MALEPALMS 121 



but if it is lacking, Barban is preferred, with 

 Khadhrawi third choice. The Baghdad males have 

 not yet been tested in the United States. I imported 

 forty-nine offshoots of Asharasi in 1913, but in order 

 to avoid confusion with the female of the same name 

 I kept only the first two syllables, and added an 

 Arabic word for male; so the variety is introduced to 

 California as Ashar Fahal. 



Many offshoot-propagated varieties of males 

 from North Africa have been tested in the United 

 States, but with poor results, a large proportion of 

 them proving sterile — a condition often found in 

 seedling males, as well. None of them was named — 

 in fact, Busreh and Baghdad are the only regions where 

 I have been able to find named varieties of male 

 perpetuated, unless it be in Oman, where I could get 

 no conclusive evidence. In Algeria I heard of, but 

 did not see, a male variety called Fahal Aksba. 



A male imported from Egypt some years ago 

 under the name of Dakar Majahel* has proved better 

 than any other in Arizona, but has been of little value 

 in California. 



As a start, the best thing a grower of dates can 

 do is to consult his neighbors and find out what 

 males succeed in that locality, then secure these and 

 use them until he is able to test the needs of his 

 palms for himself. He should act early in this matter, 

 for more than one crop of fruit has been lost in the 

 United States through lack of pollination, in spite of 

 the large number of seedling palms which are to be 

 found everywhere. 



Then, if the grower has planted a hedge of palms, 



*But this is not a variety name. It is simply some one's attempt 

 to spell the Arabic for "unknown male." 



