I 80 The Great World's Farm 



to them; but this does not hurt them, for unless the right 

 kind comes it simply has no effect whatever. But as it is 

 of great importance to these plants not to miss any chance 

 of the right pollen, and as the wind blows at all times, 

 night and day, they never close, many being unable to do 

 so from want of petals, so that they are always ready to 

 receive it. 



Among the trees which are fertilized at least in part by 

 the wind are the palms, whose blossoms are small and 

 dull-looking, and inclosed — thousands of them together — 

 in a sheath, something like that of the arum. But some 

 of the palms are very strongly scented, and when the 

 sheath opens it is a center of attraction to a buzzing cloud 

 of flies, small beetles, and other insects. 



The date-palm bears ovules and pollen on separate 

 trees; and when date-stones are planted it is found that 

 instead of coming up half of one sort and half of the 

 other, there are more of the fruit-bearing than of the 

 unfruitful trees among them. 



However, one pollen-bearing tree is well able to supply 

 more than one ovule-bearing tree, and in their wild state 

 the trees have no difficulty in obtaining all that they want. 

 But when they are cuUivated then they require help, 

 though trees of both kinds grow in the same plantation. 

 The fact is mentioned by many writers, from Pliny down- 

 wards, though without explanation; and in aU the planta- 

 tions part of the work consists in climbing the trees, first 

 to collect pollen-bearing blossoms, and next to dust with 

 them the little ovules, which are about as large as peas, 

 and he exposed in the center of the other blossoms, not 

 inclosed in an ovary. If this is not done the date crop 

 fails. 



