98 DATE VARIETIES AND DATE CULTURE IN TUNIS. 



Fruit mostly distinctly constricted a little above the base, 35 to 40 mm. long, 

 oblong in outline, somewhat narrowed at the apex, dark maroon (IV, 2) 

 when ripe; flesh 2 to 2.5 mm. thick, rather tough, the white core much 

 thicker than the dark-colored outer flesh; seed averaging 22 mm. long, a 

 little less than one-half as wide, widest near the apex, the ventral chan- 

 nel open, the germ pore below the middle; giant cells in a very sharply 

 defined narrow zone, very small, rounded, mostly spherical or short 

 elliptical, some pear-shaped, at least two-thirds as wide as long, cadmium 

 orange (VI, 2) in color; branches of the fruit clusters bright orange. 



Remta (p. S3). 



Fruit not constricted, or. if constricted, then the dark outer zone of flesh thicker 

 than the white inner portion and about one-half of the giant cells angular. 



Fruit sometimes indistinctly constricted a little above the base, 40 to 42.5 mm. 

 long, oblong, somewhat narrowed at the apex, bright madder brown (IV, 

 3) to orange rufous (IV, 13) when ripe; flesh 2.5 to 3 mm. thick, rather 

 tough, the dark-colored outer portion appearing to be much thicker than 

 the (thin) white core ; seed averaging 24.5 mm. long and about 9 mm. 

 wide, the ventral channel wide, open, the germ pore above the middle, 

 giant cell zone indistinct, the cells very small, about one-half angular and 

 one-half rounded, generally one-half to two-thirds as wide as long, ellip- 

 tical or rectangular in outline, saffron (VI, 4) in color; branches of the 

 fruit clusters rich orange Thaby (p. 75). 



Fruit not constricted, of some darker or duller color (bay (IV, 5) to purplish 

 maroon (IV, 2)), giant cells all rounded, or, if a considerable number 

 angular, then the fruit distinctly ovate in outline and purplish maroon 

 in color. 



Dark-colored (outer) zone of the flesh thicker than the white inner portion; 

 giant cells frequently angled but the majority rounded, as often elliptical 

 as spherical, often twice (but generally 1 to 1 times) as long as vide; 

 ocher yellow (V, 9) to ochraceous rufous (V, 5) in color; fruit ovate, 

 tapering from or near the base to the rounded apex, 35 to 47.5 mm. long, 

 rufous (IV, 7) or orange rufous (IV, 13) before maturity, bright purplish 

 maroon (IV, 2) when ripe, the colors very handsome; flesh 2 to 6 mm. 

 thick ; seed two-thirds to four-fifths as long as the fruit, generally about 

 two-fifths as wide as long, often with strongly developed, wing-like lateral 

 ridges, the ventral channel generally open, the germ pore generally near 

 the middle but sometimes almost at the base ; branches of the fruit clus- 

 ters cadmium orange (VI, 2) flan/ra (p. 84). & 



Dark-colored (outer) zone of the flesh much thinner than the white inner por- 

 tion; giant cells all rounded and generally spherical, rarely more than 1% 

 times as long as wide. 



Fruit ovate, tapering from the base to the rounded apex, 45 to 471 mm. long, 

 rather dull maroon purple when ripe, with a pronounced bloom ; flesh 4 to 

 5 mm. thick, firm and becoming rather dry; seed very irregular in size 

 but averaging 24 mm. long and 9.5 mm. wide, the ventral channel closed, 

 the germ pore above the middle, sometimes near the apex ; giant cells 

 very small, ochraceous rufous (V, 5) in color; branches of the fruit clus- 

 ters cadmium yellow (VI, 6) Horra (p. 72). 



Fruit not ovate, not tapering to the apex from below the middle, elliptical in out- 

 line, somewhat narrowed at both ends; flesh not exceeding 3.5 mm. thick. 



Skin, where loose, between deep chrome (VI, 9) and saffron (VI, 4) ; giant cells 

 ferruginous (IV, 10) in color, forming a very sharply defined zone sepa- 

 rated from the skin by a thicker layer of soft, dull-colored flatli ; fruit 

 35 to 38 mm. long, sometimes slightly obovate, but generally widest at or 

 below the middle, dull orange just before maturity, dull bay (IV, 5) 



In this respect Thaby appears to be exceptional among the dry dates, but 

 owing to the fact that, in fruits that have been kept for some time, sirup from 

 the dark, soft outer zone suffuses the white, firm inner portion of the flesh (as 

 noted in the footnotes on pp. 96 and 97), this character should not be given too 

 much importance. 



& Description supplemented by material from palms in the Ternpe, Ariz., date 

 garden which were obtained at Biskra, Algeria. 



92 



