THE AMERICAN BOTANIST. 



27 



A DATE-LEAF BOAT OF ARABIA. 



While travelling up the coast of Arabia, last February, 

 the writer's attention was attracted to some curious craft 

 made entirely of date leaves that came along side as the 

 ''Pemba" steamed into the desert harbor of Jask on the 

 Arabian coast. The coast of the Persian Gulf is so barren 

 that one can travel for many days along it without find- 

 ing so much as a stunted tree or shrub, and- at this place 

 the only plants of any size were some groves of date palms 

 and a few acacias which had been planted by the English 

 employees of the Persian Gulf cable company which has a 

 station at Jask. 



Wood is so scarce in the region that even the roots of 

 such small desert shrubs as are to be found are dug up for 

 fuel, and timber large enough for boat-building would 



A DATE- LEAF BOAT.— Courtesy of the Botanical Gazette. 



have to be brought by water from Bombay. It is neces- 

 sity, therefore, which has invented these curious date-leaf 

 boats of Jask. They are made of the mid-ribs of the date 

 palm leaf, which are about an inch and a half in diameter 

 and ten feet long. These tough mid-ribs, from which the 



