Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1886-11-19
irrigated, This habit makes it next to i'm
possible to dry in the sun this
DELICIOUS AND PROLIFIC FIG.

II
possible to dry in the sun this
DELICIOUS AND PROLIFIC FIG.
But the samples before us demonstrate that
it can not only be dried by artificial heat,
but that it makes most beautiful and de-
licious product think it hard to equal,
and impossible to surpass it. dried these
samples during the State Fair, in the Acme
Steam Heat Evaporation, exhibited by
Messrs. Bachelor IL Wylie, of No 81 Mar
ket street, San Francisco. / do not know
whether the ordinary dry hot. air evaporat-
ors would produce the same results or not ::
but do know that the steam dryer was
great success in this case. The best sample
was dried in nine hours at temperature of
$50 degrees, the other at 120. / was afraid
of burning the fruit, and had some run 5,
6, Z, s and 10 hours at 100 to ITO, bat most
of them nodded and spoiled, but | do not
believe that any dried above seven hours at
Ito degrees would have spoiled had | not
put them away in tight paper boxes. Being
away from home, they were not opened or
examined for two weeks. think if they
had been kept open and aired for a time,
that even those would have kept These on
exhibition stood the severer test. / only
cured three varieties, the two on exhibit
ton and the large purple or COM
mon California black. l ordered and had
sent two lots of the Verdoni Tor white
Adriatie) | was very anxious to test them,
but they both arrived SO spoiled that
could do nothing with them. While, of
course, there are some varieties much bet
ter than others, | am satisfied that by this
process we can dry and make fair mer-
charitable product out of
ALMOST ANY OF THE VARIETIES
We have, and thus turn to profit what has
usually been considered of no value. As
to varieties we are still at sea as to whether
we have the best or not Many efforts
have been made to get the best varieties,
the true fig of commerce as we are accus-
tom to call them, just as if there was only
one variety cultivated in Europe The
facts are, they cultivate there many kinds !;
different localities grow different figs but
presume, OF course, that in each locality
there is some one variety that takes the
lead and is cultivated almost exclusively.
The largest quantities and finest figs gen
orally come from Smyrna, and those that
we receive have the appearance of being
all of one variety. Many efforts have been
made to get that particular kind, but we
have generally supposed that we had
failed. That supposed failure may be due
to climatic conditions, or the manner of
treatment in the process of curing, or
possibly both. Our figs usually have
much thicker, tougher skins when dry
than the imported article. | think that is
certainly due both TO climate and treat
ment. Our dry climate has the effect on
all fruits of toughening or hardening the
skin, and this is what causes our fruit TO
SHIP BETTER AND KEEP LONGER
Than the same fruits grown in countries
where they have rains during the growing
season. Every fruit-shipper knows that
after the first fall rains it is unsafe-in fact,
useless-to attempt to ship fruit that has
been exposed to heavy rains. Some five
or six years ago the San Francisco Bulletin
Company, assisted by some others, i'm
ported quite large number of fig trees and
cuttings direct from Smyrna. think they
took the precaution to send trustworthy
man to attend to it personally. The cut
tings and plants came, and were distribu-
ted quite thoroughly over the State, to be
tested in different localities | got some
of them and have them growing, but with
me the fruit has not matured 1t blasts
and falls off before it is halfgrown; and
this has been the case with all | have
heard from, with one single exception, and
that was near Penryn, in Placer county,
where H. E. Parker has Agar
old tree that l sold him out of
my lot. 1t matured several speci-
mems this season. Mr. Parker said they
were very fine favored thin-skinned fig
| only saw one specimen, and it was q
suppose) not fair sample. 1t looked and
tasted much like the San Pedro. l think
if this fig ever succeeds il will have to be
fortified by some other variety, though it
would seem from the success of Mr.
Parkers tree that they NAV mature fruit
on the granite soil of our foothills. There
is certainly no soil or climate in the State
where the fig does better than in these
foothills at an altitude of from 500 to l 500
feet above the sea level. In the foothills of
Shasta county, between Balls ferry and
there is a fig tree about %
years old that measures 103 inches in cir
conference three feet above ground, and
the branches Tor top cover an area equal
TO sIxTY-FIvE FEET IN DIAMETER,
And its yield of green fruit is variously
estimated at from 1,S00 to $500 pounds
annually. There is also lot of trees
owned by Mr.. Wildermuth near Valley
Springs, in Calaveras county, said to be
equally large and productive, and | have
seen in many other places on the granite
soil enormously large trees of the large
told of trees yielding from GOO to LOCO
pounds of dried figs. Ihave small orchard
of fig trees at Penryn only years old
from the cutting, that yielded $50 pounds
of dried figs to the tree this season,
that at cents per pound would be 50 to
the tree. / expect that Weld to beincreased
at least 90 per cent. per annum for the next
ten years, and when my FIGS are properly