697 



captured from the Italians. These people move offshoots 

 in the late summer, setting them out at once. Their time 

 to take them off is February, if they have to go a long 

 distance. By agreement with the governors of Dongola and 

 Haifa, aided by the old Shiek, a supply of all these vari- 

 eties will be secured then and Brown has a very well 

 trained man who will go down there for them. I can learn 

 of no date called "Succotah. " It must be one of these 

 four varieties, taking the name from having come from the 

 Succote country. Mr. Brown does not know its true 

 characters . 



This "Bentamouda" or "Bintamoda" may be the "Barta- 

 moda" which Aaronsohn found a few of at Assouan. Gondala 

 has been brought down there from the Succote country. 

 From the fact that the name Barakawa does not appear in 

 any list and is the great export date, first of Succote, 

 then of Dongola, I am of the opinion that the date of 

 Aaronsohn's list, S.P.I, number 32713, may prove to be 

 this variety. The twenty offshoots secured, 10 Bentamouda 

 and 10 others, will be planted by Brown till spring, when 

 we will send them on with the lot to be cut in February. 

 They came in fine condition. I am debating whether to go 

 into Dakhla Oasis where Mr. Brown thinks the true Sultani 

 comes from. It will take a five days' camel journey from 

 Khargeh, the end of the branch railway. Birket el Haggi 

 is only a district, the variety is Hayany, which with Zag- 

 lool and Samani are dates adapted to a much cooler climate 

 and are grown along the shore dunes near Ramleh, Edkou and 

 Rosetta without irrigation. They should be best suited to 

 Phoenix and Tempe, and perhaps succeed at Santa Barbara 

 and San Diego, California. 



Egypt. Dakhla Oasis. Prof. Mason also writes, Oc- 

 tober 15; "This is about as far into the real desert as 

 I expect to address a letter from. I find that the long 

 arm of the Egyptian-English Government reaches here in a 

 mild form, but one which affords a weekly camel past, so 

 can start this word toward the Nile in the morning. This 

 is the Capital of the oasis and the seat of a court, has a 

 Government doctor here and so on. 



We left the hotel in Kharga Saturday at 6 A. M. , mule 

 trolley over the narrow gauge to Kharga whence we took the 

 camels. I have a very good English speaking Egyptian in 

 charge who lived here for two or three years in the employ 

 of the "Company" and knows nearly every one. We reached 

 the first water yesterday about 2 P. M. and spent the 

 night there, came in here with the guide and one baggage 

 camel at 1:50 to-day. Not much poetry of motion about a 

 camel on the "trot" but I have stood up to the punishment 



