PROPAGATION BY SEEDS. 7l 



were placed in water at once on arrival, and were planted in 

 good condition 4 to 6 weeks after they were cut from the trees. 

 During transport the plants should not be placed on the deck 

 of a ship without shade, and so be exposed to the withering 

 effect of the hot sun, nor be stored in a space so badly ventilated 

 that fermentation will set in. 



Swingle (see page 47 of United States of Ameiica Bulletin 

 No. 53, The Date Palm) states that 75 per cent, of 384 off-shoots 

 lived which were obtained in Algeria, packed simply in boxes in 

 charcoal or straw with damp moss about their bases, no more 

 moisture being added, and planted 2 months' later in Arizona, 

 United States of America. 



It is well, however, to plant date off-shoots as soon after 

 detaching them from the parent tree as possible. 



35. Many Egyptian people believe that the best results are got 

 by planting date off-shoots in March. Our late 

 plant ofi-shoota. Arab date overseer (Hassan-el- Atman) informed 

 me that the best results are got in Arabia if the 

 off-sets are planted when the wheat is beginning to ripen, i.e., 

 in the end of March. In Baluchistan the time of planting 

 is recorded as between the end of February and beginning 

 of April. Of 24 off-shoots from foreign trees which arrived 

 at the end of January in 1913, 12 were planted at Lyallpur and 

 12 at Muzaffargarh. All died. About 50 off-shoots were planted 

 in the end of March one year at Muzaffargarh and a similar lot 

 were planted at the same time in Multan. Both lots failed. 

 These were got from local trees and planted immediately after 

 removal from their parents. Where fair attention has been 

 given to the plants, very good results have been got by planting 

 Basra off-shoots in the first week of September in Lyallpur, 

 Muzaffargarh, and elsewhere, and I should advise planting being 

 done in Multan, Muzaffargarh, and neighbouring districts in the 

 first week of September until we have reason to do otherwise. 



The heat of summer is very trying to the plants before they 

 have established themselves, and the excessive heat in May 



