320 Beauty of the Date Palm. 
to the pistillate flowers. It was found that the parts of the date 
cluster which are nearest to the suspended male blooms have 
more perfect fruit than the more distant parts. Other Califor- 
nia date growers have had similar experience. 
In Winters the bearing palms bloom in April and May, and 
the fruit ripens in November. ; 
Beauty of the Date Palm—tThe date palm in fruit is a beau- 
tiful sight. The glaucous green pinnate leaves arch outward. 
Retween two of these emerge the bright orange-yellow polished 
fruit stalks, which divide into a spray of slender bright yellow 
stems a foot or so in length; and thickly set upon these in clus- 
ters are the coral red date berries, covered with a rich bloom. 
It is a sight not easily forgotten by a lover of nature, and es- 
pecially by one reared in a northern zone, the characteristic 
vegetation of which is so different. 
