The Illustrated Plant Nut: The Three Fig Cranks

"The Three Fig Cranks; July 17, 1900.
Niles. A.E. Schwarz, John Rock, G. Eisen."

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The Three Fig Cranks would make a great title for a movie.

This picture is in two archives in Fremont - the California Nursery Historical Park and the Museum of Local History. The museum has the negative and on the envelope is this "The Three Fig Cranks; July 17, 1900. Niles. A.E. Schwarz, John Rock, G. Eisen."

This “Fig Cranks” photo led to some interesting documents that show a connection between California Nursery Company and Fancher Creek Nursery with the fig caprification experiments in 1900.

There were many players in the fig caprification saga and the USDA was a big player. A.E. Schwarz was assigned the task in 1900. Gustavus Eisen was a neighbor of the Roeding family and a scientist.

In Eisen’s book The fig: its history, culture, and curing, with a descriptive catalogue of the known varieties of figs there is a reference to all of the activities going on in Niles and in Fresno with the USDA's A.E. Schwarz in 1900. Snippets below. [Note that Henry Kruckeberg sneers a bit in George Christian Roeding's biography when referencing Eisen's book. Why?]

Eisen recommended the USDA publication of Dr. Howard’s accounting, which is good reading:
Smyrna Fig Culture in the United States.

He mentions a trip to Niles by Schwarz (p. 96)…So the Three Cranks photo might be from that "early July" trip.

The advance individuals were readily entered by the second generation of Blastophagas, but it was deemed rash to depend solely upon the chances that when a goodly number of the second crop should be ready there would still be enough issuing Blastophagas to enter them; so a trip to Niles was undertaken early in July, and six profichi were carried back to Fresno.

There were apparently several trips:

"On the 29th of September Mr. Schwarz visited Niles and examined the situation there." (p. 98)

Eisen says lots of nice things about working with Rock “I am especially indebted to Mr John Rock of Niles without whose assistance this bulletin could never have been published in its present form. Besides his own collection of figs he has also cared for that imported by the United States Government from the Royal Horticultural Society of London both collections having been at my disposal for experiment and study...”

Oddly enough Eisen thanks about 20 people in his preface, but no thanks to George Roeding?
What’s that about? A falling out?

Here was a really enticing tidbit in Ira Condit’s “Fig Varieties”: "A prized possession of the library of the University of California Citrus Experiment Station at Riverside, is the record book containing penciled notes as well as outline drawings made by John Rock and Gustav Eisen of these figs as grown at Niles and at Biggs. Subsequently, the collection was transferred to the United States Plant Introduction Garden, near Chico, where the author made notes on the varieties in 1916, 1918, and 1921. Cuttings of most of the varieties were established in a plot at Fresno in February, 1955."

Condit: Fig Varieties 325 1920, at Riverside in 1928, and again at Fresno in 1950. Numerous introductions have been made from other parts of the United States and from foreign countries, mostly through the
Division of Exploration and Introduction, United States Department of Agriculture. These are referred to in the text under Plant Introduction (P.I.) numbers."

How on earth did a Rock/Eisen record book end up in Riverside? Tried to find out, but came up short.

Some interesting footnotes in Eisen's book

The "Bulletin figs" is a term that is used often. With a subscription to the SF Bulletin, one would get a box of seeds and/or cuttings of various interesting new plant. (future article)

"In these cuttings Mr. W. B. West, of Stockton, had a one-fourth interest, and upon the arrival of the cuttings he took his share to his Stockton nursery and propagated his cuttings there. Governor Leland Stanford was also interested in this importation, the success of which was mainly due to his aid in facilitating rapid transit across the continent, and to the fact that he paid most of the expenses. His share of the cuttings was planted on his Vina Ranch, in Sacramento Valley."