*%-

-% +•' *

FIFTY-THREE POUNDS OF DATES
From a photograph taken by Jean Geiser at Colomb-Bechar, Department of Oran, Algeria.

DATE GROWING

IN THE OLD WORLD AND THE NEW

BY

PAUL B. POPENOE

WITH A CHAPTER ON THE FOOD VALUE OF THE DATE

BY CHARLES L. BENNETT, M. D.

ALTADENA, CAL.

WEST INDIA GARDENS

1913

Copyright 1913
By Paul B. Popenoe

Press of

GEORGE RICE & SONS
I.ns Aneeles

CONTENTS

PART I

Preface 13

I. THE DATE PAIJVI 21

II. THE DATE PALM COUNTRY 27

III. COMMERCIAL DATE GROWING 43

IV. PROPAGATION BY OFFSHOOTS 59

V. PROPAGATION BY SEED 77

VI. CULTURE OF THE PALM 89

VII. POLLINATION 101

VIII. MALE PALMS 119

IX. HANDLING THE CROP 1 27

X. ARTIFICIAL RIPENING 135

XI. DISEASES AND PESTS 149

XII. THE CLASSIFICATION OF DATES 161

XIII. PROFITS OF DATE GROWING 173

XIV. ARAB USES OF THE DATE 187

XV. FOOD VALUE OF THE DATE 203

PART II

VARIETIES (Alphabetically Arranged) 211

APPENDIX

QUARANTINE REGULATIONS 301

To GROW BANANAS FROM DATE SEEDS 303

"THE SWEAT" TALISMAN 305

INDEX . . 307

268493

ILLUSTRATIONS

FIFTY-THREE POUNDS OF DATES Frontispiece

EGYPTIAN DATES IN ARIZONA 33

AFTER A HARD FREEZE 37

SETTING OUT OFFSHOOTS 41

SEEDLINGS IN CALIFORNIA 45

PAINTING OFFSHOOT BASES 49

BAGHDAD DATE GROWER 57

WRAPPING OFFSHOOTS FOR SHIPMENT 65

TRIMMING OFFSHOOT BASES 73

LOADING OFFSHOOTS ON TIGRIS RIVER 81

NURSERY OF 13,000 OFFSHOOTS 89

PROTECTION FOR OFFSHOOTS 97

OFFSHOOTS READY FOR SHIPMENT 105

BUYING OFFSHOOTS IN THE SAHARA 113

NOMADS ENCAMPED BY A CLUMP OF PALMS 1 21

EIGHT- YEAR-OLD DEGLET NUR 129

FLOWERS OF THE PALM 137

PROTECTION FROM INSECTS 145

DISINFECTING OFFSHOOTS 153

To INSURE A GOOD CROP 1 61

RAVAGES OF PALM BORER 1 69

CURING DATES ON HOUSETOP. . .177

DATES FOR NATIVE TRADE 185

PACKING SHED AT BUSREH, ARABIA 193

PACKING DATES IN THE SAHARA 201

PACKING DATES AT BUSREH, ARABIA 209

ARAB PACKING "DE LUXE" 217

EXPORT DATES AT BUSREH, ARABIA 225

DATE PACKERS AT BUSREH, ARABIA 233

HARVESTING DATES 241

How THEY PACK DATES AT BUSREH, ARABIA 249

HOME OF THE FARDH DATE 257

HALAWI PALMS AT BUSREH, ARABIA 265

AN OASIS IN THE SAHARA DESERT 273

KILLED TO MAKE PALM WINE 281

BIRKET AL HAJJI PALM 289

FIFTY POUND BUNCH OF DEGLET NURS 293

FARDH PALMS IN SAMAIL VALLEY, ARABIA 297

KHALASEH DATES FROM HASA, OMAN 301

MAJHUL DATES OF TAFILALET, MOROCCO . . 305

PART I

PREFACE

Although dates have been the object of culture
for several thousand years, it is still too early to
write a complete account of the industry. At no
time in history has their cultivation been undergoing
more change than at present. A year gives us an
entirely new aspect of a problem; a month, even,
may cause us to revise our views respecting some
part of it.

Accordingly, I am aware that this book can not
be considered final. It aims only to present a practi-
cal exposition of the methods of growing the date,
as they are understood in the Old World and in
the United States today; in six months more some
phase of the work might need to be presented
in an entirely different way.

Nevertheless, it is hoped that the volume may be
of service to the men who are actually engaged in
building up an industry that is certain to be one
of the largest fruit enterprises in California and
Arizona. There is nothing else in print that covers
the ground. The material for the present volume
has been gathered during two years of travel in the
most famous date-growing regions of the Orient, on
behalf of the West India Gardens of Altadena, Cali-
fornia. In addition to my own study of cultural
methods in the United States, I have had the advan-
tage of assistance from all the men best qualified to
help me, and I am glad to have this opportunity
of publicly thanking them. References throughout
the book indicate the extent of my indebtedness. It

xiv PREFACE

is a particular pleasure to acknowledge my obligations
to Walter T. Swingle of the Bureau of Plant Industry,
who has had general charge of experimental date
work in the United States; to Thomas H. Kearney,
whose study of Tunisian dates is the best work of
the kind that we have; to David Fairchild of the
same Bureau, to whom is due credit for the intro-
duction of several hundred old world varieties of
dates into the United States; to Silas C. Mason and
Bruce Drummond, both engaged in date research
work for the Bureau; to Dr. A. E. Vinson and other
members of the staff of the University of Arizona;
to Dr. L. Trabut, botanist to the government of
Algeria; and to my brother, F. W. Popenoe, now
of the Bureau of Plant Industry, who accompanied
me during much of my travel and gave me invalu-
able help in many ways.

I have found American consuls in all parts of the
world anxious to be of assistance, but none has
exerted himself so much on my behalf as Homer
Brett, United States consul at Masqat, Oman. Being
informed of the date of my coming, he secured from
the Sultan of Oman a dozen of his own camels, had
the caravan ready for immediate start upon my
arrival, and shared with me the hardship, danger,
and interest of the one hundred and twenty-five-mile
ride to Samail Valley, which had never before been
seen by a student of the date industry, although it is
the home of one of the most important commercial
varieties, the Fardh. Our trip ended rather sensation-
ally, involving the kingdom in a year of civil war, but
it also resulted in the introduction to California of
a number of varieties earlier in ripening than any-
thing which had theretofore been known.

PREFACE xv

From American missionaries I have invariably
met with a hospitality which can never be repaid.
The traveler in unbeaten paths realizes better than
any one else the extent to which the missionary is
not only the carrier of religion, but of civilization,
and while he admires the way in which they are
uplifting the native, he experiences also a purely per-
sonal feeling of gratitude when he is permitted to rest
in one of these oases of Occidental culture after
a more or less prolonged experience of life that is
based on so much lower ideals. Without the co-
operation of missionaries, and in particular of those
at Busreh, Turkey, who represent the Reformed
Church in America, my work would not only have
been far less pleasant — it would have been impossible.

A few remarks upon the problems of orthography
in regard to the names of date varieties will be in
place in this introduction. In order to make Ameri-
can practice conform to that of the rest of the
scientific world, I have transliterated all Arabic date
names on a uniform system, which is based on the
principle in use for a century or more, that consonants
should be pronounced as in English but vowels as
in Spanish or other continental languages. This is
the simplest and most natural method of dealing
with a hard problem, and it is particularly simple
for residents of the southwestern United States, be-
cause they are already familiar with the pronunciation
of Spanish words. The system was elaborated by the
International Congress of Orientalists at Geneva,
in 1894, and recommended for general adoption; it
has been adopted with occasional insignificant changes
by the British, Indian and Egyptian governments,
the geographical bureau of the United States govern-

xvi PREFACE

ment, and by many other foreign governments, as well
as learned societies, institutions, and individuals, so
that it may fairly be said to represent the universal
practice of enlightened people. It seems a pity that
the date growers of the United States should be the
only ones to lag behind the march of progress; and
I have, therefore, not hesitated to make changes in
accepted spellings, when necessary to make them
conform to standard, excepting in a few cases like
the word Deglet, which may fairly be considered a
trade name now, and the correct form of which,
Daqlet, would hardly be recognized.

There is the less excuse for the confusion into which
date nomenclature has fallen because most of it was
caused by the erroneous supposition that what was a
correct spelling for the French language was a correct
spelling for the English. A date was therefore intro-
duced under the name of Rhars, when all English
practice demanded that it be called Ghars — a spelling
that is also in more accord with the pronunciation of
natives in the district where it grows. As the French
government itself has now adopted the spelling
Ghars, there is little excuse for asking Americans to
retain a French mistake which the French themselves
repudiate, and I have accordingly adopted the
spelling Ghars throughout.

Even more conspicuously unnecessary is such a
spelling as Hadji, for a word which is correctly trans-
literated by everyone Hajji. The Frenchman, with
his peculiar pronunciation of the letter j, may have
needed the spelling Hadji, but surely the American
did not; yet he was asked to accept it, as he was
asked at another period to accept the vulgar pronun-
ciation of the Egyptian peasant — Haggi. If pro-

PREFACE xvii

nunciation is to be based on any principle at all, it
should be based upon the practice of the best educated
people, not the worst. There is only one correct way
of spelling the word in English, and that is Hajji;
it is the simple and natural way; what justification
can be given for an attempt to confuse the reader by
any other spelling?

In accordance with the principle that vowels
should be pronounced as in the continental languages,
the reader will find Thuri, instead of the more familiar
but more misleading Thoory; and so on through the
list. Certainly the English pronunciation of vowels is
not so simple and rational that we should desire to
perpetuate it in words from an oriental language.

The appearance of the letter q unaccompanied by
the vowel u, which always attends it in English, may
at first cause a little surprise, but there is no valid
argument against it. I use it to transliterate the
Arabic letter Qaf, which is properly pronounced like
a gutteral ck in stick, but colloquially is often pro-
nounced like g, whence we have Deglet for the more
correct Daqlet.

Most of the changes which I have made in date
nomenclature have been due to the necessity of
purging the list from incorrect French influence and
bringing it into line with the usage of the whole
modern scientific world, including the French; at
other times I have substituted the classical form,
which would be used by all educated men, for some
vulgar dialectal form, as Kasbeh for Kseba. Arab
names are not easy for the layman — often they
bother even the expert; but I believe that they will
offer fewer problems now that they are made system-
atic, and if the reader is still unable to twist his

xviii PREFACE

•

tongue around them he may derive consolation from
the fact that many other good men have had the
same difficulty. Two thousand years ago the omni-
scient Pliny explained in his great Natural History
that he could give a list of forty-nine varieties of
dates — if he could only remember their barbarous
names. As he could not, his list was cut down to a
dozen, and even these he designated by Greek or
Latin names. Eventually we may find it desir-
able to adopt a similar expedient and use the English
equivalents for Arabic words. For this reason, and
because of their general interest, I have, when possible,
added the translation of each variety name.

PAUL B. POPENOE.

ALT AD EN A, CALIFORNIA
September 1, 1913.

THE DATE PALM

r\

CHAPTER I
THE DATE PALM

The date palm is something more than a fruit
tree which furnishes the principal means of existence
to hundreds of thousands of people. To the Arab it is
a sacred institution identified with the Semitic race
since the dawn of history and consecrated by
Muhammad both in his public and his private life.

"There is," said the prophet, "among the trees
one tree which is blessed, as is the Muslim (among
men): it is the palm;"* and he explained on another
occasion the reason for this pre-eminence, as follows:

"Honor your uncle, the palm: I call him your
uncle because he was created from the earth left over
after the creation of Adam (on whom be peace and the
blessings of God!). The palm resembles man by its
erect position and its height, by its separation in two
sexes, and by its necessity for the pollination of the
female. If its head is cut off it dies; if its heart is
exposed to too great a strain, it perishes. Is it not the
same with man? If its leaves are cut off it can not
grow others in the same place; no more can man if
he loses his members. It is covered with a fibre,
analogous to the hair of man."f

The tradition continues that Adam cut his hair
and nails with an instrument miraculously provided,
and buried the cuttings in the ground of Eden.
Immediately there sprang from the spot a palm tree,
fully grown and covered with ripe dates. Adam fell

* Al Bukharf, Ch. 42, on authority of Abdallah b. 'Umar.
fKamal al Din of Cairo in "The Life of Animals and Plants."
The tradition is given in slightly different fortrs by many writer?.

22 DATE GROWING

on his face in adoration, and the angel Gabriel, appear-
ing, designated the palm as his future food, saying:
"You were created of the same material as this tree
which shall nourish you."

Satan, of course, was not long in appearing on the
scene, and asked Adam why he was thus prostrated in
an attitude of worship before a tree. When he learned
of the circumstances of its creation, and realized what
a proof it was of the beneficence of God, he wept
bitterly; his tears falling on the roots of the palm
caused it suddenly to put forth the spines which still
make its leaves formidable.

The earliest known records of Egypt and Assyria
show that the palm held almost as important a place
then as it does today.* In the Bible it appears only
as an ornamental, the climate of Palestine not being
well adapted to ripen the fruit; but it was one of the
chief motifs in the decoration of Solomon's temple,
and according to Arab historians it was that mighty
potentate who impressed on the back of the seed the
small circle (the germ pore), by the imprint of his
famous ring, of mingled iron and brass, inscribed with
the secret name of God, by virtue of which he possessed
control of all animal life and the spirit world.

Still later the palm served as a shelter to Mary
when she gave birth to Jesus C hrist , and it was by the
sweet, ripe dates that the pains of her travail were
allayed. Muhammad tells the story as follows:!

*Cf. Moldenke. Uber die altagyptische Baume, p. 31.

tKoran, XIX, 23-26. Critics have not failed to point out that
this account strongly resembles that related by poets of the birth of
Apollo, whose mother, Latona, is also said to have been delivered
under a palm, in the Isle of Delos; and in this case also, the infant
spoke to her. Pliny and Cicero say the palm in question was in
e yjst ence in their time.

THEDATEPALM 23

"The pains of childbirth came upon her near the
trunk of a palm tree. She said: 'Would to God I had
died before this, and become a thing forgotten, and
lost in oblivion!' And he who was beneath her called
to her, saying: 'Be not grieved; now hath God
provided a rivulet under thee, and do thou shake the
body of the palm tree, and it shall let fall ripe dates
upon thee, ready gathered. And eat, drink and calm
thy mind.' '

The commentators,* intent on making the most
of this Muslim miracle, assert that the palm was
merely a withered trunk, without any crown of
leaves, and that this happened in the winter season,
when dates could not ripen naturally. An early
tradition puts the birth in Egypt, near the town of
Ahnas; Sa'ab al Akhbar declares he saw the identical
palm there, and Makrizi bears witness to the same
effect, but Ibn Batutah, one of the greatest and most
accurate of Arab travelers, saysf he saw "traces" of
it in the church at Bayt Lahm (Bethlehem). On the
basis of this story, Muhammad advised all mothers
to nourish themselves with dates, in order that they
might have good and abundant milk.

But the final stamp of perfection was put on the
date by the prophet's own use of it. During his years
of poverty at Madina, his food for days at a time con-
sisted of nothing but dates, washed down with water —
a diet which is still forced upon thousands of nomads
each year.t When his circumstances became easier,
he developed into a real gourmand, and among his

* e.g., Al Baydawi, Yahya, Al Zamakh.
fTravels, I, p. 120, Paris, 1853.

JTold by his wife Ayfsheh and set down by the secretary of Al
Waqfdl.

*4 DATE GROWING

favorite dishes were fresh dates and cucumbers, and
dates with milk or butter.* He drank regularly an
unfermented liquor, made by pouring water on fresh
dates and letting it stand over night; therefore this
drink, called nabidh, is still a favorite at Madina
and elsewhere. Finally, he declared to his followers:
"Whoever eats seven dates of the variety called
Ajweh first thing in the morning will not have to
fear either poison or treachery that day."t

With such a history to supplement its physical
value, it is not surprising that the palm is held in
veneration by Arabs.

*Father Jaussen (Coutumes des Arabes au Pays de Moab, Paris,
1908) met various individuals who told him they tasted nothing but
dates and milk for six months at a time. His testimony can be
confirmed by that of almost every traveler.

fAl Bukhari, Traditions, Sec. LXX, ch. 43, on authority of
Salad b. Abu Waqqas. Burckhordt (Travels in Arabia, II, p. 211 f.)
followed by Burton (Pilgrimage, II, p. 401) errs in saying the variety
thus recommended by Muhammad was Al Birni. Bukhari, who
wrote in the third century after Muhammad, is the highest authority
on the Traditions.

THE DATE PALM COUNTRY

CHAPTER II
THE DATE PALM COUNTRY

Conditions generally favorable to the production
of dates are well understood. It is not a tropical
but a sub-tropical culture. No summer heat is too
great for it, but it will also tolerate severe frost in
winter; it is easily satisfied as regards soil, if the water
supply is sufficient. These are the conditions under
which its culture has been carried on in the past, and
they still hold good ; but recent developments indicate
that dates may be successfully grown in regions which
have hitherto been considered entirely unsuited to the
palm; therefore the subject demands a somewhat
careful study.

In the United States, Southern California is
indisputably the region best adapted to commercial
date culture. Coachella Valley, with its slight rainfall,
intense summer heat, and prevailingly sandy soil
exactly fulfills the conventional requirements, as they
were outlined in the preceding paragraph. For late
varieties, which require a high sum total of heat to
mature, and for the Saharan varieties in general, it
can not be surpassed. It would probably prove
equally well suited to varieties from the interior of
Arabia, if we could secure any such. Imperial Valley
is almost as well adapted to these same varieties,
although its soil is predominantly clay, and often a
very stiff clay. But in the Sahara, Deglet Nurs
which grow in the heavy clay of the Ziban are scarcely
inferior to those which grow in the light sand of the
Suf . The lower part of the Colorado River Valley

28 DATE GROWING

may be classed with these two, physical conditions
being much the same.

In Arizona, where date culture in a scientific
way was carried on earlier than in California,* condi-
tions are quite different, particularly in the Salt River
Valley, where a large part of the rainfall comes in
midsummer, at a time which proves fatal to success
with many African dates. Profitable date growing is
entirely possible here, as also in the Gila and Casa
Grande Valleys and probably several parts of the
mesa in Arizona; but not with all the varieties which
succeed in the adjoining state. Dates must be chosen
which do not ripen too late, and which are unaffected
by summer humidity. This eliminates most North
African dates and leaves Egyptian and Persian Gulf
varieties as most desirable.

Within these two states, California and Arizona,
are the only regions where it can be said, at present,
with confidence and on the basis of real evidence, that
date culture is profitable in the United States. There
are some other regions where it is possible, and where it
may be and probably will be proved to be profitable,
but where data have not yet been accumulated which
enable one to speak with certainty.

In this class may be put a large part of the
interior valley of California, the northern half of
which is named Sacramento and the southern San
Joaquin. Around its outlet to San Francisco Bay there
is a region where the climate is probably ill suited to
the date, but farther north and south it should be
well adapted to hardy, early ripening sorts. Scattered
experiments in the past have shown that good dates

*For its history see Toumey, J. W., The Date Palm. Ariz.
Agr. Exp. Sta. Bui. No. 29, Tucson, June, 1898

THE DATE PALM COUNTRY 29

can be grown there, but at present commercial
planting is checked because of quarantine restrictions
on imported date palms, and these restrictions are
likely to prevent development in any rapid manner.
In the meantime one could make a start by selecting
some very early seedling in Southern California and
establishing its offshoots in a warm part of the interior
valley. When imported offshoots can be introduced
into the central counties, early sorts from the Persian
Gulf would give every promise of success. There
seems no reason why this section of California should
not become eventually a large producer of dates.

Finally, there is a small district in Texas, around
Laredo, where encouraging experiments have been
made by the Department of Agriculture of the federal
government. This is evidently a region adapted to
producing dates, and it completes the list of best
United States locations for date growers. Most of
the land in the southwest, which is amply hot and
dry in summer, is too cold in winter.

In Mexico there is undoubtedly a large amount of
land which is well adapted to the culture, just across
the line from the California border. Conditions here
are much the same as in Imperial and Coachella
Valleys to the north. The date palm is a well estab-
lished industry around the Gulf of California, where
conditions are not desert-like, particularly because of
the ocean breezes and consequent humidity. Dates
do not ripen well, but it is entirely possible that
suitable varieties could be found which would make
the culture a paying one there. Probably some parts
of the plateau in Mexico also are adapted to the
industry.

The idea, however, that the palm could fruit

SO DATE GROWING

•

only in an arid region has been set aside by further
investigation and experiment. I found the date grow-
ing side by side with the banana, coconut, and tropical
pawpaw (Carica papaya) in Oman, on the eastern
coast of Arabia; and these three plants all require a
humid climate. In Tunisia excellent bananas are
raised in the shade of the palms. But most conclusive
on this point are some of the tests made in British
possessions.

In India, for instance, there has been during the
last half century a small but continuous effort to
establish the date palm on a large scale. It has been
growing there for centuries — introduced, according
to legend, by the troops of Alexander the Great —
and in desert regions of the Pan jab and Sindh excel-
lent fruit can be produced. Not content with this,
the investigators tried to establish it in all the warm
parts of the peninsula, and although their efforts
have hitherto failed in most cases, from a com-
mercial point of view, they have given some surprising
indications as to the way in which the palm can adapt
itself to varying weather conditions. The great
drawback to their work was the arrival, in June, of
the monsoon rains, which come with great force at
the very time when the earliest dates are ripening, and
last until November. At first sight it would appear
that this made the growing of dates absolutely impos-
sible, yet there is reason to believe that even this
obstacle may be eventually overcome. At Saharan-
pur in the United Provinces, where there is a five
acre experimental garden, several varieties of very
fair dates have been found which have been able to
mature their fruit before the rains set in — and this
in spite of the fact that the winters there are by no

THE DATE PALM COUNTRY 31

means frostless. Evidently, propagation of these few
varieties will eventually establish an industry which
can furnish dates for home use, at least.

Saharanpur is in Northern India, but the region
is not typically desert, even without the summer
rains. At Trichinopoli in Southern India, in a
genuinely tropical district, success has also been
obtained in an experimental way, principally with
seedlings; the superintendent reports* that three
varieties of good dates ripened in 1908. And at
Bangalore, Lucknow, and many other places in India
resultshave been obtained which, while far from making
commercial production of dates an immediate possi-
bility, show that the field is by no means hopeless,
that success depends only on finding suitable varieties,
and that such varieties can be found.

In the tropical island of Zanzibar, too, experi-
ments have been successful enough to warrant the
government in importing large quantities of offshoots
from Oman and Busreh. And, closer home, dates
have been ripened in the West Indies, where seedling
Tafilalets have proved particularly interesting.!

As regards extreme of cold, the date palm has
shown itself remarkably resistant. In central Balu-
chistan and the highlands of Persia the culture is
profitable even where the cold is prolonged as well as
severe; in other regions, where more detailed observa-
tions have been possible, it has been shown that a
palm under proper conditions may withstand a
temperature as low as 5° F. without injury. The
severe freeze of January, 1913, in the southwestern

*In a letter to the Reporter on Economic Products, Calcutta.

fJones, Joseph, in Agricultural News, p. 324, Oct. 19, 1907:
"The fruit (in Dominica) ripened well, there being little loss through
decay or fermentation."

32 DATE GROWING

United States left the palm little damaged, although
officially recorded temperatures through which it
passed were 15° at Indio, Cal., 13^° at Mecca, Cal.,
12° at Tempe, Ariz., 8° and 9° in Texas, and 5%° at
Tucson, Ariz. In some cases it killed off many of the
leaves, but the fruit came on as usual — in fact the
only damage to flowers was in the case of male palms,
which seemed in many cases to have been rendered
sterile by the temperature. Young palms are natur-
ally more tender, but they can be easily protected.
No such low temperatures as these have previously
been recorded from a date-growing country, — in
Baghdad, for instance, the lowest on record is 17° —
and that the palm withstood them successfully shows
that frost need hardly be taken into consideration in
the future, in selecting a location for palms.

For the man who wants to go into the commercial
production of dates in the United States at once, the
facts which I have quoted will have little importance;
he can only be advised to confine himself to the
Salton Basin in California or the low-lying parts of
Arizona. But the investigator who wants to find how
far he can extend the date-growing region may get
encouragement from the experiments of other coun-
tries, which show that there is at least a possibility of
growing eatable dates in any country where the
summers are hot. In deciding as to the climate for
dates, it has been the custom to sum up the maxima
of heat; but this is a misleading method, for Vinson
has clearly shown that the growth of the palm varies
not according to the heat of the day, but according to
the added heat of day and night: that is, the palm
grows best when the night temperature is nearest
that of the day, provided both be fairly high. There-

3

Z

THE DATE PALM COUNTRY 33

fore, a region that has hot days but cool nights would
be less suited to the palm than one in which the nights
were hotter, even if the maximum day temperature
was a few degrees lower.

In the choice of soil, few fruits seem so easily
pleased as the date. It is usually said that a sandy
loam is best, and such a soil is certainly good, but
the statement that it is best is a dogma that would
be very difficult to prove.

The Arabic authorities, as usual, indulge in a
great deal of fanciful speculation on the subject.
Qastus says* a piece of land "spotted with black
and white" is the best. If he means anything, it is
probably that the land should be rich, with some
saline efflorescence. Amin al Madani, who represents
the most enlightened modern ideas, says, f" the best
soil for growing the palm is a sweet, red clay, and the
second best a black soil, sandy and alkaline." It is
a widespread Arab theory that land which has been
cultivated for a long time is the most desirable, and
the modern Baghdad! is always pleased when he can
plant on the site of some prehistoric city. The soil
of Busreh, which produces excellent dates, is an
exceedingly stiff clay. Much of the Egyptian soil is
pure adobe. It has already been mentioned that
Deglet Nur in Algeria succeeds in sand or clay. If a
sandy soil is selected, however, it will have to be
liberally enriched with commercial fertilizers, or,
better, barnyard manure, in order to produce good

*Qasttis b. Lliqa al Rumi, The Book of Greek Agriculture, Ch.
75. This is one of the oldest of Arabic authorities on horticulture;
in fact, its origin is lost in obscurity. The best trans, is that of
Sarjius b. Halias, an incomplete MS. of which I possess.

fFaqir Amin b. Hasan al Madani, Culture of the Date Palm,
lithographed at the Hasaniyeh press, Madina, A. D. 1886.

34 DATE GR.O WING

results. Experiments in Coachella Valley leave no
doubt as to that, and the government experiment
stations have swallowed up carload after carload of
manure.

One may undertake date culture on any fairly
good soil, if he uses a little care in selecting varieties
adapted to it, but there is one desirable condition:
good drainage. The palm requires a large amount of
water, under ordinary circumstances, and unless this
water can find an outlet the ground will soon become
water-logged — a condition that will be especially
serious if the soil is alkaline.

I A little alkalinity in the soil is no hindrance, for

the palm is remarkably tolerant of it. Arabs consider
that it does best in a salty soil, and many occidental
investigators have followed them in this opinion, but
the point can not yet be considered as proved. Ancient
writers did not hesitate to advise that common salt
be added to the soil, in cases where it was lacking.
I know of no region where this practice is followed
today, but I never met an Arab who thought that
alkali could injure a palm, even in large quantities.
They are mistaken on this last point, however, for
it is easy to find in Algeria palms which have reached
the limit of alkali tolerance, and others which have
passed it and no longer flourish. Observation would
undoubtedly show the same results in other parts of
the world.

Surface indications are by no means a reliable
guide, and anyone who contemplates growing dates
should investigate his soil to the depth of six or eight
feet. It may be excessively saline on the surface, but
if there is one stratum of good soil in which the roots
can spread out, success will be possible. One per cent

THE DATE PALM COUNTRY 86

may be taken as a practical limit for alkalinity;
if there is a layer of soil with less salt than this, one
may grow dates profitably, but if the soil at all depths
contains more than this, another location should be
found. Best results will be secured if the alkali does
not exceed 0.6%, and 3% may be conveniently taken
as a limit beyond which the palm will not grow.

If the irrigating water is free from alkalinity, it
will, of course, help to counteract that of the soil.
On the other hand, if the water is brackish it is
essential to keep well within the limit of alkali resist-
ance in the soil, otherwise the combination of salty
soil and brackish water will be too much for the
palm, even though neither one were excessively
alkaline, taken by itself. Salt on the surface of the
ground is most conspicuous but does the least harm,
and one frequently sees palms flourishing in a soil
which is incrusted with alkali on the surface, so that it
looks as if covered with snow. In such cases it is
certain that there is fairly good soil underneath. The
so-called black alkali, consisting of carbonates of
sodium and potassium, is much more dangerous than
the more or less neutral chlorids, sulfates and nitrates
of sodium, potassium and magnesium, which go by
the name of white alkali.

It need hardly be mentioned that young plants
are more affected by alkali than old ones, and that
seedlings will fail in a soil that yet might give good
results with adult palms. It is also to be noted that
some varieties of date are much more resistant to
alkali than others: Ghars and Zahidi are particularly
valuable in this respect.

To sum up: one should investigate before he
begins, and should not try to grow varieties of dates

36 DATE GROWING

ill suited to his conditions; but if he investigates
intelligently he may go ahead in confidence, for any
good, well-drained soil, even though it be slightly
alkaline, is adapted to most varieties of dates.

One of the fundamental propositions of date
culture is that the palm requires a large supply of
water for irrigation. This rule is apparently subject
to some striking exceptions, and future experiments
will probably change our ideas on the subject still
more, though they can hardly shake the fact that the
palm is a water-loving plant.

It is, indeed, astonishing to find what large
quantities of water the palm can take without injury.
The immense plantations around Busreh — the most
important, commercially, in the world — are ordinarily
irrigated, and copiously irrigated, every twelve hours
throughout the year, for the operation is performed
by the action of the Persian Gulf tide, which backs up
the fresh water in the Shatt al Arab. The admirably
managed plantations of Fardh dates in Oman usually
get a good irrigation once a week. Many of the
palms in Egypt are continuously inundated for two
months during the summer, and the growers never
worry about possible danger to the crop unless the
water has been on their roots for more than seventy
days. Certainly there are few fruit trees that could
survive such tests.

It is such characteristics, and the fact that the
palm in the desert is only found around water holes,
that led poets to name it Friend of the Fountain.
Faqir Amin al Madani expresses the general opinion
when he says: "Know that no culture in the world
stands more water than the palm, and turn the
stream on it every day, remembering that every

AFTER A HARD FREEZE

Palms at Tempe, Arizona, lost many leaves in temperature of 12
but crop was uninjured. Egyptian palm, variety Badrashin.

3F.,

THE DATE PALM COUNTRY 87

time you increase the water supply you increase the
crop, and increase equally the strength of the palm
itself. The palm flourishes under such conditions, and
its strength and vigor will be so much increased that
ten palms grown under such conditions will be worth
one hundred grown in the ordinary manner."

Opposing this we find some surprising facts. At
Madina, which to an Arab is the world's headquarters
of scientific date growing, many of the palms are
never irrigated, but depend on the insignificant rain-
fall for whatever moisture they may receive, and the
accurate Burckhardtf assures us "the fruit of the
latter, although less abundant, is more esteemed."
In Egypt some of the best dates are said to be grown
without irrigation, particularly the varieties Amhat
and Samani. One grove in Coachella Valley produced
well last year, although irrigated only six times.

Such facts have led many to suppose that the
palm might give good results with a small amount of
water. We have not yet sufficient data to decide on
this point, but one should be very cautious in trying
to grow dates by dry farming. All of the above cases
may be explained by supposing that the roots of the
palms reach ground water, in which case they would
of course require no surface irrigation. The Tempe
garden has not been irrigated for seven years, because
of the high level of ground water. The largest planta-
tion at Baghdad— that of Kathim Pasha, with 20,000
palms — had not been irrigated for a year, when I
saw it, and yet it produced a good crop of fruit; but
investigation showed that it was located in what had
formerly been the bed of the Tigris River, and although

fBurckhardt, John Lewis. Travels in Arabia, vol. II, p. 211 ff.
London, 1829.

38 DATE GROWING

the stream has taken a new channel, doubtless there
is still underground water below the plantation.
It is also proper to note that, in the case of Madina
palms, Burton contradicts his predecessor, saying,
"One of the reasons for the excellence of the Madinah
dates is the quantity of water they obtain ; each garden
or field has its well; and even in the hottest weather
the Persian wheel floods the soil every third day.
It has been observed that the date tree can live in dry
and barren spots; but it loves the beds of streams and
places where moisture is procurable. The palms
scattered over the other parts of the plain, and
depending solely on rainwater, produce less fruit,
and that too of an inferior quality."*

The result of these facts is to leave a grower some-
what uncertain when he asks himself the important
question, "How much water do I need for an acre of
palms?" Estimates published in the United States
vary from one-fifth of a miner's inch per acre to one
inch. It is certainly much better to start in with
too much than too little, and in the present state of
knowledge one would be ill-advised who attempted to
start a date plantation without an abundant water
supply, even on soil which held moisture particularly
well. On such a soil, the estimate of one-fifth inch per
acre might possibly suffice; on a light sandy soil one
would not have too much if he possessed a full inch
for each fifty palms, and in general this quantity
should be available, if one wishes to be safe. If a

*Burton, R. F., Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage of Al Madinah
and Meccah, vol. 1, p. 403. As to the excellence of the unirrigated
fruit, Burckhardt is more likely to be correct, for a letter of Muham-
mad to Harith b. Kaftan is extant, concerning a division of spoils
in which the prophet took the unirrigated palms and left the irrigated
ones; and he was not the man to take the worst of anything. Cf.
Juhari, art. Dhamineh.

THE DATE PALM COUNTRY 39

subsidiary crop is to be grown between the palms,
one must not fail to make allowance for the additional
supply of water needed. And this supply will have
to be an absolute minimum, for the palm naturally
demands most water in midsummer, when the water
supply is probably at the lowest point it reaches
during the year.

Cold water is a disadvantage, and warm water
a corresponding advantage. The superlative Khal-
aseh of Hasa is irrigated by hot springs, and the first
dates which arrive on the market of Masqat (about
May 15) are from plantations around hot springs.
The water of wells in the southwestern United States
is ordinarily warm enough to be satisfactory. In
Samail Valley and other parts of Oman the water is,
in effect, artificially warmed, by passing through
cement conduits several miles long, in the hot, open
beds of the dry watercourses.

It is worthy of remark that most Arab date
plantations get practically no cultivation, and that
if the surface of the ground were kept in a condition
to retain moisture, a less amount of water would un-
doubtedly give the same results. But in a dry climate
like that of Coachella Valley there is already enough
difficulty in keeping choice, soft dates like Deglet Nur
from shriveling or mummifying as they ripen, and
anyone who embarks in date culture without making
sure that he has a liberal supply of water — not much
less than an inch to the acre — and without making
sure that this supply will be permanent and not
subject to diminution during the hottest months of
the year, is only inviting failure.

02 .5

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& 15
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COMMERCIAL DATE GROWING

CHAPTER III
COMMERCIAL DATE GROWING

It was shown in the last chapter that the palm
may be grown experimentally in many places where
it cannot be grown profitably; and that in many
regions it may sometime be grown with profit, al-
though there is not yet sufficient proof to warrant
anyone making an investment at present. This is a
vital point to one who intends to take up the culture
with the purpose of deriving profit from it, and he
can not afford to confuse successful culture with
profitable commercial culture. There is a wide
difference between them, which I will try to show
in some detail; not only does it exist in respect to
the physical conditions under which the palm may
be grown, but also in the means by which it is repro-
duced. The question is, how shall the palm be propa-
gated to give not only good results, but good results
from a commercial point of view, the point of view of a
man who is more interested in cash returns than in
advancing the cause of pure science?

A slight consideration of the case, or experience
with any other kind of agriculture, will show that it is
important to produce good fruit, but it is equally
important to produce fruit that is uniformly good,
for profitable marketing depends on having a large
enough quantity of fruit that is uniform, to permit it
to be graded, and sold as graded fruit of a standard
pack. The grower who packed half a dozen kinds
of apples, or oranges, in the same box would get little
more than a cull price for the box, even though each

44 DATE G.R OWING

of the apples or oranges might, individually, be of
first class quality; but if his box is solid Winesaps,
or Washington Navels, he will get the highest market
price. The same thing is true, and always will be
true, of dates, and the grower who is going into the
culture commercially must keep this fact before his
eyes at every stage of his operations.

Now, good dates can be grown from seed. All
the choice varieties in existence have probably origi-
nated in that way, and then been propagated slowly
by offshoots. Often seedling dates are inferior but
occasionally they are very superior, and anyone who
broadly condemns seedling dates as worthless is merely
inviting ridicule. Nevertheless, it is not possible to
attain the highest degree of success in commercial
growing of dates if one depends entirely on seedlings,
because no matter how good their fruit may be, it
can never be uniform, and that is a necessary factor
in meeting the demands of the high-priced trade.

Dates are produced commercially from seedling
palms in three countries — Mexico, Spain, and India.
In all the rest of the world, including all regions
which have any appreciable influence on the world's
commerce in dates, commercial production is solely
by means of offshoots. An examination of conditions
in various countries, then, should form a reliable
guide for American planters.

"Everywhere in Mexico," says W. T. Swingle,*
"date culture is carried on in the most primitive
manner, seedlings being everywhere grown, and the
propagation of superior varieties by offshoots nearly
or quite unknown." He concludes that as far as
Americans are concerned, "even the growers of

*In Bui. B. P. I. No. 53, p. 135.

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— <o
W S

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03 -

COMMERCIAL DATE GROWING 45

second-class and ordinary dates have no cause for
alarm," because "at present the inferior and badly
packed seedling dates produced in Mexico are the
poorest that reach our markets, and are of no import-
ance whatever."

Conditions are similar in Spain. No dates are
exported, for the reason that they are not fit for
export. Scarcely two palms can be found that bear
fruit alike, and the general bad quality of it is by no
means wholly due to its climate. Although Spain
might easily grow all the dates it needs for its own
use, if the industry were on a scientific basis and
only desirable varieties perpetuated, it actually
imports large quantities of offshoot-grown dates
from the Tafilalet oases of Morocco, which supply all
the choice trade (at about twenty-five cents a pound),
while the local seedlings are sold at two or three cents
a pound, and find a difficult sale even at such prices.

In India the industry is of very little importance,
the dates produced being small in quantity, and being
mainly sold in the villages where they are grown.
Practically all the dates on the market are imported
from the Persian Gulf, where the trees are all grown
from offshoots, and D. Milne, director of date growing
experiments in the Panjab,* says that the best of the
native fruit is inferior to the worst of the imported.
A generation ago a movement was started to make
India a great date-growing country, through seedlings.
Many of these were grown, but the results were so
unsatisfactory that this has been given up, and the
government is now devoting all its energies to the
production of palms from offshoots, for which purpose
large quantities are imported from Busreh each year.

*Bul. Panjab Dept. of Agriculture, 1912.

46 DATE GJR OWING

The important date-growing countries of the
world are Arabia, Mesopotamia, and North Africa,
including Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco. In
every one of these regions propagation, unless by
accident, is solely from offshoots, which are taken
from palms of recognized merit.

Experience of centuries, then, has led to the
same result in every part of the world where dates
can be grown. It has proved that high-grade dates
of uniform quality can, under existing circumstances,
be produced only by offshoots, and that the plantation
of seedlings for such a purpose is not practicable.

To this experience of native growers is now
added the testimony of modern scientists, who are
not swayed by theory or misled by incomplete ob-
servations in practice. These men have surveyed
the entire field, have gathered all the evidence avail-
able, sifted it, weighed it. Some of the greatest living
scientists have devoted their attention to the subject.
They are unanimous in agreeing that the planting of
seedlings with the idea of growing dates for the fancy
trade is inadvisable. So far as the records show, there
is not a scientist of established reputation in the
world today who advocates the planting of seedling
dates, under the present circumstances, for the purpose
of producing high-class fruit.

The testimony of the rest of the world, then, is
unanimous. But in the United States, during the last
ten years, large quantities of date seeds have been
planted, under better conditions than have ever
before been furnished. If seedlings could be successful
anywhere, they would be in the United States, where
time and expense have been lavished in order to give
them a chance to do their best.

COMMERCIAL DATE GROWING 47

Has there been anything in the history of this
work to change the verdict of science? Careful survey
of the entire field shows that there has not. The
seedlings, under perfect conditions as regards planting
and cultivation, have indeed distinguished themselves
in various ways. They have been made to grow faster,
to flower sooner, to bear fruit earlier, than anywhere
else. But the fundamental difficulty, that of their
variability, remains, and there is no evidence to
prove that it has been diminished in any way. Only
one thing can diminish it — the scientific breeding of
a pure race.* American enterprise has already
undertaken this, but it will require many plant-
generations to accomplish the result desired. When
that time comes, seeds will be available that will
probably perpetuate the parent with fair accuracy.
But that is merely a possibility of the future, and as
far as the present commercial production of choice
dates is concerned it has absolutely no bearing.

There are, of course, many seedlings which bear
excellent fruit. Obviously, it is scientifically possible
for a seedling to be better than its parent; but it is
scientifically probable that it will be worse. All the
varieties now in existence in the world are probably
the result of the isolation of a chance seedling and its
subsequent perpetuation by offshoots, and the creation
of such new and improved varieties will go on in the
United States just as much as, or more than, it has in
other parts of the world. But this is purely an
idealistic matter from a commercial point of view,
because of the long time necessary to multiply a
variety which starts as one tree. The commercial

*Because, of course, the variability of seedlings is due to cross-
pollination through centuries. From this it results that soft date
seeds may even produce dry dates, or vice-versa.

48 DATE GROWING

grower of today does not want to work solely for
posterity. Such work is properly a side issue with
private growers, or a field for state or governmental
experimentation .

The commercial grower who plants seeds on the
theory that he will get a new and improved strain
is merely starting where the Arabs did a thousand
years ago. There are already many good varieties of
dates in the world. The man who grows palms by
taking offshoots from these is capitalizing the expe-
rience of centuries. Instead of working for the
future, he is letting the past work for him.

An examination of various plantations of seed-
lings in the United States gives no indication that
these can produce dates to compete with the choice
product of offshoots from palms of world-famous
varieties. The best that advocates of the com-
mercial planting of seedlings claim is that 10%
or 15% of the trees may be good — and note that the
claim is, good, not good and uniform. Seedlings,
indeed, offer an excellent opportunity for the rancher
to grow dates for his own use. If he plants them as a
windbreak, or as a hedge around his field, his expense
will be little, the land occupied will be of small value,
and he will have plenty of dates which are good to eat.

But the dates from ten palms may all be good,
considered separately, and yet if they differ each one
from the other, they can not be graded and sold at
the top market price, no matter how good they may be.

That is the situation which faces the man who
plants seedlings for commercial purposes. He must
expect to confine himself to the lower priced trade;
and it is not from this trade, but from the fancy trade,
that large profits are to be made. This fancy, profit-

PAINTING OFFSHOOT BASES

A coat of white lead or asphaltum is a desirable precaution before pah
are shipped or planted.

COMMERCIAL DATE GROWING 49

able trade will be open solely to the grower whose
dates are uniform — and that means the grower who
plants offshoots.

There is one particular way in which seedlings
can be of value to the commercial grower, although
not in the form of immediate cash returns — that is,
as a school of experience. If he has a quantity of
seedling dates he can experiment as much as he likes
in transplanting, cutting offshoots, striving to increase
or decrease the production of offshoots, handling the
pollen, and in many other fields where there is still
much to be learned; and he can do this without feeling
that he is losing money by injuring a profitable crop.
Furthermore, he will be certain to have an abundance
of pollen whenever he wants it. And if among his
seedlings there is one of exceptional merit he can
proceed to the propagation of this by offshoots, with
the idea of eventually getting enough of this one
variety to make a profitable planting; or he can sell
the offshoots in areas which are now under quarantine
against the scale diseases, because seedling palms
and their offshoots are usually free from disease if
they are reasonably protected from infection. From
his seedlings, too, he will have plenty of fruit for his
home use, since for that purpose it makes no difference
whether it is uniform or not, as long as it is eatable.
No one, therefore, can afford to neglect seedling dates,
any more than he can afford to depend on them; but
as Swingle says,f "Any proposal to grow seedling
dates alone on a commercial scale as a source of profit
is, to say the least, premature."

It is not necessary to insist on the practical dis-

fSwingle, W. T. The Present Status of Date Culture in the
Southwestern States. U. S. Dept. of Agr., B.P.I.. Circular No. 129,
p. 6. Washington, June 7, 1913.

50 DATE GROWING

advantage of the equality of sex which comes from
planting seeds — the drawback is too apparent. One
must wait several years before his palms bloom, and
in the meantime he is caring for fifty or sixty males
out of every hundred palms — males which he will
destroy as soon as he can detect them, but in the mean-
time all must be watered, fertilized, cultivated alike.
Let us take a concrete instance: A. and B. start date
plantations at the same time, the former with one
hundred offshoots, the latter with one hundred
seedlings. At the end of five years A. is getting a
profitable crop from every one of his hundred palms,
while B. has thrown away fifty or more males and
thirty or forty of the remaining females, and is rue-
fully contemplating the mixed quality of the rest.
The knowledge that his dates are good to eat does
not compensate him for the fact that the product of
his twelve or fifteen remaining trees is too diverse
for anything but low-priced trade.

In practice, of course, B. would partly overcome
this handicap by planting a very large number of
seeds; yet the principle holds good. And in addition,
every palm planted means so much more expense
in cultivation, as well as the value of the ground
which it occupies until it is dug up and thrown away.

I alluded to the possibility of breeding a strain
of dates that will come fairly true to seed. This is a
field in which there will be a real future, but as it is
not likely to be entered by the commercial grower,
it is hardly worth while to dwell on it at length.
The United States Department of Agriculture and the
University of Arizona staff have undertaken to breed

COMMERCIAL DATE GROWING 51

a pure race of Deglet Nurs,* and a good start has
already been made, but it will require a number of
plant generations to fix the type, and it must not be
assumed that because a seed is nearly pure Deglet Nur
on both sides, it will be exempt from a tendency to
variation; neither can the undesirable preponderance
of males be eliminated. While planting pure-bred
seed will give far better results than planting ordi-
nary seed of mixed parentage, yet it will never take
the place of a sexual propagation — in this case, by
offshoots — as the best way to multiply date palms.

At present this is mere theory, for although the
purification of the one variety, Deglet Nur, has been
started, it is by no means finished. Nevertheless,
anyone who desires to plant seeds at the present time
should certainly take advantage of the work that has
already been done, providing he wants Deglet Nur
seed, by securing seed from the Bureau of Plant
Industry.

