DATE CULTURE IN EGYPT AND THE SUDAN 
65 
sandy soils, aside from the difficult}" of inserting the ladder top 
among the leaf bases. 
Already the growers in charge of some of the older California 
date palms have abandoned the use of ladders and are climbing 
their trees with only Nature's equipment of hands and feet. This is 
hazardous and does not leave the hands free for work at the top. 
In contrast, the oriental climber, secure in the support of the broad 
girdle at his back, can circle around the tree with both hands free 
for pruning, pollination, or fruit gathering, and remain aloft for an 
hour or two if necessary. 
The height measurements, shown in Table 4. of the oldest date 
trees growing near Indio in the Coachella Valley indicate the 
approximate age at which date palm trees are likely to exceed the 
height at which the use of ladders in cultural operation is practicable. 
Table 4. — Height of date-palm trees near Indio, Calif., according to measure- 
ments made in November, 1923 
[Other trees nearly as old had the leaves cut off for transplanting or to kill Parlatoria scale and so are not 
directly comparable with these] 
• 
Locality and variety 
Year 
set 
Age 
Height 
to top of 
bud 
Fred N. Johnson's date garden, Indio, Calif.: 
1905 
1905 
1905 
1905 
1905 
1900 
1900 
Years 
18 
18 
18 
18 
18 
23 
23 
Feet 
27 
Do 
26 l A 
Do 
24H 
Do --. 
25 
18 
Durbrow ranch: 
23 
Do 
24 
It will be seen that the growth ranges from 1 to iy 2 feet annual ly. 
These figures, together with the growth curves plotted from Egyp- 
tian measurements (figs. 8 and 9), show that a height of 20 feet is 
reached by the general run of date palms at 15 to 25 years of age, 
according to varieties and soil and water conditions. 
A tree 20 feet high has reached the point where the use of ladders 
is no longer profitable, and some adaptation of the climber's methods 
should be put into practice. 
The telegraph lineman's climbing irons and strong leather belt 
are familiar enough to most Americans, but the ordinary sieel gaff s 
would not take the secure hold on the date-leaf bases that they do on 
a solid spruce pole, and if the gaffs were larger they would make 
unnecessary blemishes on the tree trunks. 
The 7-inch girdle with 1G or more pliable quarter-inch strings, 
so carefully made by the Egyptians (pi. 13, A), certainly offers 
greater comfort for a prolonged stay in a palm top than the hard 
leather belt in use by linemen. Such handwork is not to be had in this 
country, but a very good substitute is readily obtained in the cinch, 
or girth, sold for heavy stock saddles. The best girths are about G 
inches wide and are made by using 20 to 26 triple-strand horsehair 
or cotton strings. These are knotted into a heavy iron ring at either 
end. The type with three crossbars is the most serviceable. 25 With 
25 Horsehair strings are liable to prove rather prickly without a lining. 
