POLLINATION TO FRUIT PRESERVATION. 105 



Major T. H. Keys, Assistant Political Agent, Baluchistan, very 

 kindly sent me several humbs of fruits in June 1913, and they 

 were delicious to taste. 



A special preparation made in Baluchistan is a date paste 

 known as "Dastlaghash." The fruit is skinned and the perianth* 

 and seed are removed. A mass of the preparation is then kneaded 

 into a paste and stored in dried sheep-skins or bags made of date 

 palm leaflets. In Keen " Dastlaghash " is prepared from the 

 date varieties known as " Haleni " and " Dandari " ; in Panjgur 

 from " Muzati." 



In Kech another special preparation known as " Tallo " 

 is made from the varieties ' Haleni " and ' Begam-jangi." 

 The dates are cut lengthwise in two pieces and then preserved 

 in jars. 



In Panjgur the Muzati date is cut in two halves at right 

 angles to the long axis and then threaded on a string. Each string 

 when full weighs about 1 Ib. Such dates are known as " Lar." 



Another preparation made in Panjgur is known as "chup 

 tagen kulont." It is made from the " Sabzo " variety by cutting 

 the fruits into small pieces and preserving them in juice in a jar. 

 It is not made for sale. 



The immature fruits of Haleni and Muzati are boiled 



and dried in the sun. They are then known as "Harag." In 



Kech, harag prepared from Muzati dates is pounded very fine 



and mixed with fried sesame (Sesamum orientale) and called 



' Kunchitoharag." 



Mr. Gaskin, Assistant for Commerce and Trade, Baghdad, 

 in a note kindly forwarded to me on 22nd October, 1912, states : 

 " A considerable quantity of boiled dates are annually shipped 

 from the British Coast, Katif, and Basra to India where they 

 are considered a luxury, and are used by the Hindus at their 

 festivals. The Indian date-growers could perhaps with much 

 advantage treat their surplus in the same manner, and cut out 

 the imports from Arabia. The dates are boiled when thev 



* The perianth is composed of the scales shown in illustration No. 18, page I2d. 



