ECONOMIC PLANTS WORTHY OF INTRODUCTION. 



23 



few date trees of a local variety, the fruit of which is of good quality. 

 But the people who are establishing new plantations, instead of 

 propagating this local variety, prefer to send to Egypt or Bagdad 

 and bring from a distance and at great expense plants which are 

 really of less value than the local product. 



There are two places, however, where the old date plantations have 

 not entirely died out. The first is east of the Dead Sea in the Valley 

 of Zerka Maain, the ancient Calirrhoe, once celebrated for its hot 

 baths, frequented by King Herod. Here thousands of date trees 

 grow wild in crevices 

 of arid sandstone 600 

 to 800 feet below sea 

 level, in narrow gorges 

 intensely hot and dry. 

 where the soil is ex- 

 tremely alkaline. 



The second place is 

 farther north, in the 

 valley of the ancient 

 Hieromax, :>00 to GOO 

 feet below sea level, 

 in a marsh formed by 

 several hot springs, 

 with a temperature of 

 118° to 133° F. Here 

 these wild dates form 

 a veritable jungle, 

 probably one of the 

 few places of its kind 

 in the world. 



The historical ac- 

 counts which vouch 

 for the quality of the 

 dates produced in these 

 regions furnish proof 

 that the cultivation of 

 this fruit can be made profitable in such localities, and we may reason- 

 ably expect that the variety found in and around the valley of the 

 Jordan may be of value for certain similar localities in the San 

 Joaquin Valley. 



Along the coast of Palestine, in sandy soils and on the edges of 

 dunes, the date is here and there cultivated, especially in irrigated 

 orchards and gardens. The ordinary varieties, however, do not ripen 

 without artificial aid, and to this end the Arabs wrap the bunches 

 of fruit in cloths soaked in vinegar. These cloths are kept constantly 



180 



Fig. G. — Fruit of tig tree (Fiats sycomorus). The Arabs 

 in Biskra and Egypt cut off the tips of the immature 

 figs in order to make them ripen. Three days after this 

 is done the cut figs become twice as large as those uncut 

 and develop a much better taste. The fruits marked 

 " / " have been cut. 