Dr. L. Trabut, Algerian government botanist,
considers that Deglet Nur in some Tunisian oases has
been unknowingly inbred until the strain is much
purer than in Algeria, and likely to give better results
when planted from seed. The same is probably true
with regard to the Fardh dates of Oman, since their
culture is confined to a few oases where they largely
predominate, and it is therefore likely that males in
use will be seedling Fardhs, rather than seedlings of
some other variety. The results obtained in growing
Tafilalet dates from seed give reason to believe that
Majhul has been inbred there until it is purer than

*Mason, Silas C. Date Growing in Southern California. Report
of Thirty-fourth Fruit Growers' Convention, p. 170. Sacramento,
State Printing Office, 1908.

52 DATE GROWING

most dates. But in planting seeds of ordinary com-
mercial dates one takes the maximum risk of getting
unsatisfactory results, since the males from which they
are pollinated are usually chance seedlings, and likely
to be seedlings of inferior varieties, usually dry dates,
which have been dropped by natives.

As occasional brilliant results achieved by seed-
ling dates in the United States have caused the larger
percentage of failures to be overlooked, it is worth
while to quote the observations of some of the scien-
tists who have given the subject critical study.

J. Dybowski, former superintendent of the Jardin
Colonial, Paris, says in "Traite Pratique des Cultures
Tropicales," Challamel, Paris, 1902, vol. I, p. 493:

"The date palm is multiplied with great facility
by means of seeds, which germinate readily as soon
as they are placed in contact with the soil. But the
plant, because of the antiquity of its culture, possesses
an extreme variability, so that, no matter how much
care is used in selecting the seeds, one is never certain
that he will not see the plants retrograde toward a
more primitive type and, later, give only worthless
fruits. We must, then, consider that this means of
propagation should be entirely abandoned in actual
practice, and that no one should hope by it to trans-
plant to a new locality the culture of this tree."

Dr. George Schweinfurth, explorer and most
famous of modern botanists in Egypt, in Gartenflora
(Berlin), vol. 50, pp. 506 ff :

"All date palms grown from seed give results of
the highest degree of uncertainty in respect to the
transmission of desirable characteristics. In addition,
the majority of the seedlings are of the male sex.
The young offshoots, growing at the base of the trunk,

COMMERCIAL DATE GROWING 53

alone guarantee the purity of the race and especially
(the identity of) the sex."

Text Book of Egyptian Agriculture, published by
Department of Agricultural and Technical Education,
Ministry of Education, Cairo, 1911; Ed. by G. P.
Foaden, sec. -gen. Khedivial Agr. Soc., Cairo, and F.
Fletcher, principal of the School of Agriculture, Gizeh :

"Dates are propagated either by seed or by
suckers. As with most other fruits, dates do not
always come true to seed, hence the only sure way to
obtain good dates is to obtain suckers from trees of
established excellence. Propagation from seed is of
little value when we desire to obtain dates of the same
quality as those from which seeds were obtained, or
when we wish to obtain a correct proportion of male
to female trees. Again, seedling palms are usually
poor, and much later in maturing their fruit. Gener-
ally the fruits from such trees have large seeds and
little flesh."

Woodrow, the acknowledged authority on horti-
culture in India at the present day, says in his "Trop-
ical Gardening" (1910), that he planted seeds of good
imported dates of known varieties; of the resulting
palms a few were good, but the rest he could not dis-
tinguish in any way from Phoenix sylvestris, the wild
date palm of India, the fruit of which is worthless.

Dr. E. Bonavia, the pioneer authority on date
culture in India, says in the Indian Agriculturist for
May 16, 1885, "In the Lucknow garden alone there
are upwards of 252 seedlings, varying from twelve to
thirteen years old, and I am informed that there are
hardly two alike."

W. T. Swingle, "The Date Palm," Bui. No. 53,
Bureau of Plant Industry, Washington, 1904, p. 18:

54 DATE GROWING

0

"Date palms may be grown from seed, and are
generally so grown in Mexico and India, but if so
propagated something over half the palms are males,
which produce no fruit whatever, while of the remain-
ing female plants probably, on the average, not more
than one in ten produces good fruit. This would
mean that in planting one hundred seeds, on the
average only four or five palms bearing good dates
would be secured, and probably as many more of
second quality, or in all some 10% of the number
planted would yield edible fruit. It should be said
that in Arizona, and even in Mexico, very many of
the seedling sorts do not reach maturity because of
the insufficient summer heat; but if grown in the
Salton Basin, where all the sorts could mature, a
larger proportion, perhaps 15%, would produce fruit
that could be used."

Ibid., p. 20:

"The seedlings of a single sort of date may
present the most remarkable variations, and usually
the parent type is not exactly reproduced by any of
the offspring. This is clearly shown by the experi-
ments of Col. Sam Taylor, of Winters, Cal,, who tried
to propagate from seed the valuable, early-ripening,
Wolfskill date on his place. This was done because
the palm had ceased to produce offshoots before its
value was recognized. Many of these seedling dates
have fruited, but none resembles in the slightest
degree the parent variety; most of them are much
later and consequently fail to mature at Winters,
where the summer heat is insufficient to ripen any
but the earliest sorts."

David Fairchild, "Persian Gulf Dates," Bureau

COMMERCIAL DATE GROWING 55

of Plant Industry Bui. No. 54, Washington, 1903,
p. 20:

"There are thousands of seedlings called 'degal',
but these form a small proportion of the plantations
and are recognized as bearing inferior dates. The
market demand is for special uniform qualities, and
these seedling dates are excluded because of their
variability."

Ibid., p. 21: "There are hundreds of varieties of
dates in the Persian Gulf region, nearly every seedling
being more or less different from its neighbor."

D. Milne, Economic Botanist to Government of
the Panjab, in charge of date culture there and the
recognized modern authority on the subject in India,
in a letter to me, dated October 24, 1912:

"Regarding propagation of date palms by seeds
as compared to propagation by suckers, there is in my
judgment no room for two opinions. I wish you had
had time to go to the western side of the Panjab with
me. There are many excellent examples there of the
stupidity of the propagation of date palms by seed.
There I could have shown you thousands of date
palms grown from seed, and which produce dates
only fit for feeding to goats. Growing side by side
with these are date trees propagated from suckers,
and which yield most excellent dates. We have also
here trees grown from the seeds of excellent Arabian
and Egyptian fruits, and these in many cases yield
fruits of the most inferior kinds."

Dr. L. Trabut, botanist of the government of
Algeria, and the recognized authority on North
African botany and horticulture, in written statement
given to me at Algiers, May 23, 1913:

56 DATE GROWING

"Theory and practice show that fruits grown
from seed under ordinary conditions do not come true,
because of the cross pollination that has taken place,
usually during the course of many generations. For
this reason, date seeds selected indiscriminately,
even though they be from fruit of one variety, can
not be expected to reproduce the characteristics of
the female parent.

"Theory and practice also show, however, that
it is possible to breed a pure variety of any fruit, so
that it will perpetuate itself by seeds and each genera-
tion will be fairly true to type. This has been done
in the case of the Reine Claude prune, in the case of
Algerian oranges, in various grapes and elsewhere.
It is not a work that can be accomplished quickly,
and in the cases mentioned the process of purifying
the strain has been going on for years, perhaps
centuries.

"The same process can be applied to dates. If a
male of known origin is selected, and then a female
of the same variety pollinated with this, the process
being repeated in each generation, the foreign char-
acteristics will finally be bred out, and the race will be
nearly true from seed, although there will still remain
the commercial disadvantage that half of the seedlings
will always be males.

"When such a pure race has been produced, the
production of seedling dates will have great possibili-
ties from a practical viewpoint. At present, however,
with seeds taken from ordinary dates of known
variety but unknown pedigree, satisfactory commercial
results can not be expected."

BAGHDAD DATE GROWER

At his side is the huge chisel used for detaching offshoots; in his hand the
sickle for cutting their leaves.

PROPAGATION BY
OFFSHOOTS

CHAPTER IV
PROPAGATION BY OFFSHOOTS

Ordinarily an offshoot is ready to be detached
from the parent palm when it weighs from ten to
twenty pounds; it will then be from two to four yfears
of age. Alone of orientals, the Egyptians use much
larger shoots, sometimes up to 600 or 800 pounds in
weight. Perhaps the explanation of this is that the
large ones are the only ones which stand high enough
to avoid being drowned out during the annual inun-
dation of the Nile. If the offshoots are to be shipped
some distance it will still be advisable to pick those
of from ten to twenty pounds, or even a little larger,
as they will not dry out so rapidly, but if they are to
be grown at home, much smaller ones may be success-
fully rooted, and with bottom heat, to be described
later, an offshoot that weighs only a pound or two may
make as good a growth as the larger ones. Obviously
one saves a great deal of space by the use of such
offshoots, as well as gaining several years in the time
of the offshoot remaining on the tree.

For shipping, an offshoot with thick, short base
has certain advantages, its moisture being more
readily conserved; but if the shoot is to be planted out
at once, the long slender type is perhaps better,
since the bud is then higher out of the ground and in
less danger of damage.

The shoots from a tree which has had plenty of
room, a sunny location, and ample nourishment are
to be preferred on account of their superior vigor. Arabs
carefully avoid those from a tree which is crowded in

60 DATE GROWING

among others and surrounded by a secondary culture,
particularly if that be fruit trees, and their dislike to
offshoots grown under such conditions seems to be
well founded.

They also make it a point to choose offshoots
which have grown from the ground and developed a
root system of their own, but experiments in California
indicate that in this case they err. Offshoots which
have grown on the side of the tree, several feet from
the ground, and are quite without roots, have given as
good, and often better, results when planted. If roots
are formed in the ground by an offshoot when still
attached to the parent, it seems that they do not
grow after the shoot is detached, but that an entirely
new system must be thrown out.

* Most offshoots are bent or curved, but readily
straighten out when planted. Those which are un-
usually distorted should be rejected.

The best time to cut and plant offshoots is a
matter of dispute. Of course the operation should
not be carried out in the hottest or coldest weather;
and if they are to be planted in the open ground, spring
is certainly the best season. In California May or early
June are to be chosen. But fall planting gives fairly
good results in most climates, and in Oman, where
the winters are mild, it is the rule, as it also is in
India. If the offshoots are to be rooted with bottom
heat, fall is a desirable time for work in America, as
shoots will be rooted during the winter and can be
set in the ground as soon as it gets warmed through
in spring, thus having as long a growing season as
possible.

To detach offshoots, a specially made tool is
desirable, in the shape of a large and heavy chisel

PROPAGATION BY OFFSHOOTS 61

with a handle two feet long and a blade at least three
inches wide. It should be kept sharp. A curved blade,
like that of a big gouge, is an advantage. Any black-
smith can make one. Those who have large quantities
of offshoots to handle should have a series of such
chisels with blades of varying widths from two to four
inches. A heavy mallet will complete the equipment
for cutting the offshoots; but a sharp knife or sickle
must be available to trim off the leaves, and if the
offshoots are growing from the ground, a shovel and
mattock will be needed.

The leaves of the offshoot should first be cut back,
to make the work easier; then the dirt around its
base should be removed, if it is in the ground. Two
men are necessary to remove an offshoot properly;
one of them bends it down and away from the palm,
while the other cuts it loose with the chisel. There is
little danger of cutting too deeply into the palm, but
there is a good deal of danger of cutting too deeply
into the offshoot; therefore the chisel should be driven
well in and the shoot brought out with as long a base
as possible. An offshoot with a well-formed butt is
often found to be attached to the parent only by a
slender ligature; this is not only the easiest kind to
detach, but the best to grow.

After the operation, the incision in the parent
tree should be painted over with tar, white lead or
something similar, and earth piled back around the
base, while the offshoot is placed in the shade to dry for
a few days. The exact length of time will be deter-
mined by the condition of the ground from which it
was taken, but there is little danger of getting it too
dry, while if it is planted when too full of moisture

62 DATE GROWING

it is pretty certain to ferment when it is placed in the
ground.

As soon as taken from the tree, the base of the
offshoot should be trimmed up with a chisel, so that
the cut surface will be clean and smooth, and when dry
it should be painted over with white lead (thinned
with linseed oil) or asphaltum roofing paint, or better
still, a mixture made as follows :

Take two pounds of linseed oil and two of suet;
boil them together and stir in three-quarters of a pound
of red oxide of lead.

In another vessel boil two pounds of rosin, pow-
dered, and an equal quantity of ordinary carbonate of
soda. When these have been mixed, pour the compound
into the first vessel, containing the fatty mixture, and
stir them thoroughly. A very Large pot should be used,
as the compound boils up rapidly.

Put the mixture aside to cool; if it is thicker than
is desired a little denatured alcohol can be stirred into
it. If it is too thick when wanted for use, because of
cold weather, warm it slightly.

Being of an oily or fatty nature, it is absolutely
waterproof, while the rosin makes it dry very rapidly
without soaking into the fibres of the tree.

Dead leaf stalks, long roots and loose fibre should
be cleaned off, and the leaves trimmed back to a
length of a foot or less, and their cut ends painted
over to prevent excessive radiation of moisture when
planted; the shoot is then ready to go into the ground;
but if it is to be shipped some further precautions are
necessary. In the first place, the leaf stalks should be
firmly wired together, to prevent any possible damage
to the terminal bud. The wire is, of course, removed
when they are planted. Then the base of the offshoot
should be dipped in puddled mud and surrounded by
sphagnum moss or the fibre of the palm itself. The
whole base of the offshoot is then sewn in a burlap
jacket, and it is soaked thoroughly. Offshoots are

PROPAGATION BY OFFSHOOTS 63

best shipped in open crates, where they will get full
ventilation; otherwise they will mould on the road;
they should, of course, .be kept away from engines
and other sources of heat, and protected from rats.
On a long voyage the moisture should be renewed as
necessary, either by dipping the bases of the shoots
in water or, if it cannot be done otherwise, merely
by turning the stream of a hose through the inter-
stices of the crate, (the leaf stalks, wired together, will
keep water from reaching the terminal bud.) The off-
shoots should be kept slightly moist throughout their
journey, if possible, but the danger from too much
moisture is much greater than that from too little.
The great peril is rotting. Good results have been had,
when offshoots were brought to California during the
summer, by letting them finish their journey in an
iced refrigerator car, at a temperature of 50° to 60° F.
They arrive firm and fresh, but should be dried out
carefully.

Success has been obtained in some instances when
offshoots were shipped dry, packed merely in straw,
even on such a long journey as from Algeria to
California. Nevertheless, this method can not be
recommended.

Before the offshoot is planted, it should be dipped
in a cresol solution (as described in the chapter on
diseases) to free it from the bacteria of decay. When a
long shipment is made, it would be better if the off-
shoot were dipped before it is packed.

The present requirement in the United States is
that all offshoots shall be planted in nursery rows for
the first year, so that the horticultural quarantine
authorities can keep them easily under control. This
method has some advantages, economizing space,

64 DATEQROWING

water, and labor in cultivation and irrigation. The
Fardh date growers of Oman, who are the cleverest
Arab cultivators I have seen, habitually follow the
same practice. Elsewhere it is the custom to plant
offshoots in the position which they are permanently
to occupy. If any quantity of offshoots is to be
planted I recommend the plantation in nursery rows,
but where only a few are to be added to an existing
plantation, or the gaps in the latter to be filled, it will
be an advantage to put the offshoots in their perma-
nent locations from the beginning, where quarantine
restrictions permit one to do so.

Arabic authorities go into great detail on the
proper method of planting offshoots. Faqir Amin al
Madani advises that a hole a yard square and equally
deep be dug, and ashes be mixed with a third of the
dirt removed, which is then put back in the excava-
tion. The shoot is planted, and one-third more of the
earth put upon it. After it begins to grow the remain-
ing earth is added in light layers from time to time.
In general the Arabs never use manure or other
fertilizer in planting offshoots, and their practice is
doubtless correct, unless in special cases where the
soil is lacking in some element. A common practice is
to place the base of the palm on a handful of small
stones: it is thought that this makes the roots spread
out more widely and draw more nourishment from
the soil.

The shoot should be planted to the depth of its
greatest diameter, or a little deeper in case it is long
and slender; but the terminal bud must always be
kept high and dry, for if water gets access to it it will
be scalded or rot. The bulb of the offshoot should be
set perpendicularly; if the stem is then leaning, it

WRAPPING OFFSHOOTS FOR SHIPMENT

The last stage of packing is to sew the palm in a wrapper of burlap. Pho-
tograph made at Biskra, Algeria.

PROPAGATION BY OFFSHOOTS 65

will soon straighten up when it begins to grow. If
planted separately the offshoots should have small
basins dug around them to receive the irrigating water;
if in rows, a furrow on each side will serve the same
purpose. The principle to be borne in mind at all
times is that water must be kept away from the
terminal bud.

A new method of planting has been tried at
Sacaton, Arizona, with success. The offshoots are
set to the usual depth, and then well wrapped with
burlap, around which earth is piled to make a conical
mound, nearly to the height of the terminal bud,
which is protected by the wrapping. Water is then
given in a basin of ample size at the base. The
theory underlying this innovation is that the mound of
dry earth around the stem retains the heat of the
sun and retards the lowering of temperature of the
shoot at night.

If shoots are set out in nursery rows they should
be three feet apart, at least, and the rows four or five
feet apart. If in permanent form, I consider that
thirty-three feet apart each way, or forty to the acre,
is ample distance; most have been planted in the
United States fifty to the acre, and the Arabs often
get one hundred on the same space of ground. Even
in the best Arab plantations, they are rarely planted
more than twenty feet apart, but the Arabs recognize,
in theory at least, that this is a shortsighted policy.
Faqir Amin says, " It is bad for each palm to be planted
less than ten meters (about thirty -three feet) from the
other, and it has been proved that palms closer than
this yield only a small amount, and if you have fifty
palms and plant them far apart and one hundred
palms and plant them closer, the fifty will yield more

66 DATE GROWING

than the one hundred." In cases where it is desired
to grow a secondary crop permanently, the palms may
advantageously be set still farther apart — for alfalfa,
twenty-six to the acre might not be too few.

The ground should be thoroughly soaked several
times in succession before the shoots are planted,
and after that it must be kept constantly and evenly
moist. This irrigation of offshoots is, indeed, probably
the most delicate and laborious part of the whole
culture of the date, and on the unremitting care given
to it all future success depends. The rootlets of the
offshoots are extraordinarily delicate, and if they
are allowed to dry out even once during the hot sum-
mer, heavy loss will result. Their delicacy also makes
it essential to avoid giving the offshoot any shock
which may break them, either by plow or animal
when cultivating, or by shaking the top of the palm
to see whether it is sound, as anxious growers some-
times do.

No general rule can be laid down for watering, as
it depends entirely on the nature of the soil. While
it should be kept moist, it must not be kept so satur-
ated as to prevent the air from getting in. In the
heavy clay of Baghdad one watering a week is enough;
in the light sand of some parts of the Sahara the
shoot is watered daily for the first forty days, after
which the supply is very slowly tapered off. In
Coachella Valley every other day or every third day
will ordinarily suffice; sometimes it works well to
water for two successive days and give none on the
third. The soil must be kept in a good state of
cultivation.

It is customary to give the shoots some shade
during the summer, by tying old palm leaves, corn

PROPAGATION BY OFFSHOOTS 67

stalks or something of that nature around them, but it
is doubtful whether this is necessary. In winter,
however, they must have some protection in a climate
where any frost is to be expected, as the young and
growing offshoot is naturally far more tender than the
adult palm. Probably the best and simplest shelter is
made by tying a piece of burlap or gunny-sacking
loosely around it.

Signs of growth will frequently be shown in two
or three months and, if the shoots are planted in
spring, half of them should give evidence of vitality
before fall; most of the rest will come into growth
during the following spring or summer. Sometimes
an offshoot will remain entirely lifeless for a year and
a half, and then start vigorous growth. There is
always a small loss, even with the most carefully
selected and handled shoots, but it should not exceed
five or ten per cent. If it is more than this the
blame is usually due to the cultivator and not to the
offshoots. Stands as high as ninety-eight per cent,
have been secured with imported offshoots in Cali-
fornia; on the other hand, some plantations have been
practically wiped out as the result of a little neglect
on the part of their owners. The Arab gets similar
results, according to the care he uses, but as he is
usually negligent he does not ordinarily get more
than sixty to eighty per cent, stand.

If properly cared for, most varieties will produce
v the first blossom in two or three years. Varieties
differ : Khadhrawi is one of the earliest, and ordinarily
produces its first fruit in three years, even under
Arab management, while Awaydi seems, with the
best of care, unable to give results before eight or ten

68 DATE GROWING

years. In any event, it is a great mistake to let a
palm bear fruit too early.

Offshoots are frequently found which have small
offshoots upon them, and there is no reason for
detaching these and destroying them, unless one cares
solely for fruit. In the United States, the production
of offshoots from the best varieties promises to be
fully as remunerative in the immediate future, as
the production of fruit. It is not possible to get a
maximum production of both from the same palm,
but most growers will doubtless prefer to keep the
fruit yield to a reasonable limit by cutting off surplus
blossoms, in order that they may secure as many
offshoots as possible. Offshoots may yield a few
offshoots, in their turn, at three or four years from
planting, and at from five to fifteen or twenty years of
age they should yield at least two a year, although
varieties differ in offshoot production. From an
eight year old Birket al Hajji palm at Tempe, Ariz.,
fifty-three were taken at one cutting.

The Arabs long ago discovered that if all the
offshoots were taken from a palm it would produce
no more, and this fact has been confirmed in the
United States. It is necessary, then, to leave one or
more offshoots on the tree at all times, so that it may
continue to produce, and if this is done, and ample
irrigation and fertilization given, the palm may
continue to produce offshoots much longer than is
supposed — even to the age of thirty or forty years.
In a damp climate it seems to yield more. On the
coast of Southern California, where fruit does not
mature, the palm yields offshoots much more abun-
dantly than it does in the hot interior valleys, but this
is doubtless due, in part at least, to the very fact that

PROPAGATION BY OFFSHOOTS 69

the fruit can not ripen, and therefore the palm is
allowed to devote its whole energy to reproduction
through suckers.

If it is desired to get as many offshoots as possible,
the grower should keep the leaves on all of them cut
well back while they are still on the parent palm.
The energy thus saved to the tree will be used to grow
more offshoots.

So far the discussion of offshoots has assumed
that they are to be grown in the open ground, but
experiments made in California have shown that the
application of bottom heat will give higher percentages
of success and much quicker results, saving from three
to six months in the time necessary to root an off-
shoot. The method may never be practicable for
handling a large shipment of offshoots, but for ordinary
purposes it seems likely to supplant outdoor
propagation altogether.

Credit for the development of this method is due
to Bruce Drummond, in charge of the U. S. Depart-
ment of Agriculture Experiment Station at Indio,
Cal. It has only been tried for one season, but the
results have been almost perfect.

Offshoots are set closely together, either in a bed
of ordinary sandy loam or in pots of the same material,
over a coil of pipes carrying hot water, in such a way
that the soil around the roots is kept at a temperature
of from 100° to 110° F. The difference will be realized
when it is known that the soil temperature in Coachella
Valley rarely exceeds 80° or 85°, and that up to the
middle of May it does not rise above 55°. The heat is
kept constant night and day, moisture abundantly
supplied, and within a month or two the offshoots
usually begin to grow; roots seven inches long were

70 DATE GROWING

found on one after only five weeks in the bed. When
the rooting is once started, it is probable that the
temperature could be increased even to 150 F., and
the growth forced still more rapidly. As soon as they
are well rooted they can be transferred to the open
ground; and it is likely that four batches a year could
be run through the plant in this manner. The smallest
offshoots can be handled successfully; one of seven
ounces has succeeded, and small size would be par-
ticularly desirable because of the greater economy
in pots. It has been found in actual practice that a
small offshoot produces fruit as soon as a large one
does, in most instances.

Mr. Drummond operates in a greenhouse with
glass roof, but considers this a disadvantage rather
than an advantage, as it keeps the top temperature
too high, and tends to stimulate leaf growth at the
expense of root growth. The plant could best be
established in a well lighted building which could be
easily opened to a free circulation of air when desired;
a canvas house, or a lath house with the laths set
rather closely together, would do well. Such a plant
is in reach of almost any cultivator, for a second-hand
boiler and pipe are quite sufficient to carry hot water,
It can be very cheaply operated, particularly in hot
weather, when the amount of fuel needed is
ridiculously small.

The discussion of offshoots may well be closed
with a reference to the means of identifying them —
a question which always interests one who buys
offshoots from a foreign country, but also has its
practical value to the grower in handling the offshoots
of his own palms. The offshoots of all varieties differ
from each other, and in some cases the characteristics

PROPAGATION BY OFFSHOOTS 71

are so marked that they can be distinguished at a
glance by anyone. The color and texture of the
leaflets and the angle at which they are set on the
midrib; the length, thickness, number and arrange-
ment of the spines; the color of the midrib; and the
amount and arrangement of the fibre among the
stems, are the principal guides, and these points should
all be noticed by one who wishes to fix the identity
of an offshoot.* There is no reason why the ordi-
nary grower should not learn the characteristics of
the offshoots of all his palms, unless he has an
unusually large number of varieties on his plantation,
and he will thus be enabled, in handling offshoots, to
avoid any confusion: although it is also desirable to
fix a permanent metal label to them as they are cut
from the parent tree.

One who buys offshoots among the Arabs
follows the same method, but if the offshoots are new
to him he must at first depend on Arabs for the
identification. The safest way, of course, is to see the
trees in fruit, and determine the characteristics of the
offshoot (and the palm itself as well) at that time.
But in practice he is not likely to be deceived, if he
conscientiously attends to his work, for he can usually
tell a strange offshoot in a bunch which is supposed to
consist of one variety, even though he may not be
able to give the name of the stranger — a Tafazwin,
for instance, in a row of Deglet Nur offshoots, sticks
out like a sore thumb.

If the buyer of offshoots in an Arab country
employs as his field agent an Arab recommended to
him by some responsible European, if he conscien-

*Prof. S. C. Mason of the Bureau of Plant Industry has worked
out a complete system for identifying adult palms in this way.

72 DATE GROWING

.tiously watches the offshoots as they are brought in,
and if he calls a council of his Arab visitors from time
to time and asks them to name the offshoots they see
in his packing yard, he has little chance of being
defrauded. As for the substitution of male for
female shoots, a trick that was practiced upon the
United States government in some of its first importa-
tions, it is hardly possible in the present state of
knowledge, and is explainable only by the fact that
these importations were secured at second hand,
through consuls and others who had no idea of what
a date palm was. The male offshoot, by its vigorous
growth and sturdy aspect, and its larger number of
closely packed leaves, is almost always distinguishable
even to the beginner.

Seedling palms have also been sold as offshoots
on some occasions, but it is hardly conceivable that
a careful buyer could be fooled in this way, for
such a buyer inspects personally the base of every
offshoot as it is brought before him, throwing out all
those in which symptoms of decay appear; and he can
see at a glance whether the plant has been cut from a
tree or grown in the ground from a seed. I have never
met an Arab who tried to foist such a thing on me,
and I doubt if they would try it, unless they found a
man packing offshoots without any inspection. The
natives of India appear to be unusually clever at
such trickery. Milne says:*

"Fraudulent people often cut a piece off the lower
end of a seedling to make it appear like an offshoot.
A seedling plant usually has a straight stem, however,
while that of an offshoot usually has a slight bend at

*Milne, D. "Date Cultivation in the Panjab," p. 11. Lahore,
1911.

TRIMMING OFFSHOOT BASES

All inequalities should be removed from the cut surface of the butt before
it is painted and packed.

PROPAGATION BY OFFSHOOTS 73

its base where it curved inwards to join the parent
stem. The direction of the cut with regard to the
main axis of the plant and the angle at which it cuts
the sap-conducting vessels of the wood also usually
differ in the two cases. In the case of an offshoot the
cut is made roughly in the plane of the main axis
of the plant, and owing to the base of its stem bending
toward the mother the cut will also be more or less
at right angles to the direction of the vessels at that
point. In the seedling if the cut is made at right
angles to the direction of the vessels, it will be at
right angles to the main axis of the plant, and if it is
cut in a plane anywhere approaching that of the main
axis of the plant it will not be in the proper direction
with regard to the vessels, and the cut end will
probably show a more or less distinctive outline."

From what has been said it will be evident that
the careful buyer need be in little fear that he will be
swindled; nor is the problem of packing and shipping
offshoots a serious one. It calls principally for
unremitting attention. The actual danger begins
after the offshoot is in the ground, but here again it
is not one that need alarm any except the ignorant or
negligent grower, and if offshoots are rooted indoors,
by the application of artificial heat to the soil, the
period of anxiety will be much shortened and the
percentage of success still further increased.

PROPAGATION BY SEED

CHAPTER V
PROPAGATION BY SEED

There is no detail of date growing in which the
medieval Arab authors give such play to their
imagination as in the handling of seedlings, and this
fact strongly indicates that the growth of palms from
seed was more a theory than a practice — that seeds
were not really planted often enough to check up
and explode the fantastic ideas of the writers. In
modern literature the seed is absolutely ignored as a
means of propagation — such authorities as Faqir
Amin al Madani do not even allude to it, the offshoot
being considered the only means of propagating the
palm commercially. When a seedling palm is found
in an Arab's plantation, one may be sure that it
merely grew by accident.

Ibn A warn* thinks success depends on planting
the seed horizontally, not vertically, and covering it
with soil mixed with manure and salt. He mentions
with evident scepticism the declaration of Ibn Hajjajf
that he had grown seeds in soil without salt, and
declares that all other authorities unanimously

"The Book of Agriculture by Shaykh al Fadhl Abu Zaharia
Yahia b. Muhammad b. Ahmad Ibn al A warn Ashbilf (i. e., a native
of Seville, Spain) is one of the fullest and most interesting of medieval
treatises on horticulture. It seems to have been written in the
twelfth century, A. D. It was first published in 1802 by the royal
library of San Lorenzo del Escorial, Spain, from a MS. in its possession,
with a rather loose translation by Don Josef Banqueri, prior of the
cathedral of Tortosa; and again at Paris in 1864, from a more perfect
MS. hi the Bibliotheque Nationale, with a translation by J. J.
Clement-Mullet. The first edition is in two vols., the latter in three.

t Abu Umar ibn Haj jaj wrote Al Mukna, a treatise on agriculture,
in 1073 A. D.

78 DATE OR OWING

contradict him; whereas we now know that a very
small amount of salt is sufficient to kill seedlings, for
they are far less resistant to it than adult palms. Ibn
Awam indeed quotes* the exact proportion for the
purpose: four pounds of common salt to each two
baskets of mingled earth and human excrement — the
basket being the "qafiz" of Cordova. f Mahrarius,
again quoted by him, thinks the important thing is to
soak the seed for five days in water, and then plant it
with the ventral channel downward, both of which
ideas are fairly sensible. Saghrit holds that failure is
due to the temperament of the planter. "Beware,"
he says, "that the planting is not done by a mean
person, or one with a bad mouth and melancholy
humor. He should have an aspect of happiness and
joy." Other writers inform us that it is of no use for
the planter to simulate joy if he does not really feel it
— the seed will see through such a hollow mockery at
once, and refuse to germinate. The phase of the moon
is also an important factor, but as the authorities are
far from agreeing as to the proper phase I need not
quote them. If the germ-pore is planted downward,
it is considered that the palm will be a male. I do
not advise anyone to base his faith in seedling dates
on this idea, or on the similar one that if the seeds are
dipped in boiling water before planting, a larger
percentage of them will be female.

QastusJ says the seed should be soaked in water

*From Abu Abdullah Muhammad b. Ibrahim ibn al Fadhl,
an Andalusian Moor whose treatise on agriculture has been lost. It
was written in the eleventh century.

|I suspect. Ibn Awam has made a mistake here. The ordinary
qaffz is a mule load, while the qafiz of Cordova is only forty-two mudd
or double handfuls, and two pounds of salt in this quantity of earth
would kill any seed.

JQastus b. Luqa al Ri'imi, The Book of Greek Agriculture, ch. 75.

PROPAGATION BY SEED 79

for two days, then cut in halves lengthwise and the
two halves buried side by side in the earth with the
cut surface downward and in complete contact with
the earth, the apex pointing toward the east. Pliny*
believed that two seeds should be planted side by side
and two more similarly placed on top of them, "for
when planted singly, the tree that springs up is but
weak and sickly, whereas the four seeds all unite to
form one strong tree/* The writers realized that the
seeds did not reproduce the characteristics of the
parent, but Ibn Awam declares that if the seeds of
these seedlings are again planted, they will return to
the exact characteristics of the original parent —
certainly a wonderful case of atavism.

Abd al Ghanit lays great stress on planting the
seed two cubits deep, with manure, salt, and wine
lees, and plenty of irrigation; "especially if the water
remain on it at night will it become fat and hasten to
grow and laugh with delight over its food, and its face
will be wreathed in smiles. It should be protected with
care from all ill treatment and watched over with
anxious solicitude, being properly protected during
hot weather; it should also be thoroughly cultivated,
as it can not grow well if other plants are growing
around its roots. If these rules are observed, the
palm will grow beautifully, for what it most wants is
earth and manure and salt on it and water at proper
intervals.'*

The ancients usually advise that the seeds should
be planted where the palm is to stand permanently.

*Caius Plinius Secundus, llistoria Naturalis, Book XIII, ch. 7.
Rome, 77 A. D.

fShaykh Abd al Ghanf al Nabli, The Book of the Use of Salt in
the Science of Agriculture (MS. in my possession— no date).

80 DATE GROWING

It appears that there are niceties about transplanting,
too, for the Book of Nabathean Agriculture* says
success in this operation will only be attained if the
grower has a lymphatic and lunar temperament, and
his body is in normal condition, and even under these
circumstances the transplanting would be an absolute
failure should it be attempted on the second day of the
lunar month. "In transplanting he should be gay
and joyous, without constraint, his face wreathed in
smiles; it is a thing which we have proved by expe-
rience and can recommend as being well-founded,"
says the author.

But let us leave the dark ages and get down to
actual facts.

The modern grower who desires to propagate by
seed will first of all select his seed, if it is possible to do
so. The percentage of palms which come true will
depend on the extent to which pollination in previous
generations has been made by a male of the same
variety as the parent. In the case of most commercial
dates it is impossible to say what the male parent was,
but there are some cases in which the chance is greater
than others. Most Algerian dates, including Deglet
Nur from that region, are likely to have been pollinated
by a male which grew from a dry-date seed, since the
latter class of dates is commonly eaten by the natives,
who throw the seeds around, where one may strike

"The Book of Nabathean Agriculture is one of the most famous
productions of the dark ages, in this field, and has long been a fertile
subject for dispute among students. It purports to have been written
in Chaldean by one Quthami, and to have been translated into Arabic
by Ibnu-1 Wahshiyyeh in 904 A. D.f but scholars now consider it
to be a forgery of which Wahshiyyeh was the actual author, rather
than the translator. The MS. (No. 175) in the Bibliotheque Nationale
of Algiers, however, bears the introductory statement that it was
translated from Chaldean into Arabic by Abu Bakr Ahmad b. AH
b. Qars al Kusdani al Qalsi in the year 291. i. e., 903 A. D.

PROPAGATION BY SEED 81

root and grow. Therefore seed of Algerian Deglet
Nurs can not be expected to produce particularly
favorable results.

The Majhul date of Tafilalet, on the other hand,
seems to give a better average of results, and this is
probably because it and varieties similar to it pre-
ponderate in certain oases, so that the race has been
unknowingly kept purer than usual. The same thing
has taken place in the case of Deglet Nur in some of
the oases of Southern Tunisia.

Fardh has given good results as a seedling. It is
grown only in one valley, where two-thirds of the
trees are of that variety; therefore there is an excellent
chance that the male may have been a Fardh seedling.

Asharasi should give fairly good results, since the
most valued male in the districts where it is grown
is itself a seedling Asharasi.

But better still, one may secure from the Bureau
of Plant Industry seeds of Deglet Nur which have been
inbred, so the probability of their coming true to seed
is notably better than those of the ordinary Deglet
Nur of commerce. As the breeding process goes on,
better seeds will be obtainable every few years,
although it will be a quarter of a century before any
quantity of seeds of an approximately pure race can
be obtained.

Having secured his seed the grower will sort it,
throwing out small ones, and then soak it in water for
a week, in order to hasten germination. The easiest
way to do this is to place the seeds in a sack or per-
forated can and leave it in an irrigating ditch. They
may then be planted in any ordinary soil. Spring is,

82 DATE GROWING

of course, the proper time unless one expects to work
under glass and with artificial heat.

The soil used for the purpose must not contain
enough alkali to injure ordinary crops, and it will be
best if it is nearly pure. California growers should
select a clean, sandy loam, such as is available in
many parts of the desert. Several methods of starting
the seed have been found successful, and the one to be
selected will depend on the grower's own desire.

Flats or shallow boxes offer a convenient method
of beginning, and are particularly desirable if the
grower has been a little slow in getting his permanent
location ready. They may be transported easily
from place to place, and save a great deal of time,
labor, and water in handling the seeds during the first
part of their plant life. The seeds should be planted
an inch or two deep and three or four inches apart,
and the soil kept constantly moist.

Contrary to Arab ideas, it really makes not the
slightest difference in what position the seed is
planted. If a hole is punched in the soil with the end of
a broomstick, and the seed dropped in, it may be
covered up without further thought.

Most American growers, however, have planted
their seeds in rows in the open field. Some have even
planted in the locations where the palm will stand
permanently — that is twenty-five or thirty feet apart;
but this requires an amount of labor and water that
the ordinary grower will feel to be wasted. On the other
hand, too close planting is to be avoided, as the
palms then take longer to come into flower, and one
does not wish to care for a lot of worthless males
any longer than necessary.

From this point of view, the best planting is

PROPAGATION BY SEED 83

probably in rows seven or eight feet apart, and three
or four feet apart in the row. No fertilizer is necessary
unless in exceptional cases, * but irrigation and cultiva-
tion should not be stinted. With such treatment, palms
have been known to bloom as early as one year —
only one rudimentary blossom, of course, but it
sufficed to determine the sex. Frequently they bloom
in two years, and should usually do so in three, with
the rest of the palms coming into flower in the fourth
or fifth year: but it must be understood that this
record is obtainable only with the best of care, and
when the palms are not too crowded in the rows.
Under ordinary circumstances, and with most seedling
plantations, five to eight years have been required to
determine the sex of the palm.

As soon as the sex has been shown by a flower
the males can be dug out and the females trans-
planted to their permanent positions. To effect this
removal without the loss that has sometimes accom-
panied it, the palms should be given no irrigation for
three weeks before transplanting. When taken out of
the ground the leaves should be cut back; then if
they are put in the orchard and given plenty of
cultivation and irrigation they will continue to grow
without any check; while if they are taken from
moist rows and transplanted, those that do not die
often suspend growth for from three to six months.
The same precaution should be observed in trans-
planting seedlings from flats, and in transplanting
offshoots from the hot bed or nursery row to their
field location.

If the seedling palms are to be maintained as a

*A little lime sometimes seems to improve the soils of Coachella
Valley, but it should be used sparingly and with discretion.

84 DATE GROWING

windbreak, they may be sown in the proper line,
five or six feet apart, and left there permanently, for
there will be no need of removing the males in this
case.

The percentage of males varies around one-half.
James P. Read, of Mecca, found that sixty per cent of
his Deglet Nur seedlings were males. The Majhul
seeds have given a surprisingly high percentage of
females, but as the number reported on so far has
not been large, this may be merely a coincidence
which further plantings will destroy. The grower
must, in general, expect that something less than half
of his palms will be females.

The grower will naturally wish to save a certain
number of male palms for his own use; if they are
seedlings, he should have five or six to each hundred
females. The easiest and surest way to insure an
abundance of pollen is to plant a windbreak, as
described, and let all the males in it grow; in the
number there is certain to be one or more that will
give satisfaction. If the planter wishes to save only
a few males, he should select such as seem to flower
most profusely; but he can never be certain of good
results, for seedling males are no more reliable than
seedling females, and I am confident that most of
the males in use in the future, in an intelligent date
growing community, will be propagated by offshoots
from a father of known value.

Having satisfactorily disposed of his surplus
males, the seedling grower will then consider his
females, and will probably plant them all in orchard
form at first, leaving the elimination of worthless
ones until they bear enough fruit to give a fair test
of their character. This is the more desirable

PROPAGATION BY SEED 85

because a palm grown from seed sometimes bears
bad fruit during the first few years and afterwards
improves in quality — a characteristic that applies
also to a few varieties of offshoot-propagated palms,
and particularly to Manakhir in the United States.
As rapidly as he decides that a palm has no merit, he
will throw it out and put in its place an offshoot from
one of his better females; and this process he will
have to continue indefinitely, if he wishes ever to get
a really valuable commercial plantation. So when the
seedling grower finally gets a good grove of palms,
he will have to admit that it is not really a seedling
grove, but preponderatingly an offshoot grove.

It is difficult to quote any figures as to the
percentage of good seedlings in one hundred female
trees, for the number will vary according to condi-
tions, and no figures quoted are safe from attack by
someone who can show that in his own experience they
are inaccurate. Most students* consider that one-
tenth of the females will bear fairly good fruit and
another tenth passable fruit: that is, from one
hundred seeds (including males) one would get ten
females which would produce eatable dates. In
favored localities the number would be a little higher,
but the commercial disadvantage always remains that
even the good dates are too varied to be graded and
packed as a uniform product, and therefore can not
command the top market price. For home use,
where it makes no difference whether the dates are
uniform or not, seedling fruit may be quite as good
as that grown from offshoots.

There remains always the attractive possibility
that the seedling grower will draw a capital prize —

*e. g., Swingle and Milne.

86 DATE GROWING

that he will produce a palm a little better than any-
thing else. The chance is too good to neglect, and
every date grower should have as many seedlings
as he can care for without detriment to his profits,
but a slight consideration will show that the chance is,
arithmetically, not very great. It is true that all
the varieties in the world have been produced from
seeds, but the small number of high grade varieties,
which is most noticeable in the very districts where
propagation is by seed instead of offshoots, shows
that such an occurrence is rare. It is only once in a
century that a Deglet Nur, a Khalaseh, a Tabirzal, or
a Birket alHajji appears; and although some choice
seedlings have already been produced in the south-
western United States, an honest examination of them
will show that they are no better than, and in most
cases inferior to, good varieties which we have already
imported from the Arab world.

The greatest opportunity of the seedling grower
lies in the rapid production and propagation of
offshoots. If from a thousand palms he gets a few
that are of good quality and reasonably uniform, he
can, after they have proved their value by one good
crop, force them to devote their whole energy to the
production of offshoots, which he will remove while
still small, and root with bottom heat. These in turn
will produce offshoots in four or five years, and the
multiplication of the variety, or the similar varieties,
will then go forward with some speed. Such work
offers a legitimate field, but it is of necessity one that
will attract the nurseryman more than the grower
whose aim is to acquire, as soon as possible, a plant-
ation of dates that will yield him a steady income.

CULTURE OF THE PALM

CHAPTER VI
CULTURE OF THE PALM

Irrigation is the principal item in the culture
of the date palm. For Arabs it is practically the only
item, for in most gardens the palms get no cultivation
whatever, unless incidentally through the presence of
a secondary crop, or, once in a year or two, when a
little manure is worked around the roots. It is there-
fore irrigation that the scientific date planter must
first of all consider, and to which he must constantly
give his attention.

I have already mentioned that a water supply of
one miner's inch to the acre is desirable except on
land which holds water particularly well, but there is
some difference of opinion as to the way in which this
should be applied, and every grower will have to
decide for himself by watching the condition of the
ground. One plantation, on very sandy soil in
Coachella Valley, gets twenty -four hours of irrigation
twice a week and thrives on it; another, in loam, gets
water only once in eight or ten days and seems to
be in equally good condition. As most date growing
countries are characterized by a relative scarcity of
water, the grower may naturally like to give more than
is necessary, but I may say at the outset that it is
easy to give too little, but almost impossible to give
too much. It has already been mentioned that the
plantations of Busreh are irrigated every twelve
hours. The experimental garden at Tempe, Ariz.,
is in a locality where the level of the ground water
is near the surface, and often above, but the palms

90 DATE GROWING

have never given any signs of a surfeit in their growth,
although excess of water has a very bad effect on the
crop itself.

On the other hand, cultivation will take the place
of irrigation to some extent, by keeping the water
in the soil after it is once put there. The Arab
neglects this because of his indolence, but the scientific
grower can not afford to do so. As with irrigation,
there is no danger of giving too much cultivation,
but there is danger of giving too little.

It is impossible to give advice that will fit all
conditions, but I believe that on ordinarily good soil
a thorough irrigation once a week, followed by
cultivation as soon as the ground is dry enough to
work, would be ideal throughout the summer. In
lighter soil, unless the subsoil be of such a nature as
to retain water well, I would certainly irrigate oftener.
In winter the interval can be lengthened, particularly
as most palms lie nearly dormant for some time, and
advantage can often be taken of timely rains. It
has sometimes been advised that irrigation should
be suspended during the winter because it would tend
to make the palms more sensitive to frost, but obser-
vations in California following the cold weather of
January, 1913, indicate that this theory has little
importance in practice. If irrigated well in late
winter, palms will flower earlier, and thus fruit earlier
— an advantage well worth gaining.

Americans usually suspend irrigation for a few
weeks while palms are being pollinated, on the ground
that a better stand of fruit will be secured, because
moisture will cause the blossoms to drop before they
set. In theory this seems plausible, but in practice
it will be found that most Arab growers do not observe

CULTURE OF THE PALM 91

it, and they suffer no inconvenience. At Baghdad
the period of flowering is frequently the period of
inundation from the Tigris, when plantations are
submerged to the depth of a foot or two for several
weeks; and the growers nevertheless get a heavy
crop of fruit. It may be a safe precaution to omit
one irrigation immediately after the female has been
impregnated, but in a dry climate and porous soil
I doubt if it has any advantage.

It has also been advised to suspend irrigation
when the dates are nearly ripe, in order to keep them
from becoming soft and sticky. This again sounds
reasonable, and for some varieties is desirable, but
other varieties demand an increase rather than a
decrease of water at this period. In Coachella Valley,
for instance, Deglet Nur dates show a tendency to
shrivel or mummify toward the end of their ripening
on the tree, just at the time when they should be
filling with honey. The climate appears really to be
too dry for them. This tendency, which has sometimes
caused serious loss, can be checked by giving copious
irrigation right up to the time the dates are taken
from the tree. With varieties which are likely to be
unpleasantly soft, irrigation at the last might well
be withheld. The character of the soil must also be
taken into consideration. In short, the grower's
own judgment and experience are essential to decide
on this point, but in general it offers little trouble,
and is not of importance.

