CHAPTER XXXVIII. 



THE DATE. 



The Date Palm {Fhcenix dactylifera) is one of the most 

 striking.and beautiful of trees, and especially attractive by its 

 novelty to persons coming from the temperate zones, where 

 no palms exist out of doors. It has not as yet been cultivated 

 to any extent in this country ; indeed there are but few places 

 where it is likely to prove a success as regards fruit produc- 

 tion. For this a location is necessary where there is no ap- 

 proach to frost in winter, or where the mercury does not fall 

 below twenty degrees for any considerable length of time, 

 and a hot rainless summer, with facilities for irrigation. 



The Arabs say that the date should have its head in the 

 fire and its roots in the water. Such conditions exist in some 

 districts of Arizona and California. In the lower Atlantic 

 and Gulf States, and in the West India Islands, thrifty speci- 

 mens may occasionally be seen, but their fruit is much inferior 

 to that from the Orient, either by reason of the scalding show- 

 ers during the growing and ripening season, or neglect of 

 proper fertilization of the bloom, for, the tree being dioeci- 

 ous, unless pollen from the staminate blossom is applied to 

 the pistillate blooms at the right time the fruit will not be 

 properly developed, and the seed will be imperfect or entirely 

 lacking. In date-producing countries, propagation is chiefly 

 effected by suckers or offsets from the base of the parent tree, 

 which are removed when large enough to form roots and 

 planted wherei they are to grow. Copious and continued 

 watering is necessary until new roots form. Seeds germinate 

 readily, but produce many more staminate trees than are 

 wanted — one of these to twenty of the opposite sex being 

 sufficient — and until flowering begins there is no means of 

 determining the sex. Of course, suckers are always the same 

 as their parent. 



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