Читать книгу Fig Culture - Earle Franklin Sumner - Страница 4

Caprifigs (goat figs or wild figs). – These figs grow wild in southern Europe, northern Africa, and western Asia, and have been recently introduced into California. They bear all the kinds of flowers except the mule flowers, and as they are the only figs bearing male flowers they are essential in all fig districts where mature and fertile seeds are of importance, or in other words, where caprification is necessary.

Smyrna figs.– These are grown only in the Smyrna district of Asia Minor. They have only female flowers, and neither these latter nor the receptacle on which they grow will come to any maturity without caprification or pollination. So-called Smyrna figs, which have been bought of nurserymen, have generally proved spurious, as, unlike the true Smyrna figs, they mature their fruit without pollination. Of late years true Smyrna figs have been planted in California, but they have failed to ripen fruit except when artificially pollinated. These will not produce ripe fruit in commercial quantities until caprification can be practiced, and neither these nor the caprifig should be planted at the present time, except for experimental purposes.

Common edible figs.– These are the common varieties of our orchards, which bear fruit and mature it with regularity without pollination or caprification. They bear two crops a year, the “early figs” or “brebas,” and the later or “summer figs.” Of this tribe alone there are some 400 varieties described more or less perfectly, and probably as many more undescribed and unknown.

San Pedro figs.– This tribe contains only a few dozen varieties, some of which are cultivated in California, and also in Florida and other Southern States. They are characterized by maturing only the first crop or “brebas.” The second crop always drops before reaching maturity. The cause of this is that the first crop contains only “mule flowers,” like those of the common figs, while the second contains only “female flowers,” like those of the Smyrna figs.

The San Pedro tribe of fig varieties is specially valuable on account of the large size and early maturity of the “brebas” or first crop. They should, therefore, be planted only in places where it is desirable to grow large, early figs, for marketing fresh. They do not succeed everywhere, as they require a warm and early spring climate.

In tropical countries there are numerous varieties of other species of figs growing wild. Many of them are edible, but all are less palatable than our edible fig, and with the exception of the Sycomore fig, Ficus sycomorus, of Africa, are of no economic importance except as food for animals.

For this purpose, however, they are very useful, and the Sycomore fig should be introduced into the Southern States, where it would probably thrive in frost-free localities.