
offspring. In consequence of the puncture made by the wasp the flowers in the fig
enlarge after the manner of a gall, in which the wasp embryo develops. Shortly
after this development, a marked change takes place in the caprified fig, it turning a
dark green color, becoming firm and hard, and presenting a fine, healthy and vigorous
appearance. Six weeks later the fig ripens, and at this time the male or staminate
blossoms are mature. The insect develops in the same manner in this crop as it did
in the Mamme crop, but the female in its passa'ge out of the fig gets its body and
wings covered with pollen, and if the fig from which it issues, has been previously
hung in the Smyrna Fig trees, it enters the young female figs, then in the proper
state of maturity to admit its entrance. Laden with pollen obtained in its outward
passage from the Capri fig, it fertilizes the female flowers. It crawls around in the
fig, making frantic efforts to find a depository for its eggs, but the formation of the
flowers is such it is unable to reach the ovaries with its ovipositor. Although
it fails to propagate the species, it carries out a two-fold purpose; the figs thus
entered contain fertile seeds and mature into beautiful, luscious fruit. If the fig
has not been removed from the Capri tree, it enters the young Mammoni figs, deposits
its eggs in the gall flowers, and fertilizes the few female flowers to be found in this
crop.

The propagation of the wasp in the following crops of Capri figs is the same, the
only noteworthy difference is that the Profichi crop is the only one developing an
abundance of male flowers. Hence, this is the only crop essential to the Smyrna
Fig, for it is the only one in which the male blossoms reach a perfect state of
maturity, and without which no Smyrna Figs can be produced.

76 THE SMYRNA FIG AT HOME AND ABROAD

CHAPTER XVI.

A SCIENTIFIC VIEW OF THE FIG WASP.

The following life history of the Blastophaga grossorum, or fig wasp, is from the
pen of Dr. L. O. Howard, chief of the Division of Entomology of the Department of
Agriculture, at Washington. It is here given in its complete form, because it tersely
and graphically deals with the whole subject from the view point of an experienced,
economic entomologist, and can therefore be considered reliable and in keeping with
all the facts bearing on the case.

LIFE HISTORY OF BLASTOPHAGA.

"So far, we have referred to the life history of the fig-caprifying insect only in the
most general terms. The illustration (fig. 1) which is given of the insect in the early
part of this article is a copy of an old one drawn by the famous English entomologist,
Prof. J. O. West wood, and which was published in the Transactions of the En-
tomological Society of London, 1882, plate iv, in part. It is an interesting figure,
and illustrates rather well the difference between the male and the female. It shows
the peculiar mouth parts of the female, which enables her to gnaw her way through
the tough seed-like gall, and shows also the male in the act of fertilizing the female,
and the female in the act of issuing from the gall. It is, however, incorrect in some
of the rather important structural details, as will be seen by comparing it with fig. 2,
here given, which has been drawn under the writer's supervision from living specimens
reared at this office and in California. The entomologist will at once note especially
the difference in the details of the thorax in both males and females, and especially
will the difference in the length of the abdomen of the male be seen.

The male is always wingless. It has no ocelli, and its compound eyes are greatly
reduced in size. The fact that the male rarely leaves the fig in which it has hatched
might almost be inferred from these facts of winglessness and partial blindness.
When this wingless male issues from the seed-like gall in which it is contained, it
seeks a female gall in the interior of the same fig, gnaws a small hole through its
cortex, inserts its extremely long, almost telescopic, abdominal extremity through the
hole, and fertilizes the female. The female subsequently, with her powerful jaws,
gnaws the top of the gall off and emerges, crawling around the interior of the fig and
eventually forcing her way through the ostiolum, almost immediately, seeking for
young figs, which she enters, and should the fig entered prove to be a Capri Fig, lays
her eggs at the base of as many flowers as she can find, and then dies. Should the
fig entered, however, be a Smyrna Fig, either through the fact of the Capri Fig from
which she issued having been hung in the branches of a Smyrna Fig tree, or from
the fact that she has flown to an adjoining Smyrna Fig tree, she walks around among
the female flowers seeking for a proper place to oviposit, discovering eventually that
she has made a mistake, but, nevertheless, probably trying to find a proper place for
oviposition by thrusting her ovipositor in here and there. It is this futile, wandering-
search, covered as her body is with pollen from the Capri Figs, that produces the
extensive and almost perfect fertilization of the entire number of female flowers."

