BOOK XIII. IX. 46-49 



sometimes of a curved shape. The variety of this 

 class which \ve ofFer to the honour of the gods is 

 called chydaeus « by the Jews, a race remarkable for 

 their contempt for the divine powers. All over the 

 Thebaid and Arabia the dates are dry and small, 

 with a shrivelled body, and as they are scorched by 

 the continual heat their covering is more truly a rind 

 than a skin. Indeed in Ethiopia itself the cHmate is 

 so dry that the skin of these dates is rubbed into 

 ^owder and kneaded to make loaves of bread Hke 

 flour. This date grows on a shrub,^ with branches 

 eighteen inches long, a rather broad leaf, and fruit 

 of a round shape, but larger than the size of an apple. 

 The Greek name for this date is koix ; it comes to 

 maturity in three years, and the shrub always has 

 fruit on it, another date sprouting in place of one 

 picked. The date of the Thebaid is packed into 

 casks at once, before it has lost the aroma of its 

 natural heat ; if this is not done, it quickly loses its 

 freshness and dries up unless it is warmed up again 

 in an oven. 



Of the rest of tlie date kind the Syrian variety, 

 called sweetmeats, seem to be a low-class fruit ; for 

 those in the other part of Phoenicia and Cihcia have 

 the local name of acorn-dates, also used by us. 

 These too are of several kinds, differing in shape, 

 some rounder and others longer, and also in colour, 

 some being blacker and others reddish ; indeed, 

 they are reported to have as many varieties of 

 colour as the fig, though the white ones are the 

 most in favour. They also differ in size, many having 

 reached half a yard in length while some are no 

 larger than a bean. The best kinds for keeping are 

 those that grow in salt and sandy soils, for instance 



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