GATHERING, CURING, AND PACKING DATES. 29 



By an inspection of Plate VII, figure 3, it will be easy for those who 

 possess seedling date palms to determine the sex of the plant as soon 

 as any flowers are formed. Superfluous male trees can then be 

 destroyed and replaced by female trees before they have reached a 

 large size. In case of gardens where there are a few female date 

 palms and no males available to furnish pollen, it will be necessary to 

 secure pollen from a distance not a difficult matter, since male flowers 

 can be shipped anywhere without deterioration if protected against 

 loss of pollen. 



After irrigation the labor of artificial pollination is the most impor- 

 tant required in a date orchard. The irrigation, however, is very 

 nearly such as would be given to any fruit trees, whereas the process 

 of pollination is one that is not required by any other commonly cul- 

 tivated tree. It should, however, be remembered that for the first 

 ten or fifteen }^ears after date palms are planted the flowers are so 

 near to the ground that artificial pollination is performed very easily. 

 The operation becomes difficult only when the palms are old and verv 

 tall. 



GATHERING, CURING, AND PACKING DATES. 



Some varieties of dates require practically no curing, being ready to 

 pack and ship as soon as they have ripened. Other varieties, however, 

 require some preparatory treatment. Dates are borne in bunches, 

 which have a single stem with numerous slender twigs to which the 

 fruits are attached. (Pis. IX and XXII.) A bunch carries from 10 to 

 40 pounds. It is very rare that all the dates on a bunch ripen at once, 

 and in the case of choice varieties those which first ripen are fre- 

 quently hand picked and shipped at once in order to get the high 

 prices paid for the earliest shipments. It is also asserted that picking 

 the outer dates of the bunch, which usually ripen first, permits the 

 inner fruit to ripen better. Usually the whole bunch is cut off and 

 hung up in a dry and shady place when most of these dates are ripe 

 and the remainder beginning to ripen. It has been found necessary 

 to remove any dates which have begun to spoil before the bunches are 

 hung up, for if such dates are left the whole bunch may spoil. Usu- 

 ally within a week or two all of the dates ripen, a and the bunch is 

 ready for shipment. 



The choice varieties of dates are shipped from the Sahara either in 

 bags or more often in long wooden boxes. They are afterwards 



In case the dates do not mature because of an exceptionally cool summer, or in 

 regions where the summer heat is inadequate, they can be ripened artificially after 

 being picked by exposing them to the sun during the hot part of the day spread out 

 on blankets, and storing them indoors at night wrapped up in the blankets on which 

 they have been exposed during the day. Mr. Hall Hanlon, near Yuma, Ariz. , often 

 ripens considerable quantities of dates in this manner, which is that followed in 

 northwestern Mexico (see p. 135). 



