370 THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



"during the: period when the dates are ripening, strenuous eeeorts must 

 be made to keep the sand out oe the gardens, as the 

 low-hanging clusters spoil quickly ie buried" 



tance from the bottoms of the individual mer, the roots of the young palms soon 

 holes in which the offshoots are planted find their way to the underground mois- 

 to permanently wet soil not greater than ture, and thereafter no irrigation is re- 

 two or three feet. With an occasional quired. 



watering by hand during the first sum- The soil of the gardens being a pure 



