ARTIFICIAL RIPENING 187 



sickly taste, too, if it is not exposed, before it is eaten, 

 to the heat of an oven. " 



There is nothing new, then, about the idea of 

 ripening dates artificially, but the attention of 

 science was never turned to the subject until it was 

 taken up by Americans. Members of the University 

 of Arizona Experiment Station began the work, and 

 were afterward joined by investigators from the 

 Bureau of Plant Industry, and private individuals. 

 The investigations have been carried out along a 

 number of lines, and while it is probable that none of 

 them have reached their full development, they have 

 been so definitely successful that artificial ripening 

 can be considered a necessary part of modern date 

 growing, and an operation which is within the means 

 and skill of any intelligent rancher. 



Advantages to be derived from artificial ripening 

 of the date are thus summarized by R. H. Forbes, 

 director of the Arizona Experiment Station: 



1. The fruit can be harvested cheaply, by the 

 bunch, before the berries begin to drop or are attacked 

 by insects, mould, or bacteria. 



2. Danger of loss by untimely rains is minimized* 



3. The ravages of worms in the ripened crop 

 axe avoided. 



4. Greater cleanliness of the product is possible 

 than with naturally ripened dates. 



5. Late varieties, among them Deglet Nur, 

 which do not ripen satisfactorily here (in Arizona), 

 may be successfully brought through. 



6. Early varieties may probably be grown and 

 ripened at higher altitudes than formerly. 



7. Dates while yet hard may be shipped without 



