DATES OF EGYPT AND THE SUDAN. 25 
HAMRAWI. 
~The Hamrawi date is a variety of secondary importance in the Khargeh and Dakh- 
leh Oases, and only a small number of these trees are grown. At El] Khargeh it was 
mentioned that especially fine ‘‘agwa’’ 1s prepared from them, packed in earthen jars. 
The leaves of this variety are long, with light flexible ribs and rather narrow bases 
strongly rounded dorsally, and dark colored, as though partaking of the dark red nature 
shown in the fruit. The spine area is long, one-third to two-fifths of the blade length, 
the spines short, light, and weak. They pass into very narrow ribbon pinne. The 
normal pinne are 18 to 24 inches long, 1} to 14 inches broad, rather soft in texture. 
The fruit stalk is short, heavy, and erect, the strands short, the bunch very heavy and 
compact. 
The fruit is about 2 inches long, 14 inches broad, oblong, with square blocky base 
and rounding abruptly to a broad obtuse apex. The ripening fruit is nearest to a bril- 
liant ‘‘carmine”’ (R. I), but ripens to a dull purplish color, nearly black. The dark 
flesh is very soft and sirupy, richly sweet, keeping but a short time afterit isfully ripe. 
The seed israther small. 
A date grown in the vicinity of Bedrashen is known by this name, and of it the 
fellahin give a similar description, but the writer was unable to see it in fruit and is 
not certain that it is identical). : 
HAYANY. 
(Notes taken in the vicinity of Merg and Birket el Hadji.) 
The Hayany date is a tall-growing variety, but its trunks are usually more slender 
_than those of most of the Egyptian dates (PI. II, fig. 1). The leaves are usually about 
12 feet long and may reach 14 or 15 feet under conditions of abundant moisture and 
luxuriant growth. The tops are always airy and graceful in appearance, though the 
rib is moderately strong and has taper enough to give a graceful curve at the tip (PI. 
IX, fig. 1). With the free growth induced by abundant moisture, the leaves may curve 
strongly outward and downward, even to an appearance of drooping. These leaves 
have an unusually long petiole, or clear space, between the fibrous sheath and the 
first spines, which sometimes amounts to 15 or 18 inches. The base is broad and thin, 
narrowing abruptly to a moderate-sized rib. The spine area is about 30 inches, and 
the slender, acute spines range in length from 1 inch for the lowest to 7 or 8 inches 
where they pass into the strikingly long narrow ribbon pinne, which may be 24 to 36 
inches or more in length, while they are only one-half or three-fourths of an inch wide. 
From these the pinne diminish in length and increase in width until at 9 or 10 feet 
from the base they are 18 or 20 inches long and 1% to 14 inches broad, rounding off 
the end of the blade with a length of 14 to 16 inches. In the lower portion of the rib 
the lateral faces are narrow, but they become quite broad at from 8 to 10 feet. The 
lower pinne and some of the upper spines are contracted near the base into an oval 
solid “‘neck” from half an inch to 2 inches in length. While this may occur to a lim- 
ited extent in some other varieties, it is a character so far always found occurring in 
the Hayany. The pinne are placed so as to form a rather smooth open blade, and 
the open spacing of the long lower pinne gives to these tops an airy lightness that is 
very pleasing. | 
The orange-colored fruit stalks are 3 to 4 feet long, of medium weight, and rather 
flattened in cross section. The strands (shamrokh) are of medium length and weight, 
the fruit being borne on their outer half. 
The compact bunches of brilliantly colored fruit, hanging like huge tassels below 
the vase-shaped crown, make a grove of these trees a very striking sight. In the 
coast region the lashing of the fruit stalks to the bases of adjacent leaves to prevent 
the thrashing of the bunch in the gales is a cultural practice which is illustrated in 
Plate 1X, figure 2. The fruits are 2 to 24 inches long and 1 to 14 inches broad, the 
broadest portion being usually a little below the middle; some fruits are often a little 
