Plinies Naturail Hiftorie, 



A come to their maturitie and ripenefle. Thofe of AfirickJ muft jseeds lay, bring forth a iv'seet and 

 pleafant fruit3butit wiIinotlaft;, andfoonc is gone : whereas contrariwife;, in thc Eaft parrs the 

 people make wine thereof, and in fome countries they u(e it for kead ^yea the "very knit & four- 

 footed beafts doe ordinarily feed of Dates : and rhctefore we hold and conclude, that Dates may 

 be truly called, Forr^in fruits 5 and their Trees, Meerejftraungersin this part of the world.For in 

 Italy a man fhall not find fo much a^ one Palme, tree thatcomrherfi Up of it feJ&j.wiihoutif be 

 fet or planted by mans hand : neithcrin any other region whatfoev^rj unlcfieit' lie under fpo^e 

 bote climat: but to.beare fruitye (hall neverknow itinanycouotajeyjif the fame benot escrerne 

 ardent and fcortching.Datc trees love a light andfandie ground^and fpeeially^J^ohe mgftpfef 

 if it ftand much upon a vcine of Nitre befides.. And yet contentcd v^iilthf y bg ift gjcoyv.jby iDiiii>§ 



B river fide,where they may have as it were>one foot in the water, andijeever dtidking.aji the ^le^r 

 longj efpecially ina drie feafon* Somethinke,that dungis 3s cQ!atrarieandhuKfoil.i«ico,tliem5: 

 as to fome kind of Citron trees in AlTyria^unleffe itbemingled and temjJercd^iidiA^tejrj' ptife^ 

 tiees planted neare to fome runningdver. Moreover, many kinds there beiof Date trees :-and 

 the firft are foalljand exceed not the bignefTe of fhrubs : thelkinloiTie parts-'^'c baireio, aa^-in, 

 others fruitfulhthey iliute out little lliort branches round about/tiut very full of kaveSjthewhiftk 

 in mofi places fervein ftead of parget S^rough-caft, to defend walls of houfes a'gainll;t]iQ;V};f3&:7 

 ther and drifts of raine. Howbeit a fecond fort there be that are. much taller, aiid vsbole hnti\& 

 fland onely upon thofe trees : they put forth leaves lliarpe pointed,and they igrow-t'ouud about 

 dilpofed one clofe unto another in manner of comb-ieeth : and ihefe muft oi necelfme beejta- 



C ken for wildjand no better: and they love here and there as it falleth out, tt> be entermingled ar^ 

 mong thofe ofthe tamer kind, as if they tooke 1 wotnot what pieafure in their companic . "The 

 reft grpv^ingiii the Eaft parts, beftreightj round, and tall, cnvimaeGl ?.bout tbQl>ddie with cir- 

 cles orboLipcs made of the very barke itfelfcjandthey areof thethicknesof amansthumbe^fet 

 in order one above another like fteps and greeces neare togither, infuch fort tliatthc peopleof 

 the Eaft may eafiiy climbe them, by the meanes of the.faid barke, which ferveth not only for a 

 veftiment to the tree, but alfo for ftaires to him that would mount up, fo that it, 154 wonder tolee 

 how nimbly a man will run up to the top, Thefe Date trees beare ail their braunches toward the, 

 head ; and their fruit commcth not forth among the leaves as in other trees, but hangethto cer- 

 taine braunches and twigs of the ownebetween the boughs likeclufters of grapes : infomiich as 



D it refeiwbleth partly the nature of a grape,and partly of an applcThe leaves made in forme of a 

 knife blade fli^irpe toward thepoint,llit as it were and cloven in the edge alongboth ftdes, make 

 ("hew at the firft of certain fa ire and beautiful! gemmes : and now they ferve inilfiad of cords^and 

 to bind vines togither: alfo being divided and Hived into Bakes, they are goodtoplait for hats 

 and light bongraces for the head, againft the heat of the funne. Moreover, alilear ned men. vyho 

 arc deeply ftudied in the fecrets of Nature, be of opinion and doe teach us, That in all treesand 

 Plants^ nay rather in allthings that proceed out of the earth, even in the very Hcarbs, there are 

 both fcxes. Let itfafhce therefore to have ipoken thusmuch oncefor aliin this place.But there 

 is no tree whatfocver.in which this diftinclion of male andfemaleappearethmoregthan in Palme. 

 trccs:forthemaleputtsthforthhisbloome in the braunch: butthe female fheweth no flower 



E at all,but fprouteth and ihooteth out buds in manner of a thorne : howbeit borhin the one and 

 the other, the pulpe or flelTi of the Date corameth firlf, & after it the woodie ftone within,whieh 

 ftandeih in ftead ofthe graine and feed of the Date. And this appeareth evidently by a good f o- 

 ken,for that in the fame braunch there be found little young Dates without any fuch ftone at all. 

 Now is the faid ftone or kernell of the Date,in forme long,not fb round and turned like a ball a$ 

 that of theOIive.Befides,alongthe.backithathacutor deepe flit chamfered in (as it were) be- 

 twcenetwopillowes-butinthcmidsof thebellyon the other fide, for the moftpart, it hatha; 

 round fpecke formed like a navill, wherat the root or chit beginneth firft to piit forth. Moreoverj 

 for thehetter planting of Dates, they fet two togither of theirftonesinarankc with the bellies 

 downward to the earth, and as many over their heads: for if one alone fhould come up, it were 



F notable to ftand of it felfe, the rodt and young plant would be fo feeble j but fouie togither fo 

 joyncjclafpe, and^row one to another, that they do well enough andarcfufficient tobear them- 

 felves iipright. The kernell or woodie fubftance within the Date,is divided from the flefhie pulpe 

 and meat thereof jby many white pellicles or thin skins betweene: neither lyeth it clofe thetetOj 

 but hollow a good diftance from it, favc that in the head it is fattened thereunto by a ihred or 



