TYPES OF DATES. 31 



local markets. The Wolf skill date (see fig. 3) from Winters, Cal., is 

 one of these sorts, as is also the Amaree, the earliest date known in the 

 western Sahara, which has been recently introduced into Arizona. 



The third category embraces what are known to the Arabs as " dry 

 dates. - ' These are almost entirely unknown to Americans or Europeans, 

 but are very much esteemed by the Arabs, who consider them to be 

 better for every day consumption than the soft dates, which latter thev 

 regard rather as a luxury than a staple food. These dry dates are not 

 at all inclined to be soft or sticky when ripe, and are frequently so 

 hard as to be difficult to eat. They are said to drop to the ground as 

 they ripen, and are gathered by simply picking them up from beneath 

 the palms as they fall. If stored in a dry place and protected from 

 weevils, they may be kept for years without deteriorating. Dates of 

 this type are as yet wholly unknown in our markets, but inasmuch 

 as they are often of excellent flavor," and are cleaner, keep better, and 

 are more easily gathered and packed, they can be sold cheaper than 

 soft dates. It is not unlikely that the best sorts of dry dates may 

 become favorably known and may be eaten in place of Deglet Noor 

 dates as a dessert fruit, especially 

 when the latter sort is out of sea- 

 son; say, from April to October. . 



Mr. O. F. Cook suggests that 

 dry dates may attain popularity 

 as a result of the modern ten- 

 dency toward the use of nuts, 

 cereal preparations, and other 



foods Which do not require COOk- FIG 3 ._w olfskm dates grown at Winters, Cal. 



ing, since they would be prefera- 

 ble to the sweeter soft dates as a regular article of diet, and could be 

 had at any time of the year in prime condition. 



VARIETIES OF DATES SUITABLE FOR CULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES. 



When the writer made his last journey to the Sahara in order to 

 secure offshoots for planting in the Cooperative Date Garden atTempe, 

 in Arizona, and even when his first report b on the date palm was pub- 



A palm which bears dry dates of excellent quality, though of rather small size, 

 was imported by the Department of Agriculture in 1889, and has fruited for some 

 years in the Salton Basin in southeastern California at Coachilla. This palm is 

 probably a seedling and not an offshoot of a named variety as was at first supposed; 

 it may be called the Coachilla date, and has fruits about H to 1 J inches long and 

 five-eighths inch wide. They are brownish amber in color, much wrinkled, and 

 have a dull meal bloom on the surface. The seed is small, light gray in color, blunt, 

 and with a more or less evident furrow on the back. The flesh, though hard, is 

 free from fiber and of very good flavor, with a persisting and agreeable aftertaste. 



&" The date palm and its culture," Yearbook of the Department of Agriculture, 

 1900; also reprinted and distributed separately. 



