viii DATES IN NOETH AMEEICA 95 



At the oasis of Biskra there are about 160,000 

 date-palms, planted, as the Arabs do plant them, 

 without any order or arrangement. Eound the 

 central oasis there are some smaller oases, so that 

 altogether there are about 500,000 date-palms 

 near Biskra. Each tree produces, on an average, 

 from 100 to 200 pounds of fruit in the year, so that 

 this is date culture on the large scale. Somebody 

 of a mathematical turn of mind will perhaps tell 

 us how many tons of dates are likely to be grown 

 at Biskra every year ? 



More than this, though the blazing sun of the 

 desert will not permit other trees or plants to 

 grow without shade, yet it is possible to grow them 

 under the shade of the date-palms, so that these 

 have another use besides fruit-yielding. At Biskra, 

 as Fig. 23 shows, figs are grown under the shade 

 of the dates, and in some places it is usual to 

 grow vegetables beneath the figs. There are thus 

 three tiers of plants : The great date-palms first, 

 towering high up in the air ; then beneath them fig 

 trees or even peach, apricot, and almond trees ; and 

 beneath these fruit trees again, garden vegetables, 

 protected from the deadly sun by the trees above. 



The expert was, however, not content with his 

 visit to Biskra. He travelled ninety miles farther 

 south into the great desert, down to some special 

 plantations grown by French colonists. Here he 