It will be seen, then, that irrigation and cultiva-
tion offer no puzzling problems. The grower who gives
his palms plenty of both will have little need to worry
about details.

Nor does the fertilization of the land present

92 DATE GROWING

many questions; or If it does, the present state of our
knowledge is not sufficiently advanced to permit us
to know it. The future may hold some important
discoveries, but at present both theory and practice
may almost be summed up in two words, — "stable
manure." This is because the soil in most date grow-
ing regions is more deficient in humus than in any-
thing else, and because chemical fertilizers are so quick-
ly washed out of the land by the constant irrigation
that they hardly have a chance to return interest on
the investment their cost represents.

The Fardh growers of Oman are again most
advanced among Arabs in this respect, for they work
into the soil a donkey load per tree of well-rotted
manure and straw twice a year. In other oriental com-
munities once a year is considered liberal, and at Busreh
once in two years is the rule, and even then the in-
gredient is the coarsest kind of straw and reeds,
animals being scarce. The general practice is to apply
manure at the beginning of winter, so that it has a
chance to rot thoroughly and become incorporated
with the soil before the growing period in spring; but
if it is well rotted before it is applied, early spring
would probably be better, as there would be less loss
from leaching. It should be well worked into the soil.

If a grower knows that his soil is lacking in any
particular element, he should of course supply the
deficiency, as he would with any other crop. Other-
wise he may as well depend on stable manure, or some
other form of humus. The leaf mould found under
mesquite bushes in the southwestern United States
is excellent, and far too valuable to be wasted by
burning, as is often done when a new piece of land is
cleared. So far as I know, inoculation of the soil with

CULTURE OF THE PALM 93

bacteria, to increase the nitrogen supply, has never
been tried with this culture, but it would be well
worth trying. If a secondary crop is to be grown,
alfalfa or some leguminous plant should be given the
preference for this same reason.

When a subsidiary crop is grown between the
rows, the nutrition which it takes from the soil must
be replaced unless the palms are to suffer. Ordinarily
it will be sufficient to plow the crop under after it
has yielded its produce.

The Arabs have some excessively fastidious ideas
about fertilizers, which can not be accepted until they
have been scientifically tested. Camel manure is
looked on in Algeria with disfavor, as being "too hot."
That of mules and donkeys is given the preference,
but that of cows and horses is also considered good.
Ibn Awam says that the excrement of pigs burns the
roots of the palm; he also suggests that the roots
should be irrigated with date syrup in order to make
the fruit sweet! Wine lees are in high repute among
the old masters, as a fertilizer. Faqir Amin al Madani
is, as usual, original in his remarks:

"And you must fertilize the palm, for that is the
best thing to increase its yield. Cow manure or that
of camels is best, spread under it in winter, but any
good manure, well rotted, will prove efficacious if
applied in winter. But an easier method to make it
more verdant is, in the summer days, to gather all
the fallen fruit and that bruised by feet or spoiled by
the birds, and to put a little water on it and let it
rot and save it for winter; then pour on each palm
a portion of three pounds of this liquor, and in this
manner there will be no expense to you, because the
fallen fruit would have been a loss to you in any case."

94 DATE GROWING

All the medieval writers consider that the palm
should be irrigated occasionally with brine. There is
no evidence, however, to show that it benefits from
such treatment.

Many of the talismans and charms by which the
growers of antiquity professed to influence the palm
are nothing more than a crude sort of fertilization.
Ibn Awam, for instance, says, "There is a prodigious
secret of marvelous virtue, which is to take fourteen
pounds of the aromatic rush of Babylon, dig a hole
in the ground and bury it; after twenty-one days dig
it up and spread it on the trees" (to increase their
yield.) "It must be done in the sign of Taurus or of
Cancer; I myself have tried it with notable success."
Obviously this is nothing more than adding a little
humus to the soil. Again he says, " If your trees bear
intermittently, dig a trench around them at two cubits
distance and put palm leaves and branches in it;
wet them five times at intervals of five or six days,
after which, if it be the will of God, the tree will bear."

This intermittent bearing of the palm is a factor
with which every grower must reckon. In light sandy
soil, lacking in humus, it is almost impossible to get a
palm to bear a uniformly heavy crop each year;
old palms always show a tendency to rest every other-
year; while young ones in full vigor will require an
entire season to recuperate if they are allowed to
bear too heavily. A grower who gets a new palm into
bearing, particularly if it be of a valuable variety,
naturally wants as much fruit as possible, so he lets
it bear a maximum crop, with the result that he has
nothing at all the following season. The palm must
be brought into bearing gradually: one bunch the
first year, two or three the second, three or four the

CULTURE OF THE PALM 95

third, and so on. Even after it reaches maturity it
should ordinarily not be allowed to carry more than
half of the clusters which it throws out. Of course, if
the variety is naturally a shy bearer, and sends forth
but a few racemes, it will not be necessary to remove
any, but where twenty or twenty-five are put out, as
is sometimes the case, ten or twelve are enough to
leave. It is hardly necessary to point out that if a
palm is carrying offshoots it must carry fewer dates.
In the case of a valuable variety, from which it is
desired to get as many offshoots as possible, it will
often be well to let it bear only one or two bunches of
fruit each season; the value of the offshoots will
more than compensate for the dates lost. On the
other hand, a second-grade tree which there is no
reason to perpetuate should be stripped of offshoots
altogether; it will then be able to put every ounce of
its energy into the production of dates. Unless you
have had enough experience to be certain of your
success, leave a fairly large number of clusters until
after you have pollinated and have had a chance to
observe the results; some clusters usually set less
dates than others and these can be removed, leaving
only first-class clusters on the tree.

If the number of clusters borne each year is kept
to a reasonable limit, and the palm given abundant
irrigation, cultivation, and fertilization, no one need
fear this intermittent bearing or alternation of years.
It has been thoroughly proved in California that
good care is the only thing needed to make the palm
perform satisfactorily each season.

As dates are ordinarily grown in a semi-arid
climate, there is little trouble from the weather. An
unexpected rain in early summer will do little harm;

96 DATE GROWING

if it comes when the dates are ripening it may make
trouble, but experience in Coachella Valley last year,
when a September storm brought a precipitation of
one and one-half inches, proved that most of the
fears which have been entertained on this score are
groundless — the total loss to the crop probably did
not exceed five per cent. Of course, if rain should be
followed by a period of moist days it would be more
serious. This rarely occurs in a desert country;
should it do so when the dates were ripening, the only
recourse would be to pick the crop at once and finish
its ripening artificially by the quick process. For
this reason, every grower should have the means of
carrying out this process.

Sometimes fruit falls prematurely from the palm
as a result of bad weather; at other times it falls
with no apparent reason. The trouble seems to be
a question of variety, and few of the good varieties
annoy one in this way. If they do, and you are
enlightened, you will hunt through the plantation for
a crab's leg, which some enemy may have tied to one
of your palms; it is well known that this causes the
fruit to fall, and to prevent such a catastrophe
intelligent growers usually have a sheep's skull set
on a pole in their plantations: it is a sure charm and
counter-irritant or antidote. Should even this fail,
the only orthodox recourse is to hang on each of your
palms a slip of paper bearing the verse,* "He holds
up the heavens to keep them from falling on the earth
unless as a result of His will, because God is merciful
and compassionate toward men." Few palms can
withstand the influence of such a thought as that.
"Koran, XXII, 64.

PROTECTION FOR OFFSHOOTS

The plant is surrounded by palm leaves, to keep off frost, in an exposed
situation at Busreh, Turkish Arabia.

CULTURE OF THE PALM 97

A frost when the fruit was ripening or the flowers
being pollinated might be disastrous, but such a thing
is impossible in most date growing countries, and frost
in winter is not serious enough to give any concern.
Young trees should always be protected, but it is
entirely needless to consider heating a palm garden,
as orange growers do their groves. The Arab grower,
when threatened by frost, places a tortoise on his
back in the middle of the grove, and thus avoids all
danger; but of course a man must stay beside him
throughout the night, for if the tortoise should succeed
in turning over on his belly and walking away, the
frost would immediately descend in full force.

There is danger from wind, however, in most
date-growing regions, and it is highly necessary
that ample windbreaks should be planted, particularly
for the protection of young palms. If one is in a
sandy region, he could well afford to plant numerous
windbreaks through his orchard,* of a sufficiently
dense nature to stop sand when it is blown through
the air; otherwise a sandstorm, arriving when the
dates are soft and sticky, may make the crop almost
unsaleable. This difficulty is frequently experienced
in the Persian Gulf region, where a whole crop is some-
times nearly a loss; and the dates of Hasa are al-
ways and notoriously gritty.

The palm must be trimmed regularly, but it is
better not to do this until it is four or five years old.
After that the leaves that are actually dead or dying
should be taken .off each year, and the trunk cleaned
up of fibre and other decaying matter which offers a
refuge for borers. There is danger in trimming too

*A row of seedling dates, reinforced by a row of pomegranates,
would be excellent. The latter fruit is well adapted to resisting heat,
drought, and alkali.

98 DATE GH OWING

heavily, but not in the other extreme. The growers of
Egypt cut off as many leaves as possible from their
palms because they find a ready sale for use in Chris-
tian and Jewish church festivals, and they thereby
injure the productivity of their palms, a fact which
residents of other regions do not hesitate to taunt
them with. "It is," says Faqir Amin, "as if a man
should shave his head, and then take off the scalp as
well — what would be his condition? And what
would his mother and brother say to him?" In
adult palms one complete ring of ten to fifteen leaves
can ordinarily be removed each year; they are useful
as a frost protection for offshoots, or a shade in
summer if such is desired. In Arab communities
both leaves and fibre have a commercial value and
are made into a great variety of products, the fibre
furnishing cordage, stuffing for pack saddles, and the
like, while the leaflets make baskets, and the midribs
all kinds of furniture.

In general, it may be said that the culture of the
palm requires less pains and less skill and study than
that of most fruits, and that the expense of growing it
is correspondingly less. Pollination is the only
delicate operation to be performed, and that is easily
learned. This is a case where the value of a supply of
seedling trees on which to practice will be evident.
Apart from that, the only real problems connected
with date growing occur in handling and marketing
the crop. As for the culture itself, anyone who has
mastered the few and simple fundamental principles
of farming in a semi-arid country (which, however,
are quite different from those of farming in the
eastern United States) can make a success of growing
date palms.

POLLINATION

CHAPTER VII
POLLINATION

Since the dawn of history, artificial pollination
of the female date palm has been practiced in com-
munities where its culture was commercially
important. Bas-reliefs on the Assyrian monuments
plainly show the operation. Herodotus,* who wrote
about 450 B. C., gives the first description of the
operation, which he saw at Babylon, but he confounds
it with the caprification of the fig. Theophrastusf
corrected him, and describes the operation clearly and
correctly; Pliny, J however, seems to have been a
little hazy as to the principle involved.

The medieval Arab authorities understood arti-
ficial pollination, but their lack of practical experience
is shown in the dubious way with which they approach
the subject. Abu-1 Khayr says, " The palm fecundated
by the male at the time it blossoms will produce dates
that are soft and juicy" — a proposition that is rather
obvious to most date growers; and Ibn Awam,
quoting this, adds, "I fecundated a wild palm in Al
Sharaf at the time of opening the flowers, with those
of a male introduced and tied to it, and dates of a
good quality were produced; which operation is done
only once a year, but it is necessary to repeat it each
year as for figs." It must be borne in mind that these
men lived in a seedling date region where there were

*History, Book I, ch. 193.

fHistoria Plantarum, ed. \Vimmer, vol. II, p. 6.

JHistoria Naturalis, Book XIII, ch 7.

102 DATE GROWING

probably so many male palms that the fruit was
pollinated even without the aid of man.

But if they did not grasp the prime importance
of the operation, they had a good excuse in precedent,
for one of the most humiliating episodes in the career
of the "divinely inspired" and professedly infallible
Muhammad was due to the same ignorance — and
it occurred at Madina, which has always claimed to
be the center of the science of date growing. One
spring the prophet announced that the artificial
impregnation of the palm was an unnatural practice,
and in the future would be unlawful for his followers.
They loyally abstained, with many misgivings, no
doubt; and in the fall there was no date crop. An
indignation meeting was immediately held and a
citizens' committee called on the prophet for a
heart-to-heart talk, as a result of which Muhammad
made a statement to this effect: "You are weak in
spiritual knowledge, but are worldly-wise; therefore
in the future I will confine myself to the government
of your spiritual welfare, and let you manage the
affairs of this world to suit yourselves." Next year
the palms were artificially pollinated and the crop
good as usual.

Egypt has always been noted for the number of
male palms it contained,* and it is probable that
fecundation by the wind relieved the growers to some
extent of the necessity for artificial impregnation;
at any rate, the traveler John Ogilby, who wrote in

*A report is still extant, made to Uraar b. al Khatib, the second
caliph, when he was contemplating the conquest of Egypt; his
informant describes it as "a soil rich in harvests and in male palms."
Quoted by Masudi in "The Prairies of Gold," vol. Ill, p. 125. Paris,
1864.

POLLINATION 103

1670,* quotes one of his predecessors to the effect
that the palms were sometimes pollinated by the wind.
His description of the date is so quaint that it is worth
a slight digression to insert it: he entitles it "The
Dadel, a Tree Unknown to Us," and says:

"In several places about Egypt and especially
about Alexandria are great woods of Dadel trees,
which the Arabians from the name of the fruit called
Dachel.f

"The Dadel tree, of which there are male and
female, hath every other year abundance of fruit,
but the female affords no fruit unless her branches
be plashed with those of her mate. Many, to make
the female fruitful, strow the matter that lies in the
bag or receptacle, out of which the blossom and fruit
comes, upon her branches; and probably if the
Egyptians did not do so, they would bring forth no
fruit, or if they did, they would never come to any
perfection. But Veslingus seems to reject this,
ascribing the great fruitfulness of it to the soil, being
sandy and nitrous: for he affirms that he hath seen
the earth in the Dadel-tree wood oftentimes thick-
covered with a white down or callow, like cellar walls
where we find our saltpetre, which by the sultry
south winds from negro-land and the barren Arabia,
is in great abundance driven up hither, and falling
on the tops of the Dadel trees, not only makes them
flourish but also pregnant.

"The roots are so small, thin, and short that it is
a wonder how it supports itself, being so great,
especially when often charged by strong and assiduous

*Ogilby, John. Africa, p. 105. London, 1670.

t Properly Daqal or Degal. The word Daddel is the Swedish and
Dutch for "date"; both go back to the Greek Daktylos.

104 DATEGROWING

gusts; for, contrary to other trees, this tapers down-
ward and the slenderest part of the stalk is nearest
the foot, which has made some suppose that the plant,
though large, receives no nourishment from the earth
by the root, but by the air.

"There is no tree more profitable, or turns to
greater account than this."

The natural pollination mentioned by Veslingus
seems to have been exceptional, however, for in 1800,
when the French invasion prevented work in the fields,
the palms around Cairo were not pollinated, and the
crop was a total failure.*

At the present time no dependence whatever is
placed upon nature in the orient, and even the most
isolated clumps of palms around water holes in the
desert will, if they bear dates, be found to have been
pollinated by some nomad Arab who looks on them
as his property. A few cases have been noted in
America where pollen has been carried, perhaps by
insects, for distances of a quarter of a mile or more,
but there is little data on which to form an opinion
as to the possibilities of the fecundation of a female
in a date growing country, without the aid of the
grower, and the question is of no practical interest.
An Italian poet of the fifteenth centuryf describes
the pollination of a palm near Otranto by pollen
carried by the wind from a male forty-five miles
distant, but it is to be feared that his poetic tempera-
ment interfered with his truthfulness.

The method of pollination in America is the same
as that practised in the orient, and it is given so clearly

elile, Egyptian Flora.
fPontanus.

POLLINATION 105

and accurately by a Persian writer,* that I quote his
account verbatim: "Phoenix dactylifera being
dioecious — that is, having the male and female
flowers on separate trees — artificial fertilization
becomes a necessity, and is the means of ensuring a
crop, especially where the male trees are far from the
females, or not in the way of wind or insects. The
latter agents are not considered sufficient by the date
cultivators of the Persian Gulf, as when artificial
fertilization is not resorted to the fruit yielded is
abortive or blighted, with little flesh, without stones,
and totally insipid. Under these circumstances it is
called shisj Therefore human agency, or artificial
fertilization, is considered essential to a good crop of
first-class dates.

"This important operation is performed in the
following manner: As soon as the spathe, or covering
of the bunch of male flowers, has attained its full size
and has come to maturity, it is detached. Its maturity
is known by a faint rustling sound, elicited when the
central part of the spathe is gently pressed between
the fingers. Also if a slit is made in the margin of the
spathe, so as to expose the flower, a peculiar odor
is detected. When the bunch of mature male flowers
is detached, the spathe is split open and the sprigs of
male flowers are carefully removed and placed in a
basket, which is then suspended and protected from

*A. R Hakim Khan Bahadur, assistant to the political resident
at Fars, in memorandum dated July 1, 1884; quoted by Bonavia,
"The Date Palm in India," p. 47. Calcutta, 1885.

fThe universal and classical Arabic word, although there are
many synonyms. In Algeria it is called, by metathesis, sish. Such
dates frequently cause a report of the existence of seedless dates.
All supposedly seedless dates reported to me by Arabs, which I have
personally run down, have turned out to be merely unpollinated, but
genuine seedless dates undoubtedly exist. They are described by
Palgrave and others.

106 DATE G.R OWING

draughts, so as to prevent the pollen from being
scattered. The male flowers are allowed to remain so
for twenty to twenty-four hours before being used.

"As soon as the female flowers have burst their
enveloping spathe, the cultivator considers them fit
for impregnation. He then takes with him a number
of male sprigs, climbs up the female tree, and inserts
one or two sprigs of male flowers into each bunch of
female flowers, securing them with a strip of date
leaflet. If the cultivator finds that some of the more
forward female spathes have not yet burst, to save
himself the trouble of reclimbing, he splits them open
and inserts the male sprigs as before. Only very
small and backward spathes he leaves for a subsequent
operation, when he thinks them sufficiently matured.''

The operation always takes place in the middle
of the day, since dampness is the greatest factor in
failures. In Egypt, any time between ten a. m. and
three p. m. is considered suitable. In Algeria, the
cultivator does not work if a north or east wind is
blowing, but does not object to a south or west wind,
as these two are hot and dry.

It is preferable to shake the male sprig over the
female flower, before tying it in place, as the pollen
thus reaches all parts of the cluster to better advantage.
If a sheet of paper is held under the cluster, the
pollen which falls can be caught and saved for the
next palm. A paper bag is the best thing in which to
carry the male flowers. It is probable that future
experimentation will suggest some improvement over
the Arab's method of handling the pollen. A weak
bellows, such as is used for insect powder, has been
suggested.

As far as the pollen is concerned, the most

POLLINATION 107

important thing is to keep it dry from the beginning.
For this reason the male flowers should be cut only
during the warmer part of the day, and dried very
carefully, otherwise the minute grains of pollen
will agglutinate into a mass of no potency. If pollin-
ation is performed in moist weather the same result
may take place on the tree; and if a heavy fog or rain
occurs after the female has been pollinated, it may
wash off all the pollen. In such cases the blossoms
should at once be repollinated, and usually the crop
can be saved.

If the pollen is kept dry it preserves its value for
a long time, and in some date growing communities
it is the custom to save a small supply from each year
to the next — a custom that may well be followed in
America, where females sometimes show surprising
precocity in bloom. A pollination made in 1912 at
the Mecca Experiment Station with pollen seven years
old, sent from the Tempe garden, was entirely suc-
cessful. The elder Michaux reports,* but apparently
not of his own knowledge, that pollen had preserved
its power during nineteen years, in Persia. It can
also be shipped easily from one region to another.
Busreh often supplies pollen to a large part of the
Persian gulf.

In case of a shortage of pollen, that of almost any
other species of Phoenix, or even distantly related
genera, will give results. Phoenix canariensis, which
abounds in the southwestern United States, furnishes
an excellent pollen for fertilizing the date palm, and
with some varieties, such as Ghars, the fruit produced
is even better than when pollination is from a male of

*Annales du Museum, Paris. Quoted in "Vegetable Substances
Used for the Food of Man," vol. II, p. 46. London, 1846.

108 DATE GROWING

P. dactylifera. In California, Drummond has success-
fully pollinated the date palm with the California
fan palm, Washingtoniafilifera, and the Mediterranean
dwarf palm, Chamerops humilis,* both of which are
common. There is certainly a field for fascinating
and valuable experiment here.

The palm usually flowers in March or April,
but it is not regular, and blossoms may be found from
February to June. It is, therefore, necessary to have
enough varieties of males to provide pollen at various
periods, unless one has males that bloom unusually
early, and preserves the pollen from these.

In order to be safe, a grower should have three
or four males for each one hundred females. Never-
theless, a really good male will pollinate a much larger
number of palms than is indicated in those figures —
frequently several hundred. Arabs point out males
which they say will pollinate one thousand palms;
and there is one at Indio, California, which might
almost match this record. There is just as much
difference in the value of males as there is of females,
and if one secures a really desirable specimen he
should use every exertion to propagate it as rapidly
as possible.

Schweinfurth, in 1901, declared that the charac-
teristics of the male had an influence on the fruit
which resulted.! His statement was promptly
challenged, as the generally accepted idea was that
the influence of the male would not be seen in the

*M. Denis of Hyeres did this a quarter of a century ago, and
Naudin named the hybrid Microphoenix decipiens. F. Sahut of
Montpellier crossed the date palm with Trachycarpus (Chamerops}
excelsus, in 1881, and Carriere named this hybrid M. sahuti. Ed.
Andre in Revue Horticole, p. 128. Paris, 1893.

fSchweinfurth, Dr. George. Ueber die Kultur der Dattelpalme
in Gartenflora, vol. 50, p. 513. Berlin, 1901.

POLLINATION 109

immediate resulting seed, but only when that seed
was planted and in turn produced fruit. But the
important experiments of Bruce Drummond, assistant
arboriculturist of the Bureau of Plant Industry, in
California, during recent years seem to confirm
Schweinfurth's statement, and to show that the quali-
ties of the male which is used for pollination have a
decided influence on the fruit which results. Not
only does the variety Ghars seem to produce better
fruit when pollinated with Phoenix canariensis than
when P. dactylifera is the parent, but a variety of
males has been tried on different palms, and markedly
different results observed. A difference of as much as
one-third in the size, and of twenty days in the time
of ripening, seems to have been due to a change in the
male used for pollinating. In most Arab communities
this fact seems to have been overlooked, and the value
of a male is judged solely by the amount of pollen it
produces; but the more intelligent growers of Baghdad
and Oman confirm Schweinfurth and Drummond,
declaring that the male used has a direct influence on
the quality and quantity of fruit produced.

While more evidence is needed to establish the
proposition beyond dispute, it is of such importance / N ||
that no one can afford to select his males haphazard JU\v •> -.
Unfortunately, the only way to know the quality of a
male is to find out by experiment, and this requires
some time; but it will be advisable to secure offshoots
of males of known performance, and to depend on
chance seedling males as little as possible.

The flowers of the female palm usually open
before the spathe does, so that pollination can be
successfully performed even when the spathe is pre-
maturely opened by a knife in the hands of the planter.

110 DATEG&OWING

Experience has shown that this is not always the
case, however, and a number of failures, where no
fruit has been set, have been traced to the fact that
the individual blossoms of the female remained
tightly closed for several days after the spathe had
opened, thus giving the pollen no chance to enter
when it was shaken over the cluster. If any palm
shows a disposition to set no fruit — and usually a
palm with this tendency shows it each year — the
operator should examine the female flowers under a
low power microscope, to see whether they are opened
or closed. If opened, a minute sticky substance,
looking like a drop of dew, will be seen waiting to
receive and fix the pollen : until this is apparent, it is a
waste of time to pollinate the cluster.

The difference between male and female flowers
is marked, and when once it has been pointed out,
no one can ever confuse them; but as it is of vital
importance to every grower, and offers the only
certain means of distinguishing the two sexes, I
quote Milne's careful statement* at length:

"In spring a number of structures, at first greenish
and later brown, and measuring four to six inches
across and a foot or more in length, make their
appearance at the bases of the leaves which crown
the palm. These structures are called spathes and
each spathe incloses a cluster of flowers. When the
spathe has become brown in color and has attained
something like the size mentioned above, it splits
open and exposes the cluster of flowers which it
contains. Each flower consists of a central stem with a
hundred or more branches radiating from it near its
end and somewhat after the fashion of the hairs of a
*Milne, D. " Date Cultivation in the Panjab," p. 12. Lahore, 191] .

POLLINATION 111

paint brush. Each of these small branches carries on
it a larger number of tiny flowers.

"The small branches on the male flower cluster
are about six inches long, and if the cluster is shaken
about the time the spathe splits open, a dense cloud
of yellowish pollen dust will fall from it. On exam-
ination it will be seen that in every little flower
there are six little, yellowish pollen sacs, each on the
top of- a tiny stalk, and that it was the contents of
these little pollen sacs that formed the cloud of pollen
dust. Around the six little stalks with their pollen
sacs (stamens) are six colorless little scale-like struc-
tures which represent the sepals and petals in familiar
flowers. These scale-like sepals and petals close over
and protect the stamens until the pollen sacs have
matured their pollen grains and are ready to burst
and set the pollen free. Very soon after the large
brown spathe splits open, the scales (sepals and
petals) which covered and protected the stamens
open out and the pollen sacs burst. The opening of
the scales and the bursting of the pollen sacs are due
to the cells of their epidermal tissues drying and
contracting under the heat of the sun. The pollen
sacs are usually open within an hour or two after the
bursting of the spathe.

"The spathe which encloses the female flower
cluster is very similar to that which encloses the male
cluster* and it bursts in the same way when the female
cluster is ready for fertilization. The small branches
of it are, however, less confined to the end of its
main axis and are very much longer than the small

*Furthermore, the shapes of both vary according to the pressure
and distortion to which they have been subjected while emerging
from the palm. Therefore attempts to identify the sex of a palm by
the shape of an old spathe remaining on it are uncertain.

112 DATE 'GROWING

branches on the male flower cluster. The female
flower also differs very much from the male flower.
It is an oval-looking body and might be mistaken for
a male flower in which the white scales (sepals and
petals) had not opened out. On dissecting it, however,
it will be found that the central and main part of the
flower is formed of three solid bodies closely applied
to each other on their adjacent faces and forming
what appears like one oval body. Each of these
three solid bodies is called a carpel and contains a
structure called an ovule, which when fertilized by the
pollen gives rise to a seed, the carpel giving rise to a
fruit at the same time.* At the bases of the three
carpels are six scale-like structures similar to the
protecting scaly sepals and petals found in the male
flower, but very much smaller and clinging more
closely to the carpels. A mass of female flowers
therefore never has the very waxy, white appearance
which a mass of open male flowers has.

"At a distance, therefore, the flower clusters may
be distinguished by the fact that the small branches
in the male cluster are about six inches long and
densely clustered at the end of the axis, while those of
the female are usually several times that length and
less densely clustered at the end of the axis. When
the flowers newly open they may also be distinguished
at a distance by the white waxy color of the male
flowers, and the more yellowish hue and less crowded
appearance of the female flowers. If taken in hand
at this stage a dense cloud of pollen dust will be
produced from the male flower, while none will
appear from the female flower. Also six stamens with

*Two of these carpels drop off while the dates are still small,
leaving only one fruit on each stem, under normal conditions.

CO -2

H -a
O c
O *

I
1

o -5
2 S

§11

ll

— a;

POLLINATION 113

six comparatively large, waxy-looking scales will
constitute each male flower, while the female flower
will be composed of three carpels closely applied to
each other and forming what looks like a single solid,
oval body, and having six very tiny scales closely
applied to the base. The flower clusters can also be
distinguished at that stage by their smell."

It must be noted, however, that in all parts of the
world monoecious date palms are occasionally found —
that is, palms on which one cluster will be composed of
male flowers and another of female flowers. In such
a case the female cluster will produce fruit if pollinated
by its brother, the male spadix. Again, hermaphro-
dite flowers are sometimes found, where several more
or less functional carpels and several more or less
functional stamens occur in the same flower; this
can only be classed as an abnormality. It appears
that the same tree may be normal one year and monce-
cious the next, or may suddenly throw out a few
hermaphrodite flowers and never do so again, but
resume its normal functioning. Such cases are of
great interest to botanists, and anyone who may
observe palms of this kind should report on them.
For the commercial grower, they have no practical
importance.

It is also worthy of note, in passing, that a date
palm sometimes flowers in the fall instead of the spring.
This has been the case on the coast of Southern
California, where the summers are cool; the palm
then carries its fruits half -matured through the winter,
and ripens them the following spring. It is also
doubtless the case with the varieties of dates reported
in Egypt, which bear two crops a year — the second
crop must be due to a fall flowering, the fruit of which

114 D A T E Gil O W I N G

is carried through the winter. In an ordinary date
country the grower is not likely ever to see such a case,
but if he did, the value of it would be lost to him
unless he had some pollen stored up in reserve.

Artificial pollination is the only delicate operation
connected with the culture of the palm, and the
inexperienced grower usually is frightened by it;
yet it is troublesome not because of any intrinsic
difficulty, but merely because it is a kind of work
which the average rancher is not accustomed to
perform. Any man of average intelligence can do it,
and once he has done it he will have no hesitation
about attempting it a second time. But as the
success of the crop absolutely depends on it, and as the
beginner is naturally worried by this fact, I will go
over the necessary operations again.

When a female spathe begins to crack, a male
spathe in the proper stage of development must at
once be selected. It is better not to wait until the male
spathe has split open, as a good deal of the pollen
will then be lost; its brown color and soft texture
usually indicate when it is about ready to open. The
spathe is then cut off and the cluster taken from it.
It will be seen that the pollen sacs have not yet burst,
but are still covered by their waxy white scales.
The small sprigs of the flower should be cut apart and
spread out in a dry place, free from air currents, until
they burst and have had a chance to dry; if put in the
sun this will take only a few hours in an atmosphere
such as that of Coachella Valley. They should then
be placed in a paper bag for convenience in carrying;
if the pollen falls out of its sacs it will be held in the
bag, and can still be used. The spathe of the female
flower, which has already split, is pulled apart to

POLLINATION 115

facilitate work, and a sprig of the male shaken over
it, then stuck in it and tied in place by a piece of
string, so that if some of the female flowers have not
yet opened they may still be pollinated by the wind.
That is all there is to it.

The work at this season of the year requires
constant and conscientious supervision, however, for
if the female clusters are not pollinated very soon after
the spathe bursts, they usually become unreceptive.
An inspection of the plantation every other day during
the flowering season would probably suffice, but if a
grower has only a few trees he can easily keep track
of them every day. When he has pollinated a cluster,
it would be convenient to tie a bright colored piece of
cloth to it, so that he would not be confused as to
which clusters he had pollinated and which he had not.

MALE PALMS

CHAPTER VIII

MALE PALMS

If it is accepted that the characteristics of the
male exert a direct influence on the fruit produced, it
becomes of prime necessity to select the male parent
with as much care as the female. This is a field in
which most of the experimentation remains to be
done, and each grower will have to work the problem
out for himself, trying the pollen of different males on
the same palm, preferably by pollinating each cluster
on the female from a different male. If the clusters
are then tagged to show what pollen was used, a good
idea can be had in one year as to the most desirable
mate for that particular variety, and the grower can
then propagate enough of that strain of males to
ensure as much pollen as he needs. With a plantation
of average size, and a good supply of males with which
to experiment, only a year or two will be needed to
find the right combinations in each case and the
grower can then go ahead with confidence. If he does
not possess enough males, there is danger that he may
continue for some years without getting the best or
earliest crop possible.

It is therefore desirable that he should keep as
many of his seedling males as will not interfere with
his other work, and this can best be done, as already
explained, by planting a windbreak or hedge of
seedlings and letting all the males remain in it.

But the tests in California, although not yet
extensive enough to be conclusive, indicate that the
merits of seedling males are, in general, not great,

120 DATE GROWING

and the scientific grower will do his best to get a
collection of males of known varieties, even if he has
only one of each kind. There are some males in the
United States which fulfil all the requirements, and
others have been imported from the orient.

Of the latter class, the best in Southern California
has been found to be Ghanami or "bushy head", which
was brought from Busreh, where it is the favorite of
the most intelligent growers. It begins to furnish
pollen in its third year, blooms early in the season, and
is prolific, often carrying from twenty to thirty clusters.
In Arizona it seems not to have been quite so valuable
as in California.

Other named varieties at Busreh are Hukri,
whose name probably signifies "what is laid by in
times of scarcity" and points to the storing of pollen
from year to year — although this practice is rare
among modern Mesopotamians; Wardi, "longhaired",
and Sumaysmi. None of these, I believe, has been
introduced to the United States.

At Baghdad the number of named varieties of
male is larger, fifteen or twenty being distinguished,
but all by the name of the female variety of which they
are supposed to be a product. One speaks of an
Asharasi male, and means that originally it was a
seedling of the Asharasi female — but no one knows
what its male parentage was. Nowadays, of course,
the variety is propagated only by offshoots. Asharasi
is declared to be the best of all males there, Arabs
declaring that it sometimes bears forty or fifty spadices,
and that not only is the yield of fruit larger when this
variety is used for pollination on any female, but that
the flavor of the dates is also better. Accordingly, the
best kept gardens contain only this variety of male;

MALEPALMS 121

but if it is lacking, Barban is preferred, with
Khadhrawi third choice. The Baghdad males have
not yet been tested in the United States. I imported
forty-nine offshoots of Asharasi in 1913, but in order
to avoid confusion with the female of the same name
I kept only the first two syllables, and added an
Arabic word for male; so the variety is introduced to
California as Ashar Fahal.

Many offshoot-propagated varieties of males
from North Africa have been tested in the United
States, but with poor results, a large proportion of
them proving sterile — a condition often found in
seedling males, as well. None of them was named —
in fact, Busreh and Baghdad are the only regions where
I have been able to find named varieties of male
perpetuated, unless it be in Oman, where I could get
no conclusive evidence. In Algeria I heard of, but
did not see, a male variety called Fahal Aksba.

A male imported from Egypt some years ago
under the name of Dakar Majahel* has proved better
than any other in Arizona, but has been of little value
in California.

As a start, the best thing a grower of dates can
do is to consult his neighbors and find out what
males succeed in that locality, then secure these and
use them until he is able to test the needs of his
palms for himself. He should act early in this matter,
for more than one crop of fruit has been lost in the
United States through lack of pollination, in spite of
the large number of seedling palms which are to be
found everywhere.

Then, if the grower has planted a hedge of palms,

*But this is not a variety name. It is simply some one's attempt
to spell the Arabic for "unknown male."

122 DATE G'RO WING

as has been often suggested here, he will have a large
number of males, representing all kinds of character-
istics, and taking up so little room on his grounds
that they can be allowed to grow indefinitely. With
the pollen of these he can begin to experiment, both
on other seedlings, and (in a more limited way, not to
reduce profits) on his choice varieties of palms, until
he has found what each male will do. As soon as he
gets a male that satisfies any particular variety of
female, he should make a careful note of the fact and
use nothing else with that variety. If he has such a
male as Ghanami to start with, it is quite likely that
he will find nothing better; but whatever male he
selects for perpetuation he can readily propagate by
offshoots until he has as many as he can ever need,
and some to sell to his neighbors.

If one secures a male that blooms very early and
seems potent, he should propagate it as a precaution,
so that he may always have pollen at the beginning
of the season.

Until seedlings have blossomed, no way has yet
been found to distinguish male from female. Doubtless
there are some differences, but they are not sufficiently
marked and constant to be relied on. But as soon as
the first flower has appeared, the question is
permanently settled.

The offshoots of different male varieties differ
from each other almost as much as the offshoots of
different female varieties; but in general it is not
difficult to distinguish a male offshoot from a female
offshoot, and an adult male palm can be told from an
adult female in most cases, although not in all, for
some varieties of female exactly resemble a male palm.
The general difference is that the male has more and

MALEPALMS 123

heavier leaves, which are stiff, and closely packed
together; the trunk is usually stouter.

The characteristics of a male offshoot, as
distinguished from a female, are generally as follows :

The number of the leaves in the crown is greater.

The segments of the leaves are somewhat stouter,
and their sharp points are consequently more
penetrating.

The spines are frequently heavier and set closer
together.

The leaves have a crowded appearance (because
there are more of them).

If there is a stem, it is usually thicker than in the
case of females.

It is not to be supposed, however, that a novice
can decide with certainty whether an offshoot is male
or female. Experience and close observation are
required.

Arabs of Northern Africa have an interesting
theory that if the midrib of each leaf of a male palm,
still young, is split from tip to base, the palm will
become a female. This has not usually been considered
worthy of the attention of scientific men, yet a French
grower at Biskra claims to have proved its truth to his
own satisfaction. Anyone with a few male seedlings
to spare may be interested to try it for himself. The
Frenchman referred to also states that he has suc-
ceeded in grafting the palm — an operation that is,
theoretically, not impossible, but at least has never
been accomplished (unless by him) and placed on
scientific record.

As particularly choice varieties of males are
found and perpetuated, it is much to be desired that

124 DATE GROWING

they be given distinctive names. This, however,
should be done by some association or scientific body,
as experience has amply proved that where the
nomenclature of varieties is left to individual growers
endless confusion inevitably results. Perhaps a
co-operative association of date growers could appoint
a committee to supervise such matters.

HANDLING THE CROP

CHAPTER IX
HANDLING THE CROP

A few dates — Persian Gulf varieties — ripen during
the last week of July in California, under favorable
conditions, but August is as early as one can expect
any of the sorts which have so far been tried out here,
and a much larger number still will come on in
September, which is the month of principal harvest,
unless the summer has been abnormal. In October
the late dates, and particularly those from Algeria,
mature, finishing in November, the first half of
which should see the wind-up of the entire harvest,
unless it be for some particular variety like Shitwi or
— in Arizona — Badrashin.

This crop season corresponds with the season in
all other date growing countries, except India, where
the advent of the monsoon in summer forces the dates
in many districts to complete their maturity before
July. At Baghdad the first dates ripen in August and
the last in November. At Busreh the same is the case;
the height of the season is mid-September, when
Halawi, Khadhrawi and Sayir, the three great com-
mercial varieties, are simultaneously on the market.
Oman has the earliest dates I know; they are to be
found in the market from May 15th to November
15th, in a fresh state. Some of the Egyptian dates
are said to ripen in June, but the bulk of the crop does
not appear before August 1st. In Arabia proper —
at Madina, for example — the first dates appear
June 1st, and the main harvest a month later. In

128 DATE. GROWING

North Africa September and October are the months
of greatest activity.

As the fruit begins to soften, it is the object of a
good deal of anxiety on the part of its owner, for it
may meet injury in several ways, against which he
must guard. An unseasonable rain may cause nearly
ripe dates to ferment. This is little to be expected
in Southern California, and experience has shown that
in that dry climate the effects of an untimely shower
are so soon obliterated by the sun that the actual
damage is slight. In Arizona there is greater danger,
for the ground and air may remain moist for days
after the rain has stopped. In such a case, if the
dates are ripe enough to receive damage, they must
be at once picked and prepared for market by the
rapid artificial method described in another chapter.

Insects and birds sometimes make trouble when
the fruit is ripening. * A bag of cheesecloth is absolute
protection against them, however. In some localities
human thieves are still more annoying. The Arab of
North Africa is a redoubtable visitor at night: no
wall or hedge will turn him, nor does the fiercest dog
deter him, for he strips off his clothes and smears his
body with a rancid grease. Then if a dog appears,
the native drops on all fours, and the most vicious
animal will not attack such an extraordinary creature.

When the dates are finally ripe enough to pick,
the greatest activity of the year begins. If one is so
fortunate as to have varieties which mature their fruit
evenly and bear it on long stems, he will save a lot of
money, for it can then be stripped off the tree without
delay. In Arizona, Birket al Hajji has proved the

* Arabs speak of particularly choice dates as "crow's dates"
because the crow is thought to select the best fruit on the palm for his
attacks.

HANDLING THE CROP 129

best of all varieties to pick — two men can easily gather
one thousand pounds in a day. Ghars, on the other
hand, holds its fruit close between its thorny leaf
stalks, and as, in the moist climate of Tempe, it ripens
unevenly, the picker must scrutinize each individual
berry. Under these circumstances it has been found
at Tempe that a picker sometimes will not secure more
than fifty pounds of Ghars berries in a day. ^

Two men can usually work together to advantage ,
one holding a basket into which the other places the
berries. They should cut the spines from the leaf
stems before beginning work.

At the first picking it is best, unless with a variety
which ripens its fruit very evenly, to go over the bunch
carefully, and select only those dates which are really
ripe enough to pick. The rest of the bunch is left
on the tree for subsequent picking. In bad climates,
or with bad varieties, the dates may have to be taken
at three or more times, but in Southern California
this is rarely the case. The Arab usually cuts a whole
cluster at a time, but he wastes a great deal of the
crop, and has more culls on his hands than a scientific
grower will desire. His methods are not to be taken
as a pattern. He frequently cuts a bunch and lets it
drop twenty or thirty feet to the ground to save the
trouble of lowering it on a rope.

If the dates are to be consumed at home they
require no further treatment, unless it be a washing
to clean them of dust. The dainty Arab grower
sometimes rinses them in diluted date syrup — a
refinement that is hardly worth while. If they are
washed, they should be well dried in the sun.

If they are to be kept for some time, or are to be
marketed, they should be pasteurized as soon as

130 DATE CROWING

they are brought from the field, in order to free them
of insect eggs and the bacteria of fermentation and
decay. A temperature of 180° to 190° F. for three
hours is all that is necessary. The rancher can
perform the operation in the oven of his cookstove,
in a rough way, but commercial growers will probably
build an oven for the purpose, in order to handle
considerable quantities of fruit, spread out on shallow
trays with wire-mesh bottoms, to give free circulation
of the air. If an incubator is kept for rapid artificial
ripening of the dates, it can also be used for
pasteurization.

In a dry, hot climate, and with suitable varieties
of dates, pasteurization will be unnecessary unless
the fruit is likely to be stored for a long period of time.
The grower should use his own judgment, but he
should err on the safe side, for it will be detrimental
to the entire future of the industry if any one puts
on the market dates which are infested with worms.

If the dates are ripened on the palm, they will be
ready for packing as soon as they are pasteurized
and after, in the case of soft varieties, they have been
dried well in the sun. Otherwise they must be arti-
ficially ripened, but I leave the discussion of that
process for a separate chapter.

Packing is a subject on which the grower must
follow his own ideas, or, later, the ideas of the co-
operative association of which he may be a member.
I can, therefore, only give some general suggestions.
It is hardly necessary to point out that packing is,
as far as the creation of public sentiment is concerned,
probably the most important part of the date industry,
and that any grower who allows himself to sell dates
that are not well packed is injuring not only his own

HANDLING THE CROP 131

interests, but those of every other grower in the
country. Eventually, no doubt, it will be necessary
to have a strong co-operative association to standard-
ize the packs and see that every brand is kept at par.

If dates are to be packed in bulk, the box should
be lined with a good grade of heavy, paraffined paper,
and the fruit laid in rows, sufficiently pressed together
to be tight, and prevent the dates to some extent from
drying out, but yet not enough to squeeze them out
of shape. It is desirable that dates should be packed
with the calyx in place, as when this is pulled out it
leaves a broad avenue for dirt and worms to enter
the seed cavity. One can not absolutely insist on this,
as it is impossible with certain varieties.

The pack must be uniform, every date being of
the same variety. Otherwise the grower can not
expect to get any higher price than is paid for culls.

If the dates are not to be sold in bulk, and yet
can not meet the requirements of the fancy trade, a
wooden berry box offers a cheap and convenient
means of packing. If soft, the dates should be
covered with paper, and a ribbon across the top adds
a touch of attractiveness at a slight cost. But in such
a matter each packer will have ideas of his own.

The most remunerative trade, however, and the
one to which every shipper will desire to cater if the
quality of his fruit permits, is that for dates packed
like confectionery. For this purpose, boxes holding
a pound or two pounds are used, and may be made of
pasteboard, wood or tin; the former are good enough
for ordinary purposes. Usually only two layers of
dates are placed in a box, but they must be selected
fruit, every berry plump, sound, well ripened, and not
crushed. The top layer is packed with a little extra

132 DATE GROWING

care, and a narrow space left down the middle of the
box, lengthwise, in which a piece of one of the slender
branches of the date cluster is placed, so that the
effect, on opening the box, is that of dates still attached
to the branch. A minute's inspection of any well-
packed Algerian or American dates will show the
method of packing, and the packer's success with it
depends solely on his own neatness and good taste
and the quality of his materials. The oiled paper
should be folded over the top of the dates, before the
cover is put on. If one wishes to sell dates at $1.00
a pound, there must be nothing about the package
that is not first-class, and the grower has plenty of room
to show his artistic skill in providing a suitable label.

There remains the marketing of dates in bunches,
a feature of the industry that, I believe, will have an
important future for those date-growing regions
which are conveniently near to a market, and in the
case of suitable varieties, such as Zahidi in the stage
which Baghdadis call "kursi." Deglet Nur and
Yatimeh also hang well on the cluster, and are much
sold in that condition in the Algerian markets; so do
many other varieties, if they are properly handled.
For this purpose as large a cluster as possible should
be selected, and all spoiled or immature dates picked
off. If it is placed in the grocer's window, properly
protected from flies, and if the dates are really good,
few customers can resist purchasing. A large bow of
ribbon on the stem of the cluster would add to the
attractiveness of the display.

By the use of artificial ripening, it is possible that
clusters of dates which mature evenly could be shipped
while still firm, even to a distant market, and ripened
on their arrival, before being exposed for sale.

ARTIFICIAL RIPENING

CHAPTER X

ARTIFICIAL RIPENING

From the dawn of history crude methods of
artificial ripening have been practised on the date.
The Arab sometimes takes a bundle of nettles or
thorny twigs and beats a green cluster of dates with
it; the perforation of the skin sets up a fermentation
in each berry which, to an Arab palate, quickly
makes it ripe enough to eat. Again, he cuts partly
through the stem of the cluster, and by thus shutting
off some of the nutrition supplied to the dates causes
them to ripen prematurely.

