CHAPTER VIII. 



Fruits common to temperate and tropical Climates continued. The Date. 



THE DATE Phoenix 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 most abundant 

 in regions where there are few other esculent vege- 

 tables to be found. 



There is one district where, hi 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 



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