110 TROPICAL AGRICULTURE 



pectation will be completely realized. Seedling dates are seldom 

 edible. For the most part they are bitter and do not develop a 

 sufficient quantity of sugar. Even the seedling dates which are 

 sweet enough usually have only the thinnest film of pulp about 

 the seed, so that they are practically useless for table purposes. 

 Occasionally, however, a fairly satisfactory seedling date is 

 obtained. 



The climatic and soil conditions necessary for the best 

 growth of date palms include a dry air and high temperature 

 at least during the later stages in the development of the fruit 

 and an abundance of water at the roots of the trees. Provided 

 the water is moving and not stagnant, the date will endure an 

 unlimited amount of moisture. Moreover, it cannot be too hot 

 for the date palm and the air cannot be too dry. The date palm 

 is quite tolerant to alkali water. Among the numerous varieties 

 of dates which have been introduced and grown in Arizona 

 and California the Deglet-noor, Rhars, Wolfskill, Amaree, 

 Tedmama, Hallawee, Zahdee, and Bhar have given excellent 

 results. 



For curing dates the whole bunch is removed and confined 

 in a warm, moist chamber at a temperature of 80° to 90° F. It 

 hi"t been found that there are two chemical varieties of dates, 

 one containing cane sugar and the other containing chiefly 

 invert sugar. At some stage of development, however, all 

 dates contain a high percentage of cane sugar. The greatest 

 increase in sugar takes place shortly before ripening. It is 

 impossible to ship fresh dates to any great distance on account 

 of their susceptibility to injury and fermentation. The neces- 

 sity arises, therefore, of providing facilities for curing near 

 the date plantation. It has been found that artificially ripened 

 dates are superior to the naturally ripened fruit in keeping 

 quality. This is probably due to the fact that the artificially 

 ripened date is more nearly sterilized by the treatment which 

 it undergoes. The dried, cured date as ordinarily obtained on 

 the market contains 1.9 per cent, protein, 2.5 per cent, fat, and 