THE SMYRNA FIG AT HOME AND ABROAD

THE EGG.

"The egg when seen in the ovary is very long and slender, but when found in the
fig it is less than three times as long as broad, almost regularly elliptical in shape,
white and slightly shining, with a delicate petiole of about one and a half times its
length. On dissecting a flower into which the egg has been inserted by the female
Blastophaga, it will be found to have been pushed in transversely to the axis of the
flower nearly to the center, with the petiole reaching out to the cortex. Its dimensions
are, length, exclusive of petiole, 0.092 mm.; width, 0.046 mm."

FIG. 2— Blastophaga Grossorum— , a, adult female with wings extended, seen from above; b, female,
not entirely issued from pupal skin and still contained in gall ; c, antenna of female ; d, head of female
from below; e, adult male; /, the same — all greatly enlarged.

Courtesy of U. S. Department of Agriculture.

THE LARVA.

"The young larva is a delicate little creature curved upon itself and showing no
visible segmentation. It takes many days development of the Capri Fig before the
larva becomes visible with certainty without the most careful observation under a
strong lens. The first sign which indicates that one is watching the larva and not
the sap in the gall is the visibility of two brownish spots, which are without doubt
the mandibles of the larva. When these spots become visible with a very powerful
hand lens (one-fourth inch Tolles triplet), the larva is more than two-thirds grown
and the segmentation of the body has become noticeable. It is a very difficult thing
to dissect the larva out of the gall without crushing it, but it can be accomplished
with care by the aid of dissecting needles. No casting of the skin has been observed.
With the growth of the larva the gall at the base of the male florets becomes hard,
and greatly resembles a seed, turning light brown in color."

THE SMYRNA FIG AT HOME AND ABROAD

THE PUPA.

"The male and the female pupae each occupies a greater portion of the interior of
the gall, and the advanced female pupa, almost ready to emerge, presents the
appearance indicated in fig. 3."

FlG. 3. Male and female pupa in galls,— enlarged.
Courtesy of U. S. Department of Agriculture.

DURATION OF THE EARLY STAGES.

"This is a point upon which it is very difficult to secure exact data. It seems certain
that more than fifty days are given to the larval stage. Oviposition takes two days, or
perhaps longer, and the last larval stage with the pupa stage, and what may be termed
the immature imago stage, lasts only a few days. All of the long intermediate period is
occupied by the immature larval stages unless there should prove to be a prolonged egg
state, which is improbable. These three stages seem paralleled by the three outwardly
visible changes undergone by the fig, and which have been described in preceeding
paragraphs. The first swelling of a freshly stung fig, about four days after the
entering of the insect, probably marks the hatching of the egg. The long inter-
mediate stage of slow, almost imperceptible growth, is identical with the duration
of the larval stage, and includes also the pupal stage. The final and sudden expansion
of the fig always marks the issuing from the galls (but not from the fig) of the male
imagos. In the hibernating generation the duration of the final stage is greatly
prolonged. On March 15, Mr. Schwarz found the insect in fallen overwintering figs
as larva, pupa, immature imagos, and occasionally mature male imagos, and this
lasted until March 28 or later. The same state of affairs was found in figs sent to
the writer by Mr. Roeding as early as February. It seems probable that before a
sudden drop in temperature occurred at any time subsequent to the middle of October
the insect would hibernate in the several different stages. With the growth of the
larva the gall at the base of the male florets becomes hard, and greatly resembles a
seed, turning light brown in color."

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THE SMYRNA FIG AT HOME AND ABROAD 79

CHAPTER XVII.
PRODUCTION AND MARKETING.

PRODUCING QUALITIES OF THE SMYRNA FIGS.

The Calimyrna Fig produces two crops annually, the first one maturing in June,
called the "Brebas," which are produced in very small quantities, only a few
scattering specimens are found on some trees, while many trees develop no fruit
at all of this crop.. The figs are quite large, of lemon yellow color, acute pyriform,
with long necks. The seeds are large but quite hollow, and the fruit possesses but
little flavor and is entirely unlike the regular crop following. Commercially, it has
no value. The Smyrnas bear as regular and heavy crops as the varieties belonging to
the Adriatic class. There are rarely years when even partial failures occur, and where
the necessary precautions are observed to have a good supply of the Mamme, or
winter Capri figs, the possibility of failure is very remote. The only expense incurred
in growing Smyrna figs over and above the ordinary varieties is the matter of
caprification. This is not worthy of serious consideration when the value of a crop
of Smyrna figs is compared with the Adriatic varieties. All other expenses are
proportionately less; the figs dry quicker and require less processing in order to make
them marketable.

