898 WEES, 
Photo by David Fairchild 
We are so used to finding seeds in grapes that we do not 
realize how imperfect the grape is as a fruit until we eat 
This variety, the Sultanina rosea, was dis- 
covered near an old monastery in Padua by Messrs. Lathrop 
and Fairchild, and, because it is bright rose-colored and of 
fine flavor, is being rapidly propagated and planted in Cali- 
seedless ones. 
fornia. 
which are being distributed to prospect- 
ive planters the suckers as they grow. 
This accomplishment of the Department 
of Agriculture is not the result of any 
one man’s effort, but the product of at 
least a dozen minds working over a 
period of 20 years and in seven different 
countries. And the names of these in- 
vestigators deserve to be here chronicled 
before their part of this unusual work is 
forgotten, as the industry which is now 
growing rapidly brings new personalities 
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 
into the field. Walter T. 
Swingle, to whom is due 
the credit for the most 
profound work which has 
been done; H. EF. Van De- 
man, J. W. Toumey, R. H. 
Forbes,’ IT. H. Kearney, 
P. H. Dorsett, A. V. Stu- 
benrauch, S. °@s Mason, 
A. J. Pieters, Bruce Drum- 
mond, Consul Maggleson, 
FE. A. Bessey, Dr. Vinson, 
Bernard Johnson, and Da- 
vid Fairchild are the names 
of those who took the most 
active part in this problem, 
while the name of Mr. 
Barbour Lathrop, of Chi- 
cago, should be specially 
mentioned, since it was 
through his generosity that 
the writer was able to make 
a study of the Persian and 
Arabian date regions. 
There are among these 
hundred varieties those 
which candy on the tree, 
others which are used 
mainly for cooking, and 
some which are hard and 
not sticky. There are early 
varieties and late-ripening 
ones, varieties short and 
long, and every sort can be 
told by the grooves on its 
seeds. 
One of the finest varie- 
ties is the Deglet Noor, 
which will bear from 80 to 
132 pounds of dates per 
tree. As the dates sell 
from 8 to 35 and even 50 
cents a pound, the possibilities of a profit 
Of at least S15© an ache as mecmmser 
as the probable mean on well-managed 
plantations. 
The date as a delicacy is known to 
every American child, but, as a food, 
remains to be discovered by the Ameri- 
can public. When the date plantations 
of Arizona and California come into full 
bearing, as they should in about Io years, 
the hard, dry dates, for example, now 
quite unknown on our markets, are sure 
