HARVESTING DATES. 53 



quired are, not sufficiently numerous to gather all the fruit as soon 

 as it is ready to harvest. Fortunately, this is one of the varieties the 

 dates of which can be left on the palms without injury for several 

 weeks after maturing, provided the autumn is a dry one. 



The Deglet Noor crop is generally purchased on the trees and the 

 harvest is supervised by the buyer or his agent. Bunches borne 

 on small trees which can be reached from the ground are said to be 

 preferred by the more wealthy natives for their own consumption, 

 being less liable to injury in the harvesting. Palms in full bearing, 

 however, are generally too tall to allow their fruit to be gathered thus 

 easily. The harvest from such trees is a rather complicated matter, 

 giving employment to a large number of men. (PL I, frontispiece.) 



First there is the " getaa," whose work requires the most skill. 

 Armed with a " mengel " (see fig. 4, p. 44) he climbs to the top, of 

 the palm, cuts away with a few deft strokes such of the dead leaves 

 as hang in his way, and then proceeds to sever the stalks of the fruit 

 bunches. Along the trunk below him a sort of human ladder has 

 meanwhile been formed, the number of men and boys that compose 

 it depending of course upon the height of the tree. The writer saw 

 eight men besides the getaa clinging to one tall Deglet Noor palm. 

 Supporting themselves with one arm around the trunk and grasping 

 the scaly bark with their bare feet, they hand down the bunches from 

 one to another as they are received from the getaa until the entire 

 product of the tree is safely on the ground. The tree is thus stripped 

 with wonderful celerity, to the accompaniment of a shower of the 

 ripe fruits that become detached from the bunches. 



The getaa receives from 38 to 57 cents per day for gathering Deglet 

 Noor dates, while the " meddada," who pass the bunches down the 

 trunk, are each paid 19 to 24 cents per day. Even after the dates 

 reach the ground they are handled by a little army of men and boys, 

 each of whom has some small duty in connection with the harvest." 

 Thus the " lagata " are occupied solely in picking up the detached 

 dates that fall while the bunches are being cut and passed to the 

 ground. Each of them is paid 12 to 15 cents a day. The " adal," 

 whose duty it is to carry the bunches to the central point where the 

 product of the whole garden is collected, are entitled to from 19 to 24 

 cents each. The " batah," or men who guard the heap of dates and 

 the belongings of the Avorkmen, receive the same wages. The 

 " jerrara " transport the dates from the garden to the storehouse, 

 and receive for each donkey load about 11 pounds of dates that have 

 dropped off the bunches. Then there is the " alleg," who loads the 



a It is said that the owners of gardens are held to be acquitted of their obli- 

 gation as good Mohammedans to devote a tithe of their incomes to charity if 

 they give employment during the date harvest to a sufficient number of the poor 

 of the oasis. 



92 



