78 TILLEES OF THE GROUND CHAP. 



over the plain ; most of these bear fruit from 

 which they make bread, wine, and honey. These 

 they cultivate as fig trees, both in other respects, 

 and they also tie the fruit of that which the 

 Grecians call the male palm, about those trees that 

 bear dates, in order that the fly entering the date 

 may ripen it, lest otherwise the fruit fall before 

 maturity ; for the males have flies in the fruit, just 

 like wild fig-trees." 



Now Herodotus was certainly wrong in regard 

 to the flies in the date fruits, but, as we shall see, 

 he was right in seeing some resemblance in the 

 method of growth between the fig and the date, for 

 both present difficulties that most other trees do 

 not. We should notice also that for Herodotus the 

 supremely important cultivated plants were wheat 

 and other grains, and such fruit trees as the vine, 

 the fig, and the olive. 



These were the original food - plants of the 

 countries round the Mediterranean, and it was they 

 which fed the splendid civilisations of Greece and 

 Rome, from which we inherit ours. We should 

 notice also that he saw how useful the date-palm 

 was to those who could not grow vines and figs. 

 His mention of the word bread shows us that he 

 understood that if wheat was not forthcoming the 

 date might alone give almost all that man requires. 

 This of course it does for the Arabs of the desert 



