The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-09-28

who says that fig trees do not pay?
Here are facts and figures which Will
convince the skeptical: Mr.. Lawrence
Arnol of Oakville, a small settlement
about fifteen miles below New Orleans,
in Plaquemines parish, who has a
young fig orchard of 2S5 trees, has
picked from eighty-five three and half
year old trees 1910 pounds of fruit,
which he shipped and sold to the Dun
bar Canning Factory of New Orleans
at cents net per pound, making a
total sum of $50, So The trees are young
and this was the first bearing; but full
grown trees are capable of producing
six or seven times as much, so 1t can
be estimated that a full grown fig tree
bearing a fair crop will bring yearly
revenue of Sc to 81, which is quite hand
some. A fig tree is a fast grower and
requires little cultivation, and differ
ing greatly from other fruit trees In
that they are less subject to diseases
The only drawback with figs is that
quick transportation facilities are
necessary, as the fruit is perishable
and as these facilities are not to be
had in all sections of Plaquemines
parish, this has kept most of the farm
ers from going into the culture.
Mr.. Arnoli paid l cent a pound for
picking the figs. Besides the eighty
five bearing trees, he has 200 others
which are only two years old. They
We're too young to produce this year,
but may bear a little next year.
THE proprietor of the Ostrica plan
tation, sixty miles below New Orleans,
on the east bank of the river, has
fig orchard of 300 young trees just
coming into bearing. He sold his figs
at cents per pound to the canning
company at that point. On July l the
first figs were picked, and on July
% the crop had all been gathered.
There We're not over twenty-five full
bearing trees out of the 300 which pro-
duced a crop, and 1.446 pounds from
these trees were sold to the factory,
for which he received $3.50. There will
be a large number of young trees set
out in Plaquemines this winter"
We quote the foregoing from the New
Orleans Times Democrat. OF course,
figs should thrive and be a money
crop in that latitude, which is on or
below the thirtieth degree. Even in
the latitude of Northern Louisiana or
Middle Georgia fig trees are but rarely
injured by cold. Now and then we
have winter or spring when the tenn
perature falls to point low enough
to prove injurious to the trees, but
even when this occurs it is easy enough
to save the trees" simply by cutting
the branches off close to the ground
as soon after the freeze as possible
Where cold does not entail the need
for cutting back occasionally the fig
tree attains to a very large size in
the course of a few years, and where
this is the case the trees should stand
further apart than they need be in
higher attitudes, where they have to
be cut back occasionally. On the ex-
treme northern limit of fig production
the plant becomes more of a bush"
than tree and should or can be set
closer together
Where cold does not cause the need
for cutting back, it is well sometimes
TO cut the trees back and get a new
growth on account of disease or insects
having attacked the trees after several
years bearing.
Few trees as there are, comparative
~ in Middle Georgia this year and
for several years past, the market has
been well supplied with figs and at
prices ranging from rs cents to $150
per bushel, according to quality. While
South Georgia might not compete with
oriental counties or our own California
in raising figs for commercial pur-
poses, there is no reason why that sec
ton should not make a very nice lit
tie crop of figs. There is no more
wholesome fruit, especially for chill
dren. A fresh. fully ripe fig is digesti-
BILE and fattening and an unsurpassed
breakfast dish.