San Pedro, Black.—Very large, elongated ovate, with no stalk, but with well set neck; skin smooth, violet black with green neck; pulp red, coppery, tinted violet. For table use. The largest fig known. It is not related to the following variety:
San Pedro, White (syn. Brebas).—Very large, round, flattened at apex; stalk and neck short; eye open; skin thick, tender, of a bright yellow color or greenish in the shade, without bloom; pulp amber. A remarkable and handsome fig. Only the first crop matures without caprification. Suited only for table use. Requires moist, rich soil.
Verdal, Round.—Below medium, round pyriform, without stalk or neck; skin smooth, waxy, bluish green; eye closed; pulp dark, blood red. A small fig, but valuable for canning and preserves; better than the Ischias or Celeste. It does well in the Santa Clara Valley, but is inferior in the interior of the State.
CAPRIFICATION.
This process must be practiced wherever the Smyrna figs are grown, for without it they will not mature either seeds or figs. The flowers of the Smyrna figs are all pistillate and require pollination, which in the case of these varieties can be effected on a large scale only through caprification. The process consists in the suspension of wild caprifigs, which possess staminate and gall flowers, in the Smyrna fig trees, when the pistils in the blossoms of the latter are in a receptive condition. A minute wasp, the Blastophaga, breeds in the caprifig in large numbers, and on leaving it crawls into the Smyrna fig, covered with the pollen of the caprifig. This pollen, transferred by contact from the body of the wasp to the receptive stigmas of the flowers in the Smyrna figs, effects the fertilization of the ovules of those flowers and causes them to form seeds and mature the fruit of which they are a part. These seeds impart a nutty aroma and flavor to the fig when dried, and give it a marked superiority to our common figs. Caprification is not yet practiced in the United States, the wasp not existing here, though both it and some of the Smyrna figs have been brought to this country several times. The first importation of Smyrna fig trees was made by Gulian P. Rixford, about 1880, when three varieties of Smyrna figs and a single caprifig tree were introduced.
CLIMATE SUITABLE FOR FIG CULTURE.
A native of a semitropical climate, the fig requires a similar climate to attain perfection. Many horticultural varieties, however, have originated in temperate regions, and these can be grown with profit in a climate much colder than that of the habitat of the wild fig. Figs, in fact, may be grown in all regions where peaches and apricots succeed without protection, and if given winter protection they can be profitably grown in such regions near large cities which furnish a market for the fresh fruit at profitable prices.
In considering the suitability of the climate of a region for fig culture, the purpose for which the figs are to be grown must be first determined.
Figs may be grown for drying, for canning and preserving, for sale in the fresh state, or for general home consumption. As the conditions and treatment necessary to produce fruit suited to these different uses vary considerably, each subject will be discussed separately.