26 BULLETIN 1125, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



instead of the more or less tough or " gummy " texture many dates 

 take on with age, and its most rich and satisfying flavor is developed. 

 While the Saidy when freshly ripened does not have the peculiar 

 indefinable aroma and flavor characteristic of the Deglet Noor, on 

 the other hand, it has something which the Deglet Noor has not, viz, 

 an improvement in flavor upon storage, due to a slow granulation of 

 the sugar content, a quality unique with this variety. 



(2) Its handsome appearance (PL VIII). Its large size. If inches 

 long by an inch broad, attracts the eye as a smaller fruit could not. 

 In the package it has a bright "amber brown" color (E. Ill) or 

 the deeper shades of " chestnut " or " bay." It looks " good to eat." 

 Then its " honey yellow " (E. XXX) colored flesh when broken is 

 equally attractive and fully sustains the expectancy awakened by the 

 outward appearance. The relatively large seed, weighing 20 to the 

 ounce, or 11 per cent of the total weight (against 32 to the ounce 

 in the Deglet Noor) is a technical fault, but one that does not seem 

 to prejudice the consumer. 



(3) Packing and keeping qualities. There are many varieties of 

 dates of fine appearance and exquisite flavor which are so low in 

 their sugar content that they are quickly fermentable and must be 

 eaten within a few hours or days at most after they are fully ripe. 

 The Saidy date may be picked from the tree before it is fully mature, 

 sun cured for a few d&js in drying yards, and after packing will 

 improve in quality for two or three months and remain in perfect 

 condition for more than a year. The processing practiced at the 

 Indio laboratories is a scientific application of the same principles 

 used by the Arabs in sun curing their fruit before it becomes fully 

 ripened, but with sanitary condition's insured and the necessary 

 heat subject to precise regulation. The Saidy responds perfectly to 

 such treatment and is one of the best varieties in retaining its high 

 quality. 



While processing and packing experiments have so far been very 

 satisfactory much remains to be done. Indications are that for long 

 keeping, the choicest flavor and texture are best obtained by gather- 

 ing the fruit while still hard, but with its sugar all laid down, and 

 after the preliminary maturation in air-tight moist chambers with 

 temperatures definitely controlled, packing it in boxes holding 2 or 3 

 up to several pounds in such a manner that the air is expelled and 

 the fruit sealed by its own sirup. The enzymic action which follows 

 under these conditions seems to effect a more nearly perfect ripening 

 than when the individual fruits are exposed to the air. 



(4) Productiveness. The Saidy date is counted as a heavy cropper 

 in the Libyan oases, though data as to the actual yield per tree are 

 not obtainable. Many trees were seen by the writer in the Kharga 

 and Dakhla Oases apparently bearing 200 pounds or more to the 

 tree. Brown (6) quotes the yield of Saidy dates in the oases as 90 

 to 160 pounds per tree. In Gizeh heavily loaded trees of " Sewi " 

 were the rule in 1913, and the yields were estimated by the owners at 

 from 200 to 300 pounds per tree. Mr. Brown, as quoted above, re- 

 ports the average yield per tree of " Sewi " in 1914 for a number of 

 trees at each of three villages in upper Gizeh as follows: Kirdasa,^ 

 234 pounds; Hawamdia, 321 pounds; Gizeh, 225 pounds; or aver- 

 aging 260 pounds. The abundant water supply in the upper Gizeh 



