T- 



Some of the male flowers, from a tree flourishing at Leipsic, were sent by the post, and in 

 this way fruit was obtained, and some of these I planted in my own garden, and they germinated, 

 and at this present time are in a very flourishing state.* 



Kjempher has long since reported, how necessary it was found by the nations in the East, 

 who live by the fruit of the Palm-tree, and are the true Lotophagi, to plant a few male plants 

 amongst the female trees, if they expected any harvest; hence, upon an invasion, they were 

 led to cut down the males, that the enemy might feel a want of provisions, and sometimes this 

 destruction was made as a vengeance upon a resisting country .f 



* This curious account of the date-bearing Palm is to be met with in the Philosophical Transactions, vol. xlvii. p. 169, including a letter 

 which was read to that society May 2, 1751, with some ingenious observations on that subject by one of the members of that learned society, 

 Doctor Watson, to whom it was addressed. 



Professor Mylius's letter to Dr. Watson, dated at Berlin, Feb. 20, 1750—51. " The Sex of Plants is very well confirmed, by an 

 experiment that has been made here on the Palma major foli is flab ellif or mibus. There is a great tree of this kind in the garden of the Royal 

 Academy. It has flowered and bore fruit these thirty years, but the fruit never ripened, and, when planted, it did not vegetate. The palm- 

 tree, as you know, is a Planta Dicccia, that is, one of those in which the male and female parts of generation are upon different plants. We 

 having therefore no male plants, the flowers of our female were never impregnated with the farina of the male. There is a male plant of this 

 kind in the garden at Leipsic, twenty German miles from Berlin. We procured from thence, in April 17^9, a branch of male flowers, and 

 suspended it over our female ones ; and our experiment succeeded so well, that our palm-tree produced more than an hundred perfectly ripe 

 fruit; from which we have already eleven young palm-trees. This experiment was repeated last year, and our palm-tree bore above two 

 thousand ripe fruit. As 1 do not remember a like experiment, I thought it convenient to mention it to you ; and, if you think proper, be 

 pleased to communicate it to the Royal Society." 



f As Linnaeus aimed at brevity in this dissertation, we have here, as concisely as possible, commented upon his text, hoping that our 

 readers will not feel fatigued by our enlarging a little upon so very curious a topic by renewing again the subject of the Palm. 



" The palm-tree grows very high forming one stem. — A sort of bough shoots out and bears the fruit in a kind of sheath, which opens as it 

 grows. The male bears a large bunch something like millet, which is full of a white flower, and unless the young fruit of the female is im- 

 pregnated with it, the fruit is good for nought; and to secure it they tie a piece of this fruit of the male to every bearing branch of the female. 

 Strabo observes that the palm-tree in Judea did not bear fruit, as at present; which probably may be owing to their not having the male 

 tree ; concerning which I could get no information. But the fruit of the female tree, without the male, drops off, or comes to no per- 

 fection." Vide Pocock's Description of the Eaft, vol. i. 206*. 



"On the morning of the 2 ill, I had the pleasure of seeing from my window one of the most remarkable sights in nature. A female palm 

 (Phoenix dactylifera Linnaei) had in the night put forth its blossoms from the spatha ; I went thither at sun-rise to see it, whilst the dew was 

 yet falling. I saw a gardener, the proprietor of the palm, climbing up the palm, which equalled our largest firs in height. He had a bunch 

 of male flowers with which he powdered the female, and by these means fecundated them." Vide Hasselquist's Voyages and Travels in the 

 Levant, English Transl. p. 112. 



1 The first thing I did after my arrival in Egypt, was to see the Date-tree, the ornament and a great part of the riches of this country. It 

 had already blossomed, but I had, nevertheless, the pleasure of seeing how the Arabs assist its fecundation, and by that means secure to 

 themselves a plentiful harvest of a vegetable, which was so important to them, and known to them, many centuries before any botanist 

 dreamed of the different sexes in vegetables. The gardener informed me of this before I had time to inquire, and would shew me, as a very 

 curious thing, the male and female of the Date or Palm-tree ; nor could he conceive how I, a Frank, lately arrived, could know it before ; 

 for, says he, all who have yet come from Europe to see this country, have regarded this relation either as a fable or a miracle. The Arab, 

 seeing me inclined to be further informed, accompanied me and my French interpreter to a Palm-tree, which was very full of young fruit, 

 and had by him been wedded or fecundated with the male, when both were in blossom. This the Arabs do in the following manner : when 

 the spadix has a. female flower that comes out of its spatha, they search on a tree that has male flowers, which they know by experience for 

 a spadix which has not yet burst out of its spatha : this they open, take out the spadix, and cut it lengthways in several pieces, but take 

 care not to hurt the flowers. A piece of this spadix, with male flowers, they put lengthways between the small branches of the spadix 

 which hath female flowers, and then lay a leaf of a Palm over the branches. In this situation I yet saw the greatest part of the spadices 

 which bore their young fruit ; but the male flowers which were put between were withered. The Arab besides gave me the following 

 anecdotes: First, unless they, in this manner, wed and fecundate the Date-tree, it bears no fruit. Secondly, they always take the 

 precaution to preserve some unopened spathce with male flowers, from one year to another, to be applied for this purpose, in case the male 

 flowers should miscarry or suffer damage. Thirdly, if they permit the spadix of the male flowers to burst or come out, it becomes useless 

 for fecundation : it must have its male dust, (these were the words of the Arab), which is lost in the same moment the blossoms burst out 

 of their case. Therefore the person, who cultivates Date-trees, must be careful to hit the right time of assisting their fecundation, which is 

 almost the only article in their cultivation. Fourthly, on opening the spatha, he finds all the male flowers full of a liquid, which resembles 

 the finest dew; it is of a sweet and pleasant taste, resembling much the taste of fresh dates; but much more refined and aromatic: this was 

 likewise confirmed by my interpreter, who hath lived thirty- two years in Egypt, and therefore had opportunities enough of tasting both the 

 nectar of the blossoms, and the fresh dates. 



n Thus much have I learned of this wonderful work of Nature, in a country where it may be seen every year. I shall have the honour to 

 give a relation of the use, and divers other qualities of the Date-tree, at some other opportunity." Vide Hasselquist's Letters to Linnaeus. 



" In one of our excursions we had an opportunity of observing a curious process in the vegetable world. It has already been observed by 

 naturalists, but is too uncommon to be known to readers of every class. The Date-trees were now in blossom ; and we remarked the Arabs 

 to be busied about the branches. It is necessary to ingraft all fruit-trees to obtain good fruit . but the propagation of the Date is in another 



o manner, 



