Page:Figs by Dahlgren, B. E. (Bror Eric).djvu/14

6 To prevent the dropping of fruit of the edible fig before maturity, it is an ancient practice among fig growers to hang branches of the wild fig tree, or strings of ripe Caprifigs, in the trees of the fig orchard. The fig wasps will then enter the young edible figs and bring about pollination with the Caprifig pollen. The true Smyrna fig absolutely requires pollination to ripen its fruit. Fig trees of this variety grown in California continued to drop their immature fruit for over twenty years till the wild fig with its fig wasp was introduced and the so-called "caprification" was made possible. In Mediterranean countries Caprifigs for the purpose of caprification are an article of commerce at times bringing a higher price than edible figs. It has often been stated on apparently good botanical authority that the practice is of doubtful utility. According to the California zoologist, Eisen, who has done much to clear up this question, the confusion is due to a failure to discriminate between the varieties which require and those which do not require pollination in order to mature their fruit. The latter kind are grown altogether in some localities, as in southern France.

The ancients who observed the fig wasp and well knew that it had something to do with the ripening of the fruit, sought to account for it in accordance with the ideas of their time., e. g., "the wasps suck up the superfluous humors," "they enlarge the eye and permit the fertilizing air to enter."

The German botanist, Solms-Laubach was the first to investigate thoroughly the flowers of the fig and extended his inquiries to some of the numerous species of wild Ficus. Many of these have been studied since and relations have been found to exist between plant host and insect tenant similar to those observed in the cultivated fig. The insects associated with the wild figs are all closely related to the fig wasp of the