14 HOURS WlM NATURE. 



Date Palm. Of the date palm we saw several 

 species thriving in the Garden. The well-known Khajur 

 (Ph&nix sylvestris) though extremely common all over 

 India is a tree of economic importance. It yields large 

 quantities of juice, which is boiled down into sugar, or 

 fermented for distillation. During the winter, the fresh 

 juice is also drunk by the people. Mats and baskets are 

 largely made from its leaves. 



Mode of extracting Date palm Juice. 

 The lower leaves and their sheaths are removed, and a 

 notch cut into the pith of the tree near the top ; a 

 small channel, made of a bit of palmyra leaf or of bamboo, 

 is inserted into the notch ; down this channel the juice 

 trickles into an earthen pot suspended to receive it. 



Its Cultivation. Although generally growing wild 

 in many parts of India, the date palm is not uncommon- 

 ly cultivated in Southern India, Behar, and N. W. Pro- 

 vinces. "High ground is selected for the plantation 

 and it is kept perfectly free from undergrowth, and the 

 turf, from time to time, is ploughed up while the plants 

 are maturing ; the land can be cropped with oil-seed, and 

 other dry crops. This lessens the original outlay, and 

 the young palms are much benefited by the tillage be- 

 tween the rows. They are laid out in rows with twelve 

 feet between each tree. Lime is a valuable manure for 

 all saccharine plants and is usually added when it is 

 deficient in the soil. If the trees are tapped before the 

 end of seven years, they do not attain a full and healthy 

 growth." 