The process is oftener applied after the dates
have been picked. Indeed, the immense quantities
of boiled dates sold in the Persian Gulf region and
India are really only dates that have been ripened
artificially. They are taken while still hard and nearly
green, and boiled for an hour or more. If astringent,
a large handful of salt is added to each gallon of water.
Then they are dried for eight or ten days in the sun,
and are ready for use. In some regions, after boiling
they are fried in oil. This renders them hard, and
usually there is some astringency left, but in the most
satisfactory cases the flavor is nutty and crisp, or
sometimes very much like maple sugar. Dates in
this condition will keep for a year or more.*

In the Sindh desert green dates are "ripened"
by a quick process, being packed tightly in jars of

*Dates so prepared are called kharak pokhta (Pers.) or
khalal matbukh (Arab.), both of which mean "boiled, unripe dates";
or in India, bhugrian or chuhara.

136 DATE CROWING

salt and left overnight. A similar method is in use
in Egypt.

Most of the dates of Spain are also artificially
ripened, by immersion in hot vinegar for a few minutes.
The acetic acid ripens them over night into an eatable
product.

A peculiar slow method of ripening the variety
Yatimeh is used in Algeria, an entire cluster being
cut before it is quite ripe, and packed in a box entirely
surrounded by dry dates, usually of the variety
Mashi Degla. They are left until spring, when
the dates come out in perfect condition.

Most Deglet Nurs of North Africa undergo
slow artificial ripening, usually without realization
on the part of the packer of what he is doing. They
are picked when they show a translucent spot on
one side, and are then packed; after eight or ten days
they are in perfect condition for use.

The big Majhul dates of Tafilalet are all ripened
off the tree, being picked when they have turned
yellow, and spread on the ground in the sun. They
are not protected at night, but the dates of Lower
California and Mexico, which are artificially ripened
in the same manner, are wrapped up in blankets at
night to keep the temperature more even. The
same process, in principle, is used all over the date-
growing world, and at harvest- time the flat roofs of
the houses are always covered with curing dates.

Even before the Christian era, Pliny points to
artificial ripening of dates in Egypt, when he says,*
"The date of Thebais is at once packed in casks, with
all its natural heat and freshness; for without this
precaution it quickly becomes vapid; it is of a poor,

*Hist. Nat., Bk. XIII, ch. 9.

•

FLOWERS OF THE PALM

Left, the crowded blossoms of the male; right, the more widely separated
blossoms of the female.

ARTIFICIAL RIPENING 137

sickly taste, too, if it is not exposed, before it is eaten,
to the heat of an oven. "

There is nothing new, then, about the idea of
ripening dates artificially, but the attention of
science was never turned to the subject until it was
taken up by Americans. Members of the University
of Arizona Experiment Station began the work, and
were afterward joined by investigators from the
Bureau of Plant Industry, and private individuals.
The investigations have been carried out along a
number of lines, and while it is probable that none of
them have reached their full development, they have
been so definitely successful that artificial ripening
can be considered a necessary part of modern date
growing, and an operation which is within the means
and skill of any intelligent rancher.

Advantages to be derived from artificial ripening
of the date are thus summarized by R. H. Forbes,
director of the Arizona Experiment Station:

1. The fruit can be harvested cheaply, by the
bunch, before the berries begin to drop or are attacked
by insects, mould, or bacteria.

2. Danger of loss by untimely rains is minimized-

3. The ravages of worms in the ripened crop
are avoided.

4. Greater cleanliness of the product is possible
than with naturally ripened dates.

5. Late varieties, among them Deglet Nur,
which do not ripen satisfactorily here (in Arizona),
may be successfully brought through.

6. Early varieties may probably be grown and
ripened at higher altitudes than formerly.

7. Dates while yet hard may be shipped without

138 DATE GROWING

injury to a distance, then ripened artificially, and
marketed in a fresh and prime condition.

Work in Arizona was first begun with the use of
moist heat, and this was carried on until successful
results were obtained, with the drawback that much
of the cane sugar was turned into invert sugar.*
Dr. A. E. Vinson then took up the use of chemicals,
and found many which would induce artificial ripen-
ing. Some of them, however, had the disadvantage of
making the dates inedible, because of their own odors,
— e.g., gasoline and ammonia. Among the sub-
stances which gave fairly good results were benzoic
acid, salicylic acid, sodium benzoate, sodium salicylate,
sodium acetate, potassium acetate, oxalic, malonic,
succinic and lactic acids, acetamide, formamide,
hippuric acid, cinnamic acid, and hydroxylamine
chlorhydrate. He finally settled on nitrous ether as
the most desirable agent, but has since given this up
in favor of carbon dioxid, which is now used to
ripen most of the dates sold from Tempe Experiment
Station, t

The basis of this application is the fact that the
date, when it is ripening naturally, liberates large
quantities of carbon dioxid. It was, therefore,
assumed that this gas played an important part in
ripening the dates, and experiment has shown this
to be the fact.

*But this is hardly a real disadvantage, for most good (and bad)
dates are invert sugar dates. Up to the present only two varieties
have been found which are cane sugar fruits: Deglet Nur and Ma-
kantishf, of North Africa, and even these always contain at least a
small percentage of invert sugar, just as all ripe invert sugar dates
contain a little cane sugar.

fVinson, A. E. "Chemistry and Ripening of the Date." Univ.
of Ariz. Agric. Exp. Sta. Bui. No. 66, Tucson, May 1, 1911. The
results of the work with carbon dioxid have not yet appeared in
print, however.

ARTIFICIAL RIPENING 139

The process of ripening dates in this manner is
simple and not expensive. It requires only a tank of
carbon dioxid, which can be obtained from commercial
manufacturers, and a chamber in which the heat can
be kept steadily at a temperature around 135° F. A
tight closet or cabinet can easily be constructed for
this purpose, with a hot water heater, to supply the
essential humidity. The quantity of gas used is very
small. Time needed will depend on the stage of
maturity of the date when picked, but should never
exceed twenty-four hours. Pasteurization should
precede the treatment.

Dr. Vinson considers that this is the best method
for large, soft dates, while moist heat gives better
results with Deglet Nur. It must be stated, however,
that the problems of Arizona, due to climatic
conditions, are peculiar, and that what may be
necessary or desirable there may be otherwise in a
different state. In California less favorable results
have been secured with the gas, and in the present
state of affairs it is hardly worth while for a grower
to try it, since entirely satisfactory results can be
attained without it. In Arizona the grower must
decide for himself what treatment he will use; if he is
in such an unfavorable situation as Tempe, where the
ground is continually saturated, the air frequently
moist, and summer rains to be expected, perhaps
carbon dioxid will be necessary.

Moist heat was used by G. F. Freeman of the
Arizona Experiment Station, who first published
details of the work;* afterward it was taken up by
Bruce Drummond of the Bureau of Plant Industry
Station at Indio, California, and a number of private

*Freeman, G. F. "Ripening Dates by Incubation." Ibid.

140 DATE GROWING

growers under his supervision. The method was
brought to efficiency, * but has been partly abandoned
in favor of slower ripening without artificial heat.
It is still invaluable, however, in the case of dates
which have been exposed to rain while ripening, or
have mummified on the tree, or when for any other
reason it is desired to produce quick results; and
every grower can and should master the details of it.
It is true that a good deal of the technique depends
on the judgment of the operator, but this is also the
case with the baking of bread, in which every good
housekeeper has attained success.

The apparatus required is an oven of some
kind in which heat can be maintained at about 110° F.
for a period of twenty-four hours. A large incubator
made for poultrymen will do, but something cheaper
could easily be constructed from galvanized iron,
provided with a coil of hot water pipes and a kerosene
lamp. The dates should be washed and drained
thoroughly, if they are nearly ripe; but if they are
still hard, as is usually the case, they should be
soaked in tepid water for from twenty-four to forty-
eight hours. Then they are placed on a screen in the
incubator, with a pan of water underneath, and the
incubator tightly closed. If the dates were picked
when hard, from eighteen to twenty-three hours
will be necessary, at a temperature of 110° F., to
ripen them, but if they were soft, and merely picked
because suddenly struck by a rain, a few hours may
be sufficient to complete the process, which has the
advantage of freeing them from all insect life, as well
as preventing fermentation.

Good dates are undeniably produced by this
*Results of this work were never published authoritatively.

ARTIFICIAL RIPENING 141

process, yet the flavor, because of the effect of heat
on their syrup, is not quite like that of a naturally-
ripened date. Hence the slower ripening without
heat is more satisfactory, as well as cheaper and
simpler, when it can be practiced, as it can in all
ordinary cases in a favorable climate, such as that of
California and most date-growing regions. It has
given particularly good results with Deglet Nur, but
seems to be applicable to practically all varieties.
It is, indeed, used by Arabs to a certain extent for all
varieties, and has been for centuries, as it has been for
other fruits in all parts of the world. Swingle de-
scribes the process,* as it takes place naturally, as
follows :

"My attention was drawn to the method in this
manner: Toward the end of November, 1910, in
coming from Mecca, California, to Washington, (D.C.),
I carried in my valise a Deglet Nur cluster loaded with
dates not ripe, but in the condition most favorable to
incubation. I was ten days on the road, from
November 23 to December 4, and during that time
my valise was either in a sleeping car or hotel, both
heated by steam to an average temperature of from
68° to 86° F. On my arrival at Washington I was
astonished to find in my valise, not yellowish, bitter,
and uneatable fruit but, on the contrary, amber,
translucent dates with an exquisite taste and perfume,
much superior to those ripened by incubation. They
had even that characteristic Deglet Nur flavor so
much appreciated by lovers of that variety.

"The idea came to me that this slow ripening
which had taken place in my valise must also take

*Swingle, Walter T., Maturation Artifieielle de la Datte Deglet-
Nour. Comptes Rendus de 1' Academic des Sciences de Paris,
t. 165, p. 549, seance du 16 septembre, 1912.

142 DATE G.RO WING

place to a certain extent in the boxes of dates which are
sent from the Algerian or Tunisian Sahara to Biskra
or Marseille for packing and export. These boxes
are oblong (16x32x64 cm.) and contain both loose
dates and dates on the branch. They are carried on
camel-back for two to five days, according to the
distance of the oasis from the railway. Unquestion-
ably the temperature in these boxes is high enough
to permit the slow ripening of the fruit.

"In December, 1911, I accompanied my friend
and colleague Dr. Trabut in the oases around Biskra
to study the date palms and their diseases. Pierre
Osval, manager of the oases El Amri and Foughala,
west of Biskra, showed us some boxes of Deglet
Nurs. These dates had been put in the box when
they showed more or less translucent spots on one
side; they were mostly detached, but there were also
some in clusters. After eight or ten days in the
storehouse, the fruit had become ripe and left nothing
to be desired, either for color or for flavor.

"What Mr. Osval did deliberately takes place in
most of the shipments of dates from the Sahara, with-
out anyone paying attention to it. The dates must
be picked before they are entirely ripe, to have them
reach their destination in good condition; they then
ripen in transit.*

"The ripening of dates," Mr. Swingle continues,
"must be considered composed of two distinct phases.
The first, which one might call * botanical maturation, '
is accomplished as soon as the fruit reaches full size
and has the seed ripe. Dates at this stage are fat
and smooth, yellow or red according to variety.
They are very astringent and not eatable.

* Algerian Arabs regularly ripen Kasbeh (El Kseba) in this way.

ARTIFICIAL RIPENING 143

"The second phase is the real ripening; it consists
of complex chemical transformations. The cane
sugar becomes invert sugar and the free tannin is
deposited in insoluble form in the giant cells which
Tichomirow, Kearney and Lloyd have described.

"Botanical maturationis simply accomplished with
the aid of a sufficient amount of heat, an amount so
large for late varieties that it is reached only in
regions having an extreme desert climate.

"On the contrary, in the real ripening humidity
plays an essential part. One cannot ripen dates
artificially either by incubation or by the slow system,
if the atmosphere is dry. In artificial ripening, the
air which surrounds the dates must be saturated
with the humidity which the dates give off as they dry
and wrinkle. The packing cases in which Deglet
Nur dates are sent from the oases to Biskra, Algiers or
Marseille contain a mixture of loose dates and dates
on the branch, so that the space between these
branches is occupied by moist air. Deglet Nur
can ripen on the tree in many oases of the Algerian
and Tunisian Sahara; but in the extreme autumnal
aridity of the deserts of the southwestern United
States, it can not do so on the tree. The dates
reach their full size in September or October, then
dry on the tree, wrinkling more or less. There
results a date which more resembles dry dates like
Makantishi than Deglet Nur as it is known in Algeria
and Tunisia."*

What Mr. Swingle says of dates shriveling and
hardening on the palm applies especially to Deglet
Nur, yet dates of all varieties have been found to give

*Dates in such a condition should be soaked in water for two
days and then treated as for rapid ripening.

144 DATE GROWING

good results when picked early and allowed to ripen
indoors. There is no secret about the method, and
anyone who has a warm storehouse can utilize it
for that purpose. The dates are picked when the
first soft spots appear, and packed loosely in boxes
which will hold thirty or forty pounds — cracker
boxes are convenient and cheap. Whole clusters
may be put in if they ripen evenly; otherwise the first
dates to mature will have to be picked by hand, and
the rest of the cluster left until a few days or a week
later. The boxes are then tightly covered and placed
in the storehouse, which at sundown is closed to
prevent the entrance of night air; by this means the
temperature in Coachella Valley will not fall much
below 80°. Under favorable conditions three or four
days suffice to ripen the dates perfectly; furthermore,
they ripen evenly and the loss on a bunch need not
exceed five per cent. They can then be packed in the
usual way and shipped. Pasteurization is desirable in
order to prevent the ravages of worms.

Commercial growers could well afford to build
packing houses, tightly constructed and with double
walls to retain the heat at night.

Artificial ripening, then, far from being a costly
and delicate process to worry the grower and eat
into his profits, is a simple and natural operation
which will save him many cents on the dollar. For
most date-growing regions, including California,
dates can conveniently and economically be ripened
with the slow method, which requires them merely
to be picked at the right time and held for a few days
in a storehouse. But to save the crop if it is hit by
a rain, or to meet any sudden demand, the commercial
grower should have the means of ripening his dates

ARTIFICIAL RIPENING 145

through rapid incubation, which will require less than
a day and cost little.

Finally, in localities with special problems, such
as the Salt River Valley of Arizona, special means may
be required, such as the use of carbon dioxid. This will
slightly increase the cost of handling the crop, but if
it makes date growing profitable instead of unprofit-
able, the grower need not complain; and in most
localities, even in Arizona, it is probable that suitable
varieties can be ripened without much trouble.

DISEASES AND PESTS

CHAPTER XI
DISEASES AND PESTS

The date palm, in comparison with most other
fruit trees, is notably free from disease. The un-
observant Baghdad peasant, indeed, declares, "The
palm has but two diseases — thirst and the chirnlb, "
the latter being the palm borer, whose presence is
too apparent to be overlooked. But in general little
expense will be incurred by date growers in suppressing
diseases or pests, and the possibilities of loss in this
direction are very slight.

The most troublesome enemies are two scale
insects, which are to be found throughout the whole
date growing world, but which nowhere cause wide-
spread damage. Their discovery, from the view-
point of modern science, is due to Americans, but they
were discovered and named by Arab scientists
centuries ago.

The Parlatoria scale (Parlatoria blanchardi)
was introduced into the United States on the first
importation of offshoots, made in 1889. It is a gray
insect living on the leaves of the palm, and apparently
confined to that plant alone; it remains nearly dormant
during the winter, but is active all summer, at the
greatest growing period of the palm. It damages the
tissues, but its greatest injury is in covering a cluster
of dates and rendering them so unsightly that they
are unsaleable.

The following description is condensed from
Cockerell: To the naked eye, the scales appear as
small dark gray or black specks, edged with white.

150 DATE GROWING

If the scale is lifted by means of a pin or the point of a
knife, the soft, plump and juicy female, of a rose-
pink color, is found underneath. She is feebly
segmented, without legs or any other conspicuous
organs except a structure at the middle of the anterior
end, which is the mouth, from which in the living
insect protrudes the tube through which the sap of
the plant is sucked. The male scales, which are
rarely seen, are much narrower and smaller than those
of the female. About the middle of March the
female begins to lay eggs, which will be found as
minute, oval objects underneath the scale at the
posterior end. Only a few are produced at a time
and the total number is small as compared with that
of most scale insects. The larvae begin to hatch
from the egg, one at a time, about April 1. These
are very minute creatures, of a pink color, with legs
and antennae. They crawl restlessly about for some
time, and then settle down in some place where they
remain for the rest of their lives. The male, hatch-
ing from the male scales, impregnates the female and
dies, his whole life being probably very brief.

Treatment of the scale by burning was introduced
by the University of Arizona Experiment Station,
and has since been followed. All the leaves of an
infected specimen are cut closely back, and the
trunk is then gone over with a gasoline blow-torch.
This eradicates the scale, but the palm requires a
year or two to recover from the shock and return to
normal condition; it is, therefore, not a remedy which
appeals to the commercial date grower.

In California a cresol dip is now used on all
offshoots, and it is also used as a spray for older
palms. This destroys the scale so that no danger

DISEASES AND PESTS 151

need be feared from it. Reinfection of a palm that
has been cleaned up is easily accomplished, however,
if there are infected palms in the vicinity, for the
scale is readily carried by birds and animals, or even
by ants and other insects.

Eventually a parasite may be found which will
keep the Parlatoria scale in check. Several California
lady-birds already prey upon it, while in Algeria it is
attacked and perforated extensively by a parasite
which has not yet been made the subject of study.*

This scale, therefore, can not now be considered
as even a potential menace to the future of the date
industry in the United States.

The Marlatt scale (Phoenicococcus marlatti)
was possibly introduced to the Unitecl States at the
same time, or at any rate on the following importation
of offshoots from Africa. The insect is wine-colored,
from 1 to 1 J4 mm- long, and secretes a white, waxy
substance, but not a true scale like the Parlatoria.
It lives usually at the base of the leaves, inside the
palm, where it is almost inaccessible, and is most
active during the winter, coming out at intervals to
moult. Its life cycle seems to be forty days.t It
has not yet received the study it deserves, but it
seems probable that when its habits are known it

*Scale on palms imported from Algeria by the West India
Gardens in 1913 was found to be nearly all destroyed. An ant-like
insect similar to the parasite of the melon aphis was observed on the
palms, and may be the parasite; it could not be captured.

fFor a more detailed discussion of the technical history of the
two scales, see "The Scale Insects of the Date Palm," by T. D. A.
Cockerell and "The Extermination of Date Palm Scales," by R. H.
Forbes. Univ. Ariz. Agr. Exp. Sta., Bui. No. 56, Tucson, Sept. 23,
1907. Dr. L. Trabut of Algiers describes the Phoenicococcus in
Note sur une Maladie du Dattier. Comptes Rendus de I'Academie
des Sciences, Paris. T. 154, p. 304. Seance du 29 Janvier, 1912.

1«£ DATE G.R OWING

can be destroyed by a cresol spray at the time it
comes into the open to moult.*

When a palm is pulled apart, masses of the
scale may be seen at the base of each leaf, sometimes
in such dense clusters as to look like a piece of raw
beefsteak. The scale doubtless injures the palm to
a certain extent by draining its vitality, and it is
possible that some cases of excessively slow growth,
in offshoots imported before the dip was put into
use, were due to the presence of large numbers of
Phoenicococcus. Its chief ravage, however, is rare,
and appears on the fruit cluster, which is found, when
it issues from the palm, to be shriveled and dry; it can
not produce fruits and soon dies. The Algerian
natives either pull this out bodily or treat it by
putting a few handfuls of salt and ashes on it; neither
method is satisfactory. When offshoots are cleaned
before planting, such cases should never occur, and
under present conditions it may fairly be said that the
Marlatt scale is not a menace to the date industry in
the United States; that it can be easily held in check,
and can probably be eradicated altogether without
a great deal of trouble.

No natural enemy of the Marlatt scale has been
found.

At present all date palm offshoots brought into
the United States must be dipped in a cresol wash
before they are planted. The period of immersion is
fifteen minutes, followed by twenty-four hours
drying and a second immersion of the same length.
This practically destroys the scale; if a few individuals
should survive at the bottom of a dense mass, they can

*As the cresol dip used to combat these scales is a proprietary
article, its formula has not been made public.

l!

Q S

J81

DISEASES AND PESTS 153

be killed by spray the following year, when they
appear in the open to moult. Care should be taken
to have the dip well emulsified, otherwise it will
burn the tissues of the plant. Apart from destroying
the scale, it is a desirable treatment for all offshoots,
as it removes bacteria which might later cause fer-
mentation or decay, and gives the young plant the
best possible start in life.

For older palms which are infected, the best
treatment is a thorough spray with the same liquid,
repeated several times, if necessary, at intervals of
a month. Various other treatments have been used,
but none of them gives much promise of value; some
of them, such as carbon bisulphid, kill the palm much
more quickly than the scale.

Date palms in moist regions are sometimes
thickly covered with a fungus, Graphiola phoenicis,
which injures the leaf seriously by killing parenchy-
matous cells, displacing the bundles of schlerenchyma
and rupturing the epidermis and hypoderm. Frank*
describes it as follows: "The fruit bodies appear as
scattered, hard, dark swellings about 1.5 mm. across,
and are sometimes surrounded by a clearer border
showing the part of the leaf tissue containing the
mycelium of the fungus." It is common on the
roast of Southern California, but as it can not tolerate
an arid climate it is unknown in the date-growing
regions of the interior. On date palms in Egypt
and the West Indies, however, it has been the most
serious disease; and it appeared at Baghdad a few

*Die Pilzparasitaren Krankheiten der Pflanzen, p. 127.
Breslau, 1896. For a more technical description see Tubeuf and
Smith, Diseases of Plants, p. 325.

154 DATE GROWING

years ago, causing real damage until it was checked.*
Fortunately, it yields readily to a spray of Bordeaux
mixture.

The coconut palm borer, (Rhyncophorus
ferrugineus) has killed date palms in India and, to a
less extent, in Mesopotamia — its presence at Baghdad
under the name of chirnib has already been mentioned.!
It works slowly, but appears without warning. The
Baghdadis know of no remedy for it, but consider
that the palm is riot liable to attack if its trunk is
kept well cleared of decaying fibre and leaf stalks.
In India the common remedy is to put a handful of
salt on the place where the insect is working, as soon
as its presence is noticed by the dying of some of
the leaves; at other times the native takes a fine
iron hook with long handle and works around the
trunk of the palm until he finds the larva and drags
him out.

This borer has not yet been introduced to the
United States, and there is little danger of its being
introduced, but the southern states already have two
representatives of the same genus — namely, R.
cruentatus and R. palmarum. They are found as
far west as Texas, and particularly attack the palmetto,
but will be likely to attack the date palm sooner or
later. They are not to be feared as a serious enemy.
When they attack a palmetto grove, the best treat-

*Wajfyyeh Bey, Director of Agriculture at Baghdad, describes
the malady in Loghat al Arab, July 1, 1912, p. 17, but does not
identify it. He suggests lysol or sulphate of copper as the best
remedy. My own identification is tentative; there are certain differ-
ences of habit between the Baghdad fungus and Graphiola phoenicis
of California, and the former may turn out to be something different.

fl did not see the borer itself at Baghdad, and identify it only
by descriptions from native friends, and the traces of its destructive
work.

DISEASES AND PESTS 155

ment is to cut down one of the trees; its sap flows out
and ferments, attracting all the borers in the neighbor-
hood, who drink themselves to death. But this is
hardly a satisfactory treatment in a date palm
plantation.

Locusts or grasshoppers sometimes visit a palm
grove with" destructive effects. It is reported* that
when they appeared at Tulare, California, in 1891,
they left adjoining fields of grain and a variety of
other tender plants to feed upon the leaves of the
palm. In Algeria the natives have an idea that they
prefer the leaves of seedlings to those of the standard
varieties which are propagated by offshoots. With
the development of modern methods of fighting them,
there is little to fear from them as a menace to the
date industry in the United States.

Rats sometimes destroy part of the crop, of
which they seem to be particularly fond. A horde
of migratory rats which visited the date orchard at
Tempe, Arizona, a few years ago, caused great
damage. At Baghdad a squirrel-like rodent, has the
same habit, and the growers protect a choice tree from
him by putting a collar of tin a foot wide around it, at
a height of three feet from the ground. This would
probably be an effective treatment here, and would
be a permanent protection.

Gophers are one of the most troublesome pests
in some regions, and seem particularly fond of off-
shoots. Poison, traps, and gopher guns can all be
used. In other districts jackrabbits are to be feared,
and if one lives near them he should, if possible,
surround young offshoots with a rabbit -tight fence.

*Shinn, C. H. "The African Date Palm," in Rep. Agr. Exp.
Sta., Univ. CaL, 1891-2, p. 144.

156 DATE GROWING

In India ants have proved a menace to palms, the
white ant being particularly dreaded. Bonavia says
the best protection is constant irrigation. In Algeria,
too, an ant sometimes swarms up the palm and
destroys the terminal bud; the natives usually fight
him with fire. I doubt if ants will ever prove a pest
in the United States.

Birds, bees, and wasps all attack the ripe fruit if
it is allowed to hang on the tree after it becomes soft.
With artificial ripening they will cause little damage;
under other circumstances a bag of cheap cheese-
cloth put over each cluster will prove an absolute
safeguard.

This exhausts the list of principal diseases and
pests of the palm,* but there are certain troublesome
visitors of the stored dates which must be noticed.
Foremost of these is the fig moth, (Ephestia cautella)
and the similar Indian-meal moth, (Plodia inter-
punctella). The former is the one whose traces
will be found in the imported dates of commerce, as
well as in Smyrna figs, cacao beans, and other com-
modities; the latter has proved a particular pest in
Arizona. Their habits are so much alike that I
will treat them as one.f

The small, gray moth (its wing expanse is 14
to 20 mm.) lays its white eggs on the fruit, or in the
basal end, if the calyx has been removed. The eggs
soon turn yellow and sometimes orange, a few days
before hatching. The larva when first hatched is

*The effect of excess of alkali might be considered a disease; it
causes the palm to stop growth and its leaves to shrivel and change
color.

fFull details are given in "The Fig Moth," by F. H. Chittenden
and E. G. Smyth. U. S. Dept. of Agric., Bur. Entomol., Bui. No.
104. Washington, 1911.

DISEASES AND PESTS 157

delicately white, about a millimeter long; it gradually
reaches a length of 10 mm., and takes on a dirty
whitish, very pale greenish or very light buff color with,
an overlay of rather dull pinkish tints which are
arranged somewhat like longitudinal strides on the
back. It crawls about, looking for a place to pupate,
and usually works into the seed cavity of the date,
where its excrements will be found. In dates there
are probably four generations a year. All varieties
are attacked, but the softest ones by preference. At
Baghdad the growers have the idea that the dry
date Zahidi is less attacked than any other.

The best protection against this pest is to have
a packing-house that is reasonably insect-proof, and
to fumigate it at the beginning of the packing season
with hydrocyanic acid gas or, in the case of small
inclosures, with bisulphid of carbon. From twenty-
four to forty-eight hours' exposure is desirable.

In addition to this, the dates themselves may be
treated, and certainly should be treated unless it is
certain that they are to be sold and consumed without
much delay. In the case of dry dates they could be
scalded in boiling water without injury. Other dates
can be pasteurized by dry heat, three hours at a
temperature of from 180° to 190° F. One of the best
preventive measures, however, is to see that the calyx,
or cap to which the stem is attached, at the base of
the date, is left on the fruit. Fruit matured by the
quick artificial process will not need to be treated.

In Arizona a minute beetle, Carpophyllus
dimidiatuSy has caused trouble of the same kind as
that due to the moths. He is so small that he can
pass through an ordinary window screen. The
measures given above will prove equally effective to

158 DATE GROWING

destroy him and all other insects that infect the stored
fruit.

It is greatly to be desired that every grower
should make it a point of honor not to put any dates
on the market that are wormy, or that have not been
treated in such a manner as to make it reasonably
certain that worms will not appear. Only by such
co-operation can the date industry of the United
States reach the position to which it is entitled.

In conclusion, let me again call attention to the
fact that freedom from scale is one of the principal
merits of seedling palms. Each one starts in life
clean and sound, and with a little care they can be
kept so. The grower can then propagate any good
ones, and introduce the offshoots into any locality he
likes, without fear of hindrance from quarantine laws.
He cannot do this with imported offshoots until he
has held them for a year. It is a mistake to suppose,
however, that a tree is free from scale merely because
it is a seedling : infestation can easily take place. An
examination of a number of worthless seedlings, when
they are removed from the plantation, will give one a
fairly accurate idea as to whether he has scale or not.
If he has, he will be subject to quarantine laws, but
not to any other disabilities, for it has been proved that
there is no menace to the profits of the date industry,
in either of the scale insects, under present conditions.

THE CLASSIFICATION OF
DATES

TO INSURE A GOOD CROP

Arab date growers often have a sheep's skull on a pole in the plantation;
it averts evil eye and other disasters.

CHAPTER XII.
THE CLASSIFICATION OF DATES

The question of variety is as important with dates
as with other commercial fruits. In America there
are nearly 400 varieties, from all parts of the date-
growing world. It is therefore necessary for the
grower to get an intelligent idea of the characteristics
of dates of different countries, and the characteristics
to be sought in those he chooses for his own plantation.

Algeria and Tunisia have been the most- worked
field for varieties, up to the present. These regions
are undoubtedly characterized by a greater number
of insignificant varieties than any other of the orient:
the number in the Ziban* alone is sometimes
estimated as high as six hundred. Of course, most of
them are nothing more than chance seedlings, which are.
confined to the plantation of one man, and frequently
to one tree. Such dates have no importance in their own
country, and it is not to be expected that they could
ever have in ours.

Algeria and Tunisia are further characterized
by the large proportion of their varieties which are
dry, and yet again by the fact that most of their dry
dates are hard and of inferior quality, compared with
the dry dates of other regions.

Finally, the dates of these two countries are
prevailingly late. Deglet Nur is one of the latest

*The Ziban (pi. of Zab, oasis) is the region in the northern Sahara
of Algeria, of which Biskra is the center. It contains 600,000 palms;
most of the Deglet Nurs and many other good varieties in the United
States have come from there. South of it is the Oued Righ or Rirh,
with 1,000,000 palms, the native home and chief center of Deglet N6r.

162 DATEGROWING

dates known, and no early ones are to be found there,
as compared with Arabia or Egypt. In some ways,
then, Algeria and Tunisia are the least promising of
any of the great date growing regions, as a source of
choice varieties for the United States.

Egypt contains more than 10,000,000 palms, but
seven-tenths of them are in Upper Egypt, where
they are scattered over so much territory that they
are difficult of access. Furthermore, these upper
Nile dates are practically all dry, a fact that was
noted even by Pliny,* who ascribes it to the climate.
Schweinfurth says,f "In the north Nubian Nile
valley from Berber to Aswan there are only dry
dates which, however, in flavor, aroma, and sugar
content, as well as in size, seem to surpass those of
all other regions." These Nubian dates have not
yet fruited in the United States.

In the Egyptian delta, on the other hand, the
dates are large, soft, and dark in color, while rather
coarse in flavor. They offer great commercial
possibilities, and some of them have made excellent
records in the United States.

Dates of Oman, on the eastern coast of Arabia,
are earlier than those of any other region I know;
half a dozen varieties can be found which ripen in the
latter half of May, and as many more in June, while
the principal crop is in August. They are pre-
vailingly soft.

To the north of this, from the province of Hasa,
formerly called Hajar, come some of the best dates of
Arabia, including the famous Khalaseh. Palgrave,
the only traveler who has given us a careful account of

"Hist. Nat., Bk. XIH, ch. 9.

fGartenflora, loc. cit.

THE CLASSIFICATION OF DATES 163

the region, says that the variety Rakab, also limited
to that province, is worthy of the first rank anywhere
else.* Ever since the Arabic "Epoch of Ignorance"
(i.e., before Muhammad, early in the sixth century
A.D.) the dates of this region have been the symbols
of excellence among Arabs, as they still are: one of
the commonest proverbs, implying that a man takes
useless pains, is "Like merchandising dates to
Hajar" — it is the exact equivalent of our "carrying
coals to Newcastle, "t The dates of Hasa appear to
be prevailingly soft and early.

At Busreh, the greatest commercial date-growing
region of the world, with not less than 8,000,000
palms closely grouped together on the combined
Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, the dates are prevailingly
soft, of medium size, and fairly early. From a
commercial point of view they are excellent, but for
quality hardly equal those of Baghdad. The number
of varieties cultivated at Busreh is probably smaller
than in any other important center of culture, for
commercial requirements have kept the grower
confined to those dates which would always sell well,
and that necessitated a uniform pack in which
miscellaneous varieties, even if intrinsically good, had
no place.

The dates of Baghdad are pretty equally divided
between dry and soft, and they excel in each branch.
They ripen fairly early, and are of moderate size; but
the dry dates average much larger than do the dry

*Palgrave, W. G. "Narrative of a Year's Journey in Central
and Eastern Arabia." Vol. II, p. 172. London, 1865.

f Another version of the proverb substitutes the name of Khaybar,
an oasis east of Madina; but Doughty, one of the two Europeans
who have visited it, does not speak of its dates with any enthusiasm,
although he admits that they are "not unwholesome." Doughty,
C. M. Travels in Arabia Deserta, vol. II, p. 77. Cambridge, 1888.

164 DATE GROWING

dates of North Africa, while they are softer and more
agreeable to the palate as well. Asharasi is probably
as good a dry date as the world has produced, and
there are half a dozen soft dates which are as good as
anything in North Africa, with the possible exception
of Deglet Nur.

The dates of the interior of Arabia are not
sufficiently well known to us to allow of being broadly
characterized, but from accounts of native acquaint-
ances I am inclined to think that the dates of Madina,
the center of culture, average up with those of
Baghdad.

The scientific grower in the United States should
have a variety of sorts, but he must naturally pick
them out with intelligence. If he cultivates Deglet
Nur he needs no more late dates, and should off-
set it with some of the early ones from the Persian
Gulf or the Egyptian delta. If he has early varieties
he should add some of the later ones from North
Africa. Other things being equal, an early date is
to be preferred to a late one, because its fruit will get
on the market before any foreign fruit can arrive and
lower prices by competition.

Furthermore, he should not confine himself
exclusively either to dry dates or soft dates, for, while
the latter is the type now familiar to the American
public, the dry sorts rarely fail to make friends, and
there seems every reason to suppose that a market
can be made for them without difficulty. On this
point the grower is as competent to decide for himself
as is anyone else for him; but it is worth noting that
when samples of dates were offered to visitors, at an
exhibition in Coachella Valley, and each was asked to
express his preference, sixty per cent of them indicated

THE CLASSIFICATION OF DATES 165

that they liked the dry dates best. It is rare to find
a person who does not like dry dates at the first taste,
and they have the advantage that they can be eaten
in great quantities without cloying, while many
cannot eat more than a few soft dates, on account of
their great sugar content.

There are some dates — notably Zahidi and
Tafazwin, — which are either soft or dry, according
to the way they are handled. If a grower has any
doubt about the merits of dry dates, he might select
one of these intermediate varieties, which he could
sell as a dry date if the market demanded dry dates,
or as a soft date if that seemed to be preferred. The
number of dry dates which can, if properly handled,
be made soft dates, is probably much greater than is
ordinarily supposed, and it points out forcibly the
fact that the distinction between the two types is
not hard and fast, but that a date can cross from one
side to the other, or remain almost on the dividing
line, as the grower wills. To make an intermediate
class of "semi-dry" dates is certainly a useless work,
for it is difficult enough to make a date stay in one
of the two great classifications, and an intermediate
stage merely results in profitless confusion. The
so-called semi-dry classification has been particularly
brought into disrepute by attempts to include in it
such dates as Deglet Nur, which is a typically soft
date. When this word "semi-dry" is dropped from
date terminology, much of the present confusion will
cease.

One of the most important characteristics for
the grower to consider, when adding a new variety
to his plantation, is the keeping quality of the date.
Some dates are delicious when fresh, but never get

166 DATE CROWING

beyond that stage; they are then called "rutab"
by the Arabs, and the word is so useful that it may
have to be borrowed by the English language.*
Others pass through the rutab stage and then cure
themselves on the tree into good dates for packing or
shipping, while a third class, including many dry
dates, is never fit to eat while soft, but gradually
dries and sweetens into an eatable fruit.

The second class is obviously the most profitable,
other things being equal. The grower can have
the fresh dates on his table, or sell them in that
condition if the market is good; otherwise he can let
them cure and sell them as cured dates, such as are
ordinarily seen on the market.

The third class is worth growing if the dates
themselves are good, for the principal market for
dates is certain to be always for cured ones, since
fresh ones will not keep or ship so well. The first
class, which is good fresh but immediately begins
to ferment and rot, is to be avoided (except to provide
fruit for home use) unless it is particularly early.
In that case — and most of the very early dates are
rutab dates pure and simple — the precocity is worth
some sacrifice, and as they will come on the market
when it is most eager for dates, they will always find a
sale.

One must regard with distrust any arbitrary
statements as to the keeping qualities of a variety of
date, for it necessarily depends on the grower's treat-
ment of the fruit. One man will make a given date
keep six months; in the hands of another it will
spoil in two weeks after it has been taken from the

*The word means "moist," originally. It is often seen mis-
spelled retob, rattab, etc.

THE CLASSIFICATION OF DATES 167

tree. This is particularly true of soft dates like
Ghars, and the fact that one grower has found that
it did not keep well must not be allowed to condemn it
without a fair trial.

Arabs have an interesting classification of dates
into hot and cold, according to whether a long con-
tinued diet of them "burns" the stomach or not.*
This has some importance to a people who eat three
or four pounds a day for six months at a stretch —
for the American public it has none. In Mesopotamia,
Khustawf is universally considered the coldest date
known; Barban, at Baghdad, is considered the hottest,
but is valued nevertheless because it ripens so early.
As a matter of fact, not only most varieties, but most
choice varieties, are considered hot. Among the cold
ones are Khadhrawi, Sukkari, Shukkar, Amir Hajj,
and Sukkar Nabat, while Maktum and Badrahi are
placed in an intermediate class, neither hot nor cold,
but satisfactory for general use. Asharasi, Tabirzal,
Halawi, Zahidi, Barhi, and most of the other dates of
sufficient importance to receive any classification,
are considered hot. In North Africa Deglet Nur
and Thuri would perhaps be considered the hottest,
and Ghars, Yatimeh and Makantishi the coldest.

Since dates grow under a wide variety of
conditions, one might easily classify them as to
whether they come from a sandy, clayey, or loamy
soil, but this seems to me not worth while, since it
has so little bearing on their behavior in America.
Dates from the heavy adobe silt of Busreh seem to do
fully as well in a light sandy loam in Coachella Valley
as they do in their native home. The question of

*Attention was first called to this classification by C. Niebuhr
in his "Voyage en Arabie," vol. II. Amsterdam, 1776-80.

168 DATE GROWING

sensitiveness to frost cannot be reduced to formula,
either, since it depends on the variety, and not on the
temperature of the region from which it comes. In
the United States, two Algerian palms, or two
Egyptian palms, or two Arabian palms, standing side
by side, will often show entirely different resistance.

The grower who wishes to pick out a new variety
for his plantation, and to do so intelligently, should
therefore consider his own needs, and then find a
variety to fit them, in the index of varieties which
forms Part II of this book. He will need to decide
whether he wants an early or a late date, a soft or a
dry date, a large or a small date, one of dark or one of
lighter color, one that will be best when fresh or one
that is pre-eminently a cured date, adapted to shipping
long distances and keeping many months. Having
decided what he wants, he will not have much
difficulty in finding a variety to correspond, from
the number of excellent dates which have already
been introduced into the United States from the best
date-growing regions of the Old World.

Descriptions of any fruit are always unsatisfac-
tory, as they do not present a complete picture to the
mind of the reader, but there are a few points in
regard to date descriptions which are so misleading
that the reader should be put on his guard against
them. First is that characteristic "soft and sticky"
which is ascribed to many varieties. It is misleading,
for it depends entirely on the treatment of the fruit.
A date may be soft and sticky, or it may be so firm
and clean that it can be handled without soiling white
kid gloves, yet it may be the same date, with different
treatment in curing, according to the usage it received
from different individuals. Most of the Deglet Niirs

RAVAGES OF PALM BORER

Palms at Baghdad killed by Rhyncophorus ferrugineus (?); two species
of same genus occur in America.

THE CLASSIFICATION OF DATES 169

sold in the markets of Algeria are disgustingly soft
and sticky, but under the skilful care of an intelligent
planter they can be turned out firm and unobjection-
able. The same thing is true of the Ghars, or any
other soft date that might be mentioned Let no one,
then, condemn a date because he has heard it called
soft and sticky, since it is the packer's fault, not the
date's.

Again, the presence of fibre or "rag" about the
seed is an objectionable characteristic, but it depends
largely on the stage of maturity at which the date
was picked, and even, sometimes, on the age of the
tree. The first Manakhir dates produced in the
United States were excessively stringy, but this defect
has been becoming less with each successive harvest.
Samples of a date described by one man may be
fibrous, while those seen by another observer may be
perfectly unobjectionable. One should be slow in
drawing conclusions on this point.

The flavor and quality of dates is a point on
which it is dangerous for any man to pronounce
judgment for others. Of course, some dates can be
unhesitatingly declared good and others bad, but
between good dates it is impossible to lay down any
binding decision. One man likes Deglet Nur better
than any other date because of its fine flavor; another
says that he does not like dates anyhow, and prefers
Deglet Nur to any other because of its lack of flavor.
Therefore, if one says a date is of good quality, that
is all that can be expected; the investigator must not
take any opinion beyond that without a good deal of
reserve.

The characteristics of the seed are fairly constant,
and form one of the most useful means of determining

170 DATE Gfl OWING

the variety of a date, particularly with specimens
which have been preserved so long as to have changed
their appearance. Furthermore, some date descrip-
tions are made from fruit taken directly off the tree
(which is the proper way) and others from fruit that
has been cured, and these naturally differ; the seed,
however, remains as an unchanged factor. Arabs
have long recognized the value of the seed for this
purpose, and one of the famous incidents of
Muhammad's military career relates to an expedition
which he made to cut off a caravan from Madina.
After some scouting, the tracks of a caravan were
crossed, but it was impossible to say whether that
was the one which they sought. Finally an Arab
dismounted and pursued the track a short distance
until he came upon some camel dung, in which he
found a date seed. He examined it a moment and said
without hesitation, "They have come from Madina."
The caravan was followed and captured.*

In addition to the color and general outlines, the
position of the germ pore and the appearance of the
ventral channel should be noted.

Every grower should know the dates of his own
plantation. If he has any good ones which cannot
be identified, he should make a careful description
of them, even if they are seedlings. It will always
serve as a check on accuracy in the future, when the
palm may have been propagated widely by means of
its offshoots.

*Told in the famous classical encyclopedia of natural history,
Hayet al Haywanat.

PROFITS OF DATE GROWING

CHAPTER XIII
PROFITS OF DATE GROWING

No question of the industry is more interesting
than the possible or probable profits to be derived;
yet none is less susceptible of a definite answer to
which some one may not oppose an objection. The
profits will be pretty nearly what the grower himself
makes them. The only guidance that can be given is
to point out what has been done, here and elsewhere,
and what conditions may change these results in the
future.

In the first place, I assume that the grower has
a reasonably good piece of land, plenty of water,
and palms of standard varieties which will produce
uniform fruit of first quality. I assume, too, that he
manages his own plantation, that he has given some
study to the industry, and that he means business.
He may get a manager who will be satisfactory, but
he may not, for such men are scarce in any agricul-
tural enterprise, and are not likely to be attracted by
the ardent summer climate of a date-growing region.
They are likely to feel as a newly-arrived Turkish
governor of Baghdad is alleged to have done. He spent
the whole of his first day complaining of the heat:

"But, your excellency," his attendants assured
him, "we need this heat to ripen the dates."

"Oh, you do, do you?" he exploded, "I '11 not
suffer on such a flimsy excuse as that. Order all the
palms cut down at once!"

Date growing is not a "get-rich-quick scheme,
but if a man gives to it the attention that would be

174 DATE GROWING

necessary to make a success of any other business, he
should make a success of growing dates. His profits
will depend first on the size of the crop, and second
on the price which he receives for it.

As to the first, the usual estimate in the United
States is 100 pounds for each adult palm, per year.
For most varieties, including Deglet Nur and other
dessert dates, I believe this is a conservative estimate.
Let us check it up by the experience of other people,
bearing in mind that a palm should yield more in
the United States than it would in another country,
because it should get better care.

The Algerian government estimates* the annual
production of a Deglet Nur palm at 40 kg., or 88
pounds, but declares that this is probably an under-
estimate. As Deglet Nur regularly bears more
heavily with us than it does in its original home,
100 pounds seems a reasonable estimate here. Most
of the North African varieties bear more heavily
than this. For Tunis, Masselotf considers Luzi to be
the shyest bearer, with an annual yield of 55 pounds,
and Rishti and Hamraya the heaviest, at 220 pounds
each. The average of 92 varieties which he has in-
vestigated is 116.5 pounds per tree.

In Egypt, the English estimate a yield of 172
pounds per tree,J and yet the trees are set much
closer together than in the United States.* Egyptian
varieties bear more heavily than those of some other

*Les Dattes en Algerie — Supplement au No. 6 du Bulletin de
1'Office du gvt. genl. de 1'Algerie, 1910, p. 81.

fBul. Direc. Agric. et Comm., Tunis, vol. VI, No. 19, Apr., 1901.

|Sir H. Rider Haggard, "An Egyptian Date Farm." London
Times, Oct. 11, 1912.

+At the great Pyramids Estates near Gizeh they are set twenty-
two feet apart or eighty-seven to the feddan, or acre.

PROFITS OF DATE GROWING 175

countries; a yield of 250 pounds for Birket al Hajji
in Arizona is not considered exceptional.

In the Sudan the average yield, according to
official returns,* is 160 pounds.

Indian palms are so closely crowded, as many as
139 being set to the acre, that they do not get a
chance to do well; yet even under these circumstances
Milne estimates the average yield at from 40 to 120
pounds, while Bonavia says the average in the district
of Multan is 160 pounds.

All of these estimates are the work of trained
scientific observers. When we turn to the Arabs
we cannot feel the same confidence, but I have checked
up their estimates in many districts and believe I
have reached correct figures.