Leaving out the fact that the Smyrna Fig is superior in every sense of the word
to the ordinary figs, that it commands more than double the price in the markets,
there is still another even more important point in its favor, viz., it rarely sours,
a fact which has been fully demonstrated where the Smyrna Figs were growing in
adjacent rows to the White Adriatic. This latter variety is inferior enough to begin
with, but when it is still further made unpalatable by the fruits souring on the trees,
making them unfit for consumption, this alone, were there no other consideration,
should be good cause to discard the Adriatics in favor of the Smyrnas.

Success in every line of fruit culture can only be attained by having the best; it
costs no more to grow a good variety of fig than a poor one, the same care, the same
intelligent thought must be brought into play, but what a difference in the results;
one goes begging for a buyer; the other is placed on the same equality with the
imported fig, and will sell in competition with it. Is it worth while to waste time,
patience and money in growing a fig, which, to begin with, cannot be considered in the
light of a merchantable article? The whole success of Smyrna Fig culture rests on
the successful and permanent establishment of the Blastophaga, which is an accom-
plished fact.

MARKETING CALIMYRNA FIGS.

California figs, unlike her other fruits, have always been regarded with disfavor
at home in the eastern states. They sold only because they were cheap, and
in some seasons even this factor of cheapness did not add to their being in demand.
California horticulturists, particularly the pioneers, passed through trying ordeals in
marketing their fruits, whether green or dried. It was necessary to educate the
Eastern jobber that this State must be recognized as a fruit section, and that the
prejudice against home products must finally give way to reason. It required the
expenditure of thousands of dollars and a dogged persistence on the part of the

80 THE SMYRNA FIG AT HOME AND ABROAD

growers to do this; but success finally crowned their efforts, and they have attained
a reputation, and created a demand for these goods far above expectations. There
is no denying the fact that fig growing possessed no commercial importance until the
Calimyrna was successfully produced ard marketed. It was difficult to convince
Eastern buyers that there was a difference, but today they are ready to admit it,
and they do not hesitate to give the Calimyrna the praise it deserves. They now
admit that their sweeping declaration that California could never produce good figs
must be modified.

Smyrna Figs, enjoying a wide reputation, are exported to all parts of the world,
and nothing has done more to create a name and reputation for Smyrna than its figs.
No wonder the industry has been so carefully guarded; its loss means much to the
people of Smyrna, and her growers engaged in its culture. Our intelligent efforts,
improved machinery, and more cleanly methods of handling the fruit must in the end
win in the markets of the world. The culture of the Calimyrna Fig will not be
confined to limited areas, because it finds congenial environments throughout an
immense scope of country on the Pacific Slope. Once let its culture become established
on a commercial footing, and we will command the markets of the world. Just as
surely as the sun rises and sets, so surely will the Calimyrna enter into competition
with the mother fig in Asia Minor, and in the end drive it out of the field. This has
been the case with other lines of dried fruits, where they have entered into com-
petition with the products of the Old World, and the same results will in the course
of events follow with the Calimyrna Fig. American push, energy and the inclination to
surmount every difficulty, no matter how great it may be, must in a short time
redound to the growers of Calimyrna Figs; they may not have the experience in the
matter of marketing their goods, but this will keep pace with the industry as it grows
and increases in importance.

No fruit adapts itself to such a variety of uses as the fig, and leaving out the
matter of export, an important factor of course, the home consumption must increase
enormously, for the fig can be crystalized, preserved in cans, pickeled, the poor and
defective figs can be distilled or manufactured into coffee, so that this product in the
variety of its uses, has a field before it, equalled by no other fruit.

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THE SMYRNA PIG AT HOME AND ABROAD 81

CHAPTER XVIII.

A CALIMYRNA FIG ORCHARD AS AN INVESTMENT.

