THE DATE GARDEiSTS. 21 



about the comparative rarity of offshoots at the base of their pahns, 

 reply simply that it is due to the absence of irrigation, without going 

 into details. Whatever may be the cause of the deficiency, there is a 

 great demand. for oif shoots, and to supply this demand caravans are 

 sent to procure suckers, especially of the Deglet Xoor variety, to Tou- 

 gourt, or even as far as Ouargla, 135 miles away. In those oases they 

 are produced more freely, the palms being irrigated. 



Offshoots for planting are generally taken from the mother palm 

 about the end of February. The natives say that they could be 

 planted even earlier, but in that case the parent tree is likely to suffer 

 from the access of cold air to the wound made in cutting off the sucker. 

 In case the offshoots are removed in midwinter, their bases are slightly 

 charred before planting, and this is thought to protect them from the 

 cold. 



The hole made to receive the young palm is sometimes as much as 

 C) feet in diameter, but probably in most cases less. Its depth, as we 

 have seen, depends largely upon the distance to ground water, being 

 generally 1^ to 3 feet in the bottom of the gardens near the town of El 

 Oued. A young palm was seen near El Oued that had been set out 

 near a well about G feet above the bottom of a garden, in a hole 3^ 

 feet deep. (See PL IV, fig. 1.) 



The palms are not set out in straight lines. They stand much far- 

 ther apart than in gardens belonging to natives in other oases, 50 

 feet being the average distance. This wide planting is probably 

 necessitated by the poverty of the soil, which is practically a pure 

 sand, while the almost entire absence of subsidiary cultures makes the 

 shade afforded by close planting less valuable than in other oases. 



It is estimated that the planting and care of a young Deglet Xoor 

 palm up to the time it begins to yield costs $25 in the Oued Souf, as 

 against $5 to $10 in the Djerid oases of Tunis. 



CARE OF PALM8. 



During the first summer after it is planted the palm ma}^ receive a 

 few irrigations by hand Avitli water from the well that is situated on 

 the hillside in nearly every garden, although it is said that frequently 

 no irrigation whatever is given. "While still very small, before the 

 leaves have grown out enough to project far above the mouth of the 

 hole in which it is planted, the tree is protected from drought and 

 from the cold of winter by covering the hole with palm leaves, dead 

 pumpkin vines, etc. 



^^lien the palms are manured the sand that has piled up into a 

 low mound around the base of the tree is removed and the soil beneath 

 is thoroughly worked. This is apparently the only cultivation the 

 trees receive. 



