Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1921-04-05
The Fig In California.

The Fig In California.
Figs can't be raised in Oxford County,
but they can be and are eaten here, 90
perhaps some account of this fruit as
raised In California may be Of interest
to Democrat readers.
The fig, like the cottonwood, the
carob, the pistache, and some others ex-
lists In two forms, male and female. The
female trees alone bear fruit, and the
male trees, or caprifigs, as they are
called, produce pollen, which when car
ried to the flowers of the female trees
cause the fruits to set aud fertile seeds
to develop.
From this point on, the complications
begin that make the life history of the
fig one of the most interesting chapters
in natural history. The pollen is car
ried from the male flowers of the capri
fig tree to the female flowers Of the ordi-
nary fig tree exclusively by q very small
wasplike insect, the Bldstophaga pseRes
The fig tree is absolutely dependent on
the visits OF this insect for Q crop of
seeds, and in its turn the BiastophagG
can live and breed only In the caprifigs.
This mutual dependence, or symbiosis
as naturalists call it, 10 one of the most
striking cases known and dates back to
somewhat remote geological epochs.
The caprifig tree bears fruits that At
fret sight much resemble ordinary 6gs,
and which, though seldom edible, final
ly soften and fall of. II . caprifig be
cut open before IL ripens fully IL will be
seen to be full of grains that look much
like seeds. These grains are minute
gals, each of which contains fig insect.
Finally, when the insects are ready to
cut their way out Of the gals, the mouth
of the caprifig opens and q ring of male
flowers, situated just below, begins to
shed pollen sbnndantly. The female
Blast0phGgGs (which alone issue from
the eaprifigs) get coated with this pollen
as they crawl out and carry u to the
female flowers which line the young
budding figs on the female trees. The
dustiDg of the female flower with pollen
causes the fruit to set and to bear fertile
seeds.
Now, the caprifig tree ip order to sup,
port the BlastophGga must bear . sue
csssion of cspritigs; in most fg growing
countries there are three generations of
caprifigs, called, respectively, the win
ter, spring, and summer generations,
often known by the Neapoliran names
mamme, profchi, and nsammORi. Though
IL is deciduous tree, the caprifg must
carry q crop Of nearly ripe but dormant
caprifigs through the winter on It's bare
branches.
The true nature of the fig and cspri6g
trees as outlined above has been ob-
scured by the fact that many varieties
of the female or ordinary fig bear sbun
dant crops without any pollinstion, and
hence the BlGstophGgG 10 not needed in
growing such varieties (which happen
TO be just the ones which alone are
grown in central and northern Europe
and In the New Worldly Ordinary figs
are analogous to naval oranges, which,
having no pollen, likewise produce fruit
without being pollinsted, and, like naval
oranges, have no fertile seeds.
1t was only when the culture Of
Smyrna figs was attempted in California,
a quarter of century ago, that it was
realized that something was wrong, and
it was only Is years ago that IL was
finally proved that figs of this class set
no fruit unless pollinstsd.
In the orchards about Smyrna, In
Greece, about Naples, In Algeria, In
Portugal, and in many other localities in
the Old World caprifgs containing Bias
tophaqas ready to come out are suspend
ed In the branches of the fig trees to
facilitate the transfer Of pollen by the
insect. This operation 10 called capri
ficstiop.
The operation of csprifioation dates
back to remote antiquity. Already In
the time of Herodotus, in the fifth GEN.
tury B. c., caprificstiou was so well
known rs to be used as self-evident
example In explaining falsely, as IL hap.
pened in this case) the artificial pollins-
ton of the date palm as practiced in
ancient Babylon.
Aristotle, In little known chapter of
his History of Animals (bk. 5, ch, 26),
written about $40 B. c., gives a short
account of the process that could scarce
ly be improved to-day. he said:
"Ths fruits of the cspriig contain
small animals called pseRes. These are
at frat small grubs, and when their
envelopes are broken, pseRes, which fly,
come out; they then enter the fruits of
the hg tree and the punciures they make
there prevent these fruits from falling
before they are ripe. So the country
men take the trouble to put branches of
the caprifg in the ordinary fig trees,
and also plant caprifigs near the com
mon fig trees"
Theophrastus, q pupil of Aristotle,
gave a ssill fuller account of the opera
zion. and was the first writer TO mention
that some sort Of figs set fruit without
being caprifisd. All of the later Greek
and Latin writer's on natural history
refer TO caprificstion az q well-known
Horticultural process.
Recent studies Of Solomon Reinach,
the celebrated oriental scholar. 60 to
show that caprificstion was very well
known In the earliest Greek times be-
fore written history began. His re-
searches led him TO think that 10 the
earliest times there was sacred mys-
terry playa cult of the fig tree and OF
caprification analogous to the Eleusi-
mean mystery plsy-in which the wheat
head played the principal role. Hs
thinks that the word sycophant, still .
part OF all modern languages, originated
| In these rites, and was, indeed, applied
TO the priest who at the critical moment
during the ceremonies showed the fg
branch (syco-fig, phanein-so show) just
a. the analogous priest, the hierophant,
| in the rites Of Demeter, showed the
wheat head. The cult of the fig he sup
poses to have degenerated In early times,
80 that the sycophsnt, ,nce respected
and feared, came to be . cheap chsrla-
tan; hence, the modern significance oil
the word. II Reinsch's views are cor.
rect, the cult of the fig must have been
of great antiquity for II to have become
degeuersted and almost forgotten be-
fore the classic Greek period.
/ Again, In ancient Rome, there srt
traces of important ceremonies that date
hack 10 the semimythical times Of Rom
MUS and Remas wherein caprifig branches
we're in q midsummer festival (sbout th'
time capriflcation would be practiced II
kthat latitude) Now capri6cation 70 no
known 10 central Italy, and has doubt
lsss been forgotten for many centuries
about Rome (the great naturalist Piiny
did not have any personal knowledge o
caprificatiop). yet st the very dawn o
history We find slgns that caprificstioI
was once practiced there.
Strsbo, the great Greek geogrspher
)attepded school when o lad some 2,0Ol
years ago near the present town OF Aidin
the center OF the Smyrna fig indus
Itry. Now, Styabo reports that In his da.
1.-The 6gs OF that region were highly %