VARIETIES OF PRIMARY IMPORTANCE. 



67 



Fio. 9.— Outlines of Tronja seed 

 and fruit. (Natural size.) 



iniK'h furrowed. Tho foliage (IM. IV, fip;. 1 ) is dense, the leaves wide, 

 crowded Willi leaflets, and droopin<2: gracefully at the ends. 



This is a rare variety, apparently confined to Tunis, occurring spar- 

 inirlv in the Jerid and the Nefzaoua. The fruit, which rii)ens in 

 October, is remarkable for its large size, the thickness of its flesh, and 

 its globular shape. The short, very thick 

 seed is also characteristic. (Fig. 9.) 



This date is highly esteemed by the 

 natives. The flesh is very firm and even 

 somewhat tough, extremely sweet, and very 

 rich flavored, the flavor suggesting that 

 of the Fteeniy. Tronja dates can not be 

 oaten in large quantity, as their richness 

 soon cloys, but as a dessert fruit they are 

 ver}' promising. They ripen in October. 

 Of this variety 8 offshoots were imported. 

 Boo Facoos (p. 101). — The name (in 

 French orthography. Bou Fagous, or Feg- 

 gouss) signifies " father of the cucum- 

 ber." A soft date. If to 1^ inches long, 

 considerably more than one-half as wide, 

 constricted near the middle and widest toward the apex, maroon to 

 prune purple when ripe, the flesh 2^ lines thick, the seed from a little 

 more than one-half to five-eighths as long as the fruit, rather slender. 

 (Fig. 10.) The orange-colored stalks of the fruit clusters are 

 sharply curved and so short that the rather small bunches hardly 

 extend beyond the leafstalks. The foliage of this, as of several 

 other of the finest varieties, is of a light and delicate aspect, due in 



this case to the relatively few leaves 

 and the narrowness of the leaflets. The 

 leaves themselves are large and wide. 

 As in the Deglet Noor, they curve down- 

 w^ard very noticeably. In color they 

 are an unusually rich green. The spines 

 of the leafstalks are few and Weak. 

 The ofi'shoots remain small while at- 

 tached to the parent tree, and the Arabs 

 Fig. lo.-outiines of Boo Fagoos seed advise that greater carc be taken to keep 

 and fruit. (Natural size.) j-j-^^j^^ moist after removal and before 



planting than is necessary wnth most other varieties. 



The variety is rather common, but nowhere abundant, in the oases 

 of the Jerid, to wdiich it appears to be confined in Tunis, although 

 said to occur also in the Mzab oases of Algeria. It is in high repute 

 among the natives, being exported to all parts of Tunis and Al- 



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