November, 1912.] 



387 



INTRODUCTION OF DATE PALM INTO 

 CEYLON. 



Early in 1906 the Secretary of the Ceylon Agricultural Society 

 (Mr. E. B. Denham) procured through the Principal ot the School of Agri 

 culture, Ghizeh, 28 date suckers made up of four varieties : — 



(1) Siwi— a comparatively short but thick and fleshy amber-yellow 

 date. It is not dried but pounded and kneaded together into a kind of 

 paste or cake which constitutes an important article of food amongst the 

 poor. It comes late in season. 



(2) Biekawi or Hayani— a long red date becoming almost black when 

 completely ripe. It comes to maturity early and is eaten fresh. 



(3) Sultani — a short date with a reddish end and yellow or bright 

 brown base. It is late in season, requires much heat for ripening, dries 

 easily and is eaten dried. The flesh is somewhat thin and the seed bulky. 



(4) Amhat— a comparatively small and somewhat early date whose 

 skin eas-ily peels off. When ripe it becomes dull in colour, very sweet and 

 soft. Owing to their richness in sugar these dates ferment easily. It is 

 one of the best varieties and is extensively eaten. 



Owing to delay in transit and failure to deal promptly with 

 the plants on their arrival, they were quite unfit for propagation purposes 

 and, though carefully looked after at the places to which they were des- 

 patched (Jaffna, Mullaitivu, Mannar and Hambantota), did not survive. 



The trial must be put down as an unsatisfactory one, as the suckers 

 were not given a fair chance. 



The presence of the date palms in Peradeniya and elsewhere proves 

 that the palm will grow in the island. The only question is whether 

 it could be induced to mature fruit in suitable localities, if such exist. 

 To ascertain this it will be necessary to make a further trial. 



Fletcher in his paper on the date palm (Agricultural Ledger, 1906, No. 1) 

 makes the following statement as to climatic conditions. — "It is not in every 

 portion of the sub-tropical zone, comprised between the parallels of 20° and 

 35°, that the date palm will lipen fruit. This occurs only where the 

 summer is both hot and dry and the winter not too cold. Thus in the West 

 Indies and Florida the humidity of the air is too great for fruit to ripen 

 though the trees grow well; in North- West Mexico, again, sea breezes keep 

 the air too moist and cool, while in the valleys of Lower California large 

 quantities of dates are grown." 



As regards humidity and rainfall the same authority says :— " Rainfall 

 during the flowering and fruiting period should not much exceed 5 inches. 

 It must not, however, be concluded from this that the palm will grow if 

 this amount of rain is the only source from which its roots can obtain 

 moisture during the period or, during the year, say twice this amount 

 i.e., 10 inches. For instance, the annual rainfall at Cairo is about 1 inch, 

 and this is insufficient to support any kind of vegetation ; date palms, 

 however, grow and ripen fruit there well. This result is only attained 

 by irr igation. Irrigation is an absolutely essential accompaniment to 

 cultivation of the date palm. For, if the rainfall is sufficient to allow of 

 the growth of the tree with this as its only source ot water, it will be 

 too great to allow the flowers to be pollinated well and the fruit to ripen. 



