VARIETIES OF SECONDARY IMPORTANCE. 



77 



v__^ 



FlG . 2 Loutimes of fiaydh Ham- 



mam seed and fruit. (Natural 



foliage is of a rather delicate aspect and the leaves numerous, the 

 leaflets long, narrow, and rather sparse. 



This is a handsome dark-brown date, with very soft dark-colored 

 flesh. It is always eaten fresh, not being conservable. It is exceed- 

 ingly sweet. The flavor of the perfectly ripe fruit is agreeable and 

 very characteristic, resembling that of Tozer Zaid Safra (see p. 85). 

 To the writer's taste, however, it is far less attractive than that of 

 the Deglet Noor type or even of the dry 

 dates, and it very soon cloys. The natives 

 esteem it highly, as is shown by the fact 

 that in harvesting the Baydh Hammam 

 the clusters are carefully passed from 

 hand to hand down the trunk, instead of 

 being dropped to the ground by the man 

 who cuts them. The Baydh Hammam is 

 common in the Jerid, and is said to occur 

 also in the Nefzaoua, as well as in Al- 



geria (Biskra and Oued Rirh). It rip- 



ens rather late, hardly before November. 



Of this variety 20 offshoots were imported, all from the Jerid. 

 KSEBA (p. 100). (Kessebi is probably another spelling of the same 

 name. ) Fruit about 1 J inches long, two-thirds as wide, ovate or oblong 

 ovate, widest below the middle, purplish maroon or bay when ripe ; the 

 flesh 2 to 2J lines thick, firm yet tender; the seed very nearly two- 

 thirds as long as the fruit, two-fifths as wide as long, russet brown. 

 (Fig. 22.) The branches of the fruit clusters are deep orange. The 



foliage is characterized by having few spines, 

 and these are slender and weak. 



This variety is rare in the Jerid, but in 

 the Nefzaoua, at Gabes, and at Gafsa it is 

 one of the most important sorts. A date of 

 the same name, described as a soft date, and 

 possibly identical, occurs in the Oued Rirh 

 oases of Algeria. The fruit, which pre- 

 serves well, is very sweet and well flavored, 

 j n t h e latter respect being intermediate be- 



/ 



tween Horra and Lagoo (see pp. (I and 80). 

 The Kseba variety, which ripens easily at Gafsa (see p. 20), may be 

 found valuable for regions where the temperatures are not sufficiently 

 high to mature the Deglet Noor and other choice sorts. Its fruits 

 ripen in October. Offshoots to the number of 15 were imported. 



DOONGA (p. 101). Sometimes spelled " Denanga." a Fruit a little 

 more than H inches long, six-tenths to seven-tenths as wide, egg- 



FIG. ^.-outlines of Kseba seed 



and fruit. (Natural size.) 



o The " Dengui " variety found at Gabes is a different date. 



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