318 Propagation of the Date. 
The fruit of these two bearing palms differs notably in ap- 
pearance. That of the first-mentioned tree is of bright yellow 
color and angular outline; that of the second tree is wine red, 
with stnooth surface. 
During recent years the date has iruited at many places in 
California and Arizona. There is little doubt that it will succeed 
in any of the interior regions which have a sufficiently high sum- 
mer temperature, and even the so-called Colorado Desert may 
be dotted with groves of date palms, as portions of it now are 
with groves of the majestic fan palm of California. 
Soils and Waters for the Date-—In California thus far the 
date palm has only been planted on good orchard land, but, 
according to experience in date-growing countries, the tree 
does not require rich soil, but, on the contrary, will thrive in a 
soil poor in humus—too poor and too purely mineral for any 
other fruit tree; and it produces the finest and best-flavored 
dates, nourished by water too alkaline for man and beast to 
drink. These observations should lead to trials of the tree in 
situations not adapted to other fruits. 
PROPAGATION OF THE DATE. 
The date palm grows readily from the seeds of the dried 
date of commerce, and, as has been intimated, the trees now 
fruiting in this State have been obtained in this way. By the 
use of seed, one gets, however, only seedlings, and the chance of 
thus securing a really fine variety is probably not greater than 
with other fruit-tree seedlings. In date-growing countries the 
best varieties are propagated by rooting the off-sets, sprouts, or 
suckers which appear at the base of the old palms. To secure 
the best foreign varieties such plants must be imported. The 
first successful enterprise of this kind was accomplished in the 
summer of 1890 by the United States Department of Agricul- 
ture, under the direction of Professor H. E. Van Deman, then 
chief of the Division of Pomology. The plants were divided 
between New Mexico, Arizona, and California. The plants for 
California were sent to the Department of Agriculture of the 
University of California, and were planted at the experiment 
stations at ‘Tulare and at Pomona. Upon fruiting a number of 
these plants, it appears likely that they are only seedlings and 
not the best foreign varieties, as represented. The United States 
Department of Agriculture undertook arrangements in 1899 for 
a new importation, hoping to reach better results. A full ac- 
count of the earlier effort and its outcome is given in Bulletin 
29, of the Arizona Experiment Station. 
Growing Plants fron. Seed--The seed germinates with 
great readiness: in fact the young plants spring up as volunteers 
where date seeds have been thrown during the rainy season. 
