HARVESTING DATES. 53 



quired are not sufficiently numerous to gather all the fruit as soon 

 as it is ready to harvest. Fortunately, this is one of the varieties the 

 dates of which can he left on the |)ahns without injury for several 

 weeks after uiaturin<j:'. })rovided the autunni is a dry one. 



The Deglet Xoor crop is generally j)urchased on the trees and the 

 harvest is supervised by the buyer or his agiMit. Bunches borne 

 on small trees Avhich can be reached from the ground are said to be 

 preferred 1)V the more wealthy natives for their own consumption, 

 being less liable to injury in the harvesting. Palms in full bearing, 

 however, are generally too tall to allow their fruit to be gathered thus 

 easily. The harvest from such trees is a rather c()mi)licated matter, 

 giving employment to a large numl)er of men. (PI. I, frontispiece.) 



First there is the "" getaa." whose work recjuires the most skill. 

 Armed with a " mengel " (see fig. 4, p. 44) he climbs to the top of 

 the palm, cuts away with a few deft strokes such of the dead leaves 

 as hang in his way, and then proceeds to sever the stalks of the fruit 

 bunches. Along the trunk below him a sort of human ladder has 

 meanwhile been formed, the number of men and boys that compose 

 it depending of course upon the height of the tree. The writer saw 

 eight men l^esides the getaa clinging to one tall Deglet Xoor palm. 

 Supporting themselves with one arm around the trunk and grasping 

 the scaly bark with their bare feet, they hand down the bunches from 

 one to another as they are received from the getaa until the entire 

 product of the tree is safely on the ground. The tree is thus stripped 

 with wonderful celerity, to the accompaniment of a shower of the 

 ripe fruits that become detached from the bunches. 



The getaa receives from 38 to 57 cents per day for gathering Deglet 

 Noor dates, while the " meddada," who pass the bunches down the 

 trunk, are each paid 19 to 24 cents per day. Even after the dates 

 reach the ground they are handled by a little army of men and boys, 

 each of whom has some small duty in connection with the harvest." 

 Thus the " lagata " are occupied solely in picking up the detached 

 dates that fall while the bunches are being cut and passed to the 

 ground. Each of them is paid 12 to 15 cents a day. The " adal," 

 Avhose duty it is to carry the bunches to the central point where the 

 product of the whole garden is collected, are entitled to from 19 to 24 

 cents each. The " batah," or men who guard the heap of dates and 

 the belongings of the workmen, receive the same wages. The 

 " jerrara '' transport the dates from the garden to the storehouse, 

 and receive for each donkey load about 11 pounds of dates that have 

 dropped oS the bunches. Then there is the " alleg," who loads the 



a It is said tliat tlie owners of gardens are lield to be acquitted of tlieir obli- 

 gation as .wod ^Nlohannnodans to devote a tithe of their iiifcmes to charity if 

 they give employment during the date harvest to a sufficient number of the poor 

 of the oasis. 