At Baghdad, a palm which yields less than 100
pounds a year is considered a very shy bearer indeed.
Khustawi, for instance, is so considered; but even
with the lax Arab methods of cultivation it averages
from 75 to 125 pounds, while a crop of 300 pounds
on Zahidi or Barban is quite ordinary. Conditions
are about the same at Busreh and in Oman; I would
put 150 pounds as the average yield of a good palm.

What can be done elsewhere can certainly be
done in the United States. Any one can find out
from the growers what their average yields are, and if
he does so, I am satisfied that he will admit that the
figure of 100 pounds is very reasonable.

Of course, exceptional yields can sometimes be
found. A crop of 500 or 600 pounds is not rare among
Arabs, and has been closely approached, if not equaled,
in America. If we could secure some of the religious

*Report from gov. genl. of Sudan to gov. genl. of Queensland,
in Queensland Agr. Journal, vol. XXVII, p. 131, Sept. 1911.

176 DATE GJl OWING

atmosphere of Muhammad's home we might do even
better, for Faqir Amin al Madani says, "we have
seen and bear witness as to palms, that some palms
bear, each one, verily, three ardabs* of dates.''

With 100 pounds per tree and 50 trees to the acre
we have an annual yield of 5000 pounds, or two and
one-half tons, of dates to the acre. The price at
which these will sell has been the subject of much
difference of opinion. At present it is not difficult to
sell the highest grade of dates, well packed, at $1.00
or more a pound in California. There is no reason
why this price should not be maintained for some
years yet, while home-grown dates are still a novelty.
It certainly will not be maintained permanently, but
there will always be a demand for the finest dates,
packed like confectionery, at confectionery prices;
and even if such a demand is limited, it will probably
be big enough to offset the quantity of second-grade
dates which must be sold at 10 or 15 cents a pound.
As to the bulk of a crop of dates from palms of standard
varieties, properly handled, my own idea is that the
price is never likely to fall below 20 cents a pound to
the grower. This I offer as an average price — there
will be many culls that must go at a lower figure, but
there should also be a considerable amount of fancy
fruit which will bring two or three times the sum
mentioned. Taking the average at 20 cents a pound
to the grower, with the conservative estimate of 100
pounds to a tree and 50 palms to the acre, we may
calculate on a gross annual return from a well-
managed plantation of $1000 per acre.

*As a measure of volume, an ardab is slightly more than five
bushels. As a measure of weight, it varies according to the commod-
ity; the ardab of dates is now 320 pounds.

PROFITS OF DATE GROWING 177

This should begin with the fifth year. In the
third year some varieties should bear enough fruit
to pay the cost of up-keep, and in the fourth year
to return a fair profit. From the fifth year they
will bear well for a century or more.

This figure takes no account of the production of
offshoots, which, with choice varieties, promises for
some time to be fully as valuable a product as dates
in the United States. Some remarkable records
have been made already in this respect, but to be
well within the limit of probability we will assume
that each tree yields only one offshoot a year, from its
fifth to its twentieth year of age. Such a production
should not diminish the yield of dates, while if the
offshoot is sold at $5 (a price considerably below that
now current), it will increase the annual gross revenue
of the plantation by $250 per acre; and it is probable
that with most varieties two offshoots a year could
be taken from the palm, without reducing the average
yield of fruit below 100 pounds. This would make the
annual gross return of the plantation $1500 per acre.
I believe that the offshoots alone will be, for some
years, of sufficient value to pay all expenses of running
a properly managed plantation in the United States,
leaving all returns from marketing fruit as clear
profit.

This would mean, under the best conditions,
$1000 a year per acre net profit from a plantation. This
estimate does not agree with many others that have
been put forward, and in such a case each man may
weigh the evidence and judge for himself. Many
think the price of dates will be much higher than I
have assumed, and I am far from saying that they
may not be right — in fact, I know they are right so

178 DATE GROWING

far as the immediately succeeding years are concerned.
Those who get into the date industry at once in the
right way can make profits that, for a few years at
least, will be extraordinary.

Others consider that the expense of running a
plantation will be so great that the profits will be
much less than my figures. I readily agree that this
may be the case with some plantations, for poor
managers are to be found in any business, and some
men cannot make a success of any walk of life. But
knowing as I do that date growing requires less trouble
than most other industries, and believing that the
expense of producing dates will be less than that of
raising almost any other subtropical fruit, I believe that
the cost of keeping up a plantation will be reasonably
small. I shall discuss this question in more detail
later, but I want first to speak of the probable prices
of dates in the United States, since that is a main factor
on which the amount of profit depends.

At present, imported Busreh dates, very badly
packed, rarely sell at less than ten cents a pound in
the United States, while better packed ones, and
Fardh dates, (which are popular because they are firm
enough to keep their shape, although in flavor they are
second rate) sell at fifteen or twenty cents a pound.
The importers could cut this price and still make a
good profit, for Persian Gulf dates can be laid down in
New York at less than five cents a pound. But I
doubt if they can improve the packing to a marked
degree, and that is as important as the price. Further-
more, they cannot get these dates on the market
before the latter half of October, and dates of a similar
grade grown in the southwestern States can be put
on the market a month or two earlier than that,

PROFITS OF DATE GROWING 179

while it is devoid of dates, and be sold off before the
foreign importations arrive. I therefore see no
reason why the competition of imported Persian Gulf
fruit should lower the price of an earlier and more
attractive local product.

The French in Algeria can put out Deglet Nurs,
however, that are packed in an attractive manner,
and owing to cheaper labor can probably do so more
cheaply than we can. At present choice dates, well
packed, sell at twenty and twenty -five cents a pound in
France and Algeria, and as the demand is steady the
price will hardly go lower than this. They might
conceivably interfere with the sale of American dessert
dates at fancy prices, such as $1.00 a pound, but
their competition can hardly be considered if twenty-
five or thirty cents a pound retail is taken as the
basis for calculations.

Furthermore, the market for fresh dates will
always be a local monopoly, and I believe it will be
a profitable one, for the fresh date is not too perishable
to be shipped, and is liked by every one who tastes it.

The total annual consumption of dates in the
United States is now in the neighborhood of 32,000,000
pounds a year, or something like five ounces per
person per year — a ridiculously small figure. The
great food value of the date allows every one to
purchase it as an integral part of the family diet —
not as a luxury or dessert, but with the feeling that it
is a part of his nourishment. Furthermore, the
American public now scarcely knows the value of
the date in any form except raw, and the teaching of
methods of cooking it will increase the consumption.
So far as the factor of supply and demand goes, I believe
that the consumption of dates will far exceed the

180 DATEGROWING

production in America for many years, and that
locally-grown dates will hardly find competitors in
the imported fruit. As people come to know what
delicious, clean, fresh, home-grown dates are, the
price may be expected steadily to rise rather than fall,
no matter how fast the production increases in
California and Arizona.

These are the reasons which lead me to believe
that an estimate of twenty cents a pound gross
return to the grower is conservative. Others may
figure on a different basis or, figuring on the same
basis, arrive at a different conclusion. Any one
interested in the industry can consider the facts and
from them form his own estimate.

To return to the probable expense of running a
date plantation: it should not be large, as compared
with the expense of other agricultural enterprises.
The difference between good and bad management
is so great that one can hardly quote definite figures,
but it may be pointed out that the amount of labor is
not great at any time of year, and that even during
the picking of the crop fewer men will be needed than
with many agricultural staples. If the owner is his
own manager he will have all the profits for himself, so
there is certainly a great future in the industry for
men who own plantations of ten or fifteen acres.
One man should be able to keep up such a plantation
alone, at all times of the year except during the crop
picking season. If a manager has to be hired the
expense will be greatly increased, unless on a large
estate, for only a thoroughly competent man can be
considered. In a favorable situation such as
Coachella or Imperial Valley the expense of picking
the crop is not great; if it is ripened by the slow

PROFITS OF DATE GROWING 181

artificial method the cost will be nothing save that of
the little labor required; and the expense involved in
marketing is less than that with most fruits, because
the date is not perishable, does not need to be kept
in iced cars or cold storage,* and can always be held
for a favorable market. As the industry is new,
there is naturally much yet to be learned about
marketing dates to the best advantage, but that is a
problem which Americans are well able to handle,
and when date-growers have as efficient a co-operative
organization as the orange-growers of California, the
percentage of profit to the owner will be very high.

Perhaps the safest and most helpful way to
consider the cost will be to make a comparison with
the cost of lemon- growing in this state. Any other
industry would do, but I take the lemon growers
because information regarding their operations has
been collected with particular care.

Citrus fruit lands with water are valued at from
$400 to $500 per acre. Date lands with water can
be had for much less. The expense of bringing a
lemon grove into bearing, including the cost of land
and water, is from $750 to $1200 an acre. The cost
of clearing, grading, and preparing the land for planting
may vary from $10 to $15 an acre, of irrigation
ditches and flumes from $15 to $50 per acre,
and of the trees and planting from $75 to $150 per
acre. The annual care of the grove is from $30
to $100 per acre up to five years of age. These
estimates should all be sufficient to cover the expenses
of a date plantation, with the exception of that of
cost of trees. Owing to the rarity of offshoots of the
choicest varieties one must allow $300 an acre for

*In fact, it quickly moulds if so stored.

182 DATE G-RO WING

the palms. In the end this will be counterbalanced
by the fact that the life of a date plantation is far
longer than that of a lemon grove, and the loss of
five per cent to ten per cent of the trees yearly, which
is allowed by citrus men, need not be considered by
date growers.

Lemon groves are plowed in the spring both ways,
and are cultivated between the irrigations. The
cost of plowing and cultivating averages about $35
per acre each year. The groves are irrigated every
month or six weeks from spring until fall; the cost
of water averages $15 per acre, and the labor of
applying it $1.00 per acre. As dates require more
water, these figures will probably not be high enough
for the palm plantation.

Lemon groves are heavily fertilized with manure
or chemical fertilizers, or with both, the growers
using from $20 to $120 worth of fertilizer per acre
per year. Here the date grower will make a great
saving.

It costs $15 per acre yearly to prune citrus trees.
It should cost less than one-third as much to trim
the palms, and this expense will be practically
negligible until the plantation has reached full
bearing.

Fumigation and spraying of citrus groves costs
from $5 to $10 per acre, often much more, and must
be regularly done, while the palm plantation, if
properly started, should never require expense of this
kind.

In most districts citrus trees have to be protected
against frost during winter months. Smudging costs
about $20 per acre per year. Date growers will
never have this expense.

PROFITS OF DATE GROWING 183

With all these expenses the cost of growing each
crop of lemons up to the time of harvesting is approxi-
mately $197 per acre. The upkeep of a date
plantation should be well below this. Expense of
handling the crop should be much less than with
citrus fruits, because of the saving of icing charges and
long railway hauls, since all dates grown can un-
doubtedly be marketed in the west for many years.

If we take cost of land and water and expense
of bringing a lemon grove into bearing as $1000 per
acre, which is very near the average, we can safely
assume that the expense of a date plantation will be
less, since land is cheaper and labor little, if any,
higher, while the additional cost of trees to the date
grower is offset by the saving in many items of
cultivation. It should be noticed, too, that this
estimate for lemon groves, covering five years, in-
cludes the pay of a foreman. The date-grower who
manages his own plantation will save this, while
he should be getting considerable returns from his
dates before the fifth year, and may also grow a
secondary crop. If we say, then, that $1000 an acre
is an adequate investment for land, water, and the
expense of bringing a date plantation into bearing,
we should be well within the truth.

The annual upkeep of a lemon plantation, not
including picking or marketing the crop, is about $200
per acre. Even with the added water and cultivation
needed, annual upkeep of a date plantation should
be less than this, in view of the great saving which
the date grower makes in fertilizing, fumigation and
frost protection.

When it comes to picking and marketing the crop
the date grower has a great advantage, for he is not

184 DATE GROWING

dealing with a perishable commodity like citrus
fruits. It costs the lemon grower more than $300
per acre to handle the crop; the cost of picking and
marketing 5000 pounds of dates per acre ought to be
considerably less than this.*

We find, then, that the date grower has the
advantage of the citrus grower so far as cost of
production is concerned, while his profits from the
sale of fruit are much greater. There is every reason
to believe that the grower can bring a date plantation
into bearing, including the cost of land and water,
for not more than $1000 an acre, and, after it is in
bearing, pay the entire expense of upkeep, for some
years at least, by the value of his offshoots, leaving
all the income from the fruit as profit; and this net
income ought to be, in a well-managed plantation of
the best varieties, not less than $1000 per acre per
year. For the first few years, while fancy prices
prevail, the grower may secure a much larger annual
net return if he is keen enough to grasp the op-
portunities. And since he may pay a large part of the
expense of bringing his plantation into bearing by
growing a subsidiary crop, we may well conclude
that there are few agricultural opportunities today
more attractive than that presented by the cult-
ure of the date palm.

*AH the information regarding the citrus industry is from Bui.
No. 9 of the Citrus Protective League of Cal., Los Angeles, Jan.,
1913: "The California Lemon Industry," by G. Harold Powell and
F. O. Wallschlaeger.

£ Js

ARAB USES OF THE DATE

CHAPTER XIV

ARAB USES OF THE DATE

As a general rule the Arab eats his dates raw,
out of hand, just as the American does. In this
way he can dispose of astonishing quantities day
after day : — the explorer Nachtigal tells of natives who
often ate six pounds between sunrise and sunset, in
Tripolitania, and thousands of Arabs, whose principal
food during half the year is dates, consume several
pounds a day regularly throughout their lives, and
are among the healthiest and most vigorous members
of the human race.* It will usually be found, when
a traveler reports Arabs suffering from too many
dates, that their troubles are due solely to the fact
that they eat the fruit when it is half ripe, in which
case it tastes something like a green persimmon. It
is not dates, but tannin and free organic acids that
are to blame in these rare instances.

Nevertheless, it is natural that the Arab should
seek to vary this diet in such a way as to make it
less monotonous, and to add to it the protein element
which the date lacks. In the Sahara, ever since
the middle ages, there has been in some regions a
superstitious idea that the meat of dogs was the ideal
accompaniment to a diet of dates, and dogs are even
today fattened for food purposes in parts of Morocco
and Tunis arid in the Ziban of Algeria. Such a habit
could hardly have originated, or persisted, among a

*Date growers can not expect the per capita consumption in
America to reach such a figure. Nevertheless, they tell a story in
Cairo of a young American woman who ate seventy-five dates as
the finish of a hearty dinner!

188 DATE CUR OWING

more purely Arab race, for the dog is to the orthodox
Muslim an unclean animal, and Muhammadan
geographers notice this habit with unconcealed
scorn.* Even today the gamins of Biskra take all
the conceit out of a pompous visitor from the Zab
by a piece of doggerel which they shout at him in the
street, taunting him with the loathsome nature of
his diet.

On the authority of Muhammad, cucumbers are
also considered a particularly good accompaniment
for dates. The prophet is quoted in the Traditions
as saying, "the cold of the one counterbalances the
heat of the other and the heat of the one diminishes the
cold of the other," a piece of absurdity typical of
popular Arab medical lore.t As a matter of fact, the
only advantage cucumbers might have would be to
dilute the sugar in the dates, which water would do
just as well. Probably the universal habit of drinking
milk with dates is principally due to this same need —
anyone who eats a lot of sugar will realize that nature
calls for a drink. Milk has also the advantage of
adding a little fat and protein to the dates and making
a well-balanced diet; accordingly it will be found
that most of the Arab methods of using the fruit are
based on this principle.

The simplest way, and one of the most popular
in the Sahara, is to split the fruit, remove the seed,
and then fill the cavity with a chunk of butter; this
is usually done at the table as they are eaten. Of
course the butter for this purpose must be unsalted.
This manner of eating the date has been popular

*Cf. Jean Leon, Descr. de 1'Afrique, p. 40. Lyons, 1556.

fJalal al Din Abd al Rahman Muhammad al Suyuti (c. 1475
A. D.), tr. by Pharaon, Paris, 1856.

ARAB USES OF THE DATE 189

throughout the Arabic world for centuries, so that it
has even been recognized by the poets; a well-known
stanza contains the lines:

"I placed some butter upon a date,
And both the food and the condiment
were rendered delicious."

At Baghdad and in other regions where buffalo
cream is available, it is allowed to clot thickly, and
used as a substitute for butter.

The names of dishes made in this manner are
numerous, and not worth repeating here, but one of
them is too famous in literature to be ignored — it is
called khabis,* and its invention is ascribed to the
time of Muhammad. His friend 'Uthman b. Affar
is named as the inventor; it appears to have consisted
of dates, butter, and honey, and the merit claimed for
it is that inferior dates taste as good as the choicest
when prepared with these accompaniments. When
the amateur chef had concocted this dish he carried
it to Muhammad, who sampled it and, lifting up his
hands, cried, "O God, set aside they best favors and
accord them to 'Uthman!" The word khabis
has accordingly taken on the figurative meaning of
"complete happiness."

Sour or curdled milk in various forms is a constant
accompaniment of dates, and even to an occidental
palate they are delicious with cottage cheese or
smierkase. Finally, fresh milk, especially that of
camels, is considered a particularly fitting drink
after a meal of dates; it cools the stomach and "re-
freshes" the partly-digested fruit.

Dates can be eaten raw in various other

*Described in the Qamus and in a manuscript of Al Suyuti,
quoted by De Sacy.

190 DATE GROWING

combinations, however; in the Sindh desert of India
onions are considered the proper accompaniment.
When the dates ripen, everyone hastens to eat as many
as he can hold; when he is replete he eats a raw onion,
and is then able to start on dates again.

In districts where locusts or grasshoppers are
obtainable, these insects are roasted and pounded to
a paste together with fresh dates. The date paste
known as madquqeh is also a standard article through-
out the orient; it is merely seeded dates pounded up
with sesame oil, and is commonly used as a spreading
for the tasteless native bread.

These combinations are all made with uncooked
dates, but there are plenty of ways in which the fruit
can be cooked. Probably the best is a plain fry in
plenty of butter; the dates for this purpose should be
soft, and great care is needed to keep them from
burning; but if properly prepared they rarely fail to
please an American palate. Fresh dates are also
baked in the oven, sometimes being basted with
butter. They are particularly popular with American
missionaries in Egypt when cooked in this fashion.
Another standard Arab recipe is to chop up the dates
and. boil them in milk, often with the addition of
chopped onions and a flour thickening. One of the
specialties of Baghdad cooks is fried dates and eggs,
particularly in the form of an omelet. A stew of
dates with rice and milk is considered most appropriate
for women at childbirth. In the Sahara dates are
added to meat soups and stews, but the result does
not commend itself to occidental tastes. The locally
famous " Date Sweet " of the Persian Gulf region, which
is made at home but never sold, consists of dates ground
very fine, fried in oil, mixed with flour boiled in milk,

ARAB USES OF THE DATE 191

and then made into cakes. The Persian-Indian
preparation called bhugrian consists of ripe dates
boiled and then fried in oil ; it has the merit of keeping
a year or more.

Often dates are picked just before they are ripe,
and pickled in vinegar, when they much resemble
pickled walnuts.

The fruit lends itself particularly well to the
manufacture of preserves and jams. One of the
best is the mu 'asal of the Persian gulf, which is made
by American missionaries at Busreh as follows:
Remove the seeds from dates and replace them with
walnut meats. Boil down some date syrup (any
other good syrup would do), add sesame seeds to
taste, and a little rose water for aroma; boil until
thick, add the dates, put over the fire and let it come
to a boil again; then put into tins or glass jars.

Here is the Syrian method of preserving dates*
(it is almost identical with that widely used in Egypt) :
Take the largest dates obtainable, preferably before
they are entirely ripe; peel them with a sharp knife,
put them in a pot, add a little more than enough water
to cover them, boil until they are soft; then slip the
seeds out and put an almond or pistachio, with a
clove, in the cavity; boil the dates in syrup with a
little lemon peel until of the proper consistency;
take them off the fire and let them stand over night;
then bring to a boil again and put into glass or glazed
jars.

Sometimes choice dates are preserved without
cooking, as in the khurma shirah of Persia, for which
the choicest dates are dried in the sun on mats,

*From Khalil al Ntira's cook-book, "A Tax on the Eyes for the
Comfort of Stomachs," Bayrtit, 1895.

192 DATE GROWING

protected from the dew at night, until they are cured.
Then they are washed with diluted date syrup, to
free them from dust, and after draining are mixed
with sesame, powdered ginger, walnut kernels, and
other spices. They are packed by pressing in jars, the
jars being filled with thick date syrup and made airtight.

This date syrup is itself one of the most valuable
by-products of the date, and the activity in Arab
kitchens during the date harvest, when the syrup is
being prepared for the coming year, resembles that
during fruit-canning time in other countries. In
the best homes of Baghdad it is made as follows:
Soft, seeded dates of the juiciest varieties are placed
in a large pot and allowed to soak in water for a day
or two, then boiled thoroughly. The dates are
next placed in a closely woven basket to which heavy
pressure is applied, and the juice drips into the pot
containing the syrup resulting from their boiling. The
pot is then allowed to stand in the sun for a week, until
the syrup is as thick as honey, when it is ready for
use. It sells in the market in winter at ten cents a
quart.

Not only the fruit but its seeds as well are used
in cookery, particularly during periods of scarcity.
They may be soaked in water until soft, then pounded
and boiled with milk; but more commonly they are
made into bread, for which the old writers give many
recipes that look somewhat dubious, particularly
when they call for the addition of drugs and chemicals.
The simplest is that given by Ibn A warn:* Pound
the seeds in a mortar, put them in a jar of brine and
let them stand for several days. Add a little vinegar

The Book of Agriculture, ch. XXIX, art. 13. He gives it on
the authority of Quthdmi, who had it from Jambushad.

ARAB USES OF THE DATE 193

and simmer until they become a paste, then knead it up
and boil it. The paste must be well salted, and not
allowed to cool off at any time while it is being cooked.
When the mass has become absolutely soft, which
will require several days of simmering, work it up in
fresh water to eliminate the vinegar and salt, then dry
the paste, grind it into flour, and make pancakes of it.

More frequently, however, the seeds are used for
animal fodder, either soaked or not. In many parts
of the Persian Gulf region the standard ration for milk
cows consists of date seeds and fish heads. In India
half a century ago a company was organized which
manufactured a palatable coffee substitute from date
seeds, but it seems never to have met with popular
favor.

The spathe of the palm (usually the male) is
sometimes cut before it has opened, and ground up
to make bread, while the male blossoms, when fully
formed but before the spathe has opened, are a
delicacy in all parts of the orient, either raw or as
salad with lemon juice. They are supposed to have
an aphrodisiacal quality. Sometimes they are boiled
with lemon rind. In times of scarcity even the
younger leaves of the palm are boiled for a salad, while
the terminal bud is always a delicacy, raw, boiled, or
ground into a meal.

The medicinal uses of the date would fill a book,
for the empiricists of the Arab profession can see
medicinal qualities in anything. This use of dates goes
back to prehistoric times: two thousand years ago
Pliny could speak* of their employment by "the
ancients" to recruit the strength and allay the thirst
of a patient. The authorities differ considerably

*Hist. Nat., Book XXII, ch. 51.

194 DATE GROWING

in their opinions as to the exact merits of the fruit,
but the statement of Daud al Dantaki is as good as
any for a specimen. He declares,* "Dates are hot
to the second degree, dry to the first. They cut
short a persistent cough or pain in the chest, and
banish throat trouble, particularly if eaten first thing
in the morning. They are useful cooked, or preserved
in syrup; they fortify the body and strengthen the
blood and cure pains in the back and invigorate the
loins when they are atrophied; and if boiled in milk
and drunk they cut short fever and ague; they also
cure foul mouth and, taken in milk, are a tonic for the
appetite. Dates ought to be given to a sedentary
patient with great caution, and not at all in hot
weather; in order to be useful they should be eaten
only by one whose blood flows freely, and who has no
tendency to atrabiliousness. In other cases they
would produce itch, bad teeth, diseases of the gums,
and general languor and sleeplessness."

Dates pounded up with the leaves of Juniperus
occidentalis are considered by the belles of Algeria
to be particularly fattening.

Without going into the subject at greater length,
I can say truthfully that, if one believes Arabic au-
thorities, there is practically no ill which cannot be
cured by one of the products of the date palm. On
the other hand, there are only a few that may not be
caused by them, if we believe other empiricists.
Ibn Baytar is perhaps the most pessimistic of writers,
and he quotesf a long list of authorities to show the

*Shaykh Daud al Dantaki, the Blind. The Book of Medicinal
Drinks and Collection of Wonders (MS. in my possession), ch. 7.
He professes to base his work on that of "The wise, the experienced,
the wonderful, the one and only Jalfnus," i. e., Galen.

flbn Baytar, Treatise on Simples, tr. by Dr. J. Sontheimer.
Stuttgart, 1840.

ARAB USES OF THE DATE 195

dangers, real or imaginary, arising from dates. Eaten
before they are ripe they cause skin eruptions, fever,
headaches, constipation, stomach and bowel troubles,
and injury to the gums. When ripe and fresh they
are more dangerous than when cured; but he admits
that they may be valuable to thin thick blood, and
closes with the caution that persons with hot tem-
peraments should always eat their dates with vinegar,
fermented honey, fresh greens, sour milk, or acid
pomegranates. To recover from such an attack we
shall have to fall back once more on Muhammad,
who advised his followers to eat fresh and cured dates
together whenever they could, in order to thwart the
devil, because that personage has said: "Man will re-
main as long as he mingles the new with the old."
This is related by Abd al Rizzaq,* who adds com-
fortingly that "the sap of palm leaves is a sure
remedy for nervousness, kidney trouble, and putrid
wounds; it calms the effervescence of the blood and
is a tonic for the stomach."

Although the Muslim's religion prohibits the
manufacture of intoxicating drinks, this law has
never been strictly regarded, so the Arab not only
makes a variety of "soft" beverages from the palm,
but several that are decidedly alcoholic and others
which are on the dividing line. The last are popular,
for if it is granted that their use is lawful when they are
newly made, one may drink them when they begin
to ferment and yet ease his conscience by refusing to
recognize that such a process is taking place — a
moral and mental phenomenon that is familiar enough
in the case of hard cider in the Occident. Thus palm

*Abd al Rizzaq al Jazalrlf, "The Relation of Enigmas" (seven-
teenth or eighteenth century A. D.). Tr. by Dr. Lucien Leclerc.
Paris, 1874.

196 DATE G-R OWING

wine will be consumed by a man who gets roaring
drunk on it and yet can make himself think that he
is keeping within the letter of the law.

The palm wine or laqmi* has always been a
specialty of North Africa, where its manufacture
assumes really large proportions, to the point of
having recently been forbidden in most parts of Algeria
and in Tripolitania, because of the damage which
owners were doing their palms in their endeavor to
keep themselves provided with the beverage. The
season of its manufacture is from May to October and
the method is as follows:

A V-shaped incision is made in the terminal bud
and an earthenware jar fastened under it. This is
usually emptied morning and evening. The flow
will continue for three months; sometimes four or five
quarts will be produced in a single night. The yield
varies from day to day; some varieties also give more
than others. In any event, the tree will produce no
fruit for several years afterward; but if it is allowed to
recuperate for such a length of time it can then be
tapped again. The second tapping usually kills it,
although it may undergo a half a dozen.

The sap closely resembles coconut milk in flavor,
but is a little sweeter. It quickly begins to ferment,
the process being hastened by the dirty condition of
the vessels in which it is usually kept; and if allowed
to stand in the sun for a day or two, a quart is sufficient
to start several fights. It is also made intoxicating
by the addition of seeds of the rue (Ruta graveolens) .f

*It is often called lagbi: the name appears to mean nothing
more than "swallows" or "mouthfuls."

fThis common plant, known to the Arabs as harmal, is one of
the most valued in their materia medica; Muhammad declared that
it cured seventy-two diseases and the physicians have ever since

ARAB USES OF THE DATE 197

The orthodox Keeley cure consists in mixing a little
crow's blood with the wine; the consumer, it is de-
clared, will never want to touch another drop. But
the French authorities in North Africa have found
a light fine or a few days in jail more effective.

Formerly the industry was licensed in Tripoli,
each tree tapped paying a tax of $4 per year, and it
was calculated that the annual income from this
source to the government was more than $15,000,
while the natives made from fifty to sixty cents per day
from each tree.*

Sometimes whole oases have been subjected to
this process, when the well which supplied them had
dried up. In such cases it is a legitimate operation,
but it is not likely to become an established industry
in the United States, although it offers an interesting
way of getting rid of worthless seedlings.

Next to this, the most important beverage made
from the date is arrak,| which keeps five distilleries
busy in Baghdad alone, and the consumption of which
is getting a strong, although concealed, hold on a large
part of the Muhammadan population. Dry dates
are the best for this purpose; in Baghdad Zahidi and
in Egypt Ibrahim! get the preference. At Baghdad
the product is often made from dates and grapes in
equal parts, and always in the simplest manner. The
fruit is allowed to ferment in water, and then double
distilled, sugar and aromatics being added. It is
interesting to note that wormy dates are reported to

been trying to find out which they are. The commonest use in the
Sahara is as a paste to rid the head of undesirable citizens.

*See report of Cons. gen. Lago in Brit. Foreign Office Rep.,
June, 1900.

fProperly araq; the name means simply "sweat", alluding to
the condensation of vapor when it is distilled.

198 DATE G.R OWING

yield twenty per cent more liquor than fresh and sound
ones. The five stills at Baghdad, all owned by Jews,
turn out a total of 500,000 litres per year, which is
worth from twenty to thirty cents per litre. The
effects on those who drink it are said to be practically
the same as those of absinthe.*

Laqmi is sometimes distilled, furnishing an
intoxicant which much resembles arrak.

The beverage called nabidh has already been
mentioned in Chapter I; it is made by pouring water
on macerated dates and letting it stand over night,
and is rarely relished by Europeans. It remains
popular in Arabia and Egypt ; in other date growing
regions it is hardly known.

A rather palatable drink is made by macerating
dates in milk, which is sometimes, but not always,
boiled. It goes by various names in different regions,
and according to the details of manufacture; it is of
course taken when quite fresh and is lawful to the
Muslim.

A kind of beer is sometimes made with dates and
barley, to which yeast is added. It is considered
lawful if it is not allowed to ferment beyond the
point of slight acidity.

This includes, I believe, all the types of beverage
made from the date; but the list of varieties, as given
by Arab authors, is long, the same drink being given
many different names, as the method of its manu-
facture is slightly varied or the locality changed.
And now that I have covered the subject of drinks,
as such, let me return for a moment to laqmi to note
a few unappetizing details of scientific interest.

*A good account of the arrak industry at Baghdad is given by
G. Ghanimeh in Al Machrkj, No. 11, p. 480, Bayrut. June 1, 1907.

ARAB USES OF THE DATE 199

Herodotus mentions* that the ancient Egyptians
used this beverage for washing out the ventral cavity
of an intended mummy; and Ibn Awam declares
that, spiced with myrtle and cummin, it is unequaled
for ridding the hen roost of lice. 1 may add, finally,
that lately it has been advertised in Europe as a
cure for tuberculosis.

"Herodotus (c. 450 B. C.), Book II. chapter 86.

ffi 2

"

PL, <u

S-i

FOOD VALUE OF THE DATE

CHAPTER XV

FOOD VALUE OF THE DATE
by Charles L. Bennett, M. D.

In the arid regions of the old world dates have
always been an essential in the dietary, and in some
parts have been used even to a greater extent than
bread and potatoes here. In fact, without dates much
of the world's history would have been differently
written unless a substitute, as effective as the date,
could have been found for the tribes of desert regions.
The date made their activities possible.

Owing to its compact form and almost total avail-
ability as food the date is a natural tabloid form of
nourishment, and some kinds even outstrip the much
vaunted pre-digested foods. These latter dates
contain sugar in a form immediately available by
the body through simple absorption without being
subjected to the digestion that ordinary sugar under-
goes.

So it is that the Persian, the Arab, and the North
African have always found the date a great boon and
ideal food, with only sufficient padding to favor
intestinal function, carrying predigested material,
ferments that aided its own digestion, and an attractive
flavor. The drier dates kept well on long journeys
and never cloyed the appetite. An active hard
working desert dweller ate pounds of them a day;
they formed almost his sole food for long periods, and
often for many months his only addition to the date
diet was an occasional small amount of meat, milk,
or rice.

204 DATE GROWING

Dates are at once an enjoyable confection and a
substantial energy producer. They really contain all
the elements that a balanced diet calls for, protein,
fats, salts, and carbohydrates, and all in available
form for the human system. Proteins form the
pivotal point or central building block in the animal
cell. The date does not contain sufficient protein
to be a tissue builder. But the cell nucleus must
surround itself with energy producers, with phys-
iological fuel, and here the date comes in with its
seventy to ninety per cent, carbohydrate content.

One pound of dates has a calorie value of 1,275,
a calorie being the physiological heat unit or unit of
potential.

A workman of ordinary build and weight at
ordinary hard labor will require 3000 calories per day
of fuel or food energy. It can readily be seen how
far two or three pounds of dates per day will go
toward supplying the human machinery with fuel
to preserve the temperature equilibrium and give
the energy which finds expression in muscular activity.

According to the Atwater bulletin on food
composition issued by the United States department
of agriculture, the dried date shows the following
percentage composition;

Carbohydrates 70 . 6

Protein 1.9

Fat 2.5

Water 13.8

Ash (mineral salts) 1.2

Refuse (fibre). 10.0

100.0

FOOD VALUE OF THE DATE 205

This analysis may be taken as a fair average for
dates. Some fruit will show as high as ninety per
cent, carbohydrates, others lower than the percentage
given in the analysis. The carbohydrates are made
up almost wholly of sugars of the hexose or six carbon
series, a small residuum being pectin bodies of the
pentose or five carbon series.

The pectin bodies belong to the gums, and lead
to the jellying of the fresh cooked juice of the date or of
the sap from the plant. The hexose group of carbo-
hydrates, or sugars, are the principal food element, and
dates have been classified into two great groups,
according as they contain relatively large amounts of
cane sugar or invert sugar. As far as is known all
dates are originally cane sugar carriers, but some
varieties develop in relatively large quantities the
ferment invertase, which "inverts" the cane sugar,
the invert sugar being a mixture in molecular pro-
portions of levulose and dextrose, fruit sugar and
grape sugar respectively. The latter varieties form
typical predigested foods, as the molecules of invert
sugar can be absorbed directly and stored by the
animal economy without any preliminary digestion,
the invertase performing the function of a similarly
acting ferment in the intestinal tract.

The protein and fat content, though small, is in a
readily available form, the protein as a builder and
the fat as a fuel. A man who includes two pounds of
dates as the bulk of a day's ration will not require much
additional protein, the physiological requirement
being approximately one gram per kilo of body weight
per day. In fact, a pure date dietary meets the require-
ment of many Arabs in every day activities for long
periods at a time, without the addition of any other food.

206 DATEGROWING

•

Lost in the technicalities of the above analysis
are the aromatic substances that give the date its
peculiar flavor, apart from sweetness due to sugar.
These aromatic bodies are rather easily volatilized,
and in the treatment of dates for market c#re must
be taken not to drive out the aroma, as the date then
loses its seductive flavor.

The chemical composition of the date at that
stage of complete maturity known as ripening depends
on the activity of various ferments. These ferments
are held in colloidal form within the cell protoplasm.
When ripening begins they lose their colloidal charac-
ter and can then pass through the cell surface, diffusing
through the substance of the fruit and beginning
those changes that result in ripeness. Simultaneously
the tannic acid of the date becomes insoluble, and the
date loses the puckering taste characterizing the
green fruit. Just what these changes are chemically
is not known, but experiments have proved that
beyond a certain stage of maturity the ripening of the
date is not necessarily vitalistic but due to the enzymes
or ferments liberated by the cells. In fact, ripening
may be initiated naturally by an agonal period pre-
ceding the death of the cell. At any rate, at maturity
the date is filled with all the potentials and materials
for ripening ; it can be removed from the tree and very
often ripened to better advantage artificially. The
"artificial" part of ripening a date simply consists
in giving the fruit the best possible environment in
which to activate or quicken the work of its enzymes.

When the date accumulates fifty per cent, or
more of dry matter it begins to ripen. It grows
darker in color, softer, translucent, loses its as-
tringency owing to precipitation of its tannin, becomes

FOOD VALUE OF THE DATE 207

sweet, and develops the peculiar aroma so attractive
to the palate. The cane-sugar are sweeter than the
invert-sugar dates.

Different dates vary greatly as to their character
when allowed to ripen naturally on the tree. The
ideal date for transportation and marketing quickly
shows a syrupy juice with a sugar concentration that
automatically stops ferment action. It is "sugar
cured" and is the best keeping date. Others become
watery and, lacking this sugar concentration, tend
to sour, through the production of organic acids.
Still others dry too rapidly, the envelope cracks
open and affords breeding places for bacteria, and
yeasts and hatcheries for insect eggs. In the artificial
ripening of dates all these factors and others are
taken into account, and much progress has been made
in perfecting processes for producing dates of good
keeping qualities. These qualities depend principally
on the following factors:

1. The fruit must have a juice sufficiently
concentrated to be sugar cured. This protects it
from certain ferments which would carry the changes
too far and result in souring.

2. The external envelope must be preserved
intact, firm, and dry. This prevents stickiness and
the entrance of yeasts and bacteria and the deposition
of insect eggs.

3. The action of enzymes contained within the
dates must be stopped.

4. Any bacteria, yeasts, or insect eggs clinging
to the fruit must be killed.

Without going into exhaustive detail as to
methods to bring about these desirable features, suffice
it to say that this work is almost perfected through

208 DATE GROWING

judicious picking at a certain stage of maturity, pas-
teurization, chemical treatment, and cleanliness in
handling.

The principle underlying artificial ripening is,
subjecting the date to a process which kills the pro-
toplasm, or so changes it that the enzymes within the
cell protoplasm are liberated and mobilized so that
their characteristic action can rapidly proceed.
Many agencies can bring this about, and among them
are heat and moisture, gasoline, nitrous ether, and
various acids and alkalies. The essentials of 11
ripening process are:

1. Efficiency as to rapidity and completeness of
action.

2. Preservation of flavor.

3. No poisonous substance must be left in the
fruit.

4. Convenience and economy in operation.

5. As dates are hygroscopic they must not be
over exposed to moisture, as that favors souring.

The most successful method at present, in Arizona,
seems to be a combination of exposure to carbon
dioxide gas with proper temperature and moisture,
a process resulting in fully ripened, well flavored, and
sterile fruit. Clean handling and proper shipping
containers complete the method.

In California, at the Indio Experiment Station,
carbon dioxide is not found essential to the ripening
method employed. Climatic and seasonal differences
probably explain the varying results of different
methods employed. In Arizona the date grower has
to contend with rains at the ripening time, which the
California grower has not to face.

PART II.
DATE VARIETIES

VARIETIES

[In the following list of varieties I have given first, in each case,
what I consider the correct spelling of the variety name, followed by
variations which have been used in print, and the English meaning
of the name, when I knew it. The list includes only one-fourth of
the varieties which have been grown in the United States, but I
believe it lacks none which is of any importance now.]

Amari, Ammary, Ammaree, The Abundant,
a common Sakaran variety, valued because it is
one of the first to bear. It is the earliest North
African date in the United States, but its quality
here, as in its native home, is mediocre. The fruit
is dark and soft. It ripens in August, or (in some
parts of Tunisia) in the middle of July. It is rarely
seen on the market, as the growers eat it up as rapidly
as it ripens, picking it from the bunch as it matures.
It ripens unevenly, a whole cluster never maturing
at once. The palm is productive; the foliage coarse
and heavy, leaves very numerous, rather short
stalked, with long, wide leaflets. Stalks and branches
of fruit-clusters are orange-colored.

Fruit one and one-fourth to one and one-half
inch long, about one-half as wide, generally inversely
egg-shaped, square at base, rounded at apex. Color
dark brown purple. Flesh one-eighth inch thick,
soft and dark-colored, fibrous. Seed two-thirds as
long as fruit, two-fifths as wide as long, mars brown
in color, blunt at both ends, ventral channel open,
germ pore indistinct. (Kearney).

Amhat, The Pure (?), one of the commonest
Egyptian varieties; has not yet fruited in the United
States. A small date, orange-yellow in color, usually
eaten only in the fresh, soft (rutab) condition, except

212 DATE'GROWING

when grown in Upper Egypt, where it is dried (turning
dark brown) and exported in bags made of palm
leaves. The flesh is pulpy and syrupy, sometimes
mucilaginous; when grown in moist localities it
does not keep well. The palm is highly productive
but does not flourish near the seacoast; its center is
at Badrashin in the province of Gizeh, where it has a
sandy soil and is often not inundated. American
missionaries in the Fayum consider it the best date
they get.

Amir Hajj, Mirhage, Commander of the
Pilgrimage Caravan (so named, it is said, because
the owner of the original tree held this important
position), an attractive soft date which is confined
to the oasis of Mandali, three days' journey east of
Baghdad on the frontier between Persia and
Mesopotamia. The variety is rare even in its own
home, and is jealously guarded by its owners, wealthy,
aristocratic, and fanatical Muslim heretics, who
refuse to part with offshoots, so that not even their
neighbors and friends in the surrounding region have
been able to secure this palm, and several attempts to
secure offshoots for importation to America have
likewise failed. As many seeds of the variety have
been planted in California, it merits description.

The palm is tall and graceful, but delicate,
requiring a great deal of cultivation and water; even
then it is a shy bearer. It grows in a sandy and
alkaline soil. The fruit matures in midseason —
probably about October 1st. It is indisputably a
good date, but owes its reputation partly to the
jealous care with which the owners guard it, and to
its attractive appearance and unusual translucence.

DATE VARIETIES 215

It used to be sold occasionally on the Baghdad
market but is now never seen there ; it is exported only
as presents from the people of Mandali to their
friends; in this way it not only reaches Baghdad
but Damascus, Bayrut, and Constantinople. The
Baghdadis, perhaps from jealousy, are accustomed
to depreciate its quality, and intelligent men have
even told me the ridiculous story that Amir Hajj
is nothing but Khustawi, the Baghdad favorite,
cured by a secret process. A dispassionate observer
will decide that the date is of first quality, but that
there are several in Mesopotamia which are equally
good.

In form, this date is broadly oblong-oval to
oblong-ovate, flattened at base, widest at or near
center, apex rounded to broadly pointed, base flattened.
Size medium large, one and one-quarter to one and
three-eighths inch long, seven-eighths to one inch
wide. Surface dry or nearly so, roughly undulating,
slightly glossy where the thick bluish-gray bloom
has been rubbed off; deep, rich orange-brown in
color, unusually translucent. Skin firm but rather
thin, not easily broken, though tender; loosely folded,
the folds rather prominent but only occasionally
separating from the flesh; no blisters. Flesh three-
eighths inch thick, of caramel consistency, translucent
light golden-brown in color; fibrous lining of seed
cavity yellowish-cream colored, fibre tender and
unnoticeable in the mouth. Seed rather small,
three-quarters inch long by one-fourth to three-eighths
inch wide, oblong to oblong obovate, blunt at base,
slightly tapering at apex; smooth; deep, dull brown in
color; ventral channel almost or entirely closed;
germ pore at or near center. Flavor very rich and

214 DATE -GROWING

pleasant, not so sweet as to be cloying nor so strong
as to be objectionable. Although the date somewhat
resembles Maktum in appearance the flavor is
entirely different.

Amri or Amiri,* the principal commercial date
of Egypt, very largely exported to London from
Sharqia, Faqus, Salhieh, and Abu Kabir; it often
appears on the market under the name of "dates
from Tel el Kebir. " Yellow and syrupy when
fresh; dark brown when cured; large; admirable
shipping qualities. It is much in demand and the
best fruit is packed like confectionery. Has not
fruited in the United States, unless an old and un-
named palm near Indio, California, be of this variety.
A palm of this name which fruits successfully at
Tempe, Arizona, is a dry date.

Anjasi, The Pyriform, a large, brown, soft
date from Baghdad, which ripens in early September,
and bears rather heavily; the fruit is considered to be of
good quality, but the variety is not common. Good
when fresh or cured. Has not yet fruited in the
United States.

Arisbti, see Rishti.

Asab'i al Arus, Sba el Aroosa, The Bride's
Fingers, a common name for a date among Arabs,
because the fingers of a girl on her wedding day are
polished and painted until they are works of art.
The date of that name in Algeria and Tunisia is an

*Perhaps from Amr, a common name for men. Delchevalerie
refers it to the same root but makes it Umri, The Date of Life.

DATE VARIETIES 215

inferior soft date, but a much better one is grown to
a limited extent in most parts of Mesopotamia;
it is eaten either fresh or cured. The palm, which
is a heavy bearer, ripens its fruit late in September.
The date is long and slender, light brown in color.
Has not yet fruited in this country.

Asharasi, Ascherasi, Tall Growing, the best dry
date of Mesopotamia*, and probably as good an
example of the type as is to be found in the world.
The apical end is usually soft and translucent, which
has led some writers to call it semi-dry. It is a great
favorite around Baghdad and almost as much so at
Busreh, although it is grown in the latter district
on a very small scale; and even at Baghdad most of
the supply comes from oases toward the Persian
frontier. It has been well tested in California and
has proved itself well adapted to conditions here.
By its soft consistency, freedom from fibre and tannin,
and delicate flavor, it commends itself to all interested
in dry dates, but unfortunately offshoots are difficult
to procure.

In form, the fruit is ovate to oblong ovate,
broadest at or close to flattened base, and tapering to
the pointed or broadly pointed apex. Sometimes
tends toward ovate elliptical, being rather variable
in form as well as size. Medium to medium large in
size, one and one-eighth to one and three-eighths
inch in length, seven-eighths to one and one-quarter
inch in breadth. Surface hard, rough, straw-colored

* Ancient writers mention a variety called Al Sarafan, now
extinct, which seems to have been much the same as Asharasi. An
interesting account of the dates anciently grown around Baghdad,
as described by classical writers, is given by Father Anastase Marie
in Loghat el Arab, No. XI, mai, 1913, p. 509.

21« DATE CROWING

around base, translucent brownish amber toward
apex; bloom slight, grayish. Skin dry, thin, and
tender, breaking frequently, coarsely wrinkled and
folded, often separating from the flesh except around
base. Flesh at basal end hard, opaque, creamy
white; toward tip changing to translucent brownish
amber, of solid consistency, one-fourth inch thick.
Seed small, oblong-elliptical, blunt or rounded at
base and sharply pointed at apex, five-eighths to
three-quarters inch long, one-fourth to five-sixteenths
inch broad; smooth; light brown; ventral channel
almost closed, germ pore nearer base than apex.
Flavor rich, sweet, and nutty.

