VAKIETIES OF PRIMARY IMPORTANCE. 69 



The foliage of this variety (PL VII) is luxuriant and the numer- 

 ous leaves are long, wide, and crowded with long, broad leaflets. In 

 color they are decidedly bluish, owing to the presence of a heavy 

 white bloom. When this is rubbed off, a rich, deep grass-green color 

 appears. The spines are stout and green. The deep orange-colored 

 stalks of the fruit clusters are shorter, much stouter, and much less 

 bent t.'ian in the Deglet Noor, so that the bunches do not hang down 

 below the crown of foliage, as in that variety. The clusters them- 

 selves are shorter and more crowded with fruit. 



This is by far the most abundant variety in the Jerid oases, com- 

 prising probably at least one-third of all the date palms in that 

 region. The best fruit of this variety is said to be produced in the 

 oasis of Kriz (El Oudiane). In the Nefzaoua it is not abundant, 

 and in the oases near the coast it is of relatively small importance. 

 In the oases of eastern Algeria, although geographically so near 

 the Jerid and in such close communication with the latter region, 

 this variety seems to be little known, 

 although at Ourlana, in the Oued Rirh, 

 it is said to occur under the name of 

 " Bou Aroussa " (father of the bride). 

 After the Deglet Noor, Fteemy is the 

 variety most generally esteemed among 

 the natives of the Jerid. Its great im- 

 portance is shown by the fact that it is 

 apparentlv the onlv variety of which 



iC V.. ^--0? +1 j A J FlG - 12. Outlines of Fteemy seed 



the fruits are differently designated, and fruit. (Natural size.) 



according to whether they are in the 



bunch (halig) or detached (mantoor). It is largely exported to 

 other parts of Tunis and Algeria and even, it is said, to Europe 

 (probably to Italy). It is one of the kinds that is most sought after 

 by the nomadic Arabs who barter the grain they raise in the plateau 

 region for the dates of the Jerid. 



Although inferior in flavor to the Deglet Noor, the Fteemy is 

 unquestionably an excellent variety, greatly excelling the Deglet 

 Noor in vigor, rapid growth, early productiveness, and large yields. 

 The oblong fruit when ripe is of a fine reddish-purple color, which 

 contrasts strikingly with the deep orange branches of the clusters. 

 It is very rich in flavor, extremely sweet, and so soft and sirupy as 

 to melt in the mouth when fresh. It can not be eaten in great 



a Mr. Bernard G. Johnson, who is stationed at the cooperative date garden 

 of the Bureau of Plant Industry and the California experiment station at 

 Mecca, Cal., reported in October, 1905, that among the offshoots from Tunis 

 planted there in May of the same year, those of the Fteemy variety were show- 

 ing signs of growth in larger proportion than those of any other kind. 



92 



