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ENQUIRY INTO PLANTS, II. vi. 7-9 



m their fruits but in the character of the tree itself 

 as to stature and general sha})e ; for instead of being 

 large and tall they are low growing ; but these are 

 more fruitful than the others, and they begin to bear 

 as soon as they are three years old ; this kind too is 

 common in Cyprus. Again in Syria and Egypt 

 there are palms which bear when they are four or 

 five years old, at which age they are the height of 

 a man. 



There is yet another kind in Cyprus, which has 

 broader leaves and a much larger fruit of peculiar 

 shape ; in size it is as large as a pomegranate, in 

 shape it is long ; it is not however juicy like others, 

 but like^ a pomegranate, so that men do not 

 swallow it, but chew it and then spit it out. Thus, 

 as has been said, there are many kinds. The only 

 dates that will keep, they say, are those which grow 

 in the Valley 2 of Syria, while those that grow in 

 Egj^pt Cyprus and else wli ere are used when fresh. 



The palm, speaking generally, has a single and 

 simple stem ; however there are some with two 

 stems, as in Egypt,^ which make a fork, as it were ; 

 the length of the stem up to the point where it 

 divides is as much as five cubits, and the two 

 branches of the fork are about equal in length. They 

 say that the palms in Crete more often than not 

 have this double stem, and that some of them have 

 three stems ; and that in Lapaia one with five heads 

 has been known. It is after all not surprising* 

 that in more fertile soils such instances should be 

 commoner, and in general that more kinds and more 

 variation should be found under such conditions. 



■• ovK &\oyov yovv conj. W. (ovk &\oyov h' Sch.) ; oii kuKus 

 yovv Ald.MU (marked doubtful). 



141 



