72 THE DATE PALM. 



and June in the Punjab (see para. 18, page 33) may make early 

 September a better planting season than March here. 



i 36. In Basra in 1910 the cost per 100 date suckers fit for 



transplanting ranged from Us.* 50 to Us. 75. 



8 inArabia. 00 In September 1910, 1,000 off-shoots of assorted 



varieties were obtained from Basra and cost at 



Multan, after all expenses were paid, Rs. 1,020, or practically Re. 1 



per tree. The consignments got from Basra in 1911 and 1912 cost 



approximately the same. Prices like Rs. 5 per tree have been 



charged by people in the Punjab for off-shoots from trees on 



their land. These local off-shoots are from trees bearing fruits of 



lower quality than those that can be had at Rs. 50 per 100 in 



Basra and elsewhere. For varieties of date palms being imported 



(see para. 83, page 111). 



! 37. If date trees are grown on the edges of water-courses 

 or fields where the permanent water-level is 



The advantages . . 



and disadvantages well within 20 feet oi the soil surface, a large 



of having dates in , ,. , . , 



plantations as com- number ot palms may be grown without 



pared with having ....... , j>ii i ,1 



the trees around the diminishing the area ot land under other crops. 

 Once established they can also be grown with 

 little special water-supply. When palm trees are grown in a 

 plantation, a large number of plants can be more easily watered 

 and attended to when young than if scattered around the edges 

 of fields, and when the trees are bearing fruits they can be more 

 easily guarded from birds and other enemies. The death-rate 

 among young date-suckers in the first two years after being planted 

 out is so alarming where water has not been regularly given in 

 suitable quantities and where the trees have not been properly 

 attended to that, in cases in which these attentions cannot be 

 insured, it would probably be better to plant the trees in a nursery 

 and grow them there till they have developed a good root system 

 and then transplant them into their permanent places with a 

 ball of the nursery earth undetached from their bases. A year's 

 growth or more may be lost in this way owing to the planting 



1 * Re. 1 (one rupee) = 16 pence. 



