John Rock’s Contributions To Establishing The Fig In California
Possibly the most obscure, but significant contributors to establishing the fig in the US.
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.
The Fig: Its History, Culture, and Curing by Gustav Eisen, page 8
Among California importers John Rock stands most prominent. He has imported figs at various times from foreign countries and possesses now the most extensive collection on the Pacific coast. The trees are at Niles, Cal. not far from San Francisco. Of the earlier importations there is no record but in the spring of 1883 he received from Thomas Rivers & Son the following figs: Barnissotte Grise, Angelique, Col di Signora Bianca, De Constantino, Negro Largo, Early Violet, Lardaro, Black Marseilles, Drap d’Or, White Genoa, Bondance Precoce, Brown Ischia, Prolific, Monaco Bianco, Brunswick, Bourjassotte Grise, Rocardi, Col di Signora Nera, Grosse Grise Bifère, Royal Vineyard, Hirta, Brown Turkey, Ronde Violette Hative, White Marseilles, Bourjassotte Blanche, White Ischia, Du Roi (fig. 8), Agen, Dorè Norbus, Pasteliere, Raby Castle, Bourjassotte Noire, Grassale, Black Ischia, Ronde Noire. In 1889 he received the following figs from a house in Provence, France: Salette, Martale, Rosso di Mensigila, Grosse Violette, Des Dames, Biànca Morcati, Angelique, Avarcugo, Crovere, De Calabria, À Feuilles Trilobes, Courcourelle, Giallo Verde, Giallo Rotondo, Negrondo, Madalena, Aubique Leroy, Ronde Rouge de Provence, Imperial, Rolandina, Turco di Constantinople, Mascula. In the fall of 1890 the Department of Agriculture at Washington, D. C, sent to Mr. Rock the Trojano, Dottato, Brizanzola, and Guigliana; and from a local nurseryman were received in 1891 the Capri, Smyrna, Verdale Longue, Cernica, Zemitza, etc.
The Fig: Its History, Culture, and Curing by Gustav Eisen, page 66
