116 THE FARMER AT HOME. 



is emitted, even from any phosphorescent body ; and such phosphor- 

 escence may sometimes proceed even from the animal itself. 



DATE. The fruit of the date-palm, a tree of the natural order 

 Palmce, inhabiting the north of Africa, from Morocco to Egypt, Syria, 

 Persia, the Levant, and India, and which is also cultivated in Italy 

 and Spain. Dates form the principal nutriment of the inhabitants 

 of some of the above countries, and are an important article of com- 

 merce. This fruit is an oval, soft, fleshy drupe, having a very hard 

 stone, with a longitudinal furrow on one side, and when fresh, pos- 

 sessing a delicious perfume and taste. Dates are sugary, very nour- 

 ishing, wholesome, and require no preparation ; but when dried, and 

 a little old, as they usually are when imported into Europe and the 

 United States, they are not much esteemed, and are little used in the 

 countries where they grow. The best fruits have firm flesh of a yel- 

 low color. The inhabitants of Tunis, and several other countries, 

 every year journey in crowds, into Biledulgerid to procure dates. 



Almost every part of this valuable tree is converted to some use. 

 The wood is very hard, almost incorruptible, and is used for building. 

 The leaves, after being macerated in water, become supple, and are 

 manufactured into hats, mats, and baskets. The petioles afford 

 fibres from which cordage is made. The nuts after being burnt, are 

 used by the Chinese in the composition of India ink. Palm wine is 

 made from the trunk. For this purpose, the leaves are cut off, and a 

 circular incision made a little below the summit of the tree, then a 

 deep vertical fissure ; and a vase is placed below to receive the juice, 

 which is protected from evaporation. 



The date-palm is a majestic tree, rising sixty feet and upwards, 

 the trunk is straight, simple, scaly, elegantly divided by rings, and 

 crowned at the summit by a tuft of very long pendant leaves. The 

 leaves are ten or twelve feet long, composed of alternate narrow 

 folioles, folded longitudinally. The Arabs pretend that they attain 

 the age of two or three hundred years. This valuable tree would 

 undoubtedly succeed in the southern parts of the United States. 

 The wood, though of spongy texture, is employed for the beams and 

 rafters of houses, and for implements of husbandry, which are said to 

 be very durable. The pith of the young trees is eaten, as well as the 

 young and tender leaves. A considerable traffic is carried on in the 

 leaves, which, under the name of palms, are sent to Italy, to be used 

 in the grand religious ceremonies of Palm Sunday. In Persia, an 

 ardent spirit is distilled from the fruit ; and, in many places, the 

 stones are ground to make oil, and the paste that is left is given as 

 food to cattle and sheep. 



DAY. Nations have differed much from each other as to the 

 commencement, and still more in the division of the day. The Chal- 

 deans, Syrians, Persians, and Indians began the day at sunrise, and 

 divided both the !.ay and night into four parts. This division of the 



