MANY OR SPECIAL PURPOSES 34I 



pistillate, or female trees, require to be fertilized, 

 or they, too, are barren, though they blossom 

 luxuriantly. It is a simple thing to cut a cluster 

 of the pollen-loaded staminate flowers, and shake 

 them over the pistillate clusters in the other trees. 

 One pollen-bearing tree among twenty-five fertile 

 ones will supply all the pollen needed. And the 

 sex of a tree can be relied upon at the setting out 

 of a new orchard. Cuttings, or suckers, reproduce 

 their parent trees. Suckers from bearing trees 

 will bear when half a dozen years old, or even 

 younger. Many a tree stands alone in a garden, 

 blossoms freely, then ripens no fruit; it lacks the 

 fertilization. Without pollen no fruit can be pro- 

 duced. 



The beginning of work looking toward the 

 development of date-growing in this country was 

 made in 1891. Already it is demonstrated a suc- 

 cess. Time will bring the increase. We are even 

 now growing dates that excite the envy of the 

 old Arabian growers, for we have Science, the 

 great Magician, helping us. 



THE RATTAN PALM 



The Royal palms are noble specimens of their ' 

 race. But one of these is not more interesting 



