THE CLASSIFICATION OF DATES 165 



that they liked the dry dates best. It is rare to find 

 a person who does not Hke dry dates at the first taste, 

 and they have the advantage that they can be eaten 

 in great quantities without cloying, while many 

 cannot eat more than a few soft dates, on account of 

 their great sugar content. 



There are some dates — notably Zahidi and 

 Tafazwin, — which are either soft or dry, according 

 to the way they are handled. If a grower has anj' 

 doubt about the merits of dry dates, he might select 

 one of these intermediate varieties, which he could 

 sell as a dry date if the market demanded dry dates, 

 or as a soft date if that seemed to be preferred. The 

 number of dry dates which can, if properly handled, 

 be made soft dates, is probably much greater than is 

 ordinarily supposed, and it points out forcibly the 

 fact that the distinction between the two types is 

 not hard and fast, but that a date can cross from one 

 side to the other, or remain almost on the dividing 

 line, as the grower wills. To make an intermediate 

 class of "semi-dry" dates is certainly a useless work, 

 for it is difficult enough to make a date stay in one 

 of the two great classifications, and an intermediate 

 stage m^erely results in profitless confusion. The 

 so-called semi-dry classification has been particularly 

 brought into disrepute by attempts to include in it 

 such dates as Deglet Niir, which is a typically soft 

 date. When this word "semi-dry" is dropped from 

 date terminology, much of the present confusion will 

 cease. 



One of the most important characteristics for 

 the grower to consider, when adding a new variety 

 to his plantation, is the keeping quality of the date. 

 Some dates are delicious when fresh, but never get 



