162 LIFE OF A TREE. 
and could not therefore perform this necessary 
operation. The sad result was, that all the Date- 
palms in Lower Egypt were barren that year, and 
a Date-famine was the mournful addition to the 
horrors of war. Our gardeners often perform the 
same manoeuvre when they wish to increase the 
fruitfulness of the cucumber or gourd. 
De Candolle tells us of a pretty little French 
féte, which had its origin in this operation. It 
was at Saint Valery-en-Somme that there grew 
an apple-tree, which by some singular accident, 
instead of producing flowers containing both the 
pollen-grains and the stigmas, only bore flowers 
with stigmas, and was therefore barren for some 
time. At length the cause was discovered, and 
it was proposed to take the flowers of another 
apple-tree, and sprinkle the dust over those of 
this tree. ‘The result was crowned with success, 
and on its being repeated every year, the little 
féte was established; and amid the usual ac- 
companiments of a little procession, music and 
dancing, and the merriment of all the young men 
and maidens of the village, the branches were 
waved over the tree, and they returned again to 
the village. ‘The name of this festivity was Faire 
