POLLINATION 105 



and accurately by a Persian writer,* that I quote his 

 account verbatim: "Phoenix dactylifera being 

 dioecious that is, having the male and female 

 flowers on separate trees artificial fertilization 

 becomes a necessity, and is the means of ensuring a 

 crop, especially where the male trees are far from the 

 females, or not in the way of wind or insects. The 

 latter agents are not considered sufficient by the date 

 cultivators of the Persian Gulf, as when artificial 

 fertilization is not resorted to the fruit yielded is 

 abortive or blighted, with little flesh, without stones, 

 and totally insipid. Under these circumstances it is 

 called shisj Therefore human agency, or artificial 

 fertilization, is considered essential to a good crop of 

 first-class dates. 



"This important operation is performed in the 

 following manner: As soon as the spathe, or covering 

 of the bunch of male flowers, has attained its full size 

 and has come to maturity, it is detached. Its maturity 

 is known by a faint rustling sound, elicited when the 

 central part of the spathe is gently pressed between 

 the fingers. Also if a slit is made in the margin of the 

 spathe, so as to expose the flower, a peculiar odor 

 is detected. When the bunch of mature male flowers 

 is detached, the spathe is split open and the sprigs of 

 male flowers are carefully removed and placed in a 

 basket, which is then suspended and protected from 



*A. R Hakim Khan Bahadur, assistant to the political resident 

 at Fars, in memorandum dated July 1, 1884; quoted by Bonavia, 

 "The Date Palm in India," p. 47. Calcutta, 1885. 



fThe universal and classical Arabic word, although there are 

 many synonyms. In Algeria it is called, by metathesis, sish. Such 

 dates frequently cause a report of the existence of seedless dates. 

 All supposedly seedless dates reported to me by Arabs, which I have 

 personally run down, have turned out to be merely unpollinated, but 

 genuine seedless dates undoubtedly exist. They are described by 

 Palgrave and others. 



