ITS POLLINATION. 



29 



tainty. Pieces of the staminate inflorescence are fastened 

 in among the carpellarv flowers to ensure pollination. One 

 staminate usually suffices for 25 carpellary plants. Rach 

 of these latter produces on an average twelve bunches 

 of fruit, and ma)' ^■ield as much as fifteen kilos of dates. 

 The Arab prefers a harder and less sugary kind of date 

 as food, for in the long run he tires of the sweet, soft date. 

 Each pistillate flower of the Date Palm contains 

 three carpels, and later on all these begin to develop. 

 This happens even when pollination fails. Thus a fruit 

 with three blind carpels results in case ot ;/-'"'' '•■^=> 

 non-pollination. These never come to ma-^^-^^f^ 

 turity, and never acquire the proper^n/^lv 

 flavour, and arc almost worthless. rrCNf 

 Of the three young dates which 

 begin to develop in a pollinated ^?^^^i^l4>v-U 

 flower, two usually fall off at an ^^\\ifj^j \f^2 



W0 M 



earh' stage, and only the f^f "^ VI, 

 one favoured one conti- ^^^fT, ^^ 

 nues to develop. Thu 

 then arises the per^ 

 feet date. 



Ripe dates ha 

 been obtained lately, ; 

 May, even in Nice : bi 

 the\ are of a particu 

 lar species. The 

 tree which bears 

 them grew up in the gard 

 of Henri de Cessoles' villa. It Aniiivius Bariut yovis. 



