Dlscussio7i on Palms. 107 



trees or plants which present to the beholder such unique beauty 

 and interest as the palms, and where they succeed, as they do in 

 California, they should be seen on every landscape. 



Seci-etary Ragan, of Indiana — It was with some difficulty, and 

 a good deal of persuasion, that Dr. Albrecht was induced to prepare 

 this paper. I apprehend that no member of the Society will regret 

 that he finally did so. There are, probably, not many of the palms 

 that will prove of economic value in the United States, but they 

 are certainly of great aesthetic value wherever the climate will 

 admit of their being grown. There is at least one of their number^ 

 however, from which I anticipate valuable economic returns in the 

 near future as a possible fruit-bearing species in a large section of 

 comparatively arid country bordering on the Pacific coast and 

 Mexico, viz.: the date palm. This is one of the most hardy, and 

 certainly ^Ae most valuable, species of the palms. The region named, 

 in many of its essential features, resembles North Africa, where the 

 date palm is the greatest blessing to the semi-barbaric tribes who 

 inhabit that country. It should be thoroughly tested in these arid 

 regions. 



Ifr. Van Deman, U. S. Nomologist, Washington, D. C. — I am 

 very much interested in palms. I received the fruit from a date 

 palm grown near Phoenix, Arizona, only seven years from the seed. 

 It had five bunches. I believe this valuable palm will do well in 

 that country. The date palm requires a moist soil and a dry sky ; 

 irrigation can give the first, and the other is everywhere in South- 

 ern California and Arizona. 



The President — Notwithstanding the value that may, and I hope 

 will, develop in date culture in the southern sections of California 

 and Arizona, I still think the greatest value is in the beauty and 

 grandeur of the palms. 



3l7'. Bettner, of California — In Southern California the date 

 palm succeeds, and has been fruited for a few years past. We cer- 

 tainly have the necessary atmospheric conditions. At Riverside, 

 my home, the culture of the date is receiving some attention. 



Mr. Wickson, of California — Date palms were introduced into 

 Southern California by the Jesuit fathers. They have perfected 



