xviii PREFACE 



tongue around them he may derive consolation from 

 the fact that many other good men have had the 

 same difficulty. Two thousand years ago the omni- 

 scient Phny explained in his great Natural History 

 that he could give a list of forty-nine varieties of 

 dates — if he could only remember their barbarous 

 names. As he could not, his list was cut down to a 

 dozen, and even these he designated by Greek or 

 Latin names. Eventually we may find it desir- 

 able to adopt a similar expedient and use the English 

 equivalents for Arabic words. For this reason, and 

 because of their general interest, I have, when possible, 

 added the translation of each variety name. 



PAUL B. POPENOE. 



Altadena, California 

 September 1, 1913. 



