SAIDY DATE OF EGYPT. 19 
with 65.521, or a total of nearly 271,000 trees. Siwali and Farafreh are not 
reported. 
From observation.- in Khargeh and Dakhleh and from the crop seen coming in 
from Baharieh. the writer is satisfied that considerably more than half of the 
trees in these three oases are of the Saidy variety, so that a low estimate would 
give 150.000 or 200,000 of these without including Siwah Oasis, where it is 
known to be the chief tree. 
A very interesting bit of exploration history attaches to the procuring of this 
variety. David Fairchild. in an agricultural exploration of Egypt in 1901, 
purchased in Fayum a quantity of dates which he regarded as the finest he had 
seen in Errypt and which he was told were " Wahi " from the village of Siwah 
in the oasis of Baharieh. Though it was known to Mr. Fairchild that the term 
" Wahi " had refer, nee to the oasis, it was supposed for many years that this 
was the varietal name of the date, and three different men had been dispatched 
with commissions from the Office of Foreign Seed and Plant Introduction to 
procure offshoots of this desirable variety. During the writer's trip to Dakhleh 
Oasis he learned from Sheik Abu Bakr that Saidy, the export date of the 
Libyan oases, is sold by the Bedouin traders when they reach the Nile Valley 
as " Wahi." the date from " el Wah," or the oasis. Samples of the fruit, pur- 
chased in the markets of Wasta, in Fayum, and directly from the traders under 
the name of " Wahi." proved perfectly identical with samples of Saidy brought 
from Dakhleh and Khargeh. establishing beyond question the Saidy as the 
long-sought " Wahi." Though 108 Saidy offshoots were purchased in Khargeh 
on this trip, the first introduction of Saidy offshoots dates from the purchase 
through Mr. H. A. Rankin, S. P. I. No. 11485, in 1904, said to be " from Fayum." 
As this variety is not known in the Fayum country, it is probable that Mr. 
Rankin secured the offshoots through Bedouin traders from the oasis of 
Baharieh, between which points there is constant traffic. 
Another interesting phase of the whole discussion is the very close re- 
semblance, if not the absolute identity, of the Saidy with the Siwah grown in the 
upper sections of Gizeh Province. 
SIWAH (SIWI). 
(Notes made near Hauamdiyeh, November 5 and 17, 1913.) 
Trees of the Siwah date have large heavy trunks with coarse scales from the 
leaf bases and heavy, stiffly spreading tops. The leaves are 14 to 151 feet long, 
with very heavy bases, strongly rounded lower rib, which tapers gradually but 
still remains stiff and heavy at the apex. The spine area is from 2\ to 4 feet, 
the spines very strong and heavy, bluntly acute, from 2 to 8 or 9 inches long. 
The stiff, coarse pinna? following these are 24 to 29 inches long and 1 to 1* 
inches broad. They diminish regularly in length toward the apex and increase 
in breadth up to 10 or even 11 feet from the base, being usually 17 to 20 inches 
long and 1| to 2 inches broad at 8 to 10 feet from the base and 11 to 14 inches 
long and 11 to 1* inches broad at the apex. Many of the upper pinna? have 
the proximal fold broadened into a wing and are decurrent. The pulvini on 
the spines are unusually heavy and dark cream colored, being somewhat lighter 
on the less exposed pinna?. For the first 6 feet of the blade the pinna? comprise 
only the antrorse and retrorse classes in the paired antrorse-retrorse groups. 
above which the introrse pinna? appear, and also the triple (antrorse-introrse- 
retrorse) groups with a few quadruple (antrorse-introrse-introrse-retrorse) 
groups. In the outer 2 feet of the blade the introrse class predominates, or all 
classes become merged. The 4-ranked arrangement of the pinna? in the blade 
is strongly maintained, but is especially pronounced in the lower portion, where 
the bristling ranks of the antrorse pinna? vary strongly from those of the 
retrorse and give to the leaf a strong attitude of defense. The remarkably long 
and heavy orange-colored fruitsfalks of this variety are almost identifying in 
their character. They may be 2\ inches in diameter and 50 to 60 inches long 
to the fruiting head, or portion bearing the strands, or " shamrokh." The 
fruiting head is 16 to 24 inches long, bearing strands 24 to 40 inches long upon 
only the outer 12 to 18 inches of which the fruit is borne, the basal portion 
being straight and irregularly four sided. 
The fruit is If to \\ inches long. 1 inch broad, oblong or slightly broadest 
a little beyond the middle, with a rather square blocky base and obtusely 
rounded apex. The color of the fruit on the tree is a brilliant yellow, not 
far from "wax yellow" (R. XVI) or "light cadmium" (R. IV). The f 