Two allied varieties are distinguished by the
Arabs: Asharasi Aswad ("Black") which differs only
in color, and Qurret Asharasi, The Coolness (i.e.,
pleasing freshness) of Asharasi, which has no marked
point of difference. There is a widespread super-
stition in Mesopotamia that these three varieties are
sensitive to the odor of melons, and that if one opens
or eats a melon under such a palm the dates will
all fall to the ground within a few days.

'Ausheh, Aooshet, perhaps correctly 'Aujeh, The
Recurving, a rare variety from the Mzab of Algeria
which has given good results in the United States.

'Awaydi, "The Little Big One," a rare Busreh
variety which many consider the best there, for its
mild, delicate flavor as well as its large size. It is
also the slowest to come into bearing, offshoots
yielding nothing for from eight to fourteen years,
according to Arabs. The date ripens about October
1st. and must be well cured, when it packs excellently.

asm

DATE VARIETIES 217

In its fresh state it is little esteemed. The fruit will
keep for a year without deteriorating. A shy bearer.

The date is broadly oblong to oblong ovate,
usually regularly oblong but sometimes slightly
widest near the broad, obliquely flattened base,
thence tapering to the rounded or broadly pointed
apex. Size very large, the length being one and three-
quarters to two inches, breadth at widest point
seven-eighths to one inch. Surface almost smooth,
deep golden-brown in color, sometimes tinged with
maroon, and overspread with a thick, grayish-blue
bloom; marked with a few transverse russet scars
toward apex, by which the Arabs distinguish it from
similar varieties. Skin thin, tender, very slightly
wrinkled, or sometimes folded longitudinally and
transversely, but generally adhering to the flesh very
closely. Flesh soft and syrupy, three-sixteenths to
one-fourth inch in thickness, deep amber colored,
tinged with red near the skin; the fibrous lining of the
seed cavity rather thick and tough. Seed broadly
oblong to oblong-obovate, rounded at base and
bluntly rounded at apex, one inch long, three-eighths
inch broad, smooth, grayish brown in color, ventral
channel open but shallow, germ pore slightly nearer
apex than base. Flavor moderately rich, sweet but
not cloying.

Two palms in Coachella Valley, brought from
Busreh eight years ago, are bearing for the first time
this year. The labels are confused but there is reason
to believe that they are 'Awaydi.

Azmashi, a rare but much esteemed soft date
of the Algerian Ziban, which is never seen on the
market, but which many Arabs declare is preferable

218 DATE G-RO WING

to Deglet* Nur. It is said to be about the size of
the latter date, slightly lighter in color, and equally
translucent. It matures late — well on to November 1.
A shy bearer, and the dates are small unless a large
proportion of the clusters be removed. May have
originated as a seedling of Deglet Nur. Has not yet
fruited in the United States.

Badinjani, The Egg-Plant Date, so called from
its resemblance to the fruit of Solanum melongena.
Introduced to the United States only this year. A
scarce Baghdad variety, really a dry date, but better
when gathered while still soft, and packed in boxes or
skins. It is also good when fresh (rutab) and better
than the average in its dry form. Season varies
widely ; in some places it is one of the earliest to ripen,
say early August, while in others it comes a month
later. Bears well and is highly esteemed.

*Deglet should correctly be transliterated Daqlet when followed
by a vowel, or Daqleh when followed by a consonant; the collective
plural Daqal is often used by illiterate Arabs of the present day as a
singular, Degal. Its general meaning is "weak, emaciated, or thin,"
and as applied to palms it means, according to one of the best classical
lexicographers, "a variety of palm trees, and the dates thereof are
bad, although the daqleh may be abundant in fruit; and some have
red dates and some have black; the body of the dates being small
and the stone large." Another says, "they are the worst of palm
trees and their dates the worst of dates." The word refers, in short,
to a chance seedling which can not be identified with any known
variety, and as such it is regularly used today, and has always been
so used, in all Arab communities. But occasionally a seedling desig-
nated by this name is found worthy of perpetuation, and then, instead
of being given a regular variety name, it is sometimes allowed to
keep the word Daqleh in its name, to recall to the Arabs the fact
that it is an adventitious variety — such is the case with Deglet Nur
and many others. These exceptions do not weaken the general rule
that a date described by the Arabs as a degal is of inferior quality,
and in most cases it will be found that a variety whose name contains
that word is of secondary importance. There is not the slightest
authority for saying that degal means a soft date; it is, indeed, more
likely to be dry than soft..

DATE VARIETIES 219

Form obovate, narrow and flattened at base,
broadly pointed at apex. Very firm in consistency.
Size medium large, one and three-eighths to one and
one-half inch in length, seven-eighths to one and one-
sixteenth inch in breadth. Surface fairly smooth,
slightly rough or undulating in parts, dry, light
purplish maroon in color, with a satiny sheen; bloom
extremely slight. Skin dry, thin but rather tough,
coarsely wrinkled transversely over a part of the
surface, the rest smooth or undulating; adheres closely.
Flesh three-sixteenths to one-fourth inch thick, firm
but not brittle, opaque and whitish near base, usually
changing to translucent brownish amber toward apex;
fibrous lining of seed cavity rather prominent. Seed
elliptical, tapering at base and roundly pointed at apex,
seven-eighths inch long, three-eighths inch broad,
smooth, grayish brown, ventral channel open, germ
pore slightly nearer base than apex. Flavor rather
rich for a dry date; nutty and pleasant.

Badrahi, Badraihi, Bedraihe, Badurahi, from
the oasis of Badra, (although those of Mandali are
now considered better). The palm flourishes in a
sandy soil, and is rarely found at Baghdad. The date
is much liked by the Baghdadis, but the whole supply
is shipped in. The palm is easy to cultivate, but
bears moderately; it has been a decided success in
America. Season late September.

Form broadly oblong, tending to oblong-oval and
oblong-obovate, broadest between center and apex.
Base slightly flattened, apex broadly pointed. Size
medium to medium large, one and one-fourth to one
and three-fourths inch long, seven-eighths to one
and one-eighth inch wide. Surface hard and dry,

220 DATE GROWING

smooth to roughly undulating, rarely wrinkled;
brownish straw colored, sometimes darker toward
apex and lighter toward base. Skin hard, dry, and
brittle, adhering closely to flesh and rarely wrinkled
or folded. Flesh three-eighths inch thick, light
straw colored, very hard and solid, not mealy, free
from fibre. Seed oblong-elliptical, slightly tapering
at base and pointed at apex, three-fourths inch long,
five-sixteenths inch wide, fairly smooth, deep brown in
color, ventral channel open, narrow ; germ pore slightly
nearer apex. Flavor remarkably sweet and delicate,
almost honey-like, with very little of the nutty
flavor that characterizes Asharasi.

Badrashin, name of a village in Egypt noted as
a center of date culture. A variety which was
introduced under the probably erroneous name of
Okka de Badrashin has proved decidedly valuable in
Arizona and is worthy of wide propagation. It is
similar in general appearance to Birket al Hajji
but is excessively late in maturing its fruit, which in
the Tempe garden frequently hangs on the tree all
winter; some of the best dates have been picked in
March. It is hardy and a heavy bearer, but in that
unfavorable climate the fruits do not mature well
unless artificially ripened with carbon dioxid; after
such treatment, however, they are an excellent and
saleable date, and there is practically no waste. The
variety is distinguished by the deep orange color of the
stems of its fruit clusters; there will probably be little
difficulty in identifying it in its native home, and it can
then be introduced to the United States on a large scale.

Bajlani, vulgarly Baglani or Baklani, named
after the Bajleh tribe of Arabs, noted as palm growers.

DATE VARIETIES 221

A small but good Baghdad dry date, which closely
resembles the favorite Zahidi in appearance and
ripens at the same time — that is, it is early. Bears
well. Not common. No record of its performance in
America yet.

Barban, Berban, The Fair Persian*, a name
given because of its brilliant red color when fresh.
Prized at Baghdad solely for its early maturity (late
July); it does not cure or keep well. The date is of
medium size; it turns dark brown when fully mature,
but never becomes very sweet, or entirely loses its
astringency. It is fairly common, however, being
a rank grower, and considered the heaviest bearer of
the region, with the possible exception of Zahidi,
yields of 300 or 350 pounds being recorded. The
palm may be distinguished by the great size of its
petioles at the base; cross sections of them are used
by small boys when learning to swim in the Tigris,
because of their lightness as well as size. The fruit
is considered rather indigestible; much of it is used,
when fresh, for the manufacture of dibs or date
syrup, for which the variety is considered well suited.

Barhi, Berhi, originally Barhi. The Barh are
hot winds which prevail at Busreh during the summer
and which are supposed to have a particular influence
on the maturity of this date. It disputes with
'Awaydi the first rank at Busreh, although it is
scarce; hardly grown at Baghdad. It is delicious at
any stage, but unrivaled when fresh. Offshoots are

The word is itself Persian in origin, and is a contraction of
Bahr Banu, "the beautiful girl." It will be seen, therefore, that my
translation above is somewhat free. The variety Tun, now extinct,
seems to have been similar to, if not identical with, Barban.

222 DATE GROWING

slower in coming into bearing than some varieties, but
after reaching maturity are prolific. The dates ripen
during the latter half of September.

They are broadly ovate, tending to oval, broadest
near center or one-third of the distance from base to
apex, tapering slightly toward both ends, but chiefly
toward apex. Size medium large, the length being one
and one-fourth to one and one-half inch, width near
base seven-eighths to one and one-fourth inch, more
variable in size than most varieties. Surface un-
dulating, translucent amber brown in color, over-
spread with a bluish-gray bloom which makes it
rather dull in appearance; skin medium thin and
rather easily broken, not wrinkled, but often separating
from the flesh, especially toward the apex of the
fruit, in prominent folds and blisters. Flesh firm but
very tender, one-fourth inch thick, very syrupy,
translucent golden-brown in color. Seed oblong to
oblong-ovate, blunt at base, rather sharply pointed at
apex, three-fourths inch long, five-sixteenths inch
broad, rough near base but becoming smooth at apex,
grayish brown, ventral channel broadly open, germ
pore nearer apex than base. Flavor mild and ex-
tremely delicate, rich yet not heavy or cloying.

The palm is distinguished by a stout trunk. It
is successful in the United States, but in the un-
favorable climate of Salt River Valley does not
ripen evenly.

Bartamoda, Bertamoda, the best soft date of
the Sudan, and the only soft date found in commerce
there; it has recently been introduced to the United
States from Nubia. It brings twice as high a price

DATE VARIETIES 223

as the more popular dry dates which form the bulk
of Sudan commerce; probably adapted only to the
hottest regions of America.

Bint 'Aisheh (a woman's name), a common date
of the Egyptian delta; has not yet fruited in the
United States. Large, nearly spherical in form, red
when fresh but turns almost black when cured;
flesh thick and syrupy, seed small. Usually eaten
when fresh, or, if preserved, is put in bags or skins.
Late in maturing.

Birket al Hajji, Hadji, Haggi, The Pilgrim's
Pool, name of an oasis near Cairo where the annual
caravan to Mecca makes its first stop; also called
Birkawi, from the same root, and Hayani, the name
of a village ( ?) ; one of the best and earliest Egyptian
dates and of great value in the United States. No
variety has given such good results in Arizona, and
it may be expected to do even better in California.

Outside the oasis from which it takes its name,
and which has in all ages been famous for the quality
of its dates, this variety is grown commercially in the
province of Galiubia, principally in clayey soil, and
particularly around the town of Marg*. It is generally
considered the earliest of the commercial varieties in
Egypt, ripening in July. In Arizona it ripens about
October 1, but should do much better than this in
favored localities in California.

The palm is one of the most ornamental ever
introduced to the United States, with soft and grace-
ful leaves and few spines. It proved notably hardy

The only place in Palestine where dates are now grown com-
mercially is Gaza (Ghazzeh), and it is this variety which is there
grown, particularly at the famous Monastery of Dates.

224 DATE GROWING

in the severe freeze of last winter. It is also extra-
ordinarily fecund : in the number of offshoots produced
it probably surpasses any other variety of good
quality. On one occasion fifty-three offshoots were
taken from a palm at Tempe. And, best of all, it
seems able to produce offshoots without diminishing
its great yields of fruit: 200 or 250 pounds is by no
means a remarkable crop for it.

The date is long, and thick in proportion to its
length; bright red before fully ripe, and dark brown
when cured. It ripens on the bunch with great
evenness, hangs steadily until the grower picks it off,
and is borne on long stems which allow the crop
to be gathered with a minimum of labor: two men
have harvested 1000 pounds in a day at Tempe.
Because of the facility with which the crop is handled,
as well as the large yield, Vinson declares that anyone
who grows the variety in Arizona and only makes five
cents a pound net profit from the fruit will clear $200
per acre annually. The dates have never shown any
defect in ripening, except in hot, steamy weather, when
the ends sometimes crack — but this kind of weather
is rarely found in most date-growing districts.

The palm bears at a very early age in Egypt,
often two years after the offshoot is planted.* The
variety is one that can be unhesitatingly recommended
to the American planter.

Brim, Brem, often spelled Brehm by confusion
with Ibrahimi, while the original form may have
been Brin.t Common at Busreh, where it is eaten

*Delchevalerie, G. Le Dattier. In Bui. de la Fed. des Soc.
Hort. de Belgique, 2d fasc. Liege, 1871. The author was head
gardener to the Khedive.

fThis variety seems hopelessly confused. After collating ancient
authorities, the learned Carmelite friar Pere Anastase-Marie of

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DATE VARIETIES 225

fresh or boiled; rare at Baghdad, where it is much
more highly esteemed. It is never boiled at Baghdad;
it is never preserved in any other way at Busreh. After
its sixth year the offshoot bears heavily, ripening
its fruits about September 15.

The following description was made from a
boiled specimen at Busreh : form oblong-ovate, widest
near the flattened base, thence tapering to the broadly
pointed apex; size medium, length one and one-
fourth to one and one-half inch, breadth at widest
point three-fourths to seven-eighths inch. Surface
hard and rough, golden brown to light brown in
color, bloom none. Skin thin, dry, hard, profusely
wrinkled in all directions but adhering to the flesh
very closely. Flesh hard, dry, coarsely granular,
one-eighth to three-sixteenths inch thick, golden
brown near skin but becoming lighter in color toward
the seed. Seed oblong, blunt at base, broadly
pointed at apex, seven-eighths inch long, five-
sixteenths inch wide, fairly smooth, brownish gray,
ventral channel almost closed. Flavor sweet, very

slightly astringent.

/

Bu Narinja or sometimes Qush Bu Narinja,
Father of the Orange, because of its color*. A
common soft date in the Persian Gulf and inland

Baghdad reached the conclusion that it was originally the same as
Burn! or Birni (see Loghat el Arab, No. 11, Baghdad, April, 1912.)
But even granting this, the two varieties are certainly distinct now,
if indeed there be not two or more varieties contained in each name.
The lexicographer Abu Hanifah makes the interesting suggestion that
this variety is identical with the famous Sayhanl, which grows in the
Hijaz and particularly at Khaybar, east of Madina, and is known
in Algeria as Kasbeh.

*The Persian naranj originally meant flame-colored; hence
it has come to mean the fruit of that color, in most modern languages.
Cf. Spanish narauja; our own word orange is of the same origin.

226 DATE CROWING

Arabia under this name, sometimes corrupted to
Qush Bin Aringa; it is often sold boiled, when it
passes — in the Masqat market, at least — under the
name of Sakkari, sugary. It is said to be the favorite
variety on the island of Bahrayn; and it is so like
Khalaseh in appearance that attempts are often
made to sell it as such. The variety (which has not
yet fruited in America) is highly esteemed; it ripens
in the latter part of August, and yields heavily. One
of the favorite dates for eating rutab, but it also
keeps well; as it is soft under Arab handling it is
usually sold in bags; it has a very tender, light brown
skin, small seed and no fibre; flesh light golden brown
in color, caramel consistency but rather sticky.
Flavor sweet and delicate. Boiled specimens which
I obtained were one and one-fourth inch long,
five-eighths inch wide, broadest about base, tapering
gradually to rounded apex. Dark chestnut-brown
color. Flesh one-eighth inch thick, fairly soft, dark
cafe au lait color, some fibre, cavity large and loose.
Seed, seven-eighths inch long, five-sixteenths inch
broad. Flavor in boiled form bad.

Burlus, Bourlos, (name of a village) one of the
largest dates of Egypt, grown throughout the delta,
particularly around Rosetta. It is soft, oval in form,
skin orange-yellow when fresh (in which form it is
usually consumed) but later turns dark brown; pulp
solid and light in color; flavor slightly astringent.
It is the favorite variety for making conserves and
sweet pickles. Has not fruited in America.

Burni, Berni, The Sweetmeat Jar (Pers.) , an

*This is the derivation given me in Masqat; other authorities
derive it from a town named Burn, or from the Pers., bir, fruit and

DATE VARIETIES 227

Oman variety which apparently has no relation
to the classical Birni* of Arabia and North Africa
despite the similarity in name. It is a dry date
similar to Naghal and of unique appearance. Fruit
one and eleven-sixteenths inch long, eleven-six-
teenths inch wide, basal half of almost uniform
width, tapering thence to blunt, flattened, sometimes
depressed apex. Basal half a dead, yellowish gray,
apical end light chestnut brown, the division of colors
being distinct. Seed cavity large, and large seed
loose in it, with considerable fibre. Flesh thin but
more tender than that of the ordinary dry date;
keeps indefinitely. Seed one inch long, one-quarter
inch wide, usually some fibre adhering to it. Date
requires chewing and has a rich, full, but not cloying
flavor, with slight trace of bitterness. It is often sold
on strings, like necklaces, in the Masqat market, at
the rate of thirty for a cent. Ripens midseason,
bears moderately. Not a common variety in Samail.
Cannot be considered of top-notch quality, but on
account of its great size and double coloring it is
decidedly interesting.

Burshi, The Curved Dagger (Hind.), a small,
fat, yellow, dry date of Oman, doubtless curved, as
its name suggests. It is a common variety, valued
because it ripens about June 1. Yield said to be of
moderate amount. Has not yet borne in America.

nik, good; or bir, crop and ni, heavy, etc. Consult Pere Anastase,
loc. cit. His opinion that this was originally the same as Brim has
been mentioned, and Fairchild (B. P. I. Bui. No. 54, p. 23) evidently
saw Brim, not Burni of Masqat, which is markedly different. The
varieties Brim and Burni are too confused to be separated without
an exhaustive investigation.

*Highly prized by Arabs because Muhammad said, "It causeth
sickness to depart, and there is no sickness in it." Still used as a diet
in smallpox.

228 DATE GROWING

Deglet Nur, properly Daqlet al Nur, Date of the
Light, or The Translucent Seedling, a variety which
originated in the Saharan oasis of Balad al Ahmar 300
years ago and at once assumed the position of un-
contested supremacy which had previously been
held by Kasbeh or Bu Zakri.* Another version
derives its name from a female saint, Lalla Nureh,
who is supposed to have lived at the oasis, where she
said her prayers regularly by the side of the road,
and repeated the ninety-nine names of God; but
as she was too poor to buy a rosary for this purpose,
she selected ninety-nine date seeds, on which she told
the attributes of the Deity. When she died, passers-
by found her body and buried her on the spot; the
ninety-nine date seeds were left lying about and, taking
root, became palms of this new and superlative
variety which, after the owner of the seeds, was called
Degleh Nureh, or Nureh 's seedling. Such is the
Arabic legend, and the moralising relator adds, "Thus
did God reward those who had bestowed charity on
his servant (Lalla Nureh) by giving them better
dates than they had before possessed, "f The variety
has now become the standard of excellence in Algeria
and Tunisia. I estimate, on the basis of government

*See Descr. Gen. de Africa by Luis del Marmol, folio 15. Granada
1573. The variety is still found in Tunisia, where it is esteemed, and
in Tafilalet, where it even today ranks as one of the best dates.

fL. Gognalons has recently put forward a new version of the
name, for which he alleges the authority of a Tradition: that Muham-
mad had a favorite wife named Nureh who, one day as she was
bathing, found a seedling palm which had grown by the fountain;
she called the prophet's attention to it, and he transplanted it and
named it in her honor. This legend is too absurd to be worthy of
notice. In point of fact, Muhammad never had a wife named
Nureh. Gognalons, L. La Legende du Palmier dans 1'Afrique du
Nord. Bui. Soc. de Geog. et d'Archeol. d'Oran, t.XXXII, fasc.
CXXX (1st trim.) an. 35, mars, 1912, p. 115; and also in Revue
Africaine, an. 52, No. 285, p. 203. Alger, 2d trim., 1912.

DATE VARIETIES 229

figures of the production, that in the former country
there are at least 350,000 palms of that sort;
in Tunisia Gallois* calculates that ten per cent of the
2,000,000 palms are Deglet Nurs. Nevertheless, the
production can hardly meet the demand for this date
from European markets.

It is of medium size, very sweet, with a delicate
and particularly mild flavor in which the characteristic
taste of the date is lacking, so that it is more like a
confection than a fruit. Its defects are a tendency
to ferment after it has been kept for some months,
and the immense amount of heat needed to mature
it properly. In fact, there is perhaps no date in
America which needs a more prolonged high
temperature, and for this reason its growth will
never be profitable except in a few favored regions
such as the Salton Basin of California.

Unless carefully handled the date is soft and
sticky, but if well cured, or if ripened artificially, its
consistency is entirely satisfactory. The Arabs most
fear a rain when it is ripening; this spoils the appear-
ance of the dates and makes them unsaleable for fancy
trade, so they are pressed tightly into skins, and
within a few months begin to ferment, acquiring a
pineapple flavor which is much appreciated by the
poor nomad who buys them at bargain prices. In
America they can be saved, if struck by rain, by
quick artificial ripening, which, however, darkens
their color and destroys most of the distinctive flavor.
Much of the fruit offered for sale in Algerian markets
is a disgusting, syrupy mass, but the variety, like
many other soft dates, can also be marketed as a dry

*GalIois, Eugene. L'Olivier et le Palmier en Tunisie. Bui. Soc.
de Geog. Commerciale, t. XXXII, p. 465. Paris, 1910.

280 DATE (GROWING

date, and is so marketed, particularly in the oasis of
El Kantara where, the summer being too short to
mature it properly, the fruit has a crisp texture and
a little astringency. In this condition it is little
relished by Europeans, although the Kantarans,
with a loyal desire to conceal the deficiencies of
their climate, declare they would not eat the mushy
Deglet Nurs which the people of other oases enjoy.

The variety matures in October or early in
November. In Coachella Valley it tends to dry
up or mummify on the palm at the very time it should
be filling with syrup; this may be prevented by daily
irrigations at the ripening period. The palm demands
plenty of care, * in the shape of irrigation, fertilization
and cultivation, but, given this, shows less tendency
than most varieties to rest every other year. The
yield averages 100 pounds or more in California.
Offshoots are hardy, easily shipped and rooted.
The Arabs have the idea that the wood of this variety
is more resistant to rot, when placed in the ground,
than any other.

The tree, like those of most particularly choice
dates, is notably graceful with its slender trunk,
light and delicate foliage, which is of a yellowish
green, and its bright yellow fruit stalks, which hang
down far below the crown of foliage. Its spines are
slender and weak.

The fruit is one and one-third to two inches long
and about one-half as wide, widest near middle,
sloping slightly to flattened or depressed base and
more abruptly to bluntly pointed apex. Color

*Students of environment will be interested in the statement
that in the Tuat oases of the remote Sahara, Deglet Nur is "degener-
ate and despised." Martin, A. G. P. Oasis Sahariennes, p. 290 f.
Paris, 1908.

DATE VARIETIES 231

orange rufous before maturity, maroon when ripe;
its skin ochraceous colored where loose, shiny. Flesh
one-fourth inch thick, deep golden brown, soft and
melting, conspicously translucent, so that the outline of
the seed can be seen if a date is held to the light.
Seed a little more than one-half as long as the fruit,
pointed at apex and base, light chestnut in color,
ventral channel shallow and partly closed, germ
pore in center.

Dubaini, Deboeni, Deboweni, from the oasis of
Dubai, near Baghdad; a date resembling Khustawi,
but larger. Has not yet been tested in California.
The palm bears heavily, midseason, and the fruit
keeps well. It is rarely eaten fresh, but is packed in
skins for future use. Under American handling it
should prove an excellent date for packing and
shipping in attractive form.

Form oblong-oval to oblong-ovate, widest at
center or slightly below, thence tapering to the
flattened base and the rounded to broadly pointed
apex. Size medium, length one and one-fourth to
one and one-half inch, breadth seven-eighths inch.
Surface irregularly rough, translucent, clear, light
reddish brown in color, bloom unnoticeable. Skin
thin but moderately tough, firm, not wrinkled but
sometimes folded or blistered and separating from
the flesh, although in the main it adheres closely.
Flesh one-eighth to three-sixteenths inch thick,
translucent golden brown in color, firm but tender,
syrupy, slightly fibrous around seed. Seed broadly
oblong rounded at both ends, plump, three-fourths inch
long, five-sixteenths inch broad, smooth, cinnamon
brown, ventral channel narrow, germ pore slightly

232 DATE CROWING

nearer apex than base. Flavor mild but rich and
syrupy, very similar to that of Khustawi.

El Kseba, see Kasbeh.

Fardh, Fard, The Separated, because of the
way the dates are arranged on the bunch, according
to modern Omani etymologists, but the ancients,
who are much more entitled to credit, spell it
differently, in a way that probably means "The
Apportioned." Ttis is the great commercial staple
of Oman, and is sold in large quantities on the
American market, where its perfect form, due to its
firmness, makes it bring a relatively high price in
spite of its second-rate quality.

The variety is confined to Samail Valley and its
continuation, Wadi Aman, in eastern Arabia, sixty
miles from the coast, and it so preponderates that
two-thirds of the hfrlf million palms are said to be
Fardhs. The growers declare that it will not flourish in
any other locality, and it certainly does not flourish
on the coast, probably because of the difference in
climatic conditions; but in its own home it is not
considered a delicate variety. Offshoots grow readily
if given care, and usually begin to bear in three years,
reaching their maximum yield three or four years
later; the number of bunches carried by a palm is
large, but they are not individually heavy, and 180
pounds is considered a big yield for one palm.

When the fruit begins to ripen, about September
1, the whole of Oman is affected, and the only activity
of the year takes place on a large scale. The pro-
duction is now about as large as is profitable, and
if the year is unusually favorable it is difficult to

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DATE VARIETIES 233

dispose of the crop, for Which the growers receive
little more than one cent a pound. In an ordinary
year they get about a cent and a half. Usually
buyers take the crop while it is still on the tree,
paying the owner $1.50 to $2.00 for the crop of a
good tree. Because of its remarkable shipping and
keeping qualities, the date is exported all over the
Persian Gulf region, to Southern Arabia, and in large
quantities to East Africa; but the United States is,
as it has been for many years, one of the most profit-
able customers. Much of the date export trade is
carried on by chartered steamers which make the trip
to New York direct. Exports to New York in 1911
were 3,882,008.5 pounds valued at $154,662.42,
according to consular invoice; for preceding years the
value of the annual shipment to New York was as
follows :

1910 $ 94,082

1909 40,771

1908 59,036

1907 105,011

1906 131,058

Probably this variability in the exports is due
more to fluctuation in the amount of the crop than
to variation of the American demand, which is fairly
steady, because the Fardh date is the only one imported
by the United States which can be bought in fairly
presentable condition. Its tough, firm flesh allows
it to come on the table intact, while the superior
Halawi and Khadhrawi of Busreh have been so
squeezed out of shape by the heavy feet of the Arab
packer that they do not look presentable, no matter
how good their flavor may be.

234 DATEGftOWING

Offshoots of the Fardh palm are invariably
small in size, and those used by native growers
rarely weigh more than five pounds. Such an
offshoot is good to plant as soon as taken from the
tree, but of course does not stand shipment as well
as a larger one would, and this may be one of the
reasons why the variety has not been established
far from its original home. Several attempts have
been unsuccessfully made to start it in the United
States; during the present year, however, it was
introduced on a large enough scale to give every
chance of success. The variety certainly receives
a great deal of care from its owners, and probably
needs the same treatment in the United States,
irrigation, cultivation and fertilization not being
stinted. While no fruit has yet been produced
from offshoot Fardhs in this country, seedlings have
given good results in Arizona, the product in more
than one case being better than that which is imported;
and there is a particularly good reason to expect
satisfactory results from seedlings of this variety,
since it is so much cultivated in the few places
where it is grown that there is every chance that the
male by which the tree was pollinated was also a
Fardh, of seedling origin. Because of its early
maturity and shipping qualities the variety will be
valuable to the United States; yet it cannot be con-
sidered as a date of high quality, if flavor alone be
considered, and it can never compete with such varie-
ties as Maktum or Khadhrawi, far less Khalaseh or
Deglet Nur.

The berry may be technically described as
follows: Very dark brown, one and one-fourth
inch long, three-quarters inch wide, broadest near

DATE VARIETIES *35

middle but tapering little until its blunt apex. Flesh
one-eighth to one-fourth inch thick, sticky but of
firm consistency, russet brown in color. Skin fairly
thin and tender. Seed small, five-eighths inch long,
three-eighths wide, tight in cavity; little fibre. Flavor
sweet with rather strong after-taste. A small date,
but if packed properly has dry skin and perfect
shape.

Fursi, Farisi, vulgarly pronounced Firsi, The
Persian, a little-known Busreh variety which was
introduced to the United States this year. It is
eaten either fresh or cured. The dates ripen early
in October, and the yield of the palm is fairly large.
Packing and keeping qualities excellent.

Form oblong-ovate, widest close to the flattened
base, thence tapering to the sharply pointed apex.
Size large, length being one and one-half to one and
three-fourths inch, breadth at widest point three-
fourths to seven-eighths inch. Surface slightly ir-
regular, somewhat glossy, translucent, deep reddish
brown to purplish maroon in color, the bloom very
slight. Skin thin but fairly tough, indiscriminately
wrinkled but not deeply so, occasionally separating
from the flesh in folds . Flesh soft and tender, one-fourth
inch thick, translucent amber to reddish amber in
color. Seed oblong, rounded at both ends, three-
fourths inch in length, five- sixteenths in breadth,
smooth, cinnamon brown in color, ventral channel
almost closed. Flavor rich and sweet; decidedly
pleasant.

Ghars, Rhars, R'ars, The Vigorous Grower,
one of the commonest of North Africa soft dates and

236 DATE GROWING

much esteemed because of its early maturity, heavy
yield, resistance to alkali*, tolerance of neglect, and
the easy digestibility of its fruit, even when eaten in
large quantities steadily. In the United States
it has proved a shyer bearer, and in moist climates
such as that of the Salt River Valley, Arizona, its
fruit matures unevenly, and ferments before it can be
handled. In California, and particularly if pollinated
by Phoenix canariensis, the fruit is easy to handle
and will always be valuable because of its large size
and earliness. It seems to do best on a sandy soil.

In California the fruit ripens at the middle of
August, but in its native home sometimes two weeks
earlier than this. The tree shows a tendency to bear
a good crop only every other year, but this is largely
overcome by giving it good treatment. The root
system is deep, in comparison with the shallower root
system of Deglet Nur. Offshoots are considered
hardy by the Algerians, although other varieties
have been found easier to propagate in the United
States.

As is indicated by its name, the tree is sturdy and
vigorous, the trunk stout, and the foliage luxuriant,
the numerous long leaves being crowded with long,
broad leaflets. Stalks and branches of fruit-clusters
are bright orange.

The fruit itself is one and one-half to two inches
or more in length, and two-fifths to nearly one-half
as wide, oblong or inversely egg-shaped, bay colored,
but sometimes ochraceous when the shiny skin has
lifted in big blisters. In general, the skin adheres
closely to the flesh, which is three-eighths inch thick,

*In Algeria no variety tolerates more alkali unless it be the
inferior dry date, Degla Baydha.

DATE VARIETIES 237

soft and syrupy when fresh, granular after it has been
kept a year or more; slightly translucent. Seed
three-fourths to one inch long, rounded at each end,
cinnamon to chestnut in color, ventral channel deep,
sometimes closed near middle, germ pore in center.
Flavor sweet and very rich.

When matured in the way usual in California,
the fruit is delicious if fresh, but the syrup drips out
of it so that in a few weeks it becomes dry and tasteless.
The Algerian overcomes this by pressing the fruit
tightly in skins as soon as it is picked. In California
the fruit is firm and does not drip if it is pollinated
by the so-called Canary Island date palm; otherwise
it should be carefully ripened artificially. Irrigation
should be stopped when the dates begin to soften on
the tree. In Arizona it is considered that the best
results are secured when the fruit is artificially
matured with carbon dioxid. Because of the short
stem of its fruit cluster the dates are difficult to
pick; the green fruit can be detached more easily
than that which is fully ripe. The variety proved
rather sensitive to cold last winter.

Ghazi, Rhazi, R'azi, The Warrior (i.e., a
participant in a raiding foray of the nomads), one of
the earliest of Algerian varieties, usually eaten when
fresh and soft — the rutab stage. The palm is of
middle size, and never bears very heavily; in the
Ziban the fruit ripens in September. The date is
described as of medium size, long in proportion to its
breadth, yellowish red when fresh, later turning to
a golden brown; normally soft, but if left on the palm
it will become almost dry, and in that condition
keeps well. Sub-varieties distinguished by the Arabs

228 DATEGROWING

are Latin al Ghazi and Nuwa al Ghazi, both doubtless
of seedling origin; the former is considered of superior
quality and the latter earlier in ripening.

Gundila, Gondila, Gondela, a dry date from
Nubia and the Sudan, which has been introduced to
the United States but has not yet fruited. Large
size, yellowish brown color. Season September.
Ordinarily grows in sand. With Barakawi, another
dry variety, this makes up practically the whole
commerce in dates in the Sudan. An ardab (320
pounds) of the latter sells for $4 to $5 while the same
quantity of Gundila brings from $5 to $6.

Halawi, The Sweet, the great commercial date
of Mesopotamia and probably the most important
commercial date of the world in point of quantity
sold. It ripens early, bears heavily, packs well, and
keeps well, but the Arabs themselves do not care
for it as a diet, because they consider it not only
cloying but rather indigestible. It is a favorite with
the American consumer, however, largely on account
of its light and attractive color, and as it has been
proved to succeed excellently in America it will
probably be planted here on a large scale. In Busreh
the variety ripens during the first two weeks of
September.

Form slender oblong to oblong-ovate, tapering
almost unnoticeably from the broad, flattened base
to the blunt or broadly pointed apex. Size medium
large, the length being one and one-fourth to one and
three-fourths inch, width near base three-fourths to
thirteen-sixteenths inch. Surface slightly rough,
translucent bright golden brown in color, the bluish-

ATE VARIETIES 239

gray bloom almost unnoticeable. Skin almost tough
but rather thin, coarsely wrinkled longitudinally,
sometimes separating from the flesh in longitudinal
folds. Flesh very firm, one-eighth to three-sixteenths
inch thick, translucent golden amber in color,
syrupy and tender. Seed slender oblong, sometimes
slightly curved dorso-ventrally, blunt at base, blunt
to broadly pointed at apex, seven-eighths inch in
length, one-fourth inch in breadth, grayish-brown in
color, smooth, ventral channel broadly open. Flavor
extremely sweet and honey-like, but not rich.

In the constantly saturated adobe soil of Tempe,
Arizona, Halawi has produced fruit much superior
to that imported annually for the American market.
The dates are sufficiently firm to pack in small boxes
without losing their form, and present an attractive
contrast to the compact mass which is usually sold
in the groceries. They are rich in sugar and possess
the flavor to which the buying public is accustomed;
therefore they will always be marketable to advantage.
The variety does fully as well in California as in
Arizona, ripening in September, and is certain always
to have an important place in the commercial pro-
duction of the United States.

Halawi Makkawi, The Sweet Date of Mecca.
This variety is known at Baghdad and at Hilleh
(where it is most common) simply as Halawi, but it is
entirely distinct from the better-known Busreh
variety of that name, and I have added the epithet
Makkawi, to avoid confusion. As the epithet
indicates, this variety was brought to Baghdad at
some time in the past by pilgrims returning from
Mecca, and it is now fairly common, although the

240 DATE -GROWING

fruit rarely appears in the markets. It seems to be
a decidedly desirable sort, as it is one of the earliest
to ripen (August, sometimes late July), and bears
heavily. The date in many respects resembles the
Halawi of commerce, but I believe it will prove even
more valuable to California.

It is probably identical with the variety Halaweh
mentioned by Faqir Amin al Madani, who, in dis-
cussing the varieties of dates which should be planted,
says, "The most desirable is Halaweh, because the
palm cannot be equalled for its beauty and nobility,
which are admired by all, so that it attracts people
from outside regions like Qasim, and strangers when
they learn of the palm and its value carry it away and
spread it." Strangely enough, no other author
mentions a variety at Madina under this name;
probably it is the modern spelling and pronunciation
of the famous variety Hilwa.* As to the name, the
testimony of Faqir Amin can hardly be disregarded,
since he is a resident of the city in question. The
Baghdadis, familiar with the Busreh date Halawi,
probably changed the Madina name Halaweh without
realizing it, to make it like the form to which they
were accustomed.

*Held in high repute because of a legend that Muhammad
planted a seed of it which grew to full height and produced fruit
within a few hours, before the eyes of his companions. A variety
Halaya is aLso mentioned, but it is very small and does not answer
the description here. As there is little water or cultivation around
Mecca, most of the dates there have been brought from Madina.
The curious will find a list of 115 varieties from this sacred city
given by G. Fluegel in Ztschft. d. Deutsch. Morg. Ges., Band XVI,
p. 686, Leipzig, 1862, from MS. of a pilgrimage by Shaykh Abdu-1
Ghani Ismail al Nabulusi, who had his information from Fath ai
Din al Zarandi al Madani. The root hlw ("sweet") is perhaps more
commonly used than any other in forming the names of Arab date
varieties, and no region is without several variations on it.

HARVESTING DATES

Going after the crop of an unusually tall palm at Elche, Spain.

DATE VARIETIES 241

In form the fruit is slender oblong, slightly wider
toward the flattened base than toward the broadly
pointed apex; size medium large, length one and one-
half to one and three-fourths inch, breadth three-
fourths inch. Surface rather smooth, glossy, bright
golden brown in color and so translucent that the
outline of the seed can be seen; bloom almost none.
Skin rather thin, tender, adhering closely to the flesh
except for occasional folds. Flesh soft and delicate in
texture, three-sixteenths to one-fourth inch thick,
translucent golden brown in color with almost no
fibre around the seed. Seed slender oblong, rounded
at base, pointed at apex, fifteen-sixteenths inch long,
five-sixteenths inch broad, smooth, cinnamon brown
in color, the ventral channel open, germ pore slightly
nearer base than apex. Flavor mild, not as sweet as
Busreh Halawi, very pleasant but not rich.

Halwa, Heloua, The Sweet, a small but good
Algerian dry date, the palm of which is considered by
Dr. L. Trabut of Algiers to be the most ornamental
of any in the Sahara. It is tall but slender, the
leaves recurving and graceful, the color strictly
glaucous. The trunk presents a smoother appearance
than that of most varieties, and the wood is declared
by natives to be particularly resistant to rot. The
fruit is supposed to have an aphrodisiacal quality,
and cakes made from it are often presented to a bride
and groom by their neighbors, as part of the wedding
feast. The variety bears rather heavily, ripening its
fruit early in October.

The date is one and three-eighths inch long,
five-eighths inch wide, broadest near center or a
little below, tapering very slightly to broadly rounded

242 DATE GROWING

apex and flattened or depressed base. The thin,
tender, and shiny skin adheres closely to the flesh but
is wrinkled indiscriminately. Color tawny olive
to golden brown, sometimes with ochraceous areas.
Flesh one-eighth inch thick, firm but tender, often
more like a soft than a dry date. Seed seven-eighths
inch long, one-fourth broad, nearly uniform in width,
rounded at both ends, usually with well-marked,
wing-like ridges on the sides; ashy gray, neutral or
otter brown in color, sometimes with a purplish
tinge; ventral channel broad and moderately deep,
usually open but sometimes closed in a small part of
its area, germ pore in center. Flavor sweet, whole-
some and agreeable.

A variety brought from Tunisia by Kearney under
the name of Halwa Baydha (Halooa Bayda) is
also growing in the United States, and seems to be
little different from the one described above. He
describes it as follows:

Fruit one and one-third to one and one-half
inch long, about one-half wide, elliptical in outline,
not conspicuously narrowed at apex, widest near
middle; dull purplish bay when ripe; the flesh one to
one and one-half lines thick, becoming very firm
and dry; seed about seven- tenths as long as fruit
and one-third to two-fifths as wide as long, ventral
channel open. Branches of fruit clusters pale orange.
Flavor simple, wholesome, and not excessively sweet;
season October 10.

Finally, natives of the Ziban distinguish a sub-
variety, Latin ("the color of") al Halwa, which is
slightly smaller — perhaps a seedling Halwa in origin.

DATE VARIETIES 243

Hamraya, Hamraia, The Red, one of the
commonest names for a date variety among Arabs,
and several have been introduced to California
under that designation. Hamraya of the Ziban,
Algeria, is an attractive soft or dry date, fairly late
in bearing but yields well. The natives have the
idea that the stored dates are particularly likely
to be attacked by worms, and that the tree is more
subject than any other to the ravages of the Parlatoria
scale, (Parlatoria blanchardi). The fruit may be
described as follows:

One and five-eighths inch long, three-fourths
inch wide; usually broadest about middle, tapering
very little to broadly rounded or flattened apex and
flattened or depressed base. Color dark purplish
maroon overspread by a faint bluish-gray bloom;
but when well dried the thick, tough skin separates
from the flesh and becomes fawn colored, or dark
Isabella brown. Calyx persistent and dates remain
attached to cluster indefinitely. When fresh and
soft (rutab) the dates are a beautiful, bright red.
Flesh one-eighth inch thick, deep golden brown,
firm but not dry or hard. Seed one inch long, one-
fourth wide, uniform throughout, of hazel color,
base rounded, apex broadly pointed, ventral channel
broad and partly closed, germ pore in center. Flavor
pronounced, moderately sweet, not cloying.

The Tunisian Hamraya is a dry date, which has
not given particularly good results in Arizona.
Kearney describes it under the name of Hamra,*
as follows :

*He correctly points out that this is the proper name of the
date, while the name Hamraya designates rather the palm which
bears a Hamra date. In practice, the distinction is very rarely
made among Arabs, however. Hamr& is the feminine form of the

244 DATE GROWING

Fruit one and one-half to two inches long, about
one-half as wide, egg-shaped, tapering from near the
base to rounded apex; bright purplish maroon when
ripe, the colors very handsome. Flesh one to three
lines thick, becoming quite firm, the dark-colored
outer zone thicker than the white, central portion;
seed two-thirds to four-fifths as long as the fruit,
generally about two-fifths as wide as long, sometimes
with strongly developed wing-like ridges on sides,
ventral channel generally open, germ pore generally
near middle but sometimes almost at base; flavor
mediocre. Branches of fruit clusters cadmium orange.
Season about November 1. Not much esteemed by
natives; said to keep very well.

A date of the same name, brought from the
Mzab, has done well in the United States, although
its keeping qualities are none too good. It is softer
than the preceding, and a little larger; apparently
there is not much difference between it and the
Ziban Hamraya.

All three varieties seem related, and probably
several minor varieties of similar names* in Algeria
are also related to them. While not of first quality,
they will always have a certain amount of popularity
because of their coloring.

Hasan Efendi, a man's name, probably that of
owner of the palm; a rare and commercially un-

adjective; the masculine Ahmar is oftien found in conjunction with
date variety names.

*e. g., the Hamraya of Al Arus (The Bridegroom), which is
sometimes called merely Hamraya, and from its description is about
like that from the Ziban; Hamra Misabeh, The Juicy Red, "a small
date with large seed; red, later turning black"; Hamra Bishri,
variously described as a soft or dry date; Ahmar bu Amar, etc.

DATE VARIETIES 245

important Baghdad date, somewhat similar to
Maktum. It bore at Indio, California, for the first
time this year. Fairly early.

Hasawi, "From Hasa, " an uncommon date at
Busreh, but much prized. As to its history I know
nothing, but its name and general appearance lead
me to think it might be a degenerate form of the
Khalaseh of Hasa, or even a seedling of that variety.
The fruit is described as bearing a close resemblance
to Halawi, ripening among the earliest (in the first
part of September), good to eat at any stage, and
keeping well when packed. The annual yield of a
palm is large, but does not begin so early as Halawi
or Khadhrawi. New to America.

Hayani, see Birket al Hajji.

Hilali, Hellali, Moonbeams, a soft date grown in
the Persian Gulf plantations, and noteworthy as the
latest of the region. It is fairly common in Oman and
at Busreh, and provides fresh (rutab) dates up to
December. In this condition it is the most delicious
I have ever tasted. Has been successful in the
United States, but will never be desirable for planting
on a large scale because of its tardy maturity. In the
Persian Gulf region this date is sometimes boiled for
preservation; it does not cure well naturally. Fruit
one and one-fourth inch long, one inch wide, broadest
just below apex, which is very broad and blunt. Color
golden yellow shading to straw at the base. Flesh
soft and delicate, melting, golden yellow in color;
thick. Seed small, slight amount of fibre. A shy
bearer.

246 DATE GROWING

Hurra, Horra, Harra, Herra, Hourra, The
Noble (i.e., well-born), a large and attractive dry
date from Algeria and Tunisia, which has given
good results in the United States. In some parts
of Tunisia where Deglet Ntir is not grown, Hurra
is considered the finest date, and many French
residents prefer it to the softer and sweeter dessert
date. The palm, which ripens its fruits in October,
is resistant to alkali and seems to thrive without a
great deal of care.

The date is two inches long, one-half as wide,
ovate, narrowed from the base to the rounded apex,
rather dull purplish maroon in color, with pro-
nounced bloom : (in Algeria it is lighter in color and
correspondingly more attractive in appearance).
Flesh three-sixteenths inch thick, white central
zone much thicker than dark outer portion; firm,
becoming dry but never hard or brittle. Seed
irregular in size, averaging one inch long and two-
fifths as wide, ventral channel closed, germ pore
above middle, sometimes near apex. Flavor rich
and nutty. (Kearney.)