In this age of keen competition and strenuous life, the first question that will
suggest itself to the person investigating the fig question, with a view to planting
an orchard, is apt to be, "Well, what is there in it?" To fully answer this interrogation
means to go into the entire commercial phases of the new industry, — which obviously,
under many and diverse conditions, is almost beyond the ken of human knowledge to
answer accurately and specifically. So many factors which are purely local in
character and environment surround and hedge about each individual orchard and
locality that it is out of the question to lay down hard and fast rules, or make specific
statements calculated to be reliable in every case, and a safe foundation on which
to premise the final commercial results to be anticipated from the planting and
development of a Calimyrna Fig orchard. Broadly speaking, however, a few basic
principles may be laid down, which will bear scrutiny, and are of themselves so self-
evident and vital in character, as to almost remove all questions of risk and doubts
as to the future of the fig in America, and its profitableness as an orchard crop to
all who may venture to plant and properly handle the trees and their product.

Since every man is the maker of his own fortune and career, the question of
"What is their in it," is largely one of personal initiative, exploitation and develop-
ment along intelligent lines, backed by a determination to win. In lieu of this fact,
let us take a cursory glance at the question, carefully noting its salient features,
and see what the conditions really are that lead to the conviction that the Calimyrna
fig will not only create a revolution in fig culture in this country, but become the
nucleus of a new industry, calculated to add more to the horticultural wealth of
the sections adapted to its culture, than any other one thing that has transpired in
a decade, not even excepting the introduction and development of the Washington
Navel orange.

The first thing to be considered is the cost of land. This again is subject to local
environment and personal preference. As to preference, in this respect the fig is no
more exacting than the olive, and much less so than the orange or the stone fruits.
Lands adapted to its culture in the great Sacramento and San Joaquin valleys are
to be had all the way from $20.00 an acre and upwards; these, for the most part,
are contiguous to markets. In more remote sections the cost is even less, while in
the southern counties it is quite apt to be a trifle higher. Where irrigation is essential
some allowance must be made for water advantages. For the most part lands
suitable to the Calimyrna Fig are apt to be had for less than those adapted to the
apricot, the walnut, or the citrus fruits. This fact is also emphasized by the fact
that it has a wider range as to climatic conditions.

The cost of planting a Calimyrna Fig orchard need not be great; indeed, it can be
accomplished for about the same cost as the creation of an olive grove, or a peach
orchard. Figures and data on these points being so much a matter of individual
means of procedure and local conditions they are here purposely omitted, as
any reference to the subject in this direction would not apply to two orchards alike,
even if in the same neighborhood.

82 THE SMYRNA FIG AT HOME AND ABROAD

The expenditure of time, labor and money in bringing a fig orchard into bearing
is purely nominal. All that is necessary, is to thoroughly plow and cross-plow the
ground once a year; cultivate well during the growing season; pruning is but sparingly
necessary, and hence is a matter of small cost; irrigation — where necessary — is also of
no great expense, because only required once during the summer season, even in
periods of scant rainfall.

The Calimyrna Fig comes into bearing at about four years from the time of
planting, the Capris coming in at about the same time. No attention must be given
to the little fig wasp (Blastophaga grossorum), after once established, in order to
secure fruit. To start them in a new orchard all that is necessary is to secure
a few of the winter or Mamme figs, containing insects and suspend them in the
Capri trees. This crop of figs can be transported for thousands of miles and even
if four weeks or more in transit would arrive in prime condition. From March 10 to
April 1 is the best season to forward colonies. If the orchard has been given intensive
culture and intelligent care, the yield at four years from planting should be about
twenty pounds per tree, dried. This crop, at present prices (November, 1902),
possesses a commercial value in the Fresno market of 8 cents per pound. Allowing
for the fact that the Adriatics at the same period brought only 3l/2 cents per pound,
dried, further comment is uncalled for. Of course prices are bound to fluctuate
from year to year, and as the acreage increases the tendency will be to lower prices.
The Calimyrna being so much superior tc all other sorts as to render them almost
unsalable when the supply shall prove sufficient for the demand, it stands to reason
that it will always command a higher price; when to this is coupled the fact that it
can be produced as cheaply as the Adriatics, it would seem that its commercial
supremacy was assured beyond a doubt.

As the orchard increases in age, the volume of product will also be enhanced in
a correpsonding ratio. When from eight to ten years of age, the trees should
average 100 pounds, dried, to the tree, and under favorable conditions should be
much heavier. With much less favorable conditions as to culture and intelligent care,
the Smyrnas yield even more than this, so that this is rather a conservative statement.
At fifteen years the yield will be about 200 pounds, dried, to the tree; at twenty
years, 300 pounds.

