250 DATE GROWING 



Al Bakri says,* in the eleventh century, "One finds 

 at Biskra all varieties of dates: that which is called 

 Al Kasbeh, and which is identical with Sayhani, 

 surpasses all the others, to the extent that it has a 

 proverbial reputation;" and even up to the present 

 century this variety has always been specified in 

 making a charm to cure malaria. Readers who live 

 in mosquito-infested regions may be glad to possess 

 the secret: you take three date seeds of this variety, 

 write on the first Karun, on the second Arun and on 

 the third Harun;t throw one of them into a fire each 

 day at the time when the chill is due, and by the third 

 day you will be entirely cured, if it be the will of God. 

 The date is of medium size, and soft, but is 

 sometimes allowed to dry on the tree, when it becomes 

 a typical dry date, of good consistency. The Arabs 

 of Algeria regularly ripen it by a slow artificial process, 

 picking it about September 15 and putting it in a 

 bag; in ten days it is ripe, juicy, and yellow in color. If 

 left on the palm, it ripens about October 1. As the 

 flavor is good and the keeping and shipping qualities 

 leave nothing to be desired, this date has become 

 justly valued in the United States. 



The foliage is characterized by having few spines, 

 and these slender and weak. The branches of the 

 fruit-clusters are deep orange. 



The fruit itself is one and three-quarters inch 

 long, three-quarters inch broad, widest near base, 

 thence tapering slightly to bluntly pointed apex and 

 flattened or depressed base. Golden brown to 



*A1 Bakri, Descr. of No. Africa, tr. by M. de Slane. Paris, 

 1869, p. 126. The book was finished in 1068 A. D. 



fThese are doubtless the names of demons whom it is hoped to 

 destroy. 



