354 NEW AMERICAN ORCHARDIST* 



egg. In its flavor and consistence, it is not unlike an 

 apricot. It is eaten either in its raw state and alone, or in 

 slices in sugar and wine ; or it is preserved in sugar. 



PALM TREE, or DATE. (Phoenix dactylifera.) 



A native of Syria, Palestine, Egypt, and the other warm 

 countries ; it there rises to the height of 100 or 150 feet. 

 In Europe it grows as far north as Geneva and Nice ; it 

 flourishes also in Spain. No tree, perhaps, is more useful 

 for its fruits, throughout Barbary and Egypt, the deserts 

 of Northern Africa, and Arabia. The fruit is an oval drupe, 

 of a yellowish color ; the pulp soft, saccharine, of a vinous 

 flavor ; it encloses a large, oblong stone. The date con- 

 stitutes an important article of food in many countries. 

 They are imported in a half-dried state. A strong and ex- 

 cellent liquor is obtained from the fruit by fermentation, 

 which is much used in Mohammedan countries. From the 

 fruit also palm oil is made. This oil is used as a substi- 

 tute for butter, and possesses a strong and agreeable odor. 

 The tree is raised from seeds and suckers ; they commence 

 bearing at from three to six years of age. The timber is 

 eminently useful, and almost incorruptible. 



ROSE-APPLE. (Eugenia.) Loudon. Bon Jard. 



JAMROSADE. E. JAMBOS. 



A tree from India, rising to the height of from ten to 

 thirty feet ; leaves long, lanceolate, and shining ; the flowers 

 are in clusters, of a yellowish white color ; the fruit the 

 size of a hen's egg, with the taste of an apricot, and of the 

 flavor of the rose. Some are white, some are red, and some 

 are yellow. 



MALAY APPLE. (E. Malaccensis.) Another species; 

 the tree and the leaves are larger ; the fruit is ovate, an 

 inch and a half in diameter, fleshy, with a sweet odor, like 

 the rose, agreeable to the taste and sight, and deemed 

 wholesome. Common in most of the South Sea Islands. 

 They are raised from seeds, and require a warm, moist 

 atmosphere. 



TAMARIND. (Tamarindus.) Phillips. 



So called from Tamar, (Date, in Arabic.) The tamarind 

 is cultivated in Arabia, Palestine, Egypt, and the East and 



