I usually like to eat whole wheat biscuits with vanilla milk, but as of today, I might buy some more of those boxes. What I'm after is not the biscuits, but the bag in which the biscuits are stored. This might turn out to be an expensive solution to my bird problem as I recently found out that those bag not only keep birds away, but they ripen figs to perfection. So next time before you throw you corn flakes bags, here are some pictures of my Madeleine des Deux Saisons.

Sas, 

How would you rate the variety?

Hmmm, interesting idea!!!

Hi Ross, this variety is very productive. If the fruit is allowed to ripen properly on the tree, it becomes super soft and the flavor approaches rich honey.
So, if you have other honey type figs, then perhaps the only advantage that this variety would have is the larger than usual size of its fruit.
In most cases, I've been picking my figs slightly under ripe for fear of losing them to birds. After tasting this perfectly ripe fig today, it sort of gave me an idea of what I might be missing when picking the fruit too early. The one was full of rich honey flavor. What seperates a perfectly ripe fig from a spoiled one is perhaps a fine line which I'm still trying to find.

Can you please post a photo of the leaves? Thanks.

Good Idea Sas, i'm a bit envious!  I lost my two year old (then) Madeleine this spring to a late cold snap.  I wasn't a happy camper...

I got mine from a nursery and it appears that it has FMV (many deformed leaves). I had lost one before so it was a replacement. Despite the FMV symptoms, it is still putting out some delicious figs.( I have it in an SIP)
I don't know if there is a clean Madeleine des Deux Saisons version out there, but if you have an Alma ( which is not infected) then you're not missing much. Alma is very productive and puts out fruits that are close in both color and flavor, but is not cold resistant.

Just came back from a short trip and lost more figs. I intend to use more of those bags on many branches next season. I might even look for a roll of similar material, wrap it around some branches and staple as my next experiment.

Why don't you try netting the tree, that's what I do.

I got mine from France and it was clean, just lost it of my own fault. We had an early warm spell and then it gradually cooled off again in mid june and I should have brought the tree in. 

I have used nets before, but some small trees have a few fruits on them and I just experimented to see if the fruit would ripen properly inside these transparent bags that the birds cannot remove or puncture. I've seen birds nail figs through the net.

If you put supports around the tree and drape the net over the supports,
there's no way birds can get to the tree.

Here are the leaves from mine. It is from Richard Watts. Paifully slow growing.

 Organza bags 100 for about $5.00 on ebay

I've successfully thwarted birds from stripping my blueberry bushes and dwarf cherry tree clean by simply using $1 floor-to-ceiling drapery sheers that I've picked up at the local thrift store. I would think these would work to protect the figs as well, if the tree were not big. Even then, one could easily sew the panels together if need be. And the sheers are easy on/easy off and don't snag the branches like typical bird netting does. Super easy to wash, fold and pack away until next year, too.