64 THE DATE PALM. 



To enable us to interpret these figures properly, we require 

 very accurate and detailed information regarding any damage 

 done to the fruits by rains in these years. Authentic informa- 

 tion of this sort, or indeed concerning the crop in any wav, is very 

 difficult to collect from the smaller owners of date groves, as they 

 are apt to suspect that the Government revenue on the trees may 

 be raised if they show that they are obtaining large crops, while 

 larger owners having let their gardens to tenants do not know 

 exactly what amount of crops the tenants get. It is usually 

 just as difficult to get information from the tenant, as he is afraid 

 that the owner will raise his rent for the garden if he shows that 

 he is getting large crops. We must therefore look to the model 

 plantations which we planted in 1910 and later (see page 111, 

 para. 83) to give us the exact information required, or get it from 

 a qualified assistant who will actually stay in local plantations 

 throughout the fruit-developing and harvesting season. So 

 far we have not been able to spare a man to do this. Meantime, 

 I may say that date growers in Mult an, MuzafTargarh, and Dera 

 Ghazi Khan are unanimous in stating that in average years little 

 or no harm is done to the fruits there by rains. They also inform 

 me that more harm was done to the date crop in those districts 

 by rains in 1914 than in any year for a long time past. We would 

 expect the greatest damage to be done by rains falling between 

 the 20th July and 20th August, that being the chief harvesting 

 period (see para. 74, page 100), and referring to the above rainfall 

 records we find that in 1914 in Multan and Muzaffargarh there 

 were apparently five consecutive rainy days at the beginning of 

 this period, and in Dera Ghazi Khan rain fell every day, except 

 one, for a week then, while in no other of the past 14 years were 

 there as many consecutive rainy days within the main harvesting 

 period. At Lahore the conditions for date culture are evidently 

 very much worse than in the previously mentioned districts. 

 There also 1914 was apparently a very bad year, rain having 

 fallen almost every day from the 21st July to the end of the month, 

 but 1908, which had few consecutive dry days throughout the 

 whole harvesting time, was probably worse. The rainfalls in 

 several others of the years referred to in this table are also most 