The cost of harvesting, curing, and delivering the crop in the sweat boxes to the
packing houses in Fresno, will not exceed one cent per pound; in the case of the
late crop of the writer, the cost was a trifle under this figure. Thus it will be seen
that the Calimyrna Fig has everything to commend it to the consideration of intending
planters.

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THE SMYRNA FIG AT HOME AND ABROAD 83

CHAPTER XIX.
ECONOMIC AND ORNAMENTAL VALUES. ,

THE CALIMYRNA AS A BORDER TREE. *~*

<f <

The Calimyrna Fig tree has other uses and values beyond being merely the
inhabitant of an orchard. Its fine shape, clean trunk, exemption from disease and ^
injurious insects, together with its beautiful foliage and spreading head commend
it for planting as a border and avenue tree. When to these advantages we add the
commercial value of its "fruit, it becomes almost the tree to plant for this purpose. :
Singular as it may seem, it does remarkably well when planted in this way, -
particularly if set some distance from other trees and afforded ample room in which
to develop a vigorous root system, calculated to support its wide spreading head, v/
and density of foliage. Indeed, when so planted under these conditions it often does
better, both in habit of growth and in yield of fruit, than when situated in an orchard.
These advantages have been strikingly exemplified in the Fresno district wherever -"'
the fig has been planted as a border tree around vineyards or aligning some of the ^ „
leading public roads. Clean" and handsome, affording protection and a commercial \
product, it can be commended as a tree of great value for these purposes.

These considerations also render it of peculiar interest for ornamental planting
in the home grounds, and of special value to the small orchardist. Requiring little
or no care when so planted, it is a matter of unalloyed pleasure to the tree lover,
and a source of fruit supply to the culinary department of every well-regulated
household. The simple method by which the fig crop is harvested, viz., dropping to
the ground, and then only requiring gathering, makes the Calimyrna Fig a desirable
commercial product to grow in a small way. Thus the man with a small acreage
cannot only sit under his own vine and fig tree, but his children can gather and
market the fruit, while peace and contentment, based on a positive source of income,
casts her benign influence over a home so happily situated.

THE ECONOMIC USES OF THE FIG.

It is probably safe to assume that fully ninety per cent, of the people know of the
Smyrna Fig only as a luxury, in its dried and cured condition, just as they buy it of ^
their local grocer or confectioner. In large measure this is excusable, because
fully seventy-five per cent, of the annual output finds its way to the vast army of
consumers as an article of food coming under the head of table delicacies. Its
economic value however, is much more varied in the realm of an enlightened ,
domestic household economy. The method of "working up" a crop extends beyond the
drying and curing of the fruit. Excellent jams and marmalades are made with the '
fig, retaining all the dietary and nutritious principles and flavor of the cured Smyrna
Fig of commerce. The inferior fruits, those small in size, of bad formation and
bruised, can be worked up in this way. The really best specimens can be used
for crystallizing, and will undoubtedly become a regular feature of the confectioner's
trade. For culinary purposes, particularly in pastry cooking, the Smyrna Fig has a

THE SMYRNA FIG AT HOME AND ABROAD

wide usage, will be a feature of every bakery catering to the constantly growing
% demand for the better grades of table delicacies in the way of baked products. For
sauces and preserves, it is indeed a fruit calculated to delight the housekeeper and
give zest to any meal of which it is served as a dessert.

In the practice oj^ medicine the Smyrna Fig occupies a unique position, and must
be regarded as the equal of the olive in certain ailments^ to_.which poor humanity is
more or less subject. The fruit either cured or fresh, acts as a mild and gentle
laxative, calculated to regulate the functions of digestion, and assimilation, without
any of the disturbing elements of more radical remedies. As a matter of fart.
people of sedentary employment should make the Smyrna Fig a regular article of diet.

In certain ailments, the leaves and the acrid sap of the green growth have a
medicinal value.

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THE SMYRNA FIG AT HOME AND ABROAD 85

INDEX

CONTENTS.

Page

Acknowledgments 2

Open Door, at the 3

Historical View, the 5

PART I — THE SMYRNA FIG ABROAD.

I Outward Bound 7

II In the Land of the Smyrna Fig 13

III Smyrna Fig Culture in Asia Minor 19

IV The Trip to Smyrna by Land 29

V Harvesting and Drying the Smyrna Fig Abroad 31

PART II — THE SMYRNA PIG AT HOME.

