THE DATE PALM. 



in twos and stricth* opposite. This kind is permissible 

 in case of need, but is less higlih' prized than tlie real 

 '•Hadassah". 



The Roman Catholic Church has shown itself much 

 more indulgent with reference to the Palms required on 

 Palm Sunda\'. In northern lands the I>ox and even the 

 catkin-bearing \^'illow have replaced the Palm. On the 

 Moselle the Box is actualh- called "Palm" : this designa- 

 tion recurs for the same reason in the Caucasus. The 

 ceremonial sprays of AMllow are also called "Palm" in 

 Sclavonic countries. In I'liny's day, at the commence- 

 ment of our era, the Date Palm was not uncommon in 

 Italy. It must however liave disappeared again during 

 the barbaric centuries of the earlier Middle Ages, for the 

 painters of the end of the twelfth century seem to have 

 had no actual accjuaintance with it. Otherwise Giotto 

 would not have represented the Palm trees in his '"Christ's 

 entry into Jerusalem" as bearing their leaves singly all 

 up the trunk. 



The Jruits of the Date Palm are as a rule hard and 

 uneatable on the Ri\'iera. Thei,' recjuire the scorching breath 

 of the Desert to become soft and sweet. According to 

 George Schweinfurt the sweetest and most tender dates 

 ripen in a district that enjoys a mean temperature of at 

 least 20 — 22 C, and in which there is a minimum rainfall. 

 The Date Palm linds these conditions in the Oases of 

 Algeria and Tunis, where it has from time immemorial 

 been properly managed. It is there propagated onh' 

 b\' offsets, for in this manner the purity of the stock is 

 assured and the carpellary plants are obtained with cer- 



