Figs to be dried should never be shaken from the trees, for if bruised
and injured they will sour during the drying and become unfit for use. A
few figs spoiled in this way will check or prevent the sale of a box of
fruit that is in other respects good. Pulling the figs from the trees
will also injure them in a similar way. The ripe figs should therefore
be cut from the tree with a knife or shears and carefully placed in
boxes or trays. Of course, many half-dried figs that drop from the trees
may be utilized, but they should first be examined to determine whether
they are in good condition, and they must be freed from soil and sand.
Our figs do not, as a rule, drop at perfect maturity, but either before
or after it. Only the Smyrna figs drop when fully ripe.
For the higher growing varieties a convenient instrument called the “fig
cutter” may be used. It consists of a forked stick across which has been
nailed a strip of tin plate. Below this is a small bag kept open by a
wire. With this “cutter” the higher figs may be reached by running the
fork up under the fig, severing it from the branch and causing it to
drop into the bag below.