PROPAGATION BY SEEDS. 77 



of whether there are sufficient salts present to interfere with date 

 culture. 



It may be mentioned here that in my experience on the 

 Egyptian oases where salty lands were being reclaimed, rice 

 was the only common crop that would grow on these in the 

 first year ; next year barley and often leguminous crops could 

 be grown. In bad cases rice had to be grown several years in 

 succession before other crops would grow. 



The efficacy of this treatment seems to depend on the large 

 quantities of water supplied to the rice crop preventing a 

 concentrated solution coming in contact with the rice plant& ; 

 in the water dissolving and disseminating the salts from the 

 pockets and layers in which they were usually deposited ; and in 

 carrying a considerable part of the salt out of reach of the crop 

 by natural drainage. When date suckers are planted in salty lands, 

 a high death-rate must be allowed for (see page 19, para. 14). 



Before a new plantation is laid down pits should be dug 

 in the soil to see that no hard pans (hard strata more or less 

 impenetrable to roots) are present to a depth of 9 or 10 feet. 

 If the land is not level it should be levelled or contoured. The 

 positions of the trees should then be carefully marked, holes 

 about 2j feet in diameter and a convenient depth (see page 80, 

 para. 41) should be dug, small water channels should be made 

 connecting the holes in each row, and main channels should be 

 made where necessary. 



39. Considerable differences of opinion exist as to the 

 most economic distance to plant the trees apart 



Distance between -. " i 



the trees in a plant- irom each other m plantations. All distances 



ation, and relative .. . _ p .. 



positions of the between 12 teet and 30 teet nave been 



trees. -, , 



advised. 



F. E. Crow, British Consul at Basra, in an article on the 

 date palm in Mesopotamia dated March 1808 (see Kew Bulletin 

 No. 7, 1908) says that the trees are planted 10 to 15 feet apart 

 there. In date-growing countries I have seen many plantations 



