DATE VARIETIES 241 



In form the fruit is slender oblong, slightly wider 

 toward the flattened base than toward the broadly 

 pointed apex; size medium large, length one and one- 

 half to one and three-fourths inch, breadth three- 

 fourths inch. Surface rather smooth, glossy, bright 

 golden brown in color and so translucent that the 

 outline of the seed can be seen; bloom almost none. 

 Skin rather thin, tender, adhering closely to the flesh 

 except for occasional folds. Flesh soft and delicate in 

 texture, three-sixteenths to one-fourth inch thick, 

 translucent golden brown in color with almost no 

 fibre around the seed. Seed slender oblong, rounded 

 at base, pointed at apex, fifteen-sixteenths inch long, 

 five-sixteenths inch broad, smooth, cinnamon brown 

 in color, the ventral channel open, germ pore slightly 

 nearer base than apex. Flavor mild, not as sweet as 

 Busreh Halawi, very pleasant but not rich. 



Halwa, Heloua, The Sweet, a small but good 

 Algerian dry date, the palm of which is considered by 

 Dr. L. Trabut of Algiers to be the most ornamental 

 of any in the Sahara. It is tall but slender, the 

 leaves recurving and graceful, the color strictly 

 glaucous. The trunk presents a smoother appearance 

 than that of most varieties, and the wood is declared 

 by natives to be particularly resistant to rot. The 

 fruit is supposed to have an aphrodisiacal quality, 

 and cakes made from it are often presented to a bride 

 and groom by their neighbors, as part of the wedding 

 feast. The variety bears rather heavily, ripening its 

 fruit early in October. 



The date is one and three-eighths inch long, 

 five-eighths inch wide, broadest near center or a 

 little below, tapering very slightly to broadly rounded 



