SOME OF THE WOODS OF THE SOUTHLAND. 



THE DATE-PALM. 



The earliest fruit of which we read is 

 the apple — the forbidden apple — and very 

 old-time lore hints that it was not the 

 apple of our modern times, but the date- 

 apple with which the wily serpent tempt- 

 ed Mother Eve, who, in turn, tempted 

 her too-willing spouse. However this 

 may be, we know that the Date Apple — 

 or Date-Palm, as we moderns call it — is 

 one of the very earliest fruits cultivated, 

 having been grown for over four thou- 

 sand years along the Euphrates River. 



The deserts and many regions in Ara- 

 bia would not be habitable were it not for 

 the Date-Palm. To say nothing of the 

 fruit itself, it is there almost the only tree 

 suitable for use in the construction of 

 houses and other necessary objects. In 

 some regions, it is only because of the 

 partial shade of these palms, which pro- 

 tect from the burning sun and scorching 

 winds, that other fruits can thrive. 



Although it would seem that the Date 

 required a very hot climate, it has been 

 successfully cultivated in our own coun- 

 try. It was first introduced by the Mis- 

 sion ' Fathers in the latter part of the 

 eighteenth century, by means of seeds. 

 Unfortunately these trees raised from the 

 seed produced but inferior fruit, and 

 later off-shoots had to be imported from 

 Sahara, but these first trees are now 

 striking land-marks in Mexico and Cali- 

 fornia and are proofs of the labors and 

 far-sightedness of the frairs and padres. 



The Date-tree has but a single trunk, 

 but produces off-shoots at the base. These 

 are transplanted and grow to trees in 

 their turn. Where altogether unmo- 

 lested, these off-shoots grow quickly and 

 often attain to almost the height of the 

 giant parent stem, while later they them- 

 selves produce off-shoots when the par- 

 ent stem has passed the age of reproduc- 

 tion, thus producing a growth so dense 

 that the natives are compelled to keep 



them cut away in order to insure paths 

 and roadways. 



No matter how old or how tall the 

 Date-Palm grows, the trunk remains the 

 same in diameter. One may estimate its 

 age by its height, but never by diameter. 

 The leaves are feather-shaped, and are 

 from twelve to fifteen feet in length, and 

 from twelve to twenty leaves are grown 

 in a year. The lower leaves droop down- 

 ward and drop off in the course of time, 

 leaving the palm crowned with the living 

 green leaves. 



The Date-Palm is very decided as to 

 sex; and, excepting in the wild state 

 where the males are as numerous as the 

 females, must be pollinated by hand. In 

 cultivated groves only one male is grown 

 for from twenty-five to fifty females. The 

 tree begins to bloom and bear fruit when 

 six or eight years old. A good tree will 

 bear one or two hundred pounds of fruit 

 a year, but when on very rich soil and 

 bountifully irrigated the yield is almost 

 doubled. 



The blooms come in early spring — the 

 writer, who lives in middle Florida, has 

 trees which bloom in early February. 

 The male flower cluster consists of a 

 stalk bearing a number of short twigs 

 to which the flowers are attached, and is 

 contained in a hard, brown sheath which 

 opens as the bloom bursts forth. One 

 of these twigs suffices to pollinate a 

 whole female cluster. Several clusters 

 grow on one tree. 



The female flowers are also enclosed 

 in a sheath ; and when this sheath opens 

 the time of pollination must begin. The 

 tips of the sheath are pulled apart, the 

 cluster of flowers is pulled out and a 

 twig of male bloom is inserted and is tied 

 into place with a string or fiber strong 

 enough to hold it in place yet not so 

 strong that it cannot be forced away by 

 the future development of the fruit. The 

 blooms of both sexes are white and wax- 



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