Huwayzi, Hwezi, named after town of Huwayzeh
on coast of Persia, famous since antiquity for its
dates. The name is often corrupted to Hevezi,
and frequently confounded with 'Awaydi. A choice
Busreh soft date which is usually eaten fresh; the
Arabs say it is inferior when cured, but this statement
is hardly justified. A fairly long, slender date, more
or less similar to Halawi both in shape and color,
which is light brown. Ripens the last week of
September, The palm bears well from an early age,
but is not common. Flavor delicate and pleasant.

DATE VARIETIES 247

The fruit will keep for five or six months in good
condition; experimental shipments to New York have
been successful.

Ibrahimi, Abraham's Date, a variety so much
confused with Brim and Sayyid Ibrahim that it is
difficult to get a full description of it at Baghdad,
where it is rather rare. It is one of the earliest dates
of the region, ripening late in July if the season is
favorable. It is large and fat, short in proportion
to its breadth; its color when fresh is sorrel, but
becomes darker when cured. The palm is said to
yield well, and the fresh dates to be good, but if allowed
to remain on the tree they take on a rather un-
pleasant flavor. For this reason it is not often packed,
although it is not too soft to keep well.

Ibrahimi, vulgarly Ibrimi, Abraham's Date,
one of the largest and most famous of Nubian dates,
sometimes reaching a length of three and one-half
inches, according to Schweinfurth. It is a common
variety, growing in sandy soil. In form it is usually
slightly curved, and tapering; almost cylindrical.
Can be eaten when soft and fresh, when its color is
yellowish-red; later the flesh, which is thick, becomes
firm and almost dry, sweet and delicate in flavor; the
base of the fruit turns chestnut in color while the
apex usually remains red. The seed is very dark
brown, and small. The flavor is sometimes compared
to that of a carob (Ceratonia siliqua). Season,
September.

One of the centers of culture of this variety is the
town of Sukkut, where an improved type is supposed
to be found; hence it is often called Sukkuti, or,
vulgarly, Scotty.

248 DATE GROWING

Specimens in the United States are still too
young to have borne fruit.

Itima, see Yatimeh.

Kanta, Kenta, The Vigorous, a highly prized
dry date both in North Africa and the United States.
It is of medium size, attractive in color, of good
flavor, bears heavily, keeps remarkably well, and
ripens comparatively early.

Kearney was told that it frequently bore 330
pounds of fruit, and heard of one tree that was said
to have borne 770 pounds, and others 200 years old
that bore 265 pounds of fruit annually. The tall,
stout palm is characterized by broad leaves with
numerous long, rather narrow leaflets. The long
leafstalks are spiny only near the base. Light
orange stalks of fruit-clusters are stout and horizontal
or ascending, and so short that with the bunches they
do not equal the leafstalks. The clusters themselves
are short, thick and densely crowded with fruit.
The palm seems to be resistant to alkali if it is on
well-drained soil.

The fruit keeps even better than most dry dates,
never losing its shape or becoming hard and brittle.
Its season is early October.

The date is one and one-third to one and two-
thirds inch long, about one-half as wide, narrowed
from the middle or above it to the broad apex, dull
bay colored when ripe, the skin rufous or hazel colored,
smooth, much loosened in large blisters. Flesh one-
eighth to three-sixteenths inch thick, dry but not
hard. Seed somewhat more than one-half as long as
the fruit, one-third to two-fifths as wide as it is long,

HOW THEY PACK DATES AT BUSREH, ARABIA

For export the fruit is shipped in seventy-two pound boxes. The final act
of the packer is to jump on top of the fruit in order to press it down more firmly.

DATE VARIETIES 249

rounded at both ends, Isabella brown in color, ventral
channel narrow, open, germ pore above the middle.
Flavor pleasantly sweet, wholesome, nutty.
(Kearney.)

Kasbeh, Kesba, Kessebi, El Kseba, The
Profitable, a widespread variety in Algeria and
Tunisia, which goes back to the beginnings of the
scientific date industry in that region,* and before
the origin of Deglet Nur held the place which that
variety now holds as the undisputed leader. This
position was due not only to its intrinsic merits but
to the fact that it is one of the famous dates of Madina
—the Sayhanf — and is connected in a most honorable
way with the prophet himself. It is related that
Muhammad happened to pass under it, holding the
hand of his son-in-law 'All, whereupon the palm
cried, "This is Muhammad, the Prince of Prophets
and this is 'All, Prince of the Pious and the Progenitor
of the Immaculate Imams." Hence its name, "The
Crier, "f and the veneration in which it has always
been held, so that it has been spread throughout the
Arabic world and is held in esteem wherever it grows.

*Arabs accept two theories as to the origin of the date planta-
tions of Northern Africa: that they are the result of palms brought
back by the first pilgrims from that region who visited Mecca and
Madina; and that they were introduced by "The Lord of the Two
Horns," a semi-mythical personage who in -this case is perhaps
Alexander Severus. Both these ideas are romance, for the date was
probably established here long before the Christian era. See Pliny,
in loc.

fit is not the only variety which was moved to utterance by the
presence of Muhammad. Al Wahshi bent its head and said, "Peace
be upon you," when it saw the prophet once eating its fruit; while
a palm of unknown variety, by the trunk of which he used to preach,
gave a loud groan when he left it in favor of a regularly-made pulpit.
Muhammad thereupon went to it and embraced it, saying to his
companions, "If I had not embraced it, it would have continued
groaning until the day of resurrection." Ibn Batutah, ed. Paris,
1853, vol. I, p. 275.

250 DATE GROWING

Al Bakri says,* in the eleventh century, "One finds
at Biskra all varieties of dates: that which is called
Al Kasbeh, and which is identical with Sayhani,
surpasses all the others, to the extent that it has a
proverbial reputation;" and even up to the present
century this variety has always been specified in
making a charm to cure malaria. Readers who live
in mosquito-infested regions may be glad to possess
the secret: you take three date seeds of this variety,
write on the first Karun, on the second Artin and on
the third Harun;f throw one of them into a fire each
day at the time when the chill is due, and by the third
day you will be entirely cured, if it be the will of God.

The date is of medium size, and soft, but is
sometimes allowed to dry on the tree, when it becomes
a typical dry date, of good consistency. The Arabs
of Algeria regularly ripen it by a slow artificial process,
picking it about September 15 and putting it in a
bag ; in ten days it is ripe, juicy , and yellow in color. If
left on the palm, it ripens about October 1. As the
flavor is good and the keeping and shipping qualities
leave nothing to be desired, this date has become
justly valued in the United States.

The foliage is characterized by having few spines,
and these slender and weak. The branches of the
fruit-clusters are deep orange.

The fruit itself is one and three-quarters inch
long, three-quarters inch broad, widest near base,
thence tapering slightly to bluntly pointed apex and
flattened or depressed base. Golden brown to

*A1 Bakri, Descr. of No. Africa, tr. by M. de Slane. Paris,
1869, p. 126. The book was finished in 1068 A. D.

fThese are doubtless the names of demons whom it is hoped to
destroy.

DATE VARIETIES 251

chestnut in color. Skin thin but fairly tough,
usually adhering closely to flesh but sometimes
loosely wrinkled in large, longitudinal folds. Flesh
three-sixteenths inch thick, soft in fresh specimens,
firm when they are well cured, but never hard or dry.
Seed large, fifteen-sixteenths inch long, three-eighths
broad, cinnamon brown to chamois in color, ventral
channel open and deep, germ pore slightly nearer
base than apex. Flavor sweet, slightly heavy but
not cloying.

Few Algerian dates have more sub-varieties than
this — in California alone two palms have been grown
under the name, one of them producing a soft and the
other a dry date. In Algeria there are a dry date
known as "Medjel Kesseba" and a large and excellent
but very rare soft date known as the Kasbeh of
Bin Abdu-1 Aziz, which is longer, darker in color
(looking much like Yatimeh) and softer than Kasbeh.
The flesh is thicker and seed smaller, darker, and more
tapering, the germ pore nearer apex than base. The
skin wrinkles more profusely in longitudinal folds;
the flavor is milder. Despite its name, I do not
think this excellent date has any relationship to
Kasbeh.

There is, however, another date which has
been introduced to California, which apparently has
a genuine relationship — Nakhleh Zianeh (q.v.) which
in some districts is called Laun al Kasbeh, i.e., the
Color of Kasbeh, a word which suggests that it
originated as a seedling of the more famous variety.

Finally, there is an excellent little dry date of
Algeria, which has also been introduced to California
but has not yet fruited, that is called Kasbet Amireh,
i.e., the Kasbeh of a woman named Amireh. This is

252 DATE GROWING

slightly smaller than Kasbeh, and is said to be less
affected by rain at the time of ripening than any other
variety of the region.

Khadhrawi, Khadrawi, Khudrawee, The
Verdant.* Next to Halawi, the most important
of the Busreh dates, and the staple diet of wealthy
Arabs, who rarely offer any other kind to visitors.
It has proved itself better adapted to conditions in
California and Arizona than any other Persian
Gulf variety yet tested, and this fact and its excel-
lent qualities insure it a permanent place in plantations
here. It has the advantage of bearing fruit earlier
than any other offshoot at Busreh; sometimes in the
second year after planting and usually in the third,
if given good care. It ripens its dates only a few
days later than Halawi (say September 15), and
bears a heavy crop. Its mild, satisfying flavor,
which never cloys the palate, and its "coldness,"
cause its use in great quantities even at Baghdad,
where it brings as high a price as Khustawi and many
other dessert dates. It is grown only to slight extent
at Baghdad, but is rather more common at Mandali
and Diyala, where the growers consider it is a little
larger in size than the Busreh product. The palm
is vigorous and healthy; conspicuous for the length of
its spines (sometimes six inches), which make a wide
angle with the petiole.

As seen at Busreh, the fruit is oblong to oblong-
elliptical, widest at or near center, thence tapering
slightly to the broad, somewhat flattened base, and

*The root means simply green, and doubtless refers to the foliage
of the palm. Classical lexicographers pretend the variety was so
named because the fruit falls while still green, but as that is not the
fact, their etymology must be considered fanciful.

DATE VARIETIES 253

the rounded to broadly pointed apex. Size medium
large, the length being one and one-fourth to one and
three-fourths inch, width three-fourths to seven-
eighths inch; surface fairly smooth, translucent deep
orange brown to light brown in color, overspread
with a thin, bluish-gray bloom; skin firm, medium
thick, and fairly tough, rarely wrinkled but often
separating from the flesh in folds or blisters. Flesh
firm and meaty, translucent amber brown in color,
three-sixteenths to one-fourth inch thick. Seed
oblong-obovate to oblong-elliptical, blunt at base
and broadly pointed at apex, seven-eighths inch long,
three-eighths wide; smooth, grayish brown or russet
in color, ventral channel narrow or almost closed.
Flavor rich and extremely pleasant, never cloying
the palate, though it be eaten in quantity every day.

Khalaseh, Khalasa, Khalasi, Khalas, Quint-
essence, a name well describing the Arabic estimate
of this, the most famous date of the Persian Gulf
region. Its home is around the town of Hofhuf in
the district of Al Hasa, anciently called Hajar; the
variety has been spread to Oman, Busreh, some of
the Persian coast districts, and I even found one
palm at Baghdad. Its fruit was formerly exported
very widely, to Mesopotamia, India, and even Zanzi-
bar; of late years almost the whole of the yield has
been absorbed by the nomads of the interior of
Arabia, who are thorough connoisseurs of dates, and
send their caravans each year to Hofhuf to carry
off as great a quantity of this variety as is obtainable.

Little definite information is available regarding
the culture of this date in its native home, but it
would appear to be fairly plentiful, for the Turkish

254 DATE -GROWING

census of 1871 counts 2,000,000 palms around Hofhuf .
Our principal authority is the English Jesuit Palgrave *
who was, I believe, the first to bring the variety to
notice in recent years. He writes:

"Almost the whole space between Hofhoof and
Mebarraz, a distance of about three miles, is filled
up with gardens, plantations and rushing streams of
water. Here and for many leagues around grow the
dates entitled Khalas — a word of which the literal
and not inappropriate English translation is 'quint-
essence,' a species peculiar to Hasa and facile
princeps of its kinds. The fruit itself is rather
smaller than the Kaseem date, of a rich amber color,
verging on ruddiness, and semi-transparent. It
would be absurd to attempt by description to give
any idea of its taste; but I beg my Indian readers at
least to believe that a 'Massigaum' mango is not
more superior to a 'Junglee' than is the Khalas
fruit to that current in Syrian and Egyptian marts.
In a word, it is the perfection of the date. The tree
that bears it may by a moderately practiced eye
be recognized by its stem, slenderer than that of the
ordinary palm, its less tufted foliage and its smoother

bark As to the Khalas in particular, its cultivation

is an important item among the rural occupations of
Hasa, its harvest an abundant source of wealth, and
its exportation, which reaches from Mosoul on the
northwest to Bombay on the southeast, nay, I believe,
to the African coast of Zanjibar, forms a large branch
of local commerce."

In the half century since this was written, Hasa
has been entered only by two or three explorers,
none of whom has added much to this account. I

*Palgrave, W. G. Narrative of a Year's Journey in Central and
Eastern Arabia. London, 1863.

DATE VARIETIES 255

tried to visit Hofhuf in 1912 but was forbidden by
the Turkish authorities to land, as they refused to
be answerable for my safety; and in this they were
absolutely justified, since earlier in the year a newly
appointed governor had been held up on the coast for
weeks, buying up some of the nomadic shaykhs and
collecting a big enough escort to force his way through
the rest who blocked his progress to his capital.
Since then the Arabs have risen and expelled the
garrison, and the province is plunged into an anarchy
which will probably make it impossible to secure any
more offshoots for some years to come.

In Wadi Samail of Oman, however, I found
nearly 1000 palms of this variety, and was told by
natives that in some of the interior oases it was quite
common. The fruit is of good quality there, but is
admitted by its owners to be not equal to that of
Hasa; at Busreh and other coast localities it is inferior;
at Baghdad good. It may be concluded, then, that
this palm likes a dry situation, and, probably, sandy
soil. In Hasa it is irrigated copiously, and largely
from hot springs; this may be one of the secrets
of its excellence. It ripens September 1, or earlier,
and the yield is only moderate — from 100 to 125
pounds a year. It bears fruit at an early age after
being planted; offshoots are considered fairly hardy.
Only a limited quantity of fruit is placed on sale in
the Persian Gulf region nowadays, but it brings twice
the price of other varieties. It is usually packed in
five-gallon kerosene cans, to protect it from sand on
the caravan route to the coast; for the interior trade,
I presume that it is packed in skins and palm-leaf
baskets. In Oman one of the favorite methods of
keeping it is to extract the seeds and make it into

256 DATE CROWING

a paste which is kept in cans; thus treated it will
keep indefinitely, and is more attractive than the
paste of any other variety of date. There is still
some export from Oman to Zanzibar, particularly in
the form of presents from Omani growers to their
relatives in the African island (for that part of
Africa was colonized, and the slave trade exploited,
by Arabs from Oman; and for years Zanzibar formed
an integral part of the latter kingdom.)

Although the variety comes from a frostless
locality, it has proved entirely hardy at Baghdad,
and there is every reason to suppose that it will be
exactly adapted to conditions in such a region as
Coachella Valley. It has not yet fruited in the
United States; several attempts were made during
the last decade to introduce it, principally with off-
shoots secured on the island of Bahrayn, but all
failed. This year, however, it was imported by the
West India Gardens on a scale large enough to give
every chance of success. I secured 100 offshoots in
the oases of Oman, and although prevented from
entering Hasa personally, was yet able to secure 400
offshoots from that region, through the kindness of
Rev. Gerrit J. Pennings of the American Mission on
the island of Bahrayn. He secured for me the
services of a capable native, Abdallah b. Mubarak,
who was willing to take the risks of a trip to the
interior, and who carried out his commission with
ability, in the face of a good deal of personal danger,
although he was not able to prevent Beduin raiders
from getting away with several camel loads of the
precious plants, on his way back to the coast.

The variety is, in my opinion, fully equal to
Deglet Nur, being even lighter in color and having

0 fe

£ ^
Q >»

DATE VARIETIES 257

more of the characteristic flavor which is usually
associated with the date. By Arab packing it
sometimes becomes soft, but by American methods
it should pack fully as well as the North African date,
and I believe that when American Khalasehs are
put on the market they will be considered as fine a
date as the world can produce. The following
description is of specimens obtained directly from
Hofhuf: Form oblong to oblong-ovate, slightly
widest at or near the center, rounded or slightly
flattened at the base, rounded to broadly pointed at
the apex. Of firm, solid consistency, keeping shape
excellently. Size medium, length one and three-
eighths to one and five-eighths inch, breadth
three-fourths to seven-eighths inch. Surface slightly
sticky, rather smoother than the average, with a
delicate satiny sheen. Color light orange brown with
a tinge of ruddiness or deep reddish amber. So
translucent that the outline of the seed can almost
be seen. Bloom slight, bluish gray. Skin firm but
quite tender, adhering closely except for an occasional
small fold or blister, loosely wrinkled indiscriminately,
but not deeply so. Flesh firm and solid but very
tender, caramel-like in consistency, of delicate texture,
one-quarter inch in thickness, reddish amber in color
and entirely free from fibre. Seed oblong-elliptical,
slightly pointed at both base and apex, three-fourths
to seven-eighths inch in length, one-quarter to three-
eighths inch in breadth, broadest near center, smooth,
gray-brown in color, ventral channel almost or
wholly closed. Flavor delicate, but deliciously bring-
ing out the characteristic date taste.

258 DATE GROWING

Khanayzi, Khaiiezi, said to be the name of a
tribe; a soft date from Oman, also found in limited
quantity at Busreh. It is considered one of the best
general purpose varieties of the region and is eaten
fresh, cured or boiled. In appearance it closely
resembles Khasab, but is earlier, ripening in September.
The yield varies greatly, sometimes being large and
in other years insignificant, but it is probable that
this characteristic will be overcome by proper treat-
ment. The only specimens which I have seen were
boiled; they may be described as follows:

Length one and one-fourth inch, breadth eleven-
sixteenths, usually broadest about middle; apex
bluntly pointed. Dark reddish brown in color
(this is said to be the color of the fresh date, too).
Flesh one-eighth to three-sixteenths inch thick;
soft, not brittle. Seed small but thick; three-fourths
inch long, one-fourth wide; tight in cavity; no fibre.
Flavor of the boiled date insignificant, but when
fresh the variety is considered of first quality.

Khustawi, Khastawi, Kustawi, originally
Khastawani (Pers.), The Date of the Grandees,
a delicious dessert date, the most important of its
type at Baghdad, from a commercial viewpoint, and
one that has proved admirably adapted to American
conditions. At Baghdad it is considered a rather
shy bearer, in comparison with the commoner Zahidi,
although the yield is from 75 to 150 pounds. The
dates ripen fairly early, in the first half of September.
They pack well and keep well; Arabs assert that
they are the least liable to attacks of worms. This
date is certain always to be a favorite with those who
like the richer and sweeter varieties of this fruit.

DATE VARIETIES 259

Arabs easily distinguish the palm in a plantation
by the dark yellowish color of the petioles and lower
part of the leaves, as compared, for instance, with the
lighter colored and strictly glaucous Zahidi. Its
spines are stout but rather short, inclined at a sharp
angle to the petiole. Offshoots are always small in
size.

In form, the date is oblong-oval, broadest near
center and narrowing gradually toward the rounded
or slightly flattened base and the rounded apex.
Size medium, length one to one and one-half inch,
breadth three-fourths to seven-eighths inch. Surface
smooth, glossy, translucent orange brown to bright
brown in color, bloom unnoticeable. Skin rather
thin and delicate, usually without wrinkles or folds,
adhering closely to the flesh, which is translucent
golden brown in color, entirely free from fibre around
seed, one-fourth inch thick, possessing the caramel
consistency to a high degree. Seed small, oblong-
obovate, slightly pointed at each end, three-quarters
inch long, five-sixteenths inch wide, smooth, russet,
ventral channel open. Flavor unusually rich on
account of the syrup with which the whole fruit is
filled, yet not cloying; the characteristic date taste
pronounced.

Laqu, Lagoo, Lagou, The Distorted Mouth (?)
from its peculiar curved outline; the word originally
means a kind of facial paralysis. An early and
esteemed Tunisian soft date which has given good
results in California. It is an important date in the
native export trade, because of its excellent shipping
qualities and the fact that it keeps its shape well.
Ripens in September.

260 DATE GROWING

The crown of foliage on a Laqu palm is rather
small, leaves short and rather stiff, with long and
rather wide leaflets. The short, densely crowded
fruit-clusters do not equal the leafstalks. Stalks and
branches of the fruit-clusters are orange colored.

The date, as grown in California, is one and
three-fourths inch long, three fourths inch wide,
bay, chestnut or maroon in color; oblong but usually
slightly curved, base flattened, usually depressed,
apex broadly pointed. Skin fairly thick but tender,
shiny, ochraceous, often raised in large blisters but
not otherwise wrinkled or creased. Flesh one-eighth
inch thick, golden brown in color, rather tough. Seed
one and one-eighth inch long, five-sixteenths wide,
tapering very little from rounded base to broadly
pointed apex, russet color, surface roughened, ventral
channel open, germ pore below middle if distinguish-
able. Flavor sweet, heavy.

Majhul, Medjool, Medjeheul, " Unknown, " *
such a strange name for a date that its authenticity
has been questioned; yet it seems that this is the name
by which it is actually known in commerce in the
Tafilalet region and Southern Algeria today. It is
worthy of note, however, that the travelers who
explored the Tafilalet oases in the last century do not
mention any date of that name among the famous
ones of the region. f As a result of an investigation

*Perfect passive participle of the common verb jahal, "to be
ignorant." There is a date with the same name in Madina, Arabia.

fGerhardt Rohlfs (Reise durch Marokko, Bremen, 1868) says
the best are Bu Zakrf (which has been famous in the Sahara for
centuries), Bu Hafs and Faqqiis. W. B. Harris (Tafilet, London,
1895) says the best are Bu Zakri and "Bou Kefous" by which he
doubtless means Faqqus. Both these varieties, or at least ones with
identical names, are still found in Southern Tunisia. In the time of
Edrisi (A. D. 1154) the best Tafilalet date was Al Birni (Geography,
p. 70; tr. by Dozy and De Goeje, Leyden, 1866).

DATE VARIETIES 261

recently made by French authorities, it was learned
that some of the educated natives considered that the
name was originally Madqul,* which would be perhaps
an ungrammatical variation on the word Deglet; this
is quite possible, but in any event the significance of
the name would be the same, pointing to an ad-
ventitious variety which could not be related to any
of those formerly known by the oasis dwellers. In
the United States the date is probably more often
called merely by the name of its locality, Tafilalet,t
and in London, the principal market for the variety,
it regularly passes under the corruption of Tafilat.
The Tafilalet oases, in the Saharan part of
Morocco, have for centuries been famous for their
dates, which probably owe their excellence to the
intense and long-continued summer heat, the
abundant water supply, and the skilful cultivation by
the residents. Even in the seventeenth century we
are told that "Most of the dates which are brought
into Europe are transported from Tafilalet ".t An
examination of the seedling dates of Spain suggests
that many of them are seedlings of Majhul; there is
a fine avenue of old palms near Malaga which can be
identified as this variety with a good deal of certainty.
Many of the seedlings grown on the Pacific coast of
Mexico seem to be of the same strain. Thousands of

* Vulgar perfect passive participle of verb adqal, "to bear daqal
dates." There is an Algerian variety named Mudqal, which is the
correct form.

fThis I consider to be the correct spelling. The name is founded
on Filal, a district in Arabia from which the original settlers are
reputed to have come. The initial Ta is a Berber word oftener seen
in the form Ait, and means "sons of," while the final syllable is
merely a grammatical addition to make the word feminine. The
name, therefore, tells that this is the district peopled by Filal immi-
grants. The French often use the contraction Tafilelt.

tOgilby, John. Africa, p. 105. London, 1670.

262 DATE G?R OWING

seedlings have been planted in the United States
during the past few years, but up to the present it
has been impossible to secure offshoots on a commercial
scale because of the state of anarchy and warfare in
which Morocco is sunk; a few authentic offshoots have
nevertheless been brought to Southern California by
the Bureau of Plant Industry and the West India
Gardens of Altadena. It will be obvious, however,
that the variety has not yet had a test in the United
States, and all plantations of it are made merely
because of its general merit and commercial reputation.

The region has never been visited by a date
expert, but French military authorities have secured
as much information as possible about Ma j mil, at
the request of Dr. L. Trabut, botanist to the Algerian
government, and through his courtesy I was given
access to their reports.

Majhul, says Lieut. Neigel,* is found in large
quantity in all the oases of Tafilalet, particularly in
those of Ghorfa and Er Reteb, but is not so abundant
as other varieties of inferior quality. The people
themselves live on these inferior dates, most of the
Majhul being exported. Those from Er Reteb are
considered the finest and largest. The variety is
propagated only by offshoots, which, transplanted in
February or March, bear in from four to six years.
They do not demand any more care than other
varieties.

The dates are artificially ripened, as follows;
after the dates have turned completely yellow the
bunch is cut and they are picked from it, care being
taken not to detach the calyx from the fruit, as this
would permit the entrance of dirt and insects. They
*Report dated March 26, 1912.

DATE VARIETIES 263

are then spread on the ground in the sunshine for a
week, but it appears that they are not removed or
protected in any way at night, the chill air being
supposed to make them firmer. They are turned
over daily, and as they become sufficiently soft they
are sorted out and stored until exported.

The price in Tafilalet at harvest time varies
according to the abundance of the crop, from thirty-
five to ninety cents the abbar, a weight of about
fourteen pounds. Three-fourths of them are exported
via the South Algerian Railway and Oran, the rest
via Fez in Morocco. England gets the bulk of the
crop, but there is also a steady demand from Spain;
in each country they command the top market price.

The dates usually arrive in London just before
Christmas, and there is a great demand for the first
ones, the price at wholesale sometimes reaching ninety-
two shillings per hundredweight. The average whole-
sale price, later in the season, is forty or fifty shillings,
and they are sold by retailers at twenty to twenty-five
cents a pound, while the Persian Gulf and Egyptian
dates bring five to ten cents a pound. In Spain the
price is usually about twenty-five cents. At present
practically none of these dates reach the American
market.

The variety is evidently late in maturing, and
probably will be suited only to the hottest and dryest
regions in the United States, such as Coachella or
Imperial Valley. Because of its large size and good
keeping and shipping qualities, it promises to be a very
profitable one if it can be successfully grown in this
country. It may be technically described as follows:

Form broadly oblong varying to oblong-ovate,
two inches in length, one and one-fourth in breadth,

264 DATE GROWING

broadest near center or slightly nearer basal end and
narrowing slightly toward the broadly flattened base
and broadly pointed apex; surface deeply wrinkled
and creased indiscriminately, bright bay to deep
reddish brown in color (the light bay color is perhaps
due to crystallizing of sugar under the skin) . Skin very
thin and tender, adhering closely to flesh over the
entire fruit. Flesh firm, meaty, nearly three-eighths
inch thick, brownish-amber in color, translucent, with
practically no fibre around seed. Seed one and one-
fourth inch long, three-eighths inch wide, elliptical
in form but slightly widest near apex; smooth, brown-
ish gray, germ pore nearer base, ventral channel
almost closed. Flavor rich and delicious, the char-
acteristic taste of the date being pronounced.

Makantishi, M 'Kentichi, Amekentichi, Em-
kentishi, Kenteeshy, Kentichi; (the word Degla is
often added to the name and it is frequently confused
with Mashi Degla of similar appearance), The
Early Arriving. A small dry date which is very
common in Algeria, probably because it demands
little irrigation or fertilization. Mountain dwellers
prefer it as a steady diet, and in the oases it is con-
sidered the best food for children — perhaps because
it is cheap. It can be eaten when fresh and soft
(rutab) as well as dry. In spite of its name, it is
not particularly precocious, but bears fairly heavily.
Offshoots are notably vigorous and hardy. It has
done well in the United States, but it is never likely
to have great value, as there are so many larger and
better dry dates. It is worth noting, however, that
this is one of the two dates which have been found,
in which the contents remain predominantly cane

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DATE VARIETIES 265

sugar to the very end (the other is Deglet Nur.)
The fruit is one and three-eighths inch long,
eleven-sixteenths wide, often slightly curved, broadest
at or below middle, tapering slowly to flattened base
and more abruptly to bluntly pointed apex. Color
deep chrome to saffron, with a slight reddish bloom.
The dull, thin, and tender skin adheres closely to the
flesh, which is raised in ridges and furrows, mostly
longitudinal. Flesh one-eighth inch thick, nearly
white, hard and dry but rarely brittle. Seed one inch
long, five-sixteenths wide, rounded at both ends,
russet to wood brown in color; ventral channel open
or partly closed, germ pore slightly nearer apex.
Flavor sweet and nutty, with almost no astringency;
agreeable.

The palm is tall and stout, strong and vigorous,
with coarse, heavy foliage, long leaves, and numerous
but rather distant long and broad leaflets. Branches
of fruit-clusters orange buff; their stalks are curved,
forming nearly a semi-circle, but do not hang down
below the foliage. Thrives in poor soil and is con-
sidered resistant to alkali. Reported to Kearney
as one of the most productive varieties in Tunisia,
and so highly esteemed by natives that they are
reluctant to part with offshoots.

Maktum, Maktoom, originally Makdum, The
Bitten, because of the short, transverse scars on the
skin, which, to Arab imagination, resemble the
imprints of a miniature set of teeth. A rare variety,
but as good as any in Mesopotamia; it has proved
itself admirably adapted to California and Arizona
conditions as well, and can unhesitatingly be recom-
mended for commercial planting. It is certain to

266 DATE GROWING

have a permanent popularity, not only because of its
superior quality but because of its relatively large
size. It is not common even around Baghdad, and
always brings a high price in the market; the com-
mercial supply seems to come from Mandali, Karbala,
and Hilleh. At Busreh it is very rare, ripens about
October 1, and is reputed to be a shy bearer. There is
also a small date of the same name at Busreh, which
I did not see, but which is considered almost worthless,
and Arabs say that it is merely a degenerated form
of the same superb variety.*

At Baghdad it ripens late in September or early
in October, and is said to bear slightly less than
Khustawi. It is difficult to account for the scarcity
of palms of this variety in Mesopotamia, unless it be
because the Arabs object to its light yield; for it has
almost every other desirable quality. The market
is usually cleaned of Maktum dates within a short
time after the harvest, and no offshoots are so ex-
pensive.

In the United States the variety has given a
heavier yield, due probably to the better care which it
receives. Even under the unfavorable climatic con-
ditions of the Tempe, Arizona, garden, the fruit is
firm enough to pack in small boxes and sell as a
dessert date, its luscious flavor appealing to nearly
everyone. The palm there shows decided vigor in
growth; the fruit ripens a little later than Halawi,
and is practically immune from damage either by
winter or summer rains.

*Cf. report of Major F. E. Crow, British Consul at Busreh, in
Kew Bui. No. 7, p. 286, London, 1908: "Maktum, much smaller
than Chibchab, and used for the same purpose," i. e., boiled. The
occasional degeneracy of the best varieties, like Deglet Nur, Khalaseh
and Maktum is a subject which merits study, and anyone observing
such instances should report on them.

DATE VARIETIES 267

The fruit, as grown at Baghdad, is in form very
broadly oblong to oblong-obovate, usually slightly
broader near center of fruit and narrowing almost
imperceptibly toward the flattened base and the
flattened to broadly rounded or abrupt apex. Size
medium large to large, dimensions being: length,
one and one-fourth to one and one-half inch,
breadth at widest point, seven-eighths to one inch.
Surface uneven, somewhat glossy, a beautiful, trans-
lucent, golden brown in color, overspread with a thin,
bluish-gray bloom. Skin firm, medium thick but
not tough, deeply wrinkled in all directions and
occasionally separating from the flesh to form coarse
folds and blisters. Flesh light golden brown, trans-
lucent, very delicate in texture, soft and almost
melting in the mouth, three-eighths to five-eighths
inch thick. Seed broadly oblong, rounded to blunt
at base and tapering sharply to apex, length three-
fourths to seven-eighths inch, breadth five-sixteenths
inch, surface fairly smooth, cinnamon brown in
color, ventral channel almost or wholly closed.
Flavor very mild, with only a suggestion of the
characteristic taste of the date, in which respect it
resembles the Saharan Deglet Nur more closely than
any other Mesopotamian date; sweet but not too
much so; extremely pleasant and not cloying, as it
contains little syrup.

Fruit grown in California is similar; firm enough
to be handled and pack well, but the flesh remains
tender and melting even after the lapse of a year.
After some months, however, the evaporation of
moisture leaves the skin in large blisters of a tawny
olive color.

268 DATE GROWING

Maktum Ahmar, The Red Maktum, is dis-
tinguished by the Arabs as a separate variety, al-
though it is merely an inferior form of the preceding,
which is sometimes called Maktum Asfar ("yellow").
The red variety is a little darker in color, and the
flavor is said to be not quite so good, but it is rare
and commercially of no importance.

Manakhir, Menakher, Monakhir, The Nose
Date (lit., The Nostrils), a rare, large, and desirable
variety from Tunisia. The only specimens in the
United States are owned by the Department of
Agriculture, and there seems little chance of getting
more, as the palm is almost extinct in Tunisia. The
natives account for this by the story that their
rulers, under the old regime, acquired a great fondness
for the date, and sent agents into the region at harvest
time to appropriate the entire crop, which they
usually forgot to pay for.* Consequently the owners
decided it would be more profitable to them to grow
a poorer date which they themselves could enjoy, and
stopped planting Manakhir offshoots, even cutting
down old trees in some cases. The few trees now
left are jealously guarded by their wealthy owners and
offshoots can not be had at any price.

The date is soft, dark in color, and somewhat
similar to Deglet Nur in flavor; many Americans as

This is an old story in Arab communities. Al Bakri says that
in the Zfban almost a thousand years ago "Ubayd Allah the Fatimide
decreed and reserved for his own use all the harvest of Liari dates
and ordered the local officials to forbid the sale of this variety and
send all that were grown to him." Another MS. calls the variety
Kabari; the writer says it was white and smooth, but I can not
identify it with any variety grown there now. Al Bakri, Descr. of
No. Africa, 1068 A. D. Tr. by de Slane. Paris, 1869. P. 126.
Kearney says the rarity of the variety Selatny (Sultani?) in Tunisia
is accounted for in the same way as that of Manakhir.

DATE VARIETIES 269

well as Arabs consider it superior. It has the ad-
vantage of being larger, and possibly of keeping
better; the flesh remains soft and firm, the skin dry
and clean. It has a considerable amount of fibre
in the seed cavity, however, particularly if it be picked
before it is fully ripe. American experience has
shown this characteristic to be most fully developed
while the palms are still young; those in California
produced inferior fruit during their first few years,
but have been improving each year. The date in
Arizona seems to be of second quality.

The fruit is late, ripening toward the first of
November. The yield is small during the first few
years, but when adult the palm is said to bear as
much as 220 pounds, single clusters sometimes being
heavier than a strong man can carry.

The palm is formidable in appearance, leaves
being long, broad, and rather stiff and heavy, crowded
with very numerous long leaflets, and their stalks
armed throughout with long, stout spines. Fruit
clusters are short and dense, their stalks bright
yellow, rather short, stout and only moderately
curved, so that the dates do not hang down below
the leaves as with Deglet Nur and many other va-
rieties, but are almost hidden by the foliage. It
proved sensitive to frost last winter.

Fruit from two to two and one-third inches long,
about one-half as wide, oblong, broad and rounded at
both ends, dull orange yellow before maturity,
brownish maroon when ripe, with a purplish bloom.
Flesh one-fourth inch thick, the white, fibrous lining
to the seed cavity well developed. Seed one inch long,
two-fifths to one-half as wide, russet to chestnut
colored, its surface uniformly roughened with small

f70 DATE GROWING

pits and fine wrinkles, ventral channel frequently
closed, germ pore usually distinct, always above
middle of seed; seed broad at both ends. Flesh soft
and sirupy at moment of ripening. Flavor delicate.
(Kearney).

Maridheh, The Invalid, an ordinary soft date
from the Ziban of Algeria, said to resemble Kasbeh.
It is described as light reddish brown in color, broad in
proportion to its length, palatable, keeping well,
and ripening in mid-season. The yield is always
good and sometimes very large. Not commercially
important; has not yet fruited in the United States.

Masarraf, The Marketable, (?) a dry date from
the Ziban of Algeria, which has never been common,
but boasts of great antiquity and has been esteemed
by every generation. It is described as long and
slender, light brown in color, flesh firm but not hard.
If picked at the proper stage and packed closely it
remains a soft date. Yield fairly heavy; season
rather late. Occasionally sold in Algiers, where it
brings a good price. If allowed to hang on the palm
until thoroughly dry it becomes very dark in color.
Palms of the varieties Masarraf and Ghars are con-
sidered the two best for making laqmi, on account of
the large amount of sap they yield; it is, therefore,
probable that this variety is a vigorous grower. It
has not yet fruited in the United States.

Mashi Degla, Mishi, Mecha Degla, The
Purgative Seedling, a small and common Algerian
dry date which is often confused with Makantishi.
This tall palm bears a heavy crop about November 1.

DATE VARIETIES 271

The date is a little less than medium size, light bay
or ochraceous in color, the flesh thin, dry and usually
hard, with traces of astringency. Not desirable
for planting in the United States.

Mirhage, see Amir Hajj.

Muznaj, Meznag, vulgarly Bznag, The Thirst
Producer, one of the earliest of Oman dates, and
common. It is usually eaten only when fresh, or
rutab. The yield is said to be very heavy, a palm
often carrying twenty-five clusters. Fruit is long
and slender. With native methods the dates do not
keep well — but then, they rarely have a chance.
The variety has not yet fruited in the United States.
A letter from Consul Homer Brett in Masqat states
that the first dates this year arrived on the market
there May 20, and that they were of this variety,
grown in an oasis which derives its water supply
from a spring whose temperature is 105° F.

Naghal, Nagal, The Bastard, one of the most
popular Oman dates, because it is the earliest to
ripen, with the exception of Muznaj. June 1 may be
taken as the date for its arrival at marketable con-
dition, in an ordinary year. The date is of medium
size or a little larger, long and slender, light brown in
color; little eaten except in its fresh and soft condition,
but can also be cured and keeps well. The yield of a
palm of this variety is said to be heavy. Has not
yet had an opportunity to show what it can do in
the United States, but when the offshoots now here
come into bearing they are likely to prove of great
interest.

272 DATE G.R OWING

Najl al Pasha, Nazi, Nagl el Basha, Child of the
Pasha, a rare but highly esteemed Egyptian variety
which has produced notably good fruit in Arizona.
It is a large and long soft date, excellent when fresh,
(in which condition it is yellow and pulpy), but equally
good when cured. It is then dark brown, the flesh
full of syrup but firm enough to be handled easily
and ship well. Some tasters have thought they
could distinguish a slight vanilla flavor in it. The
variety, which is similar in many characteristics to
Birket al Hajji, can be recommended for planting
in the United States. It matlires in October in
Arizona, but should be considerably earlier in a more
favored location. According to some writers the
name is properly Naql al Pasha, The Pasha's Dessert.

Nakhleh Zianeh, The Beautiful Palm, often
called by ungrammatical natives Degla Zayyin,
The Excellent Seedling; and in some districts Latin
al Kasbeh, which suggests that it is a Kasbeh seedling
in origin. A common and popular soft date of the
Ziban in Algeria, found more rarely over a much
larger area. Noted particularly for its heavy yield,
which sometimes reaches 660 pounds, according to
native estimates. The date is described as of medium
size, dark golden brown in color, flesh firm but tender,
and of excellent flavor. When placed on the market
it brings as good a price as any variety except Deglet
Nur. Probably rather late in maturing ; the specimens
in the United States have not yet reached a bearing
age.

Nakhlet al Pasha, The Pasha 's Palm, an Egyptian
soft date growing at the Mecca Experiment Station in

1

DATE VARIETIES 273

California. The small, dark brown dates ripen in
late September, and are of excellent flavor but do
not keep well. The yield is heavy. It is doubtful
whether this palm is correctly labeled.

Qintar, colloquially Al Guntar, The Hundred-
weight, probably referring to its yield. One of the
attractive Persian Gulf varieties recently introduced
to the United States. A small date, but highly
prized by the Busreh Arabs. It is so full of syrup
that it has to be brought from the palm in a basin,
but if cured properly this drains away, leaving a
date of delicious caramel consistency, quite similar
to Khalaseh in flavor. The palm begins bearing at
the age of seven or eight years in Busreh; its fruits
mature late in September or early in October, and will
keep for seven or eight months. The variety is
rare.

In form the fruit is broadly oblong to oval, widest
at or near center, narrowing slightly toward the
rounded or slightly flattened base and the rounded
apex. Size medium small, length one and one-
eighth to one and three-eighths inch, breadth at
widest point five-eighths to seven-eighths inch.
Surface slightly rough, translucent reddish brown to
purplish maroon in color, overspread with a thick
bluish bloom. Skin rather thick but not tough,
coarsely wrinkled and adhering to the flesh closely.
Flesh very firm and of caramel consistency, one-
fourth inch in thickness, translucent, deep reddish
amber colored; the fibrous lining of seed cavity almost
wanting. Seed oblong-obovate, blunt at base and
sharply pointed at apex, three-fourths inch long,
five-sixteenths inch wide, smooth, fawn-colored,

274 DATE GROWING

ventral channel almost closed, germ pore nearer apex
than base. Flavor exceptionally rich and pleasant.

Qurn al Ghazal, Qern el R'azal, Guern el Rhezal,
The Gazelle's Horn, a name descriptive of the pe-
culiar appearance of this long, slender and curved
date from Algeria and Tunisia. It is found in very
limited numbers in all the oases, and is said to be one
of the principal varieties at Gabes, Tunisia, and on
the island of Jerba.* The palm, which is tall and
slender, bears heavily ; the date is described as reddish
brown in color, with thin flesh which is firm, or even
dry, but not hard or brittle. It ripens in October.

Qushf Batash, The Sweetmeat (Pers.), one of the
earliest dates of Oman, ripening in June, sometimes
even in the first half of May, according to Arabs —
but it should be remembered that an Arab's idea of
ripeness is not that of an American, and that for an

*The island of Jerba, on the coast of Tunisia, is thought by
many to have been the one described by Homer as the residence of
the Lotus Eaters. In that case the fruit which so attracted them
may have been dates, and not the worthless jujube (Zizyphus lotus)
which the old botanists identified as the object of the description
in the Odyssey.

fThis word is used in Oman as Degal is in other regions, or as
Khalt is used in Tunisia, to designate a date of adventitious origin,
ordinarily a seedling; and often, but by no means always, it indicates
a date of inferior quality, just as the two other words do. Qush
Batash would, therefore, be called Degla Batash in Algeria or at
Baghdad, and Khalt Batash in Tunisia. For strict accuracy, it
should be transliterated Qushsh or Qashsh. The etymology is dis-
puted; many authorities relate it to Kushsh, a word which designates
the pollen of the male palm; others see in it a Persian root. In
general the classical lexicographers define it in the same way that
they do the word Degal. The word Khalt is, I believe, not used
classically in the sense which it carries in Tunisia: it means "of
mixed blood; of uncertain origin." It does not, as has been said,
mean a dry date, any more than Degal means a soft date, as has
sometimes been supposed by date students.

DATE VARIETIES 275

Arab a date is ripe enough to eat when it is still so
hard and astringent that live stock would hardly
touch it in the United States. The variety is rare,
but much in demand because of its earliness and its
heavy yield. It is rarely cured because there is such
a demand for fresh dates at the beginning of the
season that they are never given a chance to hang
on the tree after they are edible. The fruit is de-
scribed as slender, very dark brown or black in color.
Has not yet fruited in the United States.

Qush Farfara, name of an oasis (the word is
perhaps formed to imitate the murmur or bubbling
of running water), sometimes called the Farfara
Fardh; a soft date of Oman, almost identical with the
genuine Fardh of commerce, but growing in a different
region and ripening a month earlier; the quality is
also considered slightly inferior. In actual practice
the two dates are indiscriminately mixed together for
export. A common variety, but not a very heavy
bearer. Arabs say it keeps better than the ordinary
Fardh, showing no deterioration for at least three
years after it is picked.

Its remarkable keeping qualities are illustrated
by the experience of a sharp dealer at Masqat, who
for several years, when the Mecca pilgrimage fell in
summer, sent these dates to Mecca and palmed them
off on the pilgrims as fresh dates of that year's crop;
they were so well preserved that the deception was
easy, although the dates when sold were at least ten
months old. They were put on the market earlier
than the Mecca dates could ripen, and the speculator
secured a fancy price for them. The game was
finally exposed when one shipment was found riddled

276 DATE GROWING

by worms; as these are never found in dates until
they have been stored for some months, the pilgrims
promptly decided that the dates which they had
been buying were by no means fresh from the tree,
as represented, and they drove the shrewd Omani
out of business.

The Farfara Fardh was introduced to the United
States only in the present year.

Qush Hasas, The Indigestible (lit., rumblings of
the belly), a small, yellow, dry date of Oman, much
esteemed by the Arabs in spite of its name. Has not
yet fruited in the United States. A fairly common
variety which bears well; rarely eaten fresh, as
it is inferior hi that stage. Ripens in September,
concurrently with Khanayzi and Khalaseh.

Qush Shahm, Sheham, The Pulpy (the word
originally means fat meat, but is also regularly used
for the flesh of a fruit). An early soft date from
Oman, brought to the United States only this year.
It is of medium size, long in proportion to its breadth,
yellow when fresh but later turns dark brown. The
yield is fairly heavy; it ripens in June, when it is
particularly valued as rutab; but it also cures and
keeps well. It is highly esteemed by the Arabs.

Qush Zabad, The Butter Date, a small variety
from Oman, and one of the best soft dates of that
region. Ripens in mid-September and is said to bear
very heavily. Good when fresh, but usually cured,
when it keeps easily for a year. The variety is
fairly common in its home; has not yet fruited in
America.

DATE VARIETIES 277

The date is one and seven-sixteenths inch
long, fifteen-sixteenths inch wide, broadest near
base and tapering very slightly to blunt apex. Color
reddish brown. Skin tender and color of cafe au lait
when it blisters. Has a tendency to stickiness, but
this can probably be obviated by proper handling, as
the flesh has an excellent caramel consistency, and
is one-quarter inch thick. Seed small, three-quarters
inch long, one-quarter inch wide, tight in cavity;
some fibre, but soft and not noticeable in eating.
Flavor mild.

