100 TILLEES OF THE GEOUND 



CHAP. 



portant the fertilisation is, always takes care to 

 keep a little store of pollen in* case of accident. 

 Pollen will keep in a dry climate for at least two 



years. 



How does the 

 Arab fertilise his 

 dates? Well, the 

 pictures help to 

 show us. He takes 

 a little twig of 

 pollen flowers, then 

 he carefully opens 

 the sheath of the 

 fruit flowers, slips 

 in his bunch of 

 pollen flowers, ties 

 it in position with 

 a piece of palm- 

 fibre, and then he 

 knows that there is 

 always sufficient 

 movement in the 

 air to make sure that the dust will be carried to 

 each of the flowers in the fruit-bearing cluster. 



When the palm trees are young the task is 

 easy, for the Arab can easily reach the flowers. 

 When they grow older, however, the trees become 

 very tall, and then it is difficult to reach the 



FIG. 26. Arab climbing Date-Palm 

 to fertilise Flowers, Biskra. 



