270 Bulletin 38. 



over each cluster, and tying the mouth securely about the stem, 

 the leaves that might interfere with the work being first cut away. 

 Besides preventing the depredations of birds, this cover keeps off 

 bees and other insects, and catches the ripe fruit as it falls. 



After being removed from the tree, dates require little treat- 

 ment to preserve them. Most varieties contain sufficient sugar to 

 keep them indefinitely. Those ripening during late summer and 

 early autumn may usually be packed at once, the need being to 

 prevent them becoming so dry that they cannot be eaten. If, how- 

 ever, they are placed in air-tight receptacles, they will often mould 

 some. Those ripening during late autumn may need a little dry- 

 ing before being packed away. 



The greatest drawback to the preservation of dates is the 

 work of larvae that hatch from moth eggs deposited upon the 

 fruit before it is packed. In our experience, untreated fruit is 

 always ruined within a few months by these insects. The best 

 preventative we have found thus far is carbon bisulphide; but bet- 

 ter methods of treatment will no doubt be developed as the in- 

 dustry becomes more important. To treat them with the bisul- 

 phide, they are placed in an air-tight box, a few ounces of the liquid 

 poured into a dish sitting above the fruit, and a tight cover 

 placed over all. In a few hours the cover may be removed and 

 the gas permitted to escape, when the fruit will be ready to pack. 



We still receive so many inquiries concerning the possibility 

 of securing suckers from imported date trees, that it may be well to 

 repeat what has already been stated in a previous bulletin — that 

 there will be no suckers available from any American source for 

 at least three or four years. The only source of these suckers at 

 present is the date-growing regions of the Old World. The quick- 

 est way to secure dates at present is to plant seed. They may be 

 planted at any time from now until next July, but will not germi- 

 nate until warm weather comes. The seeds may be planted where 

 the plants are to remain, or the latter may be transplanted when 

 a year old. Although adult trees endure considerable alkali, the 

 experience of the past year at the date palm orchard south of Tempe 

 indicates that date seeds will not germinate freely in alkaline soil, 

 and that young seedlings are injured by the presence of much 

 alkali. A fairly good place to plant the trees is along ditch banks, 



