306 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXVI. 



case is similar to that of a Sua- flower. A variety which would appear to be 

 similar to that found in the Central Provinces is referred to in Vol. VI of 

 the Journal, page 107. Neither the Flora of British India, Brandis, 

 Gamble or Talbot refer to any such variety or this. I have secured its 

 seed, some of which I sent to Mr. Millard, and it will be interesting to see 

 if it flowers true. 



C. E. LUARD, Lt.-Col., 

 Manpur, C. I., Political Agent in the Southern States 



June ISth, I9I8. of Central India. 



No. XXX.— THE EDIBLE DATE-PALM IN BOMBAVT. 



On the 11th July Mr. Millard sent me the fruits of the Date-Palm 

 {Phcenix dactylifera), growing in the Bombay University Gardens. The 

 malee informed him that the tree. fruited every year and that the fruits 

 fall off before they are mature. 



The fruits are green or yellowish green and about 1 inch long. The 

 complete absence of a seed shows that they have apparently not been 

 fertilized. There is a small empty cavity in the flesh which imitates in its 

 shape (but not in its size) the stone or seed of the fruit. 



The usual process after fertilization is this : Out of the three free simple 

 ovaries of the flower onL- one ripens into a berry, the pericarp becoming the 

 pulp which contains a " stone " or seed. The latter is a solid mass of horny 

 perisperm with the embryo embedded in a small cavity a little beneath the 

 surface, its place being indicated by a papilla on the surface. 



In the fruit under examination the pericarp alone has developed, the rest 

 being abortive ; each fruit is supported at its base by the complete perianth 

 thus showing that onl^^ one of the 3 ovaries has developed into a (seedless) 

 fruit, whilst the others have disappeared. 



Of these facts one is old, and one seems to be new. It is well known that, 

 in case there is no pollination, all three of the ovaries will develop, but will 

 be seedless and the fruit will be inferior. In our case, however, only one 

 ovary in each flower has developed, a behaviour quite different from what 

 lias been observed up to now (at least to my knowledge). Is it nob possible 

 that the stimulus for the formation of the fruit was given by pollen of the 

 Wild Date Palm {I'/ioenix sylvestris), but tliat the stimulus was not suflicient 

 to produce a seed ? It would be easy to ascertain this point during the 

 flowering season of the Palm. 



E. BLATTER, s.j. 

 Botanical Labokatouy, 

 St. Xaviek's Coli-ege, 

 Bombay, IZth July 1918. 



No. XXXI.— OLEANDER POISONING CAMELS. 



Does anybody know why Oleander is such a deadly poison to camels r 

 The theory here is that the leaves choke the camel, and that dried leaves 

 are more fatal than green ones. Is it known what the poison is, and what 

 antidote, if any, there is ? A man in the Telegraph Department told me 

 to-day that he had saved the life of one of his riding camels by giving it 

 within \ hour of its eating the oleander leaves, 2 bottles of tea, 3 bottles of 

 strong solution of permanganate of potash, and two bottles pf gbee P 

 Apparently no symptoms of poisoning were seen. 



