DATE CULTURE IN CALIFORNIA. 123 



intense, nearly equaling that of the hottest parts of the Salton Basin; 

 and even very late sorts, such as the Deglet Noor, could mature here 

 perfectly. There is almost no rain, and in consequence no danger of 

 the fruit being spoiled by wet weather during the ripening season in 

 autumn. Unfortunately, there is almost no water available for irriga- 

 tion in the Death Valley, and no large streams occur in the surround- 

 ing country which could be diverted into this desert. It is not known 

 whether artesian water underlies this region, but if flowing wells could 

 be dug it would be desirable to make a thorough test of the Deglet 

 Noor and other first-class late sorts of dates. The date palm is par- 

 ticularly well adapted for culture in such regions remote from rail- 

 ways and from markets, as the crop can be transported to great 

 distances without injury and, being a high-priced dried fruit, repre- 

 sents about the maximum of value, in proportion to the weight and 

 bulk, among agricultural products. 



Colorado River Valley (see map, PL IV, and fig. 10, p. 102). This 

 valley, lying partly in California and partly in Arizona, and espe- 

 cially the flood plain, which is irrigated and fertilized naturally 

 by the annual overflow of the river offers considerable promise 

 of being able to produce early drying dates at a cost low enough to 

 enable them to be sold in competition with the so-called Persian dates, 

 which are shipped to our markets in enormous quantities from the 

 region about Bassorah, near the head of the Persian Gulf, and from 

 Maskat, in Arabia. A detailed account of this promising region is 

 given below (p. 129), in treating of the regions suitable for date culture 

 in Arizona. 



Plateau region (see map, PI. IV). This tableland, comprising the 

 Mohave Desert, separating northern from southern California, would 

 be fairly well adapted for date culture were it not for the fact that 

 the winters are almost everywhere too cold. However, in canyons 

 facing southward, where the cold air can drain off at night to lower 

 levels, the hardier varieties may pass the winters uninjured. From 

 the weather records kept at Keeler and Barstow it would seem proba- 

 ble that the date palm might succeed in the vicinity of these towns. 

 If any attempt is made to grow dates in this part of California atten- 

 tion should be paid to the results of the experiments in date culture 

 made by the California Experiment Station at Tulare, where it was 

 found that irrigation in late summer is very disastrous to the date 

 palm, because it forces a late growth, which is injured during the fol- 

 lowing winter. However, all through the plateau region the summer 

 heat is insufficient to ripen any but early sorts, and it is very unlikely 

 that date culture will prove a profitable industry in this part of Cali- 

 fornia. 



Interior Valley region (see map, PI. IV). The largest continuous 

 area in California, and perhaps the largest in the world where dates 

 can be grown, is the interior valley region, comprising the valleys of 



