SAIDY DATE OF EGYPT. 13 
QUEST FOR THE "WAHI" DATE BY THE UNITED STATES DEPART- 
MENT OF ARICULTURE, PROVING THE IDENTITY OF THE 
"WAHI," "SEWI," AND SAIDY DATES. 
This brings the fragmentary but very vivid and consistent story 
of the oasis date industry down to the time when the Saidy variety 
eame to the notice of the staff of the Bureau of Plant Industry. 
In 1901 David Fairchild. Agricultural Explorer of the Department 
of Agriculture, saw a date called "Wahi" in the bazaars of Fayum 
and recognized its excellence in spite of the unattractive packing. 
From samples sent by Mr. Fairchild to the Department of Agricul- 
ture at Washington, D. C. Walter T. Swingle (27) wrote the follow- 
ing paragraph, appearing in Bulletin 53 of the Bureau of Plant 
Industry, issued April 28, 1904: 
Another sort of great promise is the Wahi. of which samples were secured 
by Mr. Fairchild in the market of Fayoum, in west-central Egypt. This variety 
i^ said to come from the oasis of Seewah, known to the ancients as Amnion. 
<>r Ammonium, some 300 miles to the westward, In the interior of the Sahara 
Desert. The dare is brown, loss transparent than the Deglet Noor, but rather 
longer and decidedly broader ; -the seed is blunter and much more irregular 
in outline. The flesh is yellowish, granular midway between the skin and the 
seed, and of a most delicious flavor. This date had been gathered and kept, 
with no precautions against drying out. for at least eight months when it was 
received at Washington, but it was still in very good condition, except for 
the attacks of weevils. It seems to be a better keeper and to have a higher 
flavor than the Deglet Noor. Nothing is known as to the palm which produces 
thrs d;ite. but from the quality of the fruit it is presumably a late-maturing 
variety. 
Mr. Fairchild's notes on the " Wahi " date were published in 
Bureau of Plant Industry Inventory Xo. 10 of seed and plant intro- 
ductions (issued February 8, L905), where it is described as follows: 
7001. Fhoexix Dactylifera. Date. 
From Fayum, Egypt. Received through D. G. Fairchild (No. 017). 
July 1, 1901. 
Wahi. Twenty kilos of dried fruit of a variety of date which is said to have 
been brought from Siwah. ;i small village in the oasis of Bahriyeh. It is to my 
Taste the sweetest drying date in Egypt — at least it is much sweeter than the 
Amri or any other I have tasted. It has a very peculiar mealy flesh of golden to 
greenish yellow. The skin is very thin and smooth and of a golden brown 
•diade. Seod short, rather large, and clinging to the meat rather firmly. The 
flesh is somewhat granulated with The sugar. I can not be certain that this 
variety did really come from Siwah, but it certainly is ;i sort not commonly 
seen at this <eason in Cairo and is superior in flavor to that which is considered 
the best in Egypt The word Wahi signifies merely oasis, according to Mr. H. A. 
Rankin, of Fayum. 
From this account it seems that Mr. Fairchild had a clue as to the 
origin of the "Wahi" date which, should have led to the early dis- 
covery of its identity with the Saidy. On April 2. 1904. Mr. Swingle 
wrote to Mr. Fairchild in part as follows: 
I was mistaken in stating that the Sultani date is reported for Baharieh, the 
Petit Oasis; it is the $<ujdch date which is named by Cailliaud as the best date 
in the oasis, though he expressly says "not so good as Siwah dates, which arc 
best of all."' Of the Saydeh he says, "On les entasse, encore fraiches, dans les 
panniers et on les exports dans cet etat.** 
There is a Sayd date in Siwah also packed in baskets when fresh for export. 
Probably the Saydeh of Baharieh and the Sayd of Siwah are identical. 
It would be well to ask for offshoots of the Saydeh date if if is different from 
the Wahi. [The last italics are the writer's.] 
