CONTENTS. 



Page. 



Introduction 11 



What is the date palm? 13 



Date culture by the ancients 17 



Propagation of the date palm 18 



Seedling palms 18 



Seedling date palms for the Salton Basin 18 



Propagation of the date palm by offshoots 20 



Distances between trees _ 22 



Proportion of male trees that should be planted 23 



Varieties of male date palms 24 



Care to be given date palms .25 



The age at which date palms begin bearing 25 



Pollination of the date palm 26 



Gathering, curing, and packing dates 29 



Types of dates and varieties suitable for culture in the United States 30 



The three types of dates 30 



Varieties of dates suitable for culture in the United States 31 



The Deglet Noor date ." 33 



The Khalas date 36 



Other promising dates ..- 37 



The ordinary dates of commerce . 38 



Varieties of dates that should be secured for trial in the United States. 38 



Introduction of Saharan varieties of date palms into the United States ... 41 



The date palm as a shelter for other fruit trees 43 



Irrigation of the date palm 44 



Amount of water necessary for a date palm 44 



Warm irrigation water advantageous 49 



Drainage for the date palm 50 



Effects of atmospheric humidity and rain on the date palm 52 



Rainy weather disastrous to the flowers and ripening fruits of the date 



palm : 54 



Sunshine necessary for the date palm 58 



Heat requirements of the date palm 58 



Resistance of the date palm to cold in winter 59 



The date palm flowers late in spring and escapes injury by late frosts 61 



Drainage of cold air and inversion of temperature in relation to date cul- 

 ture 61 



Hot summers necessary for the date palm 63 



Amount of heat required by the date palm in order to mature fruit 65 



Effects oi wind on the date palm - 70 



7 



