RIVIERA NATURE NOTES. 



DATE PALM AND CHAMJEROPS. 



CHAPTER I. 



" Quel cachet oriental ces palmiers, qui se balancent, donnent a la 

 colline : on se croirait en Asie. DOCTOR ANTONIO. 



THE Date Palm (Phoenix dactylifera, Figs. 2 and 28) 



adorns the gardens and open places all along the 



Riviera ; but Bordi- 



ghera is the palmiest 



spot. Here thousands 



of palms are grown to 



make ornaments for 



Easter. The Bordi- 



ghera palms are very badly 



treated ; they tie up the outer 



fronds with hazel twigs, so as to 



etiolate the inner ones. These straw 



or cream-coloured leaves are plaited 



and woven into the most complicated 



and wonderful patterns (Fig. 1). In 



this, as in other cases, says Helm 



(" Wanderings of Plants and 



Animals"), the Christian Church has 



faithfully retained the imagery of 



Hellenism and Judaism, and the 



palm frond which figured at the 



feast of Osiris in Egypt ; which 



adorned the solemn entry of kings _ 



J & Fig. 1. PLAITED PALM 



and heroes into Jerusalem ; which 



