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



sive angles, about which the pinnae fall into four rather regular ranks, with the valley 

 of the blade broad. In the apical portion, the pinnae fall mostly into two ranks, lying 

 nearly parallel at an axial divergence of about 45°. 



The fruits are 2 \ inches long, \\ inches broad a little above the middle, and taper 

 to a narrower base and an obtuse apex (fig. 7). Their color is yellow, ripening to a 

 dull "bay" (R. II), with the basal portion "honey yellow" or "Isabella color" 

 (R. XXX). The rather soft flesh is a dull amber color, the inner portion satiny white 

 with a large amount of tough fibrous "rag." The flavor is so rich as to be rather cloy- 

 ing, though of a quality which .would be attractive to many people. The rather 

 broad oval seed is about 1 inch long, corrugated, the germ pore placed somewhat 

 apically, the ventral furrow being narrow and shallow. 



From its large size, fine appearance, and rich flavor this little-known date is worthy 

 of a careful trial, though before it could be ranked as a first-class variety cultural 

 conditions would have to be developed which would eliminate the large amount of 

 tough fiber. 



SAIDY. 



(Saidi, Wahi.) 



Trees with heavy trunks and stiffly spreading leaves 10 to 14 feet long (PI. IV, fig. 1), 

 the heavy ribs with very broad bases. 1 There is a space of clear petiole of 12 to 15 

 inches below the first spines. The rib is strongly rounded dorsally and tapers but 

 slowly, its outcurve being stiff rather than graceful. 



The spine area is from 2^ to 3-| feet, the spines of medium weight or quite heavy, 

 placed singly and rather scattered, from 2 inches long below to 7 or 8 inches in the upper 

 area, and passing into a stiff ribbon pinnae or spike pinnae 20 to 24 inches long and 

 one-half to three-fourths of an inch wide. The normal pinnae following these at 4 to 

 5 feet are 20 to 24 inches long and \\ to If inches wide, but dropping steadily in length 

 to 12 to 14 inches near the apex. Their greatest width of \\ to If inches is reached at 

 about three-fourths of the blade length from the base. The pulvini are unusually 

 heavy, deeply cream colored, or slightly brownish in exposed places. The pinnae 

 are rather coarse and harsh, 0.018 to 0.019 of an inch or sometimes 0.025 of an inch 

 thick and conspicuously bluish green with a heavy waxy bloom. This bluish-green 

 color is very noticeable when the leaves are seen in a mass. 



The 4-ranked arrangement of the pinnae is conspicuous, and the narrow axial angles 

 and strong angles with the blade plane formed by the lower antrorse pinnae give the 

 leaf a bristling and formidable appearance. The valley is close and narrow nearly 

 to the apex of the blade. The pinnae groups are of the normal types till quite near the 

 apex, and the paired groups of the antrorse-retrorse type are largely in the majority. 



The orange-yellow fruit stalks are strikingly long, of medium weight, or rather heavy 

 in some cases. 



The fruit 2 is \\ to 1| inches long, seven-eighths of an inch to 1 inch broad, blocky, 

 with broad square base rounding to a broad obtuse apex (PI. XIII). The skin is 

 rather coarsely wrinkled both longitudinally and transversely and partially loosened 

 from the flesh. The darker portions of the flesh have a translucent appearance and 

 are nearest to "liver brown" (R. XIV) in color, with a delicate lavender bloom. 



A basal zone of about one-fourth the length of the fruit is a "tawny olive" (R. 

 XXIX) and is opaque in appearance. The flesh is three-sixteenths of an inch thick, 

 firm, slightly granular, somewhat sticky; an outer zone of one- third of the thickness 

 is of the exterior color, while the nearly transparent inner portion is close to " olive 

 ocher," (R. XXX) with a little more suggestion of green. 



The flavor is heavily sweet, rich, and a little cloying, but of the quality usually 

 sought after by date purchasers in this country. After being packed seven months 



1 Notes made near the Temple of Nadurah, Khargeh Oasis, October 8,, 1913. 



2 Described from fruit packed in cartons at Sheik Abu Bakr's, Rashida, Dakhleh Oasis, Oct. 18, 1913. 



