DATE VARIETIES 263 



are then spread on the ground in the sunshine for a 

 week, but it appears that they are not removed or 

 protected in any way at night, the chill air being 

 supposed to make them firmer. They are turned 

 over daily, and as they become sufficiently soft they 

 are sorted out and stored until exported. 



The price in Tafilalet at harvest time varies 

 according to the abundance of the crop, from thirty- 

 five to ninety cents the abbar, a weight of about 

 fourteen pounds. Three-fourths of them are exported 

 via the South Algerian Railway and Oran, the rest 

 via Fez in Morocco. England gets the bulk of the 

 crop, but there is also a steady demand from Spain; 

 in each country they command the top market price. 



The dates usually arrive in London just before 

 Christmas, and there is a great demand for the first 

 ones, the price at wholesale sometimes reaching ninety- 

 two shillings per hundredweight. The average whole- 

 sale price, later in the season, is forty or fifty shillings, 

 and they are sold by retailers at twenty to twenty-five 

 cents a pound, while the Persian Gulf and Egyptian 

 dates bring five to ten cents a pound. In Spain the 

 price is usually about twenty-five cents. At present 

 practically none of these dates reach the American 

 market. 



The variety is evidently late in maturing, and 

 probably will be suited only to the hottest and dryest 

 regions in the United States, such as Coachella or 

 Imperial Valley. Because of its large size and good 

 keeping and shipping qualities, it promises to be a very 

 profitable one if it can be successfully grown in this 

 country. It may be technically described as follows: 



Form broadly oblong varying to oblong-ovate, 

 two inches in length, one and one-fourth in breadth. 



