FRUITS AND NUTS 109 



California more than 70 varieties of olives have been tested, 

 but the varieties mentioned above have come to be considered 

 as superior. 



DATE 



The date palm was also one of the earliest plants to be culti- 

 vated by man. It is a native of northern Africa and Arabia, 

 but is also cultivated extensively in southern Asia and spar- 

 ingly throughout the Tropics. Beginnings in date cultivation 

 have been made in Arizona, New Mexico, California, and 

 Florida. The date palm referred by botanists to the name 

 Phoenix dactylifera is a tree with a shaggy trunk which often 

 reaches a height of 100 feet or more and continues to bear fruit 

 for 100 to 200 years. The trunk is topped with a large crown 

 of long pinnate leaves and bears 6 to 20 large clusters of fruit, 

 each cluster weighing 20 to 40 pounds. The date palm is 

 diecious, the male and female flowers growing on different 

 trees. The common practice of Arabs is to hang small portions 

 of the clusters of male flowers with the clusters of female 

 flowers. As a rule, it is considered sufficient to have one male 

 tree for each 25 female trees. The ordinary planting distance 

 is 25 by 25 feet. The date palm usually begins bearing at 4 

 years of age and attains full bearing at about 10 years. The 

 fruit yield ranges from 100 to 600 pounds per tree, being 

 usually 100 pounds or slightly more. 



The date palm differs from most other palms in producing 

 suckers at the base of the stem at least during the first 8 or 10 

 years of its life. Old date palms which have obtained nearly 

 full height do not develop suckers. The date palm does not 

 come true to seed and for the continuation of desirable varie- 

 ties it is therefore necessary to plant suckers or offsets. Re- 

 cently an attempt has been made to develop a pedigreed strain 

 of seed from which it is hoped that 30 to 50 per cent, of the 

 resulting trees will bear fruit of the same type as that of the 

 parent tree. It is too early, however, to say whether this ex- 



