

FORESTRY 



EDITED BY DR. B. E. FERNOW, 



Director of the New York School of Forestry, Cornell University, assisted by Dr. John C. Giflbrd, of same 



institution. 



THF DATE PALM IN THE UNITED STATES. 



The date palm is a native of the arid re- 

 gions of Northern Africa and Southwestern 

 Asia. It was early introduced into Ameri- 

 ca by the Spanish. The history and present 

 status of the date palm in the United States 

 has been made a subject of study by the 

 Arizona Experiment Station. The palm 

 followed the progress of Catholic missions 

 from St. Augustine to Mexico, New Mex- 

 ico, Arizona and California, where it is 

 now grown in the open ground as an or- 

 nament as far North as San Francisco. 

 The tree will, however, produce fruit only 

 over a much more limited area. It is not 

 yet grown on a commercial scale any- 

 where within the United States, though oc- 

 casional seedlings are found in the desert 

 regions of Southern New Mexico, Arizona 

 and Southeastern California, which pro- 

 duce fruit of excellent quality. 



The United States Department of Agri- 

 culture has recently imported a number of 

 rooted suckers of date palm which have 

 been distributed for testing in New Mex- 

 ico, Arizona and California. Of the trees 

 thus planted it appears that 30 are now 

 living, of which 15 have blossomed, 7 of 

 them being pistillate or fruit-bearing plants. 

 It may be 2 or 3 years before their true 

 fruit qualities can be ascertained.^ 



The regions in which the date palm 

 thrives are characterized by deficiency of 

 rain and wide variations of temperature. 

 The summer heat is intense, reaching 115 

 degrees or more, though in winter the 

 thermometer may fall as low as 16 de- 

 grees below freezing. These climatic con- 

 ditions are practically identical with those 

 that obtain in the more Southerly portions 

 of the great Colorado desert. So great is 

 the similarity, in fact, that as far as climate 

 is concerned, we may reasonably expect 

 the date palm to fruit satisfactorily in the 

 arid regions of our Southwest. _ Although 

 the date palm requires exceptionally in- 

 tense heat in summer, it will withstand in 

 winter a temperature that would be fatal 

 to the fig or the orange. 



The date may be propagated from suck- 

 ers like those distributed by the Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture, or from seeds. The 

 latter method is not much used except in 

 originating new varieties, because, like 

 many other fruits, the date does not come 

 true to seed. 



The male and female flowers of the palm 

 are borne on separate plants. In the male 

 plant the flowers are crowded closely to- 

 gether on a large branched panicle and 

 have an odor like musty flour. If the 

 panicle is shaken when the flowers are well 

 opened quantities of pollen will escape, fill- 

 ing the air as if with dust. The flowers in 

 the female panicle are much farther apart; 

 the segments are smaller and less spread- 

 ing. The center of the flower is well filled 

 by 3 pistils, 2 of which soon become abor- 

 tive. 



It is evident, then, that the male and fe- 

 male trees should be planted near each 

 other. It is quite common to set one male 

 plant in the center of an irregular circle 

 of 6 or 8 females. If the trees are planted 

 in a row along a roadside, the male trees 

 should be planted to the windward. The 

 wind may be depended on, as a rule, to 

 effect pollination if the staminate are not 

 more than 6 or 7 rods from the pistillate 

 flowers. At greater distances pollination 

 may be effected, though with doubtful cer- 

 tainty of completeness, by both wind and 

 bees. 



The varieties of dates are almost innu- 

 merable. They vary greatly in size, color, 

 sweetness, delicacy of flavor, and length of 

 time required to mature. The dates of 

 commerce are usually light colored, these 

 being of firmer texture, hence preferable 

 for shipping purposes. 



The average yield of a tree is 8 bunches, 

 each weighing about 17^2 pounds, though 

 they may weigh as much as 44 pounds. In 

 Arizona seedling trees 7 years of age have 

 produced upwards of 200 pounds in a single 

 season. Young trees blossoming the first 

 or second time should not be allowed to 

 bear more than 4 or 5 bunches. 



FISH AND GAME PROTECTION AND THE NEW- 

 YORK COLLEGE OF FORESTRY. 

 The number of persons taking an intelli- 

 gent and active interest in the protection 

 of fish and game and our native birds has 

 greatly increased within the last few years. 

 The committee on bird protection of the 

 American Ornithologists' Union has been 

 doing splendid work, not only in creating 

 a sentiment in favor of bird protection, but 

 in the actual protection of the birds them- 

 selves. And the League of American 



50? 



