CONTENTS. IX 



Para. PAGE. 



53. Manuring and interculfcure of established date palms . . 87 



54. Leaf pruning and clearing of excess of off -shoots and rubbish 



from the bases of the trees . . . . . . 88 



55. Effect of seedling dates and weeds on a plantation . . . . 89 



56. Ages between which trees produce off-shoots and number of 



suckers borne . . . . . . . . ib. 



57. Water requirements of adult trees . . . . . . 91 



58. Treatment of the soil between the trees where no crops are grown ib. 



CHAPTEK IV. ; 



POLLINATION TO FRUIT PRESERVATION. 



59. Date that the trees come into flower in the Punjab and number 



of flower-clusters produced per annum by a date tree . . 92 



60. Method of artificial pollination . . . . . . ib. 



61. Fertilization and its effects .. .. .. ..94 



62. Characters of the male trees are conveyed to the seeds, but not 



to the edible part of the fruits formed as the immediate result 



of pollination . . . . . . . . 95 



63. Number of males required per 100 females . . . . ib. 



64. Hand pollination demands regular attention at the flowering 



season . . . . . . . . 96 



65. Preservation of pollen . . . . . . ib. 



66. Selection of male trees . . . . . . 97 



67. Percentage of males required for natural pollination .. .. ib. 



68. Advantages of " hand pollination " . . . . ib. 



69. Falling of two of the three fruits from a female flower . . 98 



70. Seedless dates and their relation to pollination . . . . ib. 



71. Reducing the number of bunches of fruits to 8 or 12 per tree .. 99 



72. Too many fruits on a date tree . . . . ib. 



73. Protection of fruits from enemies . . . . . . ib. 



74. Harvesting and ripening of the fruits . . . . . . 100 



75. Wet atmosphere in the ripening time . . . . . . 101 



76. Preservation and packing of date fruits . . . . . . ib. 



CHAPTER V. 



EXTENT OF DATE GROWING IN THE PRINCIPAL DATE GROWING 

 LOCALITIES OF THE PROVINCE, DATE FRUITS FROM LOCAL 

 AND IMPORTED TREES, AND PROFITS TO BE EXPECTED FROM 

 DATE FARMING. 



77. Where dates are grown in the Punjab . . . . . . 107 



78. Number of date trees and revenue from them in Multan, 



Muzaffargarh, Dera Ghazi Khan, and Jhang districts . . ib. 



79. Punjab varieties of dates .. .. .. ... 108 



