July 1, 1901.] 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
7 
pedicels left on them. Then, again, I have seen, 
in Port Said dates, prepared somewhat as we often 
see them in shops in Brisbane, sold very cheaply, 
being, I suppose, the refuse of the date gioves 
pressed into a paste or soft mass. This is sold by 
weight in chunks. In Egypt, the dates of Upper 
Egypt and the Oases are those which are the most 
delicate. The hot'er and drier the climate the richer 
is the date, aua uear the coast the poor fruit is 
fit only for animals, as mentioned in '■ French 
Colonies," by Bonwick, 1886. 
MISCELLANEOUS. 
Tunis has 2,000,000 date trees; Egypt, 4,000,000 ; 
Bussorab, in Turkey, has enormous date groves 
stretching along both banks of the Euphrates for a 
distance of over 140 miles, yielding 40,000 tons in 
good seasons. 
The price in England in March, 1894, was — 
Bussorah (boxes) Os to 13s 3d per cwt. ; Tafilet, 443 
to 50s per cwt. 
Dates contain more than half their weight in sugar, 
but there is a fair amount of fiesh-forming material 
present as well. Dates, without the stone, contain 
in 100 parts — 
Water ... ... .. 20-8 
Albumen .. ... ... 6 6 
Sugar . . . . . . 54 
Pectose and gum ... . . 12 3 
Fat .. ... 0-2 
Cellulose .. ... ... 55 
Mineral matter .. .. 1-6 
The pungent rigidity of the foliage protects the 
date from encroachment of pasture animals; hence 
it can be left without fencing or hedging. 
QUEENSLAND AS A DATE COUNTRY. 
I have DOW given all the general information I 
can find in regard to the cultivation, &c., of the 
date palm in North Africa, Turkey in Asia, and 
Arabia. It will be convenient now to see if in 
Queensland similar conditions of temperature, &c., 
can be found. The part of Queensland which, bear- 
ing in mind the requirments of the plant already 
set forth, seems to be the most suitable for the 
cultivation of the best dates is to the west of Hughen- 
den, Longreach, and Charleville, and from latitude 
23 degrees to the southern border of the State. 
The following remarks all refer to this area : — 
TEMPEHATDRB. 
Comparing the region of Queensland which includes 
these places, with Biskra, in North Africa in 
latitude 34 degrees 51 minutes at an altitude of 
410 feet, we have — 
QutenslMud. Bislira. 
Annual average temperature 67-74 68 5 
Mean temperature, coldest month . . 48 61 50'2 
Mean temperature, hottest month ... 84'90 8!i 8 
I do not know the extreme minimum temperature 
at Biskra, but the lowest in the part of Queens- 
land above referred to is 20 -4 degrees at Boulia in 
July, 1894. My information for Queensland is obtained 
from the Meteorolo(iical Reports, whieh are only 
available from Ist September, 1893, to .^Ist August, 
1894. I believe this last winter was considered a 
very cold one throughout the colony, and as the 
date palm can stand as low a temperature as 20 
degrees it should be safe even at Boulia from 
bemg killed by forst. The latitude, 20 degrees S. 
to 27 degrees S., also indicates generally the area 
in which the suitable temperature is to be met with. 
Rainfall. — In the above possible date-growing 
belt of Queensland the rainfall ranges from 5 inches 
to 24 inches, and in the more westerly portion this 
reaches the minor limit, theiefjic^ improving the 
quality of the date on account of the greater dryness 
of the air combined with the circumstance that 
there is greater heat also. 
Altitude. — Looking generally at West Queens- 
land, the rivera and creeks all run to the south- 
west, showing that the higher ground is the north 
and east. Then there are high downs between the 
Gulf of Carpentaria waters and the Diamantina and 
Thomson Rivers ; so that all this higher ground 
must VKxy from 6C0 feet to 1,400 feet above sea- 
level. But to the south-west of Boulia and W'iudorah 
and to the south of Thargomindah and Charleville 
the altitude of the country is from sea-level tn 
600 feet. From the above figures it can easily be 
seen where there is the least likelihood of frost. 
Soil. -The geological formation in the region 
indicated is mesozoic, with desert standstone on 
the higher ground between the vaiious watersheds, 
and lower cretaceous on the plains and downs. 
As apparently the date palm prefers a sandy soil, 
tbf conditions in this case feem favourable also. 
From the above data it will be seen that West 
Queensland is generally suited to the cultivation 
of the best dates. As to the local conditions, they 
must be ascertained by Queenslanders themselves. 
The object of this paper is to give to the State 
the information in regard to the date whioh is 
scattered throughout many books and is not easily 
obtained, and also to suggest the best plice for 
initiating experiments in date cultivation in this 
couu'.i i . 
[We are indebted to Mr. Hy. Tryon, Government 
Entomologist, for the foregoing paper.] 
ZANZIBAR PLANTING INDUSTRIES- 
COCONUTS. 
What return will a coconut tree bring in per annum? 
The average yield of nuts in Zanzibar island is probably 
fiom 25 to 30 per tree. Calculating tbe price at R20 
per 1,000 on the spot and the yield at 30 we get a gross 
return of 9 3-5 annas per tree. Gathering may be set 
down at R4 per 1,000, which leaves a net return af about 
7J annas, or halt a rupee, per tree. Femba trees yield 
less than Zanzibar ; the average is probably less than 
15 nuts per tree per annum. Labour is cheaper and the 
cost of gathering less than in Zanzibar : about R3 per 
1,000. The net return per tree works out to about 4i 
annas per annum in Peinba. Mr. J. T. Last, F.R.G.S., 
writes as follows upon the benefits of cultivation as he 
has found them at Mangapwani ; — 
" There are at Mangapwani about 200 bearing palms 
from which the nuts are gathered every three mouths. 
About three years ago I had the ground well dug up for 
some 6 feet round the base of each tree, and then 
packed round the tree any manure, grass or decayed 
vegetable matter I could get, covering the same up 
with soil. This has been repeated every year. The 
result of these operations is that the number of nuts 
gathered is greatly increased. 
Formerly the three-monthly gatherings would 
average about 3,000 nuts, now more than double that 
amount is obtained. The last gathering reached the 
number of 7033. Since I started mulching the trees 
there have always been one or more trees at each 3- 
monthly gathering from which I obtained 100 nuts. 
At the above gathering from 
1 tree are gathered 110 nuts 
2 trees „ „ 100 ,, each 
1 tree ,, ,, 
91 „ 
89 „ 
1 ,• „ 80,, 
Making from 7 trees 556 nuts. 
I thiijk, judging from the above results, we could 
fairly expect that, with proper attention, a healthy 
full-grown coconut tree would produce 100 nuts a year.> 
We find at Dunga that individual trees occassionally 
yield close on 100 nuts at a gathering, though we have 
