DATE 



DATE 



459 



579. An American 

 seedlinGT Date. 



points in New Mexico, Arizona and California. Tiiose 

 planted on the Experiment Station farm at Phoenix 

 have made a much better growth and bloomed more 

 freely than the plants sent elsewhere, some of the speci- 

 mens at this Station, in the fall of 1898, measuring more 

 than 20 feet to the topmost leaf and 

 producing 100 to 200 pounds of 

 fruit to the tree. A sufficient num- 

 ber of the imported palms have 

 blossomed to indicate that they 

 are not true to niune, more than 

 one-half of those blossoming to 

 date being staminate, while those 

 that have fruited are inferior to a 

 number of the choicer seedlings 

 grown in Arizona. It yet remains 

 for another importation to be made, 

 when greater care may be taken 

 that the imported plants are suck- 

 ers from trees of recognized merit 

 and approved varieties. 



An examination of specimens of 

 fruit from many of the seedling 

 Dates gi'own in the United States, 

 as well as in the state of Sonora, 

 Mexico, during the season of 1898, 

 and also an examination of the 

 fruit of the imported Dates at the 

 Experiment Station farm at Phoe- 

 nix, showed considerable variation 

 in the size, flavor, shape, color, and 

 general desirability of the differ- 

 ent specimens. Only about 50 per cent of the trees ex- 

 amined bore edible Dates, the remainder being astrin- 

 gent even when fully ripe, and little more than a skin 

 over a pit. Of the remaining 50 per cent only about 

 one-fifth were especially desirable and worthy of per- 

 petuating by grpwing suckers. It must be remembered 

 in this connection that Dates, like most other fruits, do 

 not come true to seed; hence, it is not reasonable to ex- 

 pect a very large percentage of desirable Dates as a re- 

 sult of growing seedlings. Some of the best seedling 

 Dates grown in Arizona in 1898 were light in color and 

 varied in weight from two-sevenths to one-fourth ounce 

 to the specimen, with from 10 to 11 parts in weight of 

 flesh (mesocarp) to one part of pit. The largest of the 

 imported Dates; viz., the variety labelled "Seewah," pro- 

 duced Dates averaging nearly one-third ounce to the 

 specimen. Although this is the largest Date yet pro- 

 duced in Arizona, and probably in the United States, 

 the pit is extremely large, there being but 8 parts of 

 flesh to one of pit. Furthermore, the flesh is covered 

 with a thick skin (epicarp), and there is a flrm papery 

 covering (endocarp) over the pit. An excessive develop- 

 ment of either epicarp or endocarp is undesirable. 

 Choice varieties of Dates should have thin skins and 

 small seeds surrounded by a thin, papery covering. The 

 flesh should be thick, of medium firmness, sweet, and of 

 agreeable flavor. The Date industry in the United 

 States is in its infancy. Approved varieties have not as 

 yet been introduced and the quantity of fruit produced 

 has not reached sufficient magnitude to give it a com- 

 mercial rating. 



The Date palm grows upon nearly all kinds of soil. If 

 it be sxilHciently irrigated and has the requisite amount 

 of heat, the soil seems to be a secondary consideration. 

 In general it may be said, however, that lean, sandy soils 

 of the desert, with a small percentage of clay and 

 charged with alkaline salts, are preferable to rich and 

 heavy soils, suitable for growing ordinary crops. The 

 question of water is of great importance in the culture 

 of Dates, as it is necessary that the roots of the Date 

 palm be in moist earth throughout the year. In general, 

 the amount of water required for successful culture is 

 considerable. If sufficient water cannot be supplied by 

 natural methods, we must resort to irrigation. Water 

 should be supplied at frequent intervals throughout the 

 year. However, the most should be supplied in the 

 spring before blooming, and in the fall prior to the 

 ripening of the fruit. The amount of water for each 

 palm depends so much upon soil and local conditions 

 that an estimate would be worthless. Care should be 

 taken not to irrigate to excess at the time of blooming 



and immediately after, as it will militate against the 

 successful setting of the fruit. The Date seems not only 

 to enjoy a high atmospheric temperature, but a high 

 temperature of the water supplied in irrigation as well. 

 In irrigating small crops by flooding, it is necessary in 

 midsummer to irrigate late in the afternoon or at night 

 in order to prevent scalding. Care should be taken, dur- 

 ing the warmer portion of the year, that the Date palm 

 is not subjected to hot water about the roots, rising 

 above the soil for a considerable length of time, and 

 later left until the soil becomes exceedingly dry and 

 baked by the sun. Such extremes may sometimes seri- 

 ously injure or destroy the tree. 



Dates are propagated either by seeds or suckers. As 

 with the apple and most other fruits. Dates do not come 

 true to seed, hence the only sure way to obtain good 

 Dates is to secure a sucker from a tree of established 

 excellence. Propagation from seed is of little value 

 when we desire to obtain Dates of the same quality as 

 those from which the seeds were obtained, or when we 

 wish a correct proportion of male to female trees. 

 Again, seedling palms are usually very much later in ma- 

 turing their fruit, and generally the fruit from such 

 trees have large seeds and little flesh. It is always 

 preferable to propagate Dates from suckers unless one 

 desires to originate new varieties, not only on account 

 of the knowledge of the sex (it being hardly necessary 

 to state that the sex of a sucker is the same as that of 

 the plant from which it is taken) , but on account of the 

 ability to make a selection in the variety and quality of 

 the fruit. 



All species belonging to the genus Phoenix are diffi- 

 cult to transplant with uniform success. Frequently as 

 high as 50 per cent of transplanted Dates die even 

 when watered daily and given the best of care. In plant- 

 ing suckers, with the 

 best of attention, a 

 large percentage die ; 

 while without care not 

 one in a hundred will 

 grow. It is due not so 

 much to the lack of ex- 

 perience in removing 

 the suckers as to lack 

 of proper care after 

 removal, that so large 

 a percentage fail to 

 grow. Suckers may be 

 removed at any time 

 during the spring or 

 early s umm er, or even 

 in the winter, if proper 

 care be given them 

 after removal. If they 

 are to be planted in the 

 open ground it is advis- 

 able to remove them 

 during the spring or 

 early summer, April 

 probably being the best 

 month. In winter, when 

 the plants are at a 

 standstill, the suckers 

 may be removed with 

 comparatively small 

 loss, if the bulbs be 

 not less than 4 inches 

 in diameter and have 

 a few roots. It is nec- 

 essary, when suckers 

 are removed at this sea- 

 son, to set them in 

 rather small pots, so 

 that the earth, which 

 should be given a daily 

 soaking, may have a 

 chance to get warm 

 quickly. The pots 

 should be kept in a greenhouse, or, better yet. Imbedded 

 in a hotbed of manure, covered with the customary 

 frame and glass. In all cases the leaves should be 

 cut back to 6 to 12 inches in length. If proper atten- 

 tion can be given it is best to plant the suckers where 



680. Fruit clusters of Date, 

 as gjo^vn in Arizona, 



