10 ILLUSTEATIONS. 



Page. 



XVII. Fig. 1. Date plantation on alkaline soil at Ourlana, Algeria. Fig. 2 

 Crescent-shaped excavation at the base of a date palm to hold irri- 

 gation water, Biskra, Algeria 144 



XVIII. Fig. 1. View in the Salton Basin, near Imperial, Cal., showing level, 

 bare desert soil. Fig. 2. Shore of a dry salt lake, Chott Merouan, 



between Chegga and M'raier, Algeria 144 



XIX. Fig. 1. A neglected Egyptian date palm growing without irrigation 

 in the Salton Basin, near Indio, Cal. Fig. 2. Old date palms 

 at Hermosillo, northern Mexico, with orange trees growing under- 

 neath. Fig. 3. Fan palm showing dead leaves clothing trunk, 

 near Indio, Cal. Fig. 4. Group of fan palms growing wild in a 



dry ravine, near Indio, Cal 144 



XX. Old date palms growing at San Diego Mission, near San Diego, Cal. 

 Fig. 2. Seedling date palm with nearly ripe fruit, growing with- 

 out irrigation in the flood plain of the Colorado River in California . 

 XXI. View in cooperative date orchard, Tempe, Ariz., showing offshoots 



imported from North Africa in 1900 144 



XXII. Three-year-old Deglet Noor date palm in fruit, growing in the 

 cooperative date orchard at Tempe, Ariz. , from an offshoot imported 

 from the Sahara Desert, in July, 1900. Photographed August, 

 1903 144 



TEXT FIGURES. 



FIG. 1. A young Deglet Noor date palm at Biskra, Algeria 16 



2. Date flower cluster after artificial pollination 27 



3. Wolfskill dates grown at Winters, Cal 31 



4. Bennett date from Phoenix, Ariz 32 



5. Deglet Noor dates from the Algerian Sahara, showing methods of 



packing for retail trade 34 



6. Cooperative date orchard at Tempe, Ariz 42 



7. Curves representing the average maximum, mean, and minimum tem- 



peratures at Salton, Cal. , and Biskra, Algeria 64 



8. Sunken date gardens in the sand dunes in the Oued Souf region near 



El Oued, Algeria 69 



9. Curves showing the distribution of alkali to a depth of 4 feet in uncul- 



tivated Saharan soil, Station No. 1 , Fougala, Algeria 81 



10. Sketch map showing the Salton Basin and the easily irrigable lowlands 



in the Colorado Eiver Valley, in Nevada, Arizona, and California. . 102 



