300 HORTICULTURE, FORESTRY, FLORICULTURE 



earliness in the fruit. The resulting trees may therefore be expected 

 to present a fair proportion of palms whose fruit shall combine ex- 

 cellence and earliness. They will come up more promptly if first 

 stratified. This may be done by taking a deep box and placing 3 

 inches of sand in the bottom after making a number of holes in it 

 for drainage. The seeds are placed upon this layer and the box 

 filled with sand, the whole then being put in a sheltered place and 

 kept moist fox 3 to 6 weeks, when the seeds will be soft and ready for 

 prompt growth when planted. The seedlings may be started either 

 in nursery rows for transplanting, after one to three years, or, if 

 frequent irrigations may be relied on, in the field where the trees 

 are to remain. In the latter case, by making the rows 25 to 30 feet 

 apart sufficient space remains for the culture of crops ; and by plant- 

 ing 5 to 6 feet apart in the rows, provision having been made for 

 the replacement, by cutting out and shifting in the row, of super- 

 fluous males and inferior female trees when their character becomes 

 evident. The borders of alfalfa fields are also available for date 

 palms, although some inconvenience to haying operations. 



In conclusion, attention is directed to the fact that the date 

 palm is valuable not only for its own products, but for the protection 

 which it affords less hardy plants such as citrus fruits and certain 

 vegetables, which may be grown in its shelter. In the Great Desert 

 of Africa and in certain oases in Lower California such protection 

 is necessary to the irrigated gardens beneath the palms, inasmuch as 

 both the winter's frosts and the extreme heat of summer are miti- 

 gated thereby. For this purpose the date palm is ideal. Its deep 

 root system, its lofty crown, and its straight trunk do not interfere 

 with surface cultures; while its leaves afford sufficient but not too 

 much shade for trees and plants beneath. 



Looking to the undeveloped future, therefore, of a region which 

 will some day be brought to the highest possible state of intensive cul- 

 tivation, a grove of seedling palms, with possibilities of valuable 

 new fruit-bearing varieties, and for protective shade, may be consid- 

 ered a wise investment. It is not advisable, however, for planters at 

 this time to make heavy expenditures in date-palm culture, with ex- 

 pectation of prompt or certain profits for the reason that the subject 

 is still in its experimental stage with respect to the all-important 

 question of varieties best suited to the region. (Ariz. E. S. Cir. 72.) 



THE SMYRNA FIG. 



Fig culture has never amounted to much as an industry in this 

 country. Fig trees grcw abundantly throughout the South and in 

 California, having been introduced by the early French and Span- 

 ish settlers, and there have been more or less frequent importations 

 since. As a domestic fruit, the fig is of considerable importance in 

 all the Gulf and South Atlantic States. It is a common dooryard 

 tree throughout this region. It has been grown with more or less 

 success as far north as the lower Hudson River Valley, and where 

 well cared for during the winter it will bear well for years, even at 

 these northern limits. In the South figs are used almost entirely for 

 household purposes. They are eaten fresh from the tree and are 



