14 BULLETIN 271, U. S. DEPARTMENT OP AGFJCULTUBE. 



and is at its best in Egyptian territory from there through, the Ibrim 

 district, the dry variety called "Ibrimi/' from this locality, giving 

 character to the output. These dates were in considerable repute 

 100 years ago, when Burckhardt passed through the valley, though 

 later he compares them unfavorably with those of Sukkot. Burck- 

 hardt' s observations on the dates of the districts he visited confirm 

 in a very interesting way the information which was gleaned by the 

 writer while in the Sudan about the spread of the date industry. 1 

 Burckhardt speaks in high terms of the dates of Sukkot and says 

 that they are brought by the Arabs from Merowe and taken by camel 

 caravans across the desert to that point, Dongola having but few 

 dates, and those of poor quality. At Berber, the year following, he 

 mentions dates as a great luxury which had to be bought from the 

 Dongola traders. He also mentions as a landmark a single tall date 

 tree near Shendi, the only one of its kind in that region. These 

 statements agree perfectly with those made by the chief men of 

 Merowe and vicinity that a hundred years ago Dongola had no dates, 

 all of their four commercial varieties having been obtained from 

 Sukkot. 



The prevailing dry character of the dates of this zone was antici- 

 pated in the dry dates of the upper portion of the last zone from 

 Keneh to Aswan, but is now fully in evidence. The contrast between 

 the date output of this zone and that of the maritime subtropical 

 zone is striking. Of the dates of the delta region, not one is a dry 

 variety. As previously stated, only one or two are fair packing sorts. 

 The tendency is strongly to the "rutab" or crisp (succulent) sorts, 

 too low in sugar content to be self-preserving as they ripen. A few 

 specimen trees of the dry types seen in the delta region were plainly 

 not adapted to the local conditions, and the fruit matured was poor 

 in quality. 



The development of a good dry date is, beyond doubt, a matter 

 of climatic conditions, of heat and low humidity combined. It is 

 true that very soft, sirupy dates of the type of the Hamrawi may 

 develop under as hot and dry conditions as those at Dakhleh and 

 Khargeh, but their sugar content is very much higher than for similar 

 dates in the cooler and highly humid delta. The Dongola region of 

 highest mean temperature of any successful date region of Africa, 

 and also of lowest relative humidity, does not produce one date 

 variety of a clearly soft, sirupy type. Its nearest approaches, Kulma 

 and Bentamoda, are to be classed as semidry dates. Their leading 

 date, the Barakawi, is commended by those people because they say 

 it is so hard that the weevils can not hurt it, and that it will keep for 

 two years. (PL IV, fig. 2.) 



» Burckhardt, J. L. Travels in Nubia. Ed. 2, 498 p., illus., 2 maps. London, 1822. 