VI Early History of the Fig in California ' 39

VII An Historical View of Our Orchard 41

VIII Introducing the Insect 43

IX Areas, Soils and Climates 49

X Practical Smyrna Fig Culture 51

XI The Figs of Orchards and Gardens 56

XII Grafting the Calimyrna (Smyrna) Fig 59

XIII Insect Pests and Diseases 62

XIV Harvesting and Drying Calimyrna (Smyrna) Figs 63

XV Caprifying the Calimyrna (Smyrna) Fig 72

XVI A Scientific View of the Fig Wasp 76

XVII Production and Marketing 79

XVIII A Calimyrna Fig Orchard as an Investment 81

XIX Economic and Ornamental Values ... % 83

ILLUSTRATIONS.

The Smyrna Fig in Natural Colors Frontispiece

Smyrna Fig Orchard, Fancher Creek Nurseries. 2. Typical Calimyrna Fig tree 4

A Calmyrna Fig tree in winter. 2. Roeding's Capri Fig No. 1 in winter 8

Type of Entrance to a Smyrna Fig Garden in the Herbeyli District 14

Method followed in planting cuttings to start young trees in the Maeander Valley 15

Type of Trunk of a Smyrna Fig tree, Herbeyli District 17

A Typical Smyrna Fig Orchard, Herbeyli District. 2. A Capri Fig tree in the suburbs
of Aidin. 3. Six-year-old Smyrna Fig Orchard, showing method of training trees

in the Maeander Valley 18

Shaking a Smyrna Fig tree to cause such figs as have not fallen of their own accord to
drop, as seen near Herbeyli. 2. Knocking off Smyrna Figs, which have not fallen

at the proper stage of maturity, with Arundo Donax poles 22

Drying Ground in the Fig orchard of Mr. S. G. Magnissalis, Herbeyli District 24

Spreading Smyrna Figs for drying on rushes, Herbeyli District. 2. Gathering Figs in

baskets, Herbeyli District 26

THE SMYRNA FIG AT HOME AND ABROAD

Page

Flat car loaded with Goat Hair sacks filled with Smyrna Figs. Guards in charge wait-
ing for train to start. 2. A Fig train 28

Fig Bazaar, Smyrna. 2. Smyrna Figs dumped in Packing House; sorting and macca-
roning by the women, preparatory to packing. 3. Women sorting; baskets used

for taking figs to the packers. 4. Capri Fig Bazaar in Aidin 33

Packing Smyrna Figs. Scenes in the Packing Houses of Smyrna 36

The Calimyrna Fig, the True Fig of Commerce 42

Cross-section of Roeding's Capri Fig No. 3, Profichi crop 44

Sorting and Stringing Profichi Figs preparatory to their distribution upon Smyrna trees 45

Distributing Profichi Figs upon the branches of the Smyrna Fig trees 46

Branch of Roeding's Capri No. 1, showing two winter or Mamme figs from which the
hibernated Blastophaga are about to issue, and the bunch of spring or Profichi figs

which are in the receptive stage 47

A twig of a Smyrna tree bearing young figs, showing the difference between those on the

left hand side which are caprified, and those on the right hand side, which are not. . 48

Upper part of Capri Fig tree showing abundant crop of caprified Spring (Profichi) figs 50

Ten-year-old Roeding Capri No. 2 52

The Bardajic Fig, showing habit of growth and cross- section of fruit 53

Fig Grafting 59

White Adriatic Fig tree, grafted with Calimyrna (Smyrna) Fig scions 60

White Adriatic Fig tree, with summer growth of graft 61

Drying Calimyrna (Smyrna) Figs, showing Drying Shed of the Fancher Creek Nurseries 64

Grader for grading Calimyrna Figs in Geo. C. Roeding's Packing House in Fresno. .. 65

Forms used in Packing Calimyrna (Smyrna) Figs in the Packing House of Geo. C. Roeding 68

How Calimyrna (Smyrna) Figs are packed ; the finished product 69

Packing Calimyrna (Smyrna) Figs in the Packing House of Geo. C. Roeding, Fresno, Cal 71

Blastophaga grossorum, after Westwood 73

Blastophaga grossorum, after Howard 77

Blastophaga grossorum — male and female pupa in galls 78

CLASSIFICATION OF SUBJECTS.

PARTI— THE SMYRNA FIG ABROAD.

