28 THE DATE PALM. 



the trunk below is very smooth and it is difficult to pass between the 

 stalks of the lower leaves in order to get at the flowers, since these 

 leafstalks are armed with sharp, rigid thorns. (Fig. 1, p. 16.) The 

 Algerians use no rope or other apparatus to ascend the trees, but 

 climb up with their bare hands and feet. (PL VIII, figs. 1 and 2, and 

 PI. XIII.) 



When date culture becomes an important industry in the South- 

 western States it is probable that American ingenuity will devise meth- 

 ods of simplifying the work of pollination. For example, it would be 

 easy to find means of marking the trees, and also the flower clusters, 

 to show which have been pollinated. It might be possible, for instance, 

 to tie the male flowers in place with a bright-colored strip of cloth, 

 which would make it easy to see whether all the flower clusters had 

 been pollinated or not. It is possible that in some places Indians will 

 be able to take the place of the Arabs and do this work efficiently. , It 

 is absolute^ necessary to pollinate all the flowers in order to secure 

 dates of a good quality, although the dates do not fall off. even if the 

 flowers are not pollinated. 



About the end of June, by which time the fruits are of some size, 

 three fruits will have developed from each flower. Then occurs a 

 remarkable phenomenon. If the flowers have been pollinated, two of 

 the three fruits fall, leaving a single date for each flower. If, on the 

 contrary, the flowers have not been pollinated, all three dates remain 

 attached and continue to grow, becoming closely crowded together and 

 somewhat deformed. Such dates are without seeds, but never prop- 

 erly mature, and are entirely valueless/' This peculiar behavior of the 

 date palm enables the cultivator to tell by inspection which bunches 

 have been pollinated and which have escaped attention, and the cutting 

 away of the excess of bunches from too heavily laden trees should be 

 postponed until this time, when it is possible to tell which bunches 

 will mature perfect fruit. As a rule, only one or two clusters should 

 be left on the young date palms which have just begun to bear, and 

 only eight or ten even on old trees. Some varieties do not require 

 much thinning, as they do not produce more bunches than they can 

 nourish properly, whereas other sorts produce twice as many as the 

 tree can support. 



It sometimes happens that some of the female flowers appear in 

 spring before any of the male trees have blossomed. To provide a 

 supply of pollen for such flowers the Arabs make a practice of keep- 

 ing a few bunches of male flowers from the previous year, which are 

 placed in tight paper bags and hung up in a cool, dry place. The pol- 

 len is said to keep without deterioration for at least two years. The 

 importance of securing male trees which flower at the right time has 

 been noted on page 24. 



Such unpollinated dates have sometimes been supposed by inexperienced observers 

 to be a superior variety because of their seedlessness. 



