128 DATEGROWING 



North Africa September and October are the months 

 of greatest activity. 



As the fruit begins to soften, it is the object of a 

 good deal of anxiety on the part of its owner, for it 

 may meet injury in several ways, against which he 

 must guard. An unseasonable rain may cause nearly 

 ripe dates to ferment. This is little to be expected 

 in Southern California, and experience has shown that 

 in that dry climate the effects of an untimely shower 

 are so soon obliterated by the sun that the actual 

 damage is slight. In Arizona there is greater danger, 

 for the ground and air may remain moist for days 

 after the rain has stopped. In such a case, if the 

 dates are ripe enough to receive damage, they must 

 be at once picked and prepared for market by the 

 rapid artificial method described in another chapter. 



Insects and birds sometimes make trouble when 

 the fruit is ripening.* A bag of cheesecloth is absolute 

 protection against them, however. In some localities 

 human thieves are still more annoying. The Arab of 

 North Africa is a redoubtable visitor at night: no 

 wall or hedge will turn him, nor does the fiercest dog 

 deter him, for he strips off his clothes and smears his 

 body with a rancid grease. Then if a dog appears, 

 the native drops on all fours, and the most vicious 

 animal will not attack such an extraordinary creature. 



When the dates are finally ripe enough to pick, 



the greatest activity of the year begins. If one is so 



fortunate as to have varieties which mature their fruit 



evenly and bear it on long stems, he will save a lot of 



money, for it can then be stripped off the tree without 



delay. In Arizona, Birket al Hajji has proved the 



*Arabs speak of particularly choice dates as "crow's dates" 

 because the crow is thought to select the best fruit on the palm for his 

 attacks. 



