Chapter VIII. 



FRUITS COMMO>f TO TEMPERATE AND TROPICAL CLI- 

 MATES — CONTINUED. THE DATE. 



The Date — Phceiiix dactylifera. 



The date is one of those plants which, in the 

 countries that are congenial to their growth, form 

 the principal subsistence of man ; and its locality 

 is so peculiar that it cannot, strictly speaking, be 

 classed either with the fruits of the temperate cli- 

 mates or with those of the tropical. It holds a 

 certain intermediate place ; and is rr.ost abundant 

 in regions where there are few other esculent vege- 

 tables to be found. 



There is one district where, in consequence of the 

 extreme aridity of the soil, and the want of mois- 

 ture in the air, none of the Cerealia will grow; that 

 district is the margin of the mighty desert which 



2 H 3 



