Caprification is a horticultural operation performed by the ancients upon figs. It consists in suspending above the cultivated figs branches of the wild fig covered with a species of gall insect, which carries the pollen of the male flowers to fertilize the female flowers of the cultivated fig. The term is also applied to the fecundation of the female date palms by shedding over them the pollen from the male plant. Research Caprification
Cochineal is a dye-stuff consisting of the dried bodies of the females of a species of insect, the Coccus Cacti a native of the warmer parts of America, particularly Mexico, and found living on a species of cactus called the cochineal-fig. The insects are brushed softly off, and killed by being placed in ovens or dried in the sun, having then the appearance of small berries or seeds. A pound of cochineal contains about 70,000 of them. The finest cochineal is prepared in Mexico, where it was first discovered, and Guatemala; but Peru, Brazil, Algiers, the East and West Indies, and the Canary Islands have also produced cochineal more or less success. Cochineal produces crimson and scarlet colours, and is used in making carmine and lake. Research Cochineal
The banyan banyan or banian (Ficus indica), is a tree of India, of the figgenus. The most peculiar feature of this tree is its method of throwing out from the horizontal branches, supports which take root as soon as they reach the ground, enlarge into trunks, and extending branches in their turn, soon cover a prodigious extent of ground. A celebrated banyan-tree has been known to shelter 7000 men beneath its shade. The wood is soft and porous, and from its white glutinous juice bird-lime is sometimes prepared. Both juice and bark are regarded by the Indians as valuable medicines. Research Banyan
The bo tree, lso called the Pipal or Prepul (Ficus religiosa) is an Indian fig tree held sacred to Buddha and of Vishnu. It is a tree of considerable size, with sap abounding in caoutchouc, while it also yields lac. Research Bo tree
Cactus is the family of fleshy, thickened and mainly leafless plants, the Cactaceae (also known as the Indian Fig family). The species are succulent shrubs, with minute scale-like leaves (except in the genus Pereskia, tree-cactus, with large leaves), and with clusters and spines on the stems. They have fleshy stems, with sweetish watery or milky juice, and they assume many peculiar forms. The juice in some species affords a refreshing beverage where water is not to be got. All the plants of this order, except a single species, are natives of America. They are generally found in very dry localities. Some are epiphytes. Several have been introduced into the Old World, and in many places they have become naturalized. The fruits of some species are edible, as the prickly-pear and the Indian Fig cultivated throughout the Mediterranean region. The flowers are usually large and beautifully coloured, and many members of the family are cultivated as house plants. Research Cactus
The fig-shells (Pyrula) are gastropods mostly living in tropical seas. They have elongated pear-shaped shells with a short spire and a long canal. The foot is broad and truncated in front, the mantle lobed, the lobes being reflected over the shell, and nearly meeting above. Research Fig-shells
Figs are plants of the genus Ficus, woody trees and shrubs of the order Moraceae from the Mediterranean and Asia Minor. The common edible fig is the fruit of Ficus carica, a small tree with large, rough, leathery leaves lobed like a hand, rough green branches and almost sessile fruits of peculiar internal structure, consisting of a large, much curved receptacle on which are borne numerous unisexual flowers interspersed with hairs.
The common fig bears two crops in a season, one in the early summer from the buds of the last year; the other (which is the chief harvest) in the autumn, from those on the spring growth. Research Fig
Moraceae is a family of mostly tropical and subtropical trees and shrubs, including the fig, mulberry, breadfruit, and hop, many of which have latex in the stems and the heads enclosed in a fleshy receptacle. Research Moraceae
Prickly Pear or Indian fig (Opuntia vulgaris or Opuntia Ficus-Indica) is a fleshy and succulent plant of the family Cactaceae, destitute of leaves, covered with clusters of spines and consisting of flattened joints inserted upon each other. The fruit is purplish in colour, covered with fine prickles and edible. The flower is large and yellow. It is a native of the tropical parts America from where it has been introduced into Europe, Syria and China. It is easily propagated, and is sometimes used as a hedge plant. It attains a height of about 190 centimetres. Research Prickly Pear
The upas (Antiaris toxicaria) is a tree of the family Urticaceae, allied to the fig, hop and nettle, found in Java and exuding a milky white juice called antiarin which is allied to strychnia. The milky juice that exudes from the incised bark is extremely virulent and is used for poisoning arrows. On the basis of this single fact a mass of legend was built up, as, for example, the story that nothing could live within a considerable radius ten or twelve miles of the tree, so virulent was its effluvia. Research Upas
The Probert Encyclopaedia was designed, edited and programed by
Matt and Leela Probert
Abbreviations
Research Caprification
