152 



dates seldom ripen so thoroughly as to keep 

 well. 



Hughes, in his Natural History of Bar- 

 badoes, speaking of the date-tree, says, " The 

 straightest and youngest branches, which 

 grow near the summit of the tree, are much 

 used here by the Jews, upon their Feast of 

 Tabernacles: these they usually gild, and 

 adorn with various flowers, and then carry 

 them in procession to their synagogue/' He 

 adds, " whether this is the same kind of 

 palm that was used by the Israelites, we 

 know not, or whether it is not here succe- 

 daneously used as bearing the nearest re- 

 semblance to it/ 



