240 DATE GROWING 



fruit rarely appears in the markets. It seems to be 

 a decidedly desirable sort, as it is one of the earliest 

 to ripen (August, sometimes late July), and bears 

 heavily. The date in many respects resembles the 

 Halawi of commerce, but I believe it will prove even 

 more valuable to California. 



It is probably identical with the variety Halaweh 

 mentioned by Faqir Amin al Madani, who, in dis- 

 cussing the varieties of dates which should be planted, 

 says, "The most desirable is Halaweh, because the 

 palm cannot be equalled for its beauty and nobility, 

 which are admired by all, so that it attracts people 

 from outside regions like Qasim, and strangers when 

 they learn of the palm and its value carry it away and 

 spread it." Strangely enough, no other author 

 mentions a variety at Madina under this name; 

 probably it is the modern spelling and pronunciation 

 of the famous variety Hilwa.* As to the name, the 

 testimony of Faqir Amin can hardly be disregarded, 

 since he is a resident of the city in question. The 

 Baghdadls, familiar with the Busreh date Halawi, 

 probably changed the Madina name Halaweh without 

 realizing it, to make it like the form to which they 

 were accustomed. 



*Held in high repute because of a legend that Muhammad 

 planted a seed of it which grew to full height and produced fruit 

 within a few hoius, before the eyes of his companions. A variety 

 Halaya is also mentioned, but it is very small and does not answer 

 the description here. As there is httle water or cultivation around 

 Mecca, most of the dates there have been brought from Madina. 

 The curious will find a list of 115 varieties from this sacred city 

 given by G. Fluegel in Ztschft. d. Deutsch. Morg. Ges., Band XVI, 

 p. 686, Leipzig, 1862, from MS. of a pilgrimage by Shaykh Abdu-1 

 Ghani Ismail al Nabuliisi, who had his information from Path al 

 Din al Zarandi al Madani. The root hlw ("sweet") is perhaps more 

 commonly used than any other in forming the names of Arab date 

 varieties, and no region is without several variations on it. 



