262 Select Plants for Industrial Culture 



scenic garden-ornamentation only for its fruits. The date-palm would 

 afford in time to come a real boon in the oases of desert-tracts, swept 

 by burning winds, although it might be grown also in the valleys of 

 mountains and in any part of lowlands free of severe frost. Several 

 bunches of flowers -are formed in a season, each producing often as 

 many as 200 dates. In Egypt as many as 4 cwt. of dates have been 

 harvested in one season from a single date-palm. Many varieties of 

 dates exist, differing in shape, size and color of the fruit; those of 

 Gomera are large and contain no seed. The unexpanded flower- 

 bunches can be used for palm-cabbage and the fibre of the leaf- 

 stalks for cordage. The town Elche, in Spain, is surrounded by a 

 planted forest of about 80,000 date-palms, and the sale of leaves for 

 decorative purposes produces a considerable income to the town, irre- 

 spective of the value of the date-fruits; and so it is at Alicante. As 

 far north as the Gulf of Genoa also a date-forest exists. The ease 

 with which this palm grows from seeds affords facilities in adapted 

 climes to imitate these examples, and we certainly ought to follow 

 them in all parts of Australia and in similar climes. The best dates 

 are grown in oases, where fresh- water gushes from the ground in 

 abundance and spreads over light soil of the desert subject to burning 

 winds. The Zadie-variety produces the heaviest crop, averaging 

 300 Ibs. to the tree; superior varieties can only be continued from 

 offshoots of the root; these will commence to bear in five years and 

 be in full bearing in ten years; one male tree is considered sufficient 

 for half a hundred females. The pollen-dust is sparingly applied by 

 artificial means. The pulpy part of the fruit contains about 58 per 

 cent, of saccharine matter. It is estimated, that in Egypt alone four 

 millions of date-palms exist, the produce of which is to a large extent 

 consumed locally. The date-groves of Turkey produce annually 

 40,000 to 60,000 tons of dates in ordinarily good seasons (Le Due). 

 The date-palm will live in saltish soil, and the water for its irrigation 

 may be slightly brackish (Surgeon- Major Colvill). Northern limit of 

 date about 35 north latitude. Into Central Australia the date-palm 

 was first introduced by the writer of this work. The variety 

 " Datheres-sifia " ripens early in the season its fruits (Naudin). It 

 is propagated from suckers. Its pungent rigidity protects this palm 

 from encroachment of pasture animals; hence it can be disseminated 

 without hedging. 



Phoenix Hanceana, Drude. 



South-China. This palm was buried for ten days under three feet 

 of snow in the south of France without injury (Naudiu). 



Phoenix paludosa, Roxburgh. 



India. A stout species, not very tall. Of value at least for decora- 

 tive culture. 



Phoenix pusilla, Gaertner. 



India and South-China. A dwarf species, which bears the clime 

 of the South of France without protection (Kerchove de Denterghem). 



