POLLINATION TO FRUIT PRESERVATION. 93 



generally immediately before the spathe splits open. The stage at 

 which the spathe is ready to split open may be known by com- 

 paring the spathes that are just splitting with those that have not 

 yet reached that stage. It will be seen that when ready to split the 

 spathe will have assumed a brown colour, a soft texture and other 

 characters by which the splitting stage is fairly easily known. 

 By removing the spathe then it will be seen that the waxy scales 

 of the flowers are closed over and protecting the stamens and if 

 these scales are lifted, it will be seen that the pollen sacs have not 

 yet burst. If on removing the spathe the flower-cluster is exposed 

 to the sun, the w r axy scales will open out within a few hours and 

 the pollen sacs will burst and shed their pollen. Sometimes the 

 male flower -cluster is cut from the tree just after the spathe 

 opens, but in this case there is a chance that many of the pollen 

 sacs may have opened, and that much of the pollen dust may be 

 shaken out and lost while removing the flower-cluster from the 

 tree and carrying it to the female trees. If the flower-cluster is 

 removed just before the spathe opens, the pollen will not be lost 

 in carrying it about. The spathe must be very near the bursting 

 stage before the male flower-cluster is cut from the tree however, 

 as otherwise the pollen grains will not be mature enough to 

 fertilise the ovules of the female. Having obtained a male flower- 

 cluster in the proper stage of development, a female flower-cluster 

 is next found which is just appearing between ohe parts of its 

 bursting spathe (see illustration No. 16, page 126), and one or two 

 small branches are broken from the male flower-cluster and are 

 inserted among the small branches of the female cluster (see 

 illustration No. 31, page 92a). In due time the male flowers 

 open, the pollen sacs burst and the pollen is carried by wind or 

 insects to the stigmas of the carpels of the flowers in the female 

 cluster. In most cases the Arabs place one or more branches of 

 the male flower-cluster among the branches of the female cluster 

 and then loosely bind the branches of the female cluster around 

 the inserted male branch ; the binding being done by a strip of 

 palm leaf or string, and in such a way that it will become undone 

 by the time the fruits begin to develop. In Sind two small 

 branches of the male flower -cluster are said to be usually inserted 