Page

Afium Kara Hissar, town of 29

Productions 29

Climate 30

Aidin 16

Peculiarities of 16

Asia Minor 16

Fig Culture in 19

Visiting an Orchard 19

Male or Capri Figs 20

Capri Figs as Merchandise 20

Methods of Handling 21

Fig Gardens, the 21

Character of Trees 23

Climate 24

Planting and Culture 23

Objectionable Features 24

Jealousy of the Industry 25

Athens 27

Ayassoulook 14

Balachik, town of 16

Berlin, return to 27

Commissioner, appointment of 7

Constantinople, impressions of 10

Page

Cuxhaven, arrival at 7

Denizli, end of Fig District 15

Difficulties of the Second Trip to Smynra 27

Ephesus, orchards of..

Fig, as food 6

Botanically 5

In Ancient Times 5

In the United States 6

Methods of Harvesting in Smyrna.... 31

Drying 31

Handling 32

Transporting to Market 32

Marketing 34

Vastness of the Industry 34

Packing Houses 34

Methods of Packing 35

Styles of Packages 35

Boxes 37

Grades 37

Wages Paid 37

Wormy Fruit 38

Kassaba, town of 25

Maeander Valley, in the 14

Crops of 15

Irrigation 15

Mt. Athos.. . 11

THE SMYRNA FIG AT HOME AND ABROAD

Page

Outward Bound 7

Salonica 11

Smyrna, journey to 7

Arrival at 12

Features of the Country 13

Population 13

Climate, the 3

American Consul at 13

Country, the surrounding 14

Fig Tree, the 13

Return Trip by Land 29

Vesuvius 27

Work Completed 38

PART II — THE SMYRNA FIG AT HOME.

Areas, Soils and Climate 49

Artificial fertilization demonstrated 45

Blastogapha grossorum, how introduced. 43

Becomes established 46

Functions of 72

Life History 76

How Distributed 73

Blastophaga — a scientific view 76

Life History 76

Egg, the 77

Larva, the 77

Pupa, the 78

Duration of Early Stages 78

Calimyrna Fig as a Border Tree 83

Calimyrna Fig Orchard as an Investment 81

Cost of the Land 81

Expense of Planting 81

When Commencing to Bear Fruit 82

Maximum Yields 82

Cost of Harvesting 82

Capri Figs, first introduction 43

How and Where Planted 43

First Matured 46

Protection of Trees 47

Capri Figs, Varieties 58

Roeding's Capri No. 1 58

Roeding's Capri No. 2 58

Roeding's Capri No. 3 58

Caprifying the Calimyrna Fig 72

Capri Figs, Nature of 72

Functions of the Blastophaga 72

How the Insect is Distributed 74

Life History of the Fig Wasp 75

How it Propagates 75

Cuttings, First Importations 39

Diseases, freedom from . . .62

Page

Early History in California 39

Economic Uses of the Fig 83

Fancher Creek Orchard, History of 41

Fig Wasp, Introduction of 43

Shade for 55

Grafting 59

Object of 60

Selection of Scions 61

Methods of 61

Harvesting and Drying 63

Season of 63

Manner of Gathering the Fruit 63

Drying Grounds 63

Boxes and Paraphernalia 66

Sorting and Washing 66

Careful Handling Essential 67

Packing and Grading 67

Different Grades, the 67

Trays used in Steaming 67

How Manipulated 67

Packing Moulds 67

Finishing Touches 68

Insect Pests, freedom from 62

Maslin, E. W., experiences of 39

Planting the Trees, methods of 51

Production and Marketing 79

Producing Qualities of Smyrna Figs . . 79

Marketing 79

Future Prospects 80

Roeding, F., early efforts of 40

Smyrna Fig, geographical area 49

Soils 49

Climate 49

Planting an Orchard 51

Preparing the Ground 51

Square System of Planting 52

How to Proceed 54

Capri Figs Essential 52

After Care 52

Irrigation 52

Pruning 52

An Orchard as an Investment 81

Economic and Ornamental Values 83

Uses of the Fruit 83

Smyrna Figs — Varieties 56

Bardajic 56

Calimyrna, (Lop Injir) Fig of Comuierc 57

Black or Purple Smyrna 57

Black or Purple Bulletin Smyrna 27

Cheker Injir 57

Kassaba 57

Maple Leaved 57

Van Demands, H. E., importations 40

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Full text of "The Smyrna fig at home and abroad : a treatise on practical Smyrna fig culture, together with an account of the introduction of the wild or Capri fig, and the establishment of the fig wasp (Blasiophaga grossorum) in America"

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