Rashidi, see Samani.
Rhars, see Ghars.

Rishti, Arishti, Arechti, Archeti, The Feathery.
With the definite article in Arabic it is Al Rishti,
pronounced Ar Rishti, whence the incorrect spelling
which has become current. A large and attractive
date from Algeria and Tunisia, noted for its heavy
yield. Soft but firm, admirable for keeping and
shipping; eaten at all stages. It is the favorite date
of Algerian Jews. Some natives consider it best
just before it is fully soft, others declare it not worth
eating until it has been stored for four to six months.
It ripens rather late, about the middle of October,
and frequently bears from 200 to 250 pounds of fruit.
It has given good results in the United States, but
its offshoots have proved delicate and difficult to
root.

The palm has a stout trunk but particularly
graceful foliage, as its name indicates. The leaves are
green, soft, and drooping, leaflets long, narrow, and

278 DATE GROWING

rather sparse, spines few, slender and weak. Stalks
and branches of the fruit-clusters are pale orange.

Fruit two inches long, one and one-third inch
wide, broadest near center or slightly above, tapering
gently to rounded or bluntly pointed apex and flat
or depressed base. When fresh it is light bay or
hazel brown, which changes to dark chestnut as the
date cures; and the thin and tender skin at the same
time rises in loose, indiscriminate folds and blisters
of a cinnamon color. Flesh three-sixteenths inch
thick, firm but tender. Seed one and one-fourth
inch long, one-fourth inch wide, brownish terra
cotta color with some gray near base, rounded or
broadly pointed at each end, germ pore slightly
nearer apex than base, ventral channel deep but
nearly or quite closed, surface of seed irregularly
roughened. Flavor pronounced but agreeable, nutty,
not cloying.

Ruhm al Ghazal, a variety brought from the
oasis of Siwah (Jupiter Ammon of the ancients)
on the frontier between Egypt and Cyrenaica, which
has produced very good fruit in California. It may
be the same as Ghazali of the same oasis, which is
said to be "not very productive, though its dates
are marvelous in flavor, appearance, and power
to keep long. " A variety of the same name grows
in the delta of Egypt, but its identity and relationships
have not been worked out. Dates from Siwah,
recently sent to the United States under the name
of Gorm Gazaly, may be the same thing.*

*S. P. I. Inventory, Dept. of Agric., No. 32896. The name is
there translated Antelope's Abode; it is more likely Jaram al Ghazal,
The Gazelle's Dry Date, or Qarm al Ghazal, the Gazelle's Food.

DATE VARIETIES 279

S'aidi, a date grown in Kharjeh, Siwah and
other western oases, and averred by its friends to
have the finest flavor of any date of Egypt. It
is probably of Nile origin, however, S'aid being the
time-honored native name for Upper Egypt. Ripens
in September. It is the chief variety in the oasis of
Kharjeh, whence it is exported in considerable
quantities. I believe that only seedlings are to be
found in the United States at present, but it is a
promising variety for such locations as Coachella
Valley.

Samiani, said to be named after a village, one
of the best Egyptian dates, but ripens rather late.
Chiefly grown on the coast near Rosetta, in a sandy
soil, and without inundation or surface irrigation;
exported in fancy packages at remunerative prices.
The fruit is described as thick, almost ovoid, tapering
at apex; amber yellow in color, spotted or smeared
with red. Seed small. Flesh thick but slightly
coriaceous. Has not yet fruited in the United
States. The variety is sometimes called Rashidi.

Sarna, Sarni, perhaps originally Sarma, The
Unirrigated (lit., a desert without water); a popular
dry date of Oman. In Samail I was told that it
ripened late in August and was not eaten rutab; in
Masqat it was declared to ripen in June and to be
eaten principally fresh. Possibly two varieties are
united under one name; in each case the color was
described as yellow. The date is said to be round
in shape; the yield average. Offshoots introduced
to California have not yet had time to bear fruit.

280 DATEGROWING

Sayir, Sayer, The Fibrous (?), one of the most
widely grown dates in Mesopotamia, although of
inferior quality. It is also called Usta'amran, and
by that name is usually known at Baghdad; some
experts profess to see a slight difference between the
two, but their efforts are hardly successful. At
Muhammarah this name is usually corrupted to
Sa'amran; Sta'amran and Sambran are other vulgar
pronunciations sometimes heard. The date is ex-
ported to America to a limited extent, and plays an
important part in native trade in the Persian Gulf;
it is the principal date grown on the Euphrates and
the middle Tigris. It bears heavily, (shortly before
the first of October at Busreh), and will keep for a
year or more. Said to do best in a sandy soil.

Form broadly oblong to oblong-elliptical, widest
at center or slightly nearer apical end, whence it
narrows almost imperceptibly toward the flattened
base and broadly pointed apex. Size medium to
medium large, length one and one-fourth to one and
five-eighths inch, width three-fourths to seven-
eighths inch; surface almost smooth, translucent,
glossy dark orange brown in color, bloom almost
unnoticeable . Skin rather thick and tough, smooth
except for occasional wrinkles or longitudinal folds
in which it separates from the flesh, which is rather
soft, syrupy, one-fourth to three-eighths inch in
thickness, deep amber colored, with considerable
tender fibre around seed; the latter broadly oblong,
rounded to blunt at both ends, three-quarters inch
long, five-sixteenths broad, fairly smooth, grayish
brown in color, ventral channel nearly closed, germ
pore nearer base than apex. Flavor very sweet, not
cloying, but not rich or distinctive in any way. The

DATE VARIETIES 281

dark color of this date is its principal drawback. It
has done well in America.

Sba el Aroosa. See Asabi al Arus.

Shukkar, Sugar, a fairly common date around
Baghdad, and much esteemed, selling in the market
for a higher price than Khustawi. In general, it is
only eaten fresh, although when packed in skins or
boxes it keeps well. This date is brown in color,
rather long but not otherwise large. It ripens in
midseason and bears well.

Siwi, an Egyptian variety new to California.
Said to be perfumed, very sweet and of good quality.

Sukkari, Sugary, probably would get more
votes than any other if the Arabs of the Baghdad
region were asked to name the best soft date. Sultan
'Abdul Hamid, in fact, used to have a shipment of
dates of this variety sent to him at Constantinople
every year. At Baghdad the palm is rare; it is
reputed to be more common at Baqubah and Mandali,
but never appears on the market. Most of the dates
are eaten fresh, but they also pack well. The palm
is vigorous and hardy, but a shy bearer, ripening its
dates from the middle of August to the first of
September. If cured properly they have a perfect
caramel consistency.

The date is oblong-ovate to elliptical in form,
widest at or near center; thence narrowing slightly
toward the flattened base and the broadly pointed
apex. Size medium large, length one and three-
eighths to one and five-eighths inch, breadth three-

282 DATE GROWING

fourths inch. Surface somewhat rough, translucent
orange brown to light brown in color, overlaid with
a thick, blue-gray bloom. Skin thin and tender,
deeply wrinkled in all directions but adhering to the
flesh closely. Flesh soft and very delicate in texture,
three-eighths inch thick, clear, translucent, golden
brown in color, with no fibre around seed. Seed
oblong-elliptical, almost blunt at base and broadly
pointed at apex, three-fourths inch long, five-sixteenths
inch broad, smooth, russet, the ventral channel open.
Flavor mild and delicate, agreeably rich but not cloying.

Sultani, The Sultan's Date, a name widely
applied in Egypt and possibly covering more than one
variety. The best known is a dry date grown in
sandy soil in many of the western oases (as far west
as Siwah) and also in Nubia. Ripens in September.
It is said that this date used to be exported to Con-
stantinople, where it was eaten by the Sultan, hence
its name; this is probably a fable. The variety is
short in proportion to its breadth; red at apex and
lighter colored at base; flesh thin, dry and rather
brittle; seed large. Said to be aromatic.

Said to be also called Kilma, in Nubia.
Delchevalerie mentions a variety of the same name
in Lower Egypt (province of Sharqia), which he
describes as orange yellow, when fresh, (in which
condition it is generally eaten), chestnut when cured;
large and perfumed. He says it is also called Safar
al Dunya, Voyage in the World — possibly because
it was an object of export. It may be the Nubian
date, changed by climate.

The variety has not yet fruited in the United
States.

DATE VARIETIES 283

Sultani, The Sultan's Date, a variety scarce at
Baghdad but thought well of, ripening about the
middle of August. It is a soft date, long and large,
brown in color; usually consumed fresh, because
of its earliness, but packs well. Has not yet borne
fruit in the United States.

Sukkar Nabat, Refined Sugar, a small, yellow
dry date of Baghdad, very rare but highly esteemed,
the Arabs comparing its taste to that of candied
honey. The flesh is granular, but particularly
melting for a dry date.

Sukkuti, see Ibrahimi.

Tabirzal, originally Tabirzad (Pers.), "Sugar
Candy," a name appropriate to its peculiar but
delicious flavor of burned sugar. It is always accented
on the middle syllable. Unquestionably one of the
best varieties at Baghdad, but not common, and
rarely seen in the bazar. The palm has the peculiarity
of ripening its fruits very slowly ; they are ripe enough
to eat in September, but not fully ripe until well on
to the first of November. It is also the only Baghdad
variety, say Arabs, the trunk of which ever branches.
The yield is moderate.

Form broadly oblong-obovate, widest below
center, whence it narrows slightly to the flattened
base and abruptly to the broadly pointed apex.
Size medium, length one and one-eighth to one and
one-half inch, breadth seven-eighths to one and
one-eighth inch. Surface undulating, translucent
deep orange brown in color, overspread with a bluish
gray bloom. Skin thin and rather tender, coarsely

284 DATE G'RO WING

wrinkled and folded, and often separating from the
flesh, which is soft and tender, one-quarter inch
thick, translucent orange brown in color; fibrous
lining of seed cavity almost wanting. Seed broadly
oblong, rounded at both ends, five-eighths to three-
quarters inch long, five-sixteenths inch broad, smooth,
light grayish brown in color, ventral channel narrow.
Flavor distinctive, mild and pleasant, sweet but not
cloying.

Tadala, Tedalla, a large soft date from the
Mzab oases of Algeria, where natives state that it
sometimes reaches a length of three inches. In
California and Arizona it attains a length of two
and one-fourth inches. In color it is a dull amber,
and its appearance is pleasing; the flesh is fairly
firm but the skin excessively tender, so that even
with the greatest care it can hardly be prevented
from breaking when the fruit is taken from the palm.
The season is early October, and the date is of the
rutab class, that is, its fruit is good only when fresh.
After being picked, it soon dries and shrivels, losing
all flavor; it cannot, therefore, be considered a good
commercial date, and should not be planted except
in limited quantity for home use.

The palm is vigorous and is considered a heavy
bearer; its leaves droop in a way which allows it to be
distinguished among others without great difficulty.
Considerable confusion exists among the palms of
this name in the United States; three of the four
palms at Mecca, California, appear to be seedlings,
while at Tempe, Arizona, one of the palms listed as
Timjuhart is evidently Tadala. The variety is not
desirable in Arizona, any more than in California,

DATE VARIETIES 285

although it has distinguished itself at Tempe by the
way in which it brings its fruit to maturity regularly,
despite the most unfavorable climatic conditions.

Tazizaut, Tazizaoot, a soft date from the Mzab
of Algeria, apparently found to a limited extent over
a much larger region in North Africa, although its
nomenclature is confused. It is said to be common,
and therefore offers great possibilities to the
commercial growers of the United States, as it is
entirely successful here and can probably be obtained
in sufficient quantity to make its culture worth while.
The fruit is large and firm, and keeps well, showing
little deterioration either in color or flavor after
the lapse of a year. It ripens early in September,
but may be left on the palm for a month more without
deterioration. In very heavy soils, such as those of
the Salt River Valley of Arizona, it is later in maturing.
It resists dampness and moisture very well. The
yield is large, as many as seventeen fruit clusters
having been produced in the fifth year and twenty-
two in the eighth year on a palm in Coachella Valley.
The variety not only matures but ripens perfectly on
the tree.

The palm is strong and stout, seems equally well
suited by light or heavy soil, and is decidedly hardy
in winter. Its foliage is notably soft, the dry, hard
point found at the leaf apex of most varieties being
absent. The leaves are noticeably recurving. Off-
shoots are rather difficult to handle, however, on
account of their loose structure and the low situation
of the terminal bud; Drummond suggests that they
be propagated in a very light soil or even in pure
sand.

$86 DATE GROWING

Bint Qabaleh, Bent Keballa; perhaps the proper
spelling is Bint Qibleh, Daughter of the South, or
Bint Qabbaleh, the Kissable Maiden; one traveler
calls it Bint Khabala, which would mean The
Shriveled. A rare variety from the Mzab of Algeria,
somewhat similar to Yatimeh or Al Qutar (q. v.);
of medium size, inclined to be sticky, but of attractive
appearance on account of its clear, light, amber color.
It is considered by the Mzabites one of their best
varieties, but although it has done well in the United
States it will never be very desirable on account of
its softness — the pulp becomes mushy if the air is
humid at the time of its ripening. If carefully
packed, however, it keeps well. Ripens soon after
the first of October. Offshoots are difficult to handle,
by reason of their loose make-up and the low position
of the terminal bud.

Tafazwin, Tafazween. Sometimes the feminine
form, Tafazwint, is seen. French writers call it
Tafazaouine. A large, attractive and valuable date
from Algeria and Tunisia, which has given excellent
results in California. It can be used either as a
soft or dry date, according to the stage at which it is
picked from the palm, and the care taken in handling
it. To make a soft date it should be picked when it
begins to show translucent spots, and ripened indoors.
If left on the palm it will become dry, but never
hard. The fruit ripens early in October, the yield
being fairly heavy; and because of its attractive
appearance, excellent quality, and keeping and
shipping properties, it is certain to be valuable.

The fruit is two inches long, or a little more, and
seven-eighths inch wide. Bright bay color when

DATE VARIETIES 287

fresh, it changes to an attractive golden brown when
it cures, and the blisters of the skin take a tan or
hazel color. The date is thickest just below the
base, tapering slightly to the bluntly pointed apex.
The base is flattened. Skin thin and tender, adhering
closely to flesh but indiscriminately wrinkled; some-
times raised in long folds and blisters. Flesh three-
sixteenths to one-fourth inch thick, firm and trans-
lucent. Seed one and one-fourth inch long, five-
sixteenths inch wide, slender, tight in cavity, golden
brown in color, almost uniform in width throughout
its length, rounded to broadly pointed at each end;
ventral channel broadly open, germ pore close to
base. Flavor particularly sweet, delicate and agree-
able but not cloying.

Much interest has been created in Coachella
Valley by a palm belonging to Fred N. Johnson of
Indio, which was imported as an offshoot from Tunis
by the Department of Agriculture, but given to Mr.
Johnson without a label. My friend and colleague
Henry Simon, of Arabia, California, who spent the
winter of 1912-1913 in Algeria and Tunisia, and gave
particular attention to the identification of this
palm by comparing its fruit with those of the Sahara
and getting the opinions of Arab growers, came to
the conclusion that it was Tafazwin, but with some
slight differences which indicated that the California
palm might have been the offshoot of a particularly
fine seedling Tafazwin. I concur with Mr. Simon
in this opinion, but in order that the reader may form
his own judgment, I give a description of Mr. Johnson's
date:

Fruit two inches long, seven-eighths inch wide,
usually tapering slightly from base to apex but

288 DATE GROWING

sometimes the reverse. Bright bay color, verging
on cinnamon at the base and chestnut at the apex.
Skin thin and tender, sometimes raised from flesh
in straw-colored blisters. Often marked with
numerous short, transverse scars (a feature that
often, but not always, characterizes the Saharan
Tafazwin). Flesh five-sixteenths inch thick, trans-
lucent; chestnut colored near surface verging to
straw inside. Some fibre. Seed one inch long, three-
sixteenths wide, cinnamon to hazel in color, ventral
channel open, deep; germ pore slightly nearer base
than apex. Flavor sweet but not heavy; good.

The giant cells of this date are nearly spherical,
while Kearney describes those of his Tunisian speci-
mens as angular and two or three times as long as
broad. This is not a positive point of evidence,
however, for the giant cells of Tafazwins which I
brought from Algeria are nearly the shape of those
of the Indio palm — round or even pear shaped,
although prevailingly angular.

With this evidence, certainly no one can say
with confidence that the Indio palm is not Tafazwin.
Either it or the imported palms of that name are well
worth growing. Dates of this variety which I have
kept loose for two years are still soft and in almost
as good condition as when they were picked.

Tanasin, Tenaseen, Tanessin, Tenacine,
Temacin, probably named after an oasis in the
Sahara, a black date of medium size which has
proved successful in the United States, particularly
in Arizona. The palm is distinguished by its
horizontal or umbrella-like crown of foliage.

BIRKET AL HAJJI PALM FROM EGYPT

Lost many leaves by frost in

Considered the best variety for Arizona.
January, 1913, but its crop was uninjured.

DATE VARIETIES 289

Fruit one and one-half inch long, about one-
half as wide, broadest near middle, and rounded at
both ends. Color very dark brown or black. Skin
thick but tender, adhering closely to very dark brown
or almost black flesh one-fourth inch thick, soft and
melting unless the fruit has been thoroughly cured,
when it becomes firm but usually slightly sticky.
Seed seven-eighths inch long, one-fourth wide, slender
and of almost uniform width; hazel in color with
areas of chestnut. Ventral channel open and deep,
germ pore nearer apex than base. Flavor agreeably
sweet and slightly nutty, mild and not cloying.

The date of this name described by Kearney in
Tunisia seems slightly different. The Tanasin palm
at Tempe, Arizona, is from the Oued Righ of Algeria,
where I also obtained my specimens. It matures in
midseason and is particularly prized because of the
evenness with which all berries on the cluster ripen at
one time. In native commerce it is usually sold
pressed into skins, and a mixture of Tanasin,
Tantabusht, and Deglet Nur, jammed together in
this manner, is said to be the nomad's idea of the
extreme of high living.

Tantabusht, Tantaboucht, Tantaboosht, an
Algerian and Tunisian variety of remarkable appear-
ance— nearly round, and almost black in color. It is
soft, and does not keep its shape well unless thoroughly
cured. It is highly prized by the natives, who say
that before it is fully ripe it has the flavor of a good
baked potato. It plays an important part in the
caravan trade of the Sahara, where it is cheap.

Fruit nearly spherical, one to one and one-half
inch in greatest diameter, base flattened or slightly

290 DATE GROWING

depressed. Color very dark brown or purple, almost
black. Skin thin and tender, adhering closely to
flesh but wrinkled indiscriminately; when long dried
the fruit often shows light-colored scars, short and
usually longitudinal, but sometimes making almost a
net work over limited areas of the surface. Flesh one-
fourth inch thick, golden brown in color with a lighter
layer toward center; soft and syrupy, becoming
granular after the lapse of a year. Seed five-eighths
inch long, three-eighths wide, loose in cavity, mummy
brown to russet in color, usually smooth but some-
times quite rough, ventral channel closed except for
a noticeable opening near apex, germ pore nearer
base than apex. Flavor remarkably sweet, like
molasses in a well-cured fruit; sometimes a slight
astringent taste. Ripens midseason but irregularly
on bunch, if left on palm. Arabs usually pick an
entire cluster when the dates begin to soften, and hang
it indoors; they state that in a week or ten days the
fruits will all ripen together.

Thuri, Thoory, Tsuri, The Bull's Date, an
Algerian dry date which has proved one of the most
satisfactory in California. It is large, not hard, and
of excellent flavor; the palm bears heavily and the
clusters are of exceptional size. For this reason
Arabs usually remove three-fifths of all the spathes
after pollination. Rather late in ripening (about
November 1). Hangs on the clusters well, so is
often sold in that condition. The date is classed by
Arabs as "hot," and not suitable for a prolonged and
exclusive diet.

The fruit is one and three-quarters inch long,
three-quarters inch wide, broadest in middle or

DATE VARIETIES 291

slightly nearer base, thence tapering slowly to rounded
or bluntly pointed apex and flattened or depressed
base. Color when fully dried is Indian chestnut
red overspread by a thick bluish bloom, but skin is
much raised in big folds and blisters which give a
prevailingly hazel color to the date. Flesh three-
sixteenths to one-fourth inch thick, deep golden
brown, firm and nearly dry but not hard or brittle;
white with some soft fibre toward center. Seed
one inch long, three-eighths inch wide, stout, rounded
at base, bluntly pointed at apex, cinnamon to ashy
gray in color, ventral channel deep and partly closed,
germ pore noticeably nearer base than apex; loose
in cavity. Flavor sweet, nutty and delicate, no
astringency; does not deteriorate even if kept for a
year or more.

Timjuhart, Tinjuhart, Timdjouert, a common
variety in the Mzab of Algeria,* which has done
well in the United States. It is a soft date of average
size and good flavor, which packs and keeps partic-
ularly well. When fresh it is bright red and so full of
syrup that it drips. The cured date may be de-
scribed as follows:

One and three-fourths inch long, three-fourths
inch broad, widest at middle or slightly nearer base,
thence tapering slightlv to bluntly pointed apex and
flattened base. Dark chestnut to purplish maroon
in color. Skin thin and tender, adhering closely
to flesh, sometimes profusely marked with short,

*The Mzab or Oued Mzab is a long string of oases, running
north and south, in the Sahara of Algeria; it contains little more than
200,000 palms, but has an unusually large proportion of good varieties.
Its inhabitants, the Mzabites, are not of Arab stock or language,
but are a Berber or proto-semitic race, akin to the ancient Egyptians.

202 DATE Gf ROWING

transverse scars. Flesh three-sixteenths inch thick,
dark golden brown in color, firm but tender, some-
times granular. Seed hazel in color, one inch long,
five-sixteenths inch wide, ventral channel shallow,
sometimes broadly open and at other times partly
closed, germ pore in center. Flavor very sweet
but not cloying. Season from September 15 to
October 1.

Turunja, Tronja, Troundja, The Citron (Citrus
medico), a name probably suggested by its shape.
A large, nearly spherical, soft date of Tunisia which
has produced excellent fruits in California. It
ripens in October. If allowed to remain on the palm
it becomes practically a dry date. The variety is
not common in its native home, but is highly esteemed
by the natives; Europeans usually find it too sweet
for a continued diet.

Kearney describes the fruit as perfectly round
or nearly so, one and one-half to two inches in greatest
diameter, maroon to prune purple when ripe, dull
orange brown before maturity. Skin, where loose,
tawny. Flesh three-eighths inch thick, firm or
even tough, sugary. Seed very thick, six-tenths to
seven-tenths as long as the fruit, three-fifths as long
as wide, much furrowed, ventral channel closed, germ
pore not distinguishable. Flavor rich, extremely
sweet, cloying.

Usta'amran. See Sayir.

Wahi, The Oasis Date, a variety grown in
several of the western oases of Egypt and also in the
province of Gizeh. Offshoots imported into the

FIFTY POUND BUNCH OF DEGLET NURS

From imported offshoot planted May 4, 1905, by Fred N. Johnson of
Indio, California. In 1910 it bore thirty pounds, in 1911 one hundred pounds,
in 1912 one hundred and forty pounds, 1913 over two hundred pounds, and has
during that time yielded eight offshoots.

DATE VARIETIES 293

United States have not yet fruited; seedling palms
in Arizona have proved coarse and late, but this
should not condemn the variety, which is highly
esteemed in Egypt. This date, which ripens in
August, is soft but keeps well, is longer and considerably
broader than Deglet Nur, slightly translucent;
flesh yellowish, granular midway between skin and
seed. Seed blunt, irregular in outline. Flavor pro-
nounced, delicious.

Yatimeh, Iteema, Itima, Ytima, The Orphan,
one of the most popular North African varieties,
considered by many native connoisseurs the equal
of Deglet Nur; and one which has given particularly
good results in California. It ripens toward the end
of September, and is a great favorite with the Arabs
when fresh, but also keeps well. The dates hang
persistently to the clusters, and are usually sold
in the market in this condition, but the Arab gourmand
considers that they become insipid by so much
exposure to the air, and for his own use packs each
cluster in a box, surrounded with dry dates; they will
remain in perfect condition for six months or a year.

Offshoots are considered rather delicate. The
palm demands plenty of water and fertilizer in
order to produce the best results. The yield is
heavy.

Fruit two inches long, one-half as wide; widest
at or near middle, rounded or flattened at base,
broadly pointed at apex. Chestnut brown in color,
with slight purplish bloom, the thick but tender and
shiny skin raised all over the fruit, when it is cured,
in tawny olive or ochraceous blisters. Flesh one-
fourth inch thick, soft and syrupy when fresh, after-

294 DATE GROWING

ward becoming firm but tender and melting. Seed
one inch long, three-sixteenths wide, rounded at base
and apex, cinnamon or hazel in color, ventral channel
nearly closed, germ pore in center. Flavor sweet,
pronounced.

In some districts of Algeria this date is called
Al Qutar, The Dripper, because syrup sometimes
drips from it on the tree; the name might be freely
translated "Honey Drips." In other districts Al
Qutar seems to have been established as almost a
distinct variety, distinguished by a little larger size
and superior quality, It is almost a monopoly of the
shaykhs and kaids, who preserve it in jars to offer
to guests as a particular delicacy.

Zaglul, a large, soft, Egyptian date which has
given good results in the United States, and is par-
ticularly valuable because of its early maturity. In
Egypt it is much grown on sandy soil near Rosetta,
where it receives no surface irrigation, and this
probably accounts for its reputation as a shy bearer.
Its seed is conspicuously small.

Eisen says : "This variety is considered in
Cairo as the best date that comes to that market,
and it accordingly brings the highest price. It is
sold in retail at eight piasters per oke (one oke is
two and three-fourths pounds) or about fifteen cents
a pound. It is from two to three inches long, of
brown or reddish brown color, very highly flavored
and sufficiently sweet but not exceedingly so. It is
very meaty and is always eaten fresh. There are
not over four bunches to the tree and the crop is never

*Eisen, Dr. Gustav. Fruits in Egypt. California Cultivator,
vol. XL, No. 4, p. 100. Los Angeles, Jan. 23, 1913.

DATE VARIETIES 295

sufficiently extensive to allow any of it to be dried.
There are several kinds of Zaglul, slightly differing in
size and quality. The very best kind does not last
more than a month or even less than a month. "

Zahidi, Zehedi, Zadie, originally Azadi (Pers.),*
Nobility, a remarkable dry date which is the principal
commercial variety of Baghdad. To the planter it
is valuable for its vigor, hardiness, resistance
to drought and great prolificness — a yield of 250
pounds being common — while it is also one of the
earliest to mature. To the dealer and shipper it
commends itself because it can be sold in three
forms, soft, dry, or half way between, and keeps
well in any form. It is the principal food of most of
the nomads around Baghdad, and is shipped to most
of the ports of the Mediterranean; it will usually be
found on sale in Marseille at a good price. It is much
used in the manufacture of arrak, a distilled liquor
whose production is an important industry at Baghdad ;
the date qualifies for this purpose because of its large
sugar content. The flavor of Zahidi is not equal to
that of Asharasi, but it is superior to most North
African dry dates, containing very little tannin.

The palm is characterized by a thick, stout
trunk, swelling at the base, and leaves rather erect,
not recurving like most varieties. Their color is a
healthy glaucous green; the spines are very large and
stiff.

In its soft stage this date is picked about the
middle of August and packed in boxes or more fre-
quently in skins. In this condition it keeps for

*For the peculiar history of the names Zahidi and Khustawi,
see Pere Anastase-Marie, Loghat el Arab No. 10, p. 397. Baghdad,
April, 1912.

296 DATE (TROWING

months and is called Zahidi Kursi, the latter word
being Sukkari ("sugary") with the letters transposed.
In this state it may be described as follows: Form
oblong-obovate, broadest point about two-thirds
distant from base to apex, after which it narrows
slightly to the rounded apex and to the rather broad,
flattened base; size medium, length one and one-
quarter inch, breadth seven-eighths inch. Surface
smooth, glossy, a beautiful, translucent, golden yellow
in color, sometimes light golden brown; bloom
unnoticeable. Skin rather thick and not easily
broken, rarely wrinkled, and adhering closely to the
flesh, which is translucent golden yellow near skin,
becoming whitish toward seed; soft, meaty and full
of syrup; one-quarter inch thick. Seed oblong,
smooth, rounded at base, slightly tapering at apex,
three-quarters to seven-eighths inch long, five-
sixteenths inch wide, smooth, russet in color, ventral
channel open. Flavor sweet, extremely sugary but
not at all cloying, and possessing a remarkably
fresh or rutab taste.

If the dates are allowed to remain on the palm
a week or two longer, the whole cluster can be cut
and hung up in a shop, the dates showing no tendency
to become detached, even after four or five months.
In this stage, which the Baghdadis call Zahidi Qass,
(cut), the fruit is still soft and tender, but not sticky.
The flavor is perhaps a trifle less rich than when the
fruit is packed in skins, but it still has a unique
freshness, so that one could eat such dates in February
or March and almost persuade himself that they are
fresh from the tree. I believe this date offers great
commercial possibilities to California growers, since
entire bunches could be furnished to grocers, who

DATE VARIETIES 297

would hang them up in the window just as they do
a bunch of bananas.

The principal export of the date from Baghdad,
however, is in its third or dry state ("Zahidi Yabis"),
when it may be described as follows: Form same as
given above; size a trifle smaller. Surface hard and
dry, slightly rough, deep straw color with sometimes
a translucent, dark amber portion near apex. Skin
hard and dry, tough and not easily broken; smooth
near base and usually somewhat wrinkled and folded,
and separating from flesh toward apex. Flesh dry
but not mealy, three-sixteenths inch thick, dull white
in color with frequently an amber portion near tip.
Seed as described above. Flavor very sugary.

The variety has not yet fruited in California,
but should be very successful. In the unfavorable
climatic conditions of Tempe the only drawback to
it has been a tendency, shown by most dates there,
to ripen unevenly.

Zumreh Mimun, The Offshoot of Mimun (a
personal name*), a very rare variety of the Ziban
in Algeria, probably a derivative of Deglet Nur, as it
is said that an outsider can hardly distinguish the two
varieties of dates, even if he sees them side by side.
The date is described as of the same size and color as
Deglet Nur, equally translucent, ripening in October,
keeping well. The palm yields heavily only if it is
given very good care. This variety has not yet
fruited in the United States.

*It is the name, in Arabic orthography, of the famous Jewish
scientist of the twelfth century A. D., Maimonides. To name a
choice variety of date after him is certainly heaping coals of fire,
for he denounced dates as injurious, and advised that they should be
eaten rarely and then only before meals. Abu Amran Mouchi b.
Mimoun, The Principles of Physical and Moral Health, tr. by M.
Carcousse, Alger, 1887, p. 23.

APPENDIX

5

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31

I

QUARANTINE REGULATIONS

Anyone wishing to import date palm offshoots
from a foreign country must obtain a permit from
the Secretary of Agriculture, and must mark each box,
case, or package with the name and address of importer
and exporter, general nature and quantity of contents,
district or locality and country where grown, and
number of permit. Each package must either be
accompanied by a certificate of inspection from the
foreign country, stating that the plants are free from
disease or pests, or the importer must file a bond with
the collector of customs, to the amount of double the
invoice value of the property, to insure that he will
properly treat it to free it from scale and other pests,
within forty days of arrival, under instructions from
the quarantine officers; and the plants must not be
removed from the port of entry until written notice
is given by the agent of the Department of Agriculture
to the collector of customs that the stock has been
properly treated.

The only places into which palms can be shipped
by an importer are :

In California, Riverside County, east of the San
Bernardino meridian; Imperial County.

In Arizona, Yuma County, Maricopa County,
Final County.

In Texas, Webb County.

After being properly treated in a cresol dip for two
periods of fifteen minutes, separated by twenty-four

302 APPENDIX

hours, offshoots may be moved to any point within
the region above mentioned, but must be rooted in
nursery form, and so kept for a year, when they will
again be inspected, and if found free from scale they
may be shipped to any point in the United States, if
accompanied by a certificate of inspection from a
duly authorized agent of theDepartment of Agriculture,
showing that they are not infested. They can not be
shipped outside the quarantine area unless free from
scale; but inside the quarantine area they may be
shipped to any point. In California, however, they
must not be planted within 500 feet of seedling palms.

In regard to offshoots of local origin, either from
imported palms or from seedlings, they may be
shipped anywhere at any time if accompanied by
the proper certificate showing that they are not
infested. If they are infested, they can only be
shipped within the quarantine area, or from one
quarantined region to another.

The officers in charge of inspection on behalf of
the Department of Agriculture will furnish all infor-
mation desired. No fee is charged for inspection.
The officers are:

In California: Bruce Drummond, Indio.
In Arizona: A. W. Morrill, Phoenix.
In Texas: J. D. Mitchell, Victoria.

Plant quarantine regulations are based partly
on the Plant Quarantine Act passed by Congress last
year and approved August 20, 1912, and partly on
state regulations. The above synopsis represents
the essential features of the act and regulations at
the date of writing, September 1, 1913.

II

TO GROW BANANAS FROM DATE SEEDS

During the dark ages it was a widespread Arab
superstition that bananas could, under certain
circumstances, be grown from date seeds. The slight
similarity in general appearance between the two
plants was elevated to a real relationship, particularly
by the Baghdad physician 'Abdu-1 Latif (twelfth
century), in his Description of Egypt (pub. at Paris
by Imperial Press, 1810, with tr. by S. de Sacy). The
writer declares that to make the relationship evident
all you need to do is to place a date seed in a fruit of
the colocasia and bury it; the result will be a banana
plant.

The plant which the Arabs designate as colocasia
(Arab., from Pers., qulqas) is doubtless not Colocasia
antiquorum, but the sacred water lily of the Egyptians,
Nymphea lotus (Castalia mystic a). The way in which
the writers speak of it shows, however, that they had
only a hazy idea in mind, and probably did not
really know what plant they were referring to.

Ibn Awam, the Spanish Moor who wrote his
treatise on agriculture in the twelfth century, gives
more detailed directions for performing the operation,
in his chapter entitled "To Make a Date Seed Grow
in a Colocasia Root, to Obtain a Banana by the
Permission of God." He says:

"The manner of operating is to plant a colocasia
root in a place constantly exposed to the sun, where
one can water it abundantly and continuously and

304 APPENDIX

protect it from wind. Water it carefully until the
root sprouts; then dig away the earth, split the root
with a gold-bladed knife, and in that cleft introduce
the date seed. The operation must be concealed in
such a manner that the colocasia root can not see what
is being done, otherwise the operation will not suc-
ceed. The seed used should be from a date of the
variety Kasbeh or any other delicate variety. Bind
up the cut with reed leaves or woolen thread and
plaster the whole thing over with mud mixed with
fine hairs, then cover it four fingers deep with humus.
Water it with sweet water daily or every other day
until the germination is apparent, then you will see
the banana appear. If planted in January or February
you will get fruit at the end of summer; this fact is
very extraordinary. Some think the seed should be
broken before it is put in the cleft; I have tried it
without success.

"A witness worthy of faith tells me he has seen
the operation performed in the orient in this manner:
Take a seed in its fruit, using pains to get a female
seed — it is that which is short and not pointed at the
end. Introduce the seed in a colocasia root, which
resembles a turnip or artichoke root; cover it with a
little humus, water it continuously, and abundantly,
and there will appear a banana, which is a kind of
colocasia, but rare in Spain, if indeed it is known at
all."

Another MS. version, more probably correct,
makes Ibn A warn say that he has never been able to
try the operation, because he could not secure any
colocasias.

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"THE SWEAT" TALISMAN

The following talisman was in high repute among
Arab date growers of the dark ages : Ibn A warn quotes
the formula from the Book of Nabathean Agriculture :

"A man takes a sheet of copper weighing 70 to
140 mithqals (267 to 534 gr.). He goes to the middle
of the field where he wishes to plant his date seeds;
there he digs a hole to the depth of seven Nabathean
feet (2.53 m.); then he takes a clay jar, very deep and
rendered very hard by the action of a violent fire;
he puts the copper tablet in it, after having rubbed it
with olive oil. Plant the vase in the hole, and the
seeds will give palms of excellent varieties, very sweet
and handsome. This shall be done when the horoscope
is in the two houses of Jupiter. If it is in Jupiter
itself, that is excellent. The moon ought to be
apparent and in conjunction with the sun, or else with
Jupiter. If the moon is in one of the houses of this
planet and the horoscope is there, it is very good.
Distrust The Tail and Mars, for if one of them or
both are in the horoscope, or if they occupy the middle
of the sky, the palms produced by the seeds will be
shy bearers. Kimama says: 'Draw with an iron
style on this sheet of copper the figure of a man with
one hand above the other. Rub honey on the figure
and olive oil on the rest of the plate; shake powdered
sugar on the honey. Put the sheet in the jar and
cover it with a layer of clay, then bury it among the
roots of a palm which lets its fruit drop before they
are ripe: it will retain them and its product will be
as beautiful as possible'."

INDEX

Ajweh 24

Alkali, effect on palms 34, 35. 156

Amari 211

Amekentichi 264

Amhat 211

Amir Hajj 212

Amirf 214

Ammaree. 211

Ammary 211

Amri 214

Anjasf 214

Ants attacking palm 156

Aooshet 216

Archeti 277

Arechti 277

Arishti 214

Arizona, adaptability to dates 28, 54

Arrak 197

Asab'i al Arus 214

Ascherasi 215

Asharasi 81, 120, 164, 215

Ashar Fahal 121

'Ausheh 216

'Awaydi 67, 216

Azmashf 217

Badinjani 218

Badrahf 219

Badraihl 219

Badrashin 127, 220

Badurahi 219

Baghdad, bearing at 175

climate of 32

irrigation at 37, 91

males at 120

season at 127, 163

Bajlanl 220

308 INDEX

Bananas from dates, to grow 303

Barban 121, 221

Barhf 221

Bartamoda 222

Bearing of palm intermittently 94

Bearing of palm, quantity 174

Bedraihe 219

Beetle in dates 157

Bent Keballa 286

Berban 221

Berhi 221

Berni 226

Bertamoda 222

Beverages from dates 195

Bint 'Aisheh 223

Bint Qabaleh 286

Birket al Hadji 223

Birket al Haggi 223

Birket al Hajji 68, 128, 223

Bourlos 226

Breeding dates from seed 47, 50, 56

Brem .224

Brim 224

Bu Narinja 225

Burlus 226

Bumf 226

Burshi 227

Busreh, cultivation at 92

irrigation at 36

season at 127, 163

soil of 33, 167

Carbon dioxid in ripening dates 138, 139, 208

Carpophyllus dimidiatus 157

Casa Grande Valley adapted to dates 28

Chamerops humilis 108

Chemical constituents of dates 204

Climate suited to dates 27, 30, 32

Coachella Valley adapted to dates 27

Colorado River Valley as date country 27

Consumption of dates in United States 179

Cooking methods 179

INDEX 309

Crop, enemies of 128

handling of 130

picking of 129

Cultivation of ground 39, 90

Dakar Majahel 121

Dates "hot" and "cold" 167

Deboeni 231

Deboweni 231

Degal 55

Deglet Nur.. 27, 51, 80, 84, 91, 141, 161, 164, 165, 168, 174, 179, 228

Dietetic value of date 203

Digestibility of date 205

Drainage of soil 34

Dry-farming of dates 37

Dubaini 231

Egypt, bearing in 174

irrigation in 36, 37

large offshoots in 59

pollination in 102

season in 127

El Kseba 232

Emkentishi 264

Ephestia cautella 156

Expense of cultivation 178, 183

Fahal Aksba 121

Falling of fruit .' 06

Fard 232

Fardh 81, 232

Farisi 235

Fertilizers 33, 83, 92

Fig moth in dates 156

Flowering, time of 108, 113

Flowers, appearance of in two sexes 110

as food 193

hermaphrodite 113

Food value of dates 203

Frost resistance of palms 31

Frost resistance, effect of irrigation on 90

Fumigation of packing-house 157

Fursi 235

Ghanami . . 120

310 INDEX

Ghars 129, 167, 169, 235

Ghazi ; 237

Gila River Valley adapted to dates 28

Gondela 238

Gondila 238

Gophers attacking palms 155

Grafting palms 123

Graphiola phoenicis 153

Grasshoppers attacking palms 155

Guern el Rhezal 274

Gundila 238

Halawi 238

Malawi Makkawi 239

Halwa 241

Hamraia 243

Hamraya . . . .- 243

Harra 246

Hasa, dates of 97, 162

Hasan Efendi 244

Hasawi 245

Hayani 245

Hellali 245

Heloua 241

Herra 246

Hilali 245

Horra 246

Hourra 246

Hukri 120

Hurra 246

Huwayzi 246

Hwezi 246

Ibrahimi 247

Ibrahimi 247

Identification, means of 170

Imperial Valley adapted to dates 27

India, dates in 30, 45, 53, 55, 175

Indian meal moth in dates 15 6

Irrigation 36, 37, 89

Iteema 29,8

Itima 248

Kanta 248

Kasbeh . . . . 249

INDEX 311

Kenta 248

Kenteeshy 264

Kentichi 264

Kesba 249

Kessebi 249

Khadhrawi 67, 121, 252

Khadrawi 252

Khalas 253

Khalasa 253

Khalaseh 39, 162, 253

Khalasi 253

Khanayzi 258

Khanezi 258

Khastawi 258

Khudrawee 252

Khustawi 258

Kustawi 258

Lagoo 259

Lagou 259

Laqmi, palm wine 196, 198

Laqu 259

Madina, Arab center of date culture 23, 37, 102, 127, 164

Majhul 81, 84, 260

Makantishi 264

Maktoom 265

Maktum 265

Maktum Ahmar 268

Males, identification of 122

influence on seed 108

nomenclature of 124

number necessary 108

percentage of in seed 84

selection of 119

shoot, characteristics of 123

transformed to females 123

value of seedling 119, 121

varieties of 120

Manakhir 85, 169, 268

Manure, use of 92

Maridheh 270

Marketing dates 43

312 INDEX

Marketing dates in bunches 132

Marlatt scale 151

Masarraf 270

Mashi Degla 270

Masqat, dates at 39

Maturation of date 142

Mecha Degla 270

Medicinal uses of date 193

Medjeheul 260

Medjool 260

Menakher 268

Mexico, dates in 29, 44, 136

Meznag 271

Mirhage 271

Mishi 270

M'Kentichi 264

Monakhir 268

Moths in dates 156

Muhammad, connection with dates

21, 22, 23, 102, 170, 188, 189, 195

Muznaj 271

Nagal 271

Naghal 271

Nagl el Basha 272

Najl al Pasha 272

Nakhleh Zianeh 272

Nakhlet al Pasha 272

Nazi 272

Oman, climate of 30

cultivation in 64, 92

irrigation in 36, 39

season in 127, 162

Offshoots, best size of 59

detaching 61

difference of season in 122

growth of 67

identification of 71

packing and shipping 63

planting 64

production of 68

production of dates from 46

INDEX 313

Offshoots, profit from 177

rooting with bottom heat 69

shape of 59

time to cut 60

watering 66

Packing dates 130

Palm, in antiquity 22

monoecious 113

traditions concerning 21, 22, 23

Palm wine ' 196

Parlatoria scale 149

Pasteurization 130, 157

Phoenicococcus scale 151

Phoenix canariensis 107

Phoenix sylvestris 53

Plodia interpunctella 156

Pollen, handling of 107

preservation of 107

Pollination, antiquity of 101

failures in 110

in nature 104, 105

in America 106, 114

native method of 105

Preserving dates 191

Qern el R'azal 274

Qintar 273

Quarantine 158, 301

Qurn al Ghazal 274

Qush Batash 274

Qush Bu Narinja 225

Qush Farf ara 275

Qush Hasas 276

Qush Shahm 276

Qush Sheham 276

Qush Zabad 276

Rain, effect of on dates 96

Rakab 163

R'ars 235

Rashidl 277

Rats attacking dates 155

R'azi.. ..237

•
314 INDEX

Rhars 277

Rhazi 237

Rhyncophorus borers 154

Ripening, artificial, in Orient 135

artificial, in United States 137

chemical process 206

natural and artificial 206

time of, in Orient 127

time of, in United States 127

Rishti 277

Ruhm al Ghazal 278

"Rutab" dates 166

S'aidi 279

Sacramento Valley, dates in 28

Salt, use of on palm 94

Salton Basin, dates in 32, 54

Salt River Valleyfor dates 28

Samiani 279

San Joaquin Valley, dates in 28

Sarna 279

Sarni 279

Sayer 280

Sayir 127, 280

Sba el Aroosa 281

Scale insects on palms 149

Scale insects, treatment of 150, 152

Seedling dates 44, 46

Arab theories on 77

cultivation of 83

freedom from scale 158

in United States 47

transplanting 83

variability of 48, 85

Seed, Arab uses of 192

planting 82

selection of 80

sex of 84

Serving dates, ways of 188 et seq.

Sex, evidence of in offshoots 122

Shitwi 127

Shukkar.. ..281

INDEX 315

Siwi 281

Soil adapted to dates 27, 33

Spain, dates in 45, 136

Sukkari 281

Sukkar Nabat 283

Sukkuti 283

Sultani 282

Sultani 283

Sumaysmi 120

"Sweat" Talisman, The 305

Tabirzal 283

Tadala 284

Tafazween 286

Tafazwin 165, 286

Tafilalet dates . .31, 45

Talismans and charms 94, 96, 97, 305

Tanasin 288

Tanessin 288

Tantaboosht 289

Tantaboucht 289

Tantabusht 289

Tazizaoot 285

Tazizaut 285

Tedalla 284

Temacin 288

Tempe, climate at 139

harvest at 129

irrigation at ... 37

Tenacine 288

Tenaseen 288

Texas, dates in 29

Theory 290

Tmiri 290

Timdjouert 291

Timjuhart 291

Tinjuhart 291

Trachycarpus excelsus 108

Transliteration of Arab names xv

Trimming of palms 97

Tronja 292

Troundja . . 292

316 INDEX

Tsuri 290

Turunja 292

Usta'amran 292

Varieties 211 et seq.

Wahi 292

Ward* 120

Washingtonia filifera 108

Water for irrigation, amount needed 38

Water for irrigation, temperature of .— 39

West Indies, dates in 31

Windbreaks in date plantations 48, 84, 97

Wind, effect of on palms 97

Wolfskill date 54

Wormy dates 158

Yatf meh 293

Ytima 293

Zadie 295

Zaglul 294

Zahidi 165, 197, 295

Zanzibar, dates in 31

Zehedi 295

Zumreh Mimun . . 297

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