224 DATEGROWING 



in the severe freeze of last winter. It is also extra- 

 ordinarily fecund : in the number of offshoots produced 

 it probably surpasses any other variety of good 

 quality. On one occasion fifty-three offshoots were 

 taken from a palm at Tempe. And, best of all, it 

 seems able to produce offshoots without diminishing 

 its great yields of fruit: 200 or 250 pounds is by no 

 means a remarkable crop for it. 



The date is long, and thick in proportion to its 

 length; bright red before fully ripe, and dark brown 

 when cured. It ripens on the bunch with great 

 evenness, hangs steadily until the grower picks it off, 

 and is borne on long stems which allow the crop 

 to be gathered with a minimum of labor: two men 

 have harvested 1000 pounds in a day at Tempe. 

 Because of the facility with which the crop is handled, 

 as well as the large yield, Vinson declares that anyone 

 who grows the variety in Arizona and only makes five 

 cents a pound net profit from the fruit will clear $200 

 per acre annually. The dates have never shown any 

 defect in ripening, except in hot, steamy weather, when 

 the ends sometimes crack — but this kind of weather 

 is rarely found in most date-growing districts. 



The palm bears at a very early age in Egypt, 

 often two years after the offshoot is planted.* The 

 variety is one that can be unhesitatingly recommended 

 to the American planter. 



Brim, Brem, often spelled Brehm by confusion 

 with Ibrahimi, while the original form may have 

 been Brin.t Common at Busreh, where it is eaten 



*DeIchevalerie, G. Le Dattier. In Bui. de la Fed. des Soc. 

 Hort. de Belgique, 2d fasc. Liege, 1871. The author was head 

 gardener to the Khedive. 



fThis variety seems hopelessly confused. After collating ancient 

 authorities, the learned Carmelite friar Pere Anastase-Marie of 



