DATE VARIETIES 265 



sugar to the very end (the other is Deglet Niir.) 

 The fruit is one and three-eighths inch long, 

 eleven-sixteenths wide, often slightly curved, broadest 

 at or below middle, tapering slowly to flattened base 

 and more abruptly to bluntly pointed apex. Color 

 deep chrome to saffron, with a slight reddish bloom. 

 The dull, thin, and tender skin adheres closely to the 

 flesh, which is raised in ridges and furrows, mostly 

 longitudinal. Flesh one-eighth inch thick, nearly 

 white, hard and dry but rarely brittle. Seed one inch 

 long, five-sixteenths wide, rounded at both ends, 

 russet to wood brown in color; ventral channel open 

 or partly closed, germ pore slightly nearer apex. 

 Flavor sweet and nutty, with almost no astringency; 

 agreeable. 



The palm is tall and stout, strong and vigorous, 

 with coarse, heavy foliage, long leaves, and numerous 

 but rather distant long and broad leaflets. Branches 

 of fruit-clusters orange buff; their stalks are curved, 

 forming nearly a semi-circle, but do not hang down 

 below the foliage. Thrives in poor soil and is con- 

 sidered resistant to alkali. Reported to Kearney 

 as one of the most productive varieties in Tunisia, 

 and so highly esteemed by natives that they are 

 reluctant to part with offshoots. 



Maktum, Maktoom, originally Makdiim, The 

 Bitten, because of the short, transverse scars on the 

 skin, which, to Arab imagination, resemble the 

 imprints of a miniature set of teeth. A rare variety, 

 but as good as any in Mesopotamia; it has proved 

 itself admirably adapted to California and Arizona 

 conditions as well, and can unhesitatingly be recom- 

 mended for commercial planting. It is certain to 



