328 



CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 



stands a taller date palm, which bears staminate bloom. This latter 

 tree was originally one of the row previously described, and was 

 successfully moved to its present situation after attaining consider- 

 able size. 



The fruit of the two bearing palms differs notably in appearance. 

 That of the first mentioned tree is of bright yellow color and angular 

 outline ; that of the second tree is wine red, with smooth surface. 



During recent years the date has fruited at many, places in Cali- 

 fornia and Arizona, and commercial quantities of fruit have been 

 profitably produced. There is little doubt that it will succeed in 

 any of the interior regions which have a sufficiently high summer 

 temperature. 



Soils and Waters for the Date. Until recently the date palm has 

 only been planted on good orchard land, but, according to experi- 

 ence in date-growing countries, the tree does not require rich soil, 

 but on the contrary will thrive in soil which is not acceptable to 

 other fruit trees, and will produce fine fruit when irrigated with 

 water too alkaline for man or beast to drink. Even the date has, 

 however, limitations in its tolerance of saline soils and waters. 



PROPAGATION OF THE DATE 



The date palm grows readily from the seeds of the dried date 

 of commerce, and, as has been intimated, most of the trees now 

 fruiting in this State having been obtained in this way. By the use 

 of seed one gets, however, only seedlings, and the chance of thus 

 securing a really fine variety is probably not greater than with 

 other fruit tree seedlings. In date-growing countries the best 

 varieties are propagated by rooting the off-sets, sprouts or suckers 

 which appear at the base of the older palms near the base at first 

 and later higher up on the trunks. To secure the best foreign 

 varieties such plants must be imported. The first such effort was 

 made in the summer of 1890 by the United States Department of 

 Agriculture. The plants were divided between New Mexico, 

 Arizona and California. The plants for California were planted at 

 Tulare and Pomona, some of them being subsequently transplanted 

 to the United States Date Garden at Mecca in the Colorado desert 

 region.* 



The United States Department of Agriculture undertook 



arrangements in 1899 for new importations, which were success- 



fully made. Of the foreign varieties thus introduced the following 



have been produced in commercial quantities: Rhars, Tedalla, 



T % e ^ Ha ^ and D eglet Noor the last named leading largely. 



1 he Deglet Noor was imported from the oases of the Sahara in 



southern Algeria and southern Tunisia. Did not ripen well in Cali- 



fornia and Arizona until in 1910 methods of curing were perfected 



by the experts of the University of Arizona and the Department of 



Agriculture, which will be mentioned presently. Large importa- 



UtCOme is givn in Bulletin 29 ' of the 



