Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1891-11-19
BUGS FOR FIG TREES.
Queer Insects that are Imported from
Abroad.


Some very valuable bugs were i'm
ported to this country for the first time
in July last. Upon them rest, so Star
reporter was informed, the hopes of per-
sons who are anxious to make fig raising
success in the United States. The tree
which bears this fruit has a very marked
peculiarity respecting its blossoms.
They are actually inside of the embryo
figs themselves, so that the casual OBJ
server would suppose that there were no
flowers at all. However, if you will cut
open baby fig you will find inside it the
parts of flower necessary for reproduc-
ton curiously packed away. Both
stamens and pistils are there-namely,
the male and female parts-andit it is only
required that they shall be mixed to-
gether in order that the fruit shall ripen.
Unfortunately, in the case of the variety
of fig which is preserved and brought
hither from abroad, this mingling does
not usually take place of itself. Thus
the trees would be nearly if not quite
barren were it not for the efforts of GER
tain insects of the kind above referred
to.
For the purpose Of eating the pollen
these insects crawl in through little
hole in the incipient fig and wander
about within until they have incidentally
caused stirring together of the pollen
and pistils. Now it happens that the
bugs are not plentiful enough on the
cultivated trees, and so the growers
abroad fetch twigs laden with them y om
wild fig trees and hang them among the
branches. If it were not for this the
quantity of the fruit produced in the
world would be comparatively small, al
though the ripening can be effected by
poking little splinters of wood into the
blossoms and turning them around. II
has been found that figs of this sort,
which are the kind valuable in commerce,
cannot be produced on this side of the
water without these insect friends, and
so consignments of the latter have been
landed in California, where it is expect
ed that they will be successfully propa-
gated. Upon this prospect depends all
the expectation at present entertained OF
fig culture here.
The creation of new varieties of fruits
by artificial cross-fertilization has be-
come science. For example, efforts
are being made at present to produce an
apple that will grow and ripen in Dakota,
Minnesota and other parts of the north
west, where it has hitherto been found
impracticable to cultivate this fruit, ow-
ing to the inevitable destruction of the
trees by excessive winter cold. For this
purpose a hardy crabapple has been
taken and bred for size with desirable
large variety, the object being to get an
apple that will have the sturdiness of
one parent with somewhat of the flavor
and size of the other. To accomplish
this the experimenter takes q crabapple
tree before its blossoms are open. lie
opens each bud gently and cuts off with
pair of scissors every stamen. Hav-
ing thus removed the male parts of the
flower he covers the latter with a paper
bag, and goes through the same perform
ance with number of others. Subse-
quently, when the flowers have opened
of their own accord, he goes to each
with pollen from tree that bears great
big, juicy apples. Lifting off each paper
bag separately, he touches the pistils of
the blossoms with little brush loaded
with the pollen. After the operation he
ties the paper bag on again, in this way
making sure that no other male germs
can come to any flower so treated. He
leaves the paper bags attached to the
twigs until the blossoms inside of them
have developed into ripened fruit. OF
this fruit he knows the parentage abso-
lutely, and, if it is good, it simply re-
mains for him to establish it as variety
by planting the seeds. Out of 500 seeds
499 will very likely turn out worthless,
but the fve-hundredth one, perhaps
will grow into sturdy tree and repro
duce the apple obtained from the cross
So new variety is established.