SOIL AND CLIMATE. 



55 



stage which begins after the fruits begin to soften, than before it ; 

 and that in the Punjab they are plucked from the trees as soon 

 as this stage commences, the final ripening and curing being 

 done by spreading the fruits on mats in the sun. The people 

 thus avoid the risk of the heavy damage that may be done in 

 wet weather to fruits which are left on the trees till they are fully 

 ripened. This custom has b.een in vogue as long back as we 

 can get authentic information for, and probably arose as early 

 as the introduction of dates into the province, lhat a market- 

 able quality of fruits can be got when dates are plucked at this 

 stage of ripeness is shown in paras. 85 and 86, pages 113 and 115, 

 and also can be seen by reference to literature dealing with the 

 curing and marketing of date fruits plucked at the same stage of 

 maturity in other parts of the world. The questions before us 

 then are "What is the extent, if any, of the damage done to 

 the crop by rains in years of normal and excessive rainfall in the 

 western side of the Punjab ; and what are the extreme conditions 

 of rainfall under which dates can be cultivated when the fruits 

 are harvested and cured in the above way ?" 



A consideration of the case shows that a record of the monthly 

 amounts of rainfall may be misleading in this connection, as a 

 heavy rainfall continuing for a very short time will do much 

 less damage than a lighter rainfall extending over a longer period ; 

 the effects will also be less if the rain falls before the fruits begin 

 to soften, etc. In the following records of rainfall at Multan, 

 Muzaffargarh, Dera Ghazi Khan, and Lahore, the dates on which 

 rain fell, as well as the amounts, have therefore been given. 



