The Man who put the "Blast" in Blastophaga

That would be George C. Roeding!
...who is also the man who put wasp eggs
in your fig newton!

This is a story of persistance, confidence, and finally being able to tell your critics that they are all wrong after 20 years of ridicule. All of this to make California the center of fig culture.

Figs trees are pretty common in the bay area. But the kind that we generally grow are not Calimynra figs (or Symrna figs). These are the beefier figs usually used for drying. You will probably have to go to the Central Valley to find them. Look for the trees with the brown paper bags hanging on them in June.

Back in 1800's, no one knew how the Smyrna fig was pollinated. When the fig was brought to America, it was brought without its pollinator.  For years, the fruit fell off the tree without ripening. It took many years of study and travel and finally understanding the science behind the process.

It took a group of persistent people, George Roeding being one of the main movers. There does seem to be a bit of elbowing and competition in getting the claim for solving this mystery.

References

• The Smyrna fig at home and abroad a treatise on practical Smyrna fig culture, together with an account of the introduction of the wild or Capri fig, and the establishment of the fig wasp (Blasiophaga grossorum) in America, George C. Roeding
• Sacramento Union Number 102, 5 December, 1907. The fig cartoon is in this issue.
• "Bringing the Blastophaga to California 21 December 1907, Pacific Rural Press, From George C. Roeding's paper at the California Fruit Grower's Convention
• 35th Fruit-Growers Convention, December 1908, "THE MASLIN SEEDLING FIG ORCHARD AT LOOMIS CALIFORNIA AND ITS BEARING ON THE SMYRNA FIG INDUSTRY OF THIS COUNTRY ", p. 92
• 34th Fruit-Growers Convention, April-May 1908, Riverside.
• 33rd Fruit-Growers Convention, December 1907, Marysville
• Annual Report of the State Board of Agriculture, 1891, p. 78, p. 227
• Walter Swingle's timelime, Congressional Record, 1921. 
• The Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture, p. 1236-1237
• "Mr Maslin's Fig Orchard is a Wonder"