CONTENTS. 



Page. 



Introduction 9 



Characteristics of the region - 11 



Geography ..._. 11 



The Jerid _ 11 



The Nef zaoua -- - 17 



Gabes_ : --. - --- 19 



Gafsa. - -.-- - 20 



Climate - — 21 



Temperature .-- - 21 



Atmospheric humidity - 26 



Precipitation - 27 



Irrigation and drainage - - 28 



Water supply — --- 28 



Irrigation system 31 



Drainage system - -. - 33 



Soils of the Jerid region --- 33 



Textiire - -- 33 



Fertility - 35 



Alkali - --. 36 



Culture of the date palm. .... - - - - 41 



Size and value of the gardens 41 



Labor and tenantry system - - - 43 



Propagation -- 43 



Preparing the land - — - - - 45 



Planting 46 



Irrigating . 47 



Manuring .-- 49 



Other cultural methods — - - - - - 50 



Pollination and male palms 50 



Ripening . - 51 



Harvesting - - 52 



Preserving 54 



Varieties of the date palm in Tunis 55 



Descriptions of the varieties 60 



Varieties of primary imjiortance _ 60 



Soft dates 60 



Dry dates 71 



Varieties of secondary importance 74 



Dry dates 74 



Soft dates 76 



Varieties of minor importance 82 



Dry dates 82 



Soft dates 84 



Varieties imported but not included in the key 90 



Varieties included in the key but not imported 92 



Descriptive key to the characters of the fruits — 94 



Synopsis of the groups 96 



Key to the varieties ^7 



Index -- 107 



Description of plates : ^^^ 



5 



