26 BULLETIN 271, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



curved and unsymmetrical. They taper gradually toward the broadly rounded 

 apex (fig. 6). 



The color of the fruit, as it is gathered, hard ripe, is dull "carmine" or near to 

 "Nopal red," with blotches of "ox-blood red" (all R. I). The flesh is then nearly 

 white, brittle, juicy, sweet, with considerable astringency. In ripening, the color of 

 the fruit drops to a shade close to "Hay's maroon" (R. XIII) and to a dull unattractive 

 shade, as near "dull purplish black" (R. L) as anything. 



In the ripe fruit the rather thick smooth skin is easily slipped off and between it 

 and the rather soft outer flesh is a thin sirupy layer. The outer flesh is of a "tawny 

 olive" color (R. XXIX), with a firmer, slightly fibrous interior of "colonial buff" 

 color (R. XXX). The whole thickness of the flesh is about one-fourth of an inch. 

 The flavor is moderately sweet, not cloying, but lacking in distinctive quality or 

 "bouquet." 



The seed is large, li to If inches long, three-eighths of an inch broad, oblong or 

 slightly wedge shaped, with broadly rounded ends, sometimes slightly recurved. The 

 ventral furrow is broad and deep. In most specimens the germ pore is about three- 

 eighths of an inch from the base, but in some seeds it is central. An examination of 

 the fruit of individual trees would be needed to show the extent of these variations. 

 The color of the seed varies from "wood brown" or "buffy brown" / R. XL) to near 

 "antique brown" (R. III). 



As well as the writer can judge from memory of more than a year, the flavor of these 

 Egyptian Hayany dates is not as rich and sweet as those of the same variety grown 

 under the name of " Birket el Haggi" in the heavier soil and under the hotter sun of 

 the Cooperative Date Garden of Tempe, Ariz. The enormous quantities of this date 

 gathered in the unripe stage and consumed in Egypt by people of all classes is un- 

 doubtedly the result of a taste for which, as yet, the American people have developed 

 no equivalent. The great region of the Hayany date is that of the coastal dunes and 

 sandy delta land from Alexandria through Ramleh and Edku around to the lands 

 bordering the Nile below Rosetta. The second region is the border land between 

 the delta proper and the desert, represented by Birket el Hadji, Merg, Korain, Fakus, 

 and Salihieh. There are a few small districts bordering the desert west of Cairo where 

 this variety is growing, and new plantings are being made above the Pyramids. The 

 latter regions being much hotter and earlier, the crop ripens there first, and fruit from 

 some of these points was brought into the Alexandria markets on September 2. The 

 distribution of the fruit seems to be pretty general among the smaller towns, as well 

 as the cities, and the heavy production is handled with very little waste. By the 

 time the earlier regions are cleared up the crop from the coast region begins to move. 

 The first Hayany dates from the coast were noticed in Cairo on November 7, and 

 they continued to come in for about 30 days. 



The Zagloul and the Samany varieties came in with the Hayany in the latter part 

 of the season, and the Samany continued to appear for about 10 days after all the 

 Hayany fruit had gone; in fact, until the shortening supply was taken by the Alexan- 

 dria market. At Korain, a small proportion of the Hayany dates are made into 

 ' 'agwa." After being allowed to become fully ripe the skins are slipped off and the 

 seeds removed, after which the fruit is spread in the sun and dried for a few hours. 

 They are then kneaded and worked over several times until the mass becomes a 

 smooth, homogeneous paste, which is then packed into earthen jars and tightly 

 sealed. 



The Hayany fruits seen in the markets of Alexandria and Cairo, as well as upon the 

 trees at Ramleh, Edku, Rashid, Merg, and Birket el Hadji, showed marked differ- 

 ences in size and form. While the general type is rather constant after allowing for 

 variations due to the different qualities of soil and amount of water received, there 

 remain variations too great for such explanation. It is more than probable that a 

 good many seedling trees which have appeared from time to time bearing a close 



