El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1901-01-08
thusiasts will remain seated during a
holly contested game.
A NEW INDUSTRY BROUGHT BY
AN INSECT.

1
| During all past time the dried fig
trade of the world has been controlled
by the countries bordering on the Med
+, iterranean sea, and principally by Tur-
key and Algeria. Figs grow in near
| ly all warm countries, and superior
table figs are found in many localities
including our southern states and Cali
| fornia; but none when dried, has been
! found to compare with the So-calle
Smyrna fig, which has heretofore been
grown successfully in Mediterranean
regions only.
| Now. it is certainly not the habit of
the United States to allow herself to
drop behind any other part of the
world; and this characteristic is parti-
cularly in evidence in California. That
| state would not rest under the imputs-
| ton that she could not supply the
| worlds markets with dried figs equal
or superior to those exported from
Smyrna and Algiers.
The first step was to secure the
Smyrna fig trees. This was begun In
Francisco Bulletin who imported
IA 900 cuttings. ana distributed them
to prominent fruit-growers. When
these trees came into bearing. how
ever. the fruit failed to mature, drop
ping to the ground after reaching the
size of a marble. Then DR.. Eisen, late
of the California academy of science,
showed that since before the Christian
era, as pointed out by many early writ
ers. Aristotle and Theophrastus among
them. it has been the custom of the
Orientals to pluck the fruit of the wild.
or so-called Capri. fig-trees at GER
tain time of the year. and to suspend
them in the branches of the Symrna
or cultivated fig-treeS. He pointed out
also that there issued from the wild
figs little insect, which. covered with
pollen. entered the cultivated figs. and
THAI the latter afterwards developed
and ripened into the beautiful. sweet
Smyrna fruit. ne further pointed out
that the young Smyrna fig contains
female flowers only; that without the
introduction of pollen the seeds will
not form. and that upon the formation
and maturing of the seeds depend the !
and ripening of thes fig. |
which is not fruit of the ordinary |
nlnd, but a receptacle filed with |
mass of small flowers.
1t appeared, therefore. that the next |
step to take was to introduce and eS-
tablish the wild, or Capri fig, with its
male pollenbearing flowers and then !
the little insect which carried the pol
len.
witch TIE VIII HSS came lntO bearing
in 1890 and 1891, their pollen was ar
introduced with a small quill
into few young Smyrna figs. fertiliz-
ing their flowers. and causing them 20
persist and ripen. Then they were
dried, and it was found that, although
the number of seeds was small, the
nutty. aromatic tlavor of the Smyrna
6g was evident.
The little insect was brought over
alive in Capri figs, and issued in this
but without reproducins
Then, in 1899. convinced that the con-
fitions were at last favorable the Uni
ed States department of agriculture |
through one of it's travelling agents.
secured over-wintering Capri figs in AL
siers. and sent them to California
These figs in the spring OF 1899. gave
orth the beneficial insects in the Frcs-
10 fig orchards. All through the sum-
ner of that year the insects bred I'M
disturbed. passing through four gener-
ltlon, and increasing in numbers; and
he winter of 1S99-19OO was successful
y passed by them in small figs upon
hree trees protected from the frosts
~ canvas shelter. In the spring Of
900 they issued. laid eggs. and another
developed in the wild figs.
nd at the proper time were transfer
ed to the Symrna trees. where they
ntered the figs and pollenized them.
ust as their ancestors have done TO.
generations in Mediter-
anean countries.-By L. o. Howard.
n the January Forum
|