DATE CULTURE IX EGYPT AND THE SUDAN 
43 
production of the tree, so they keep them smoothly pruned off even 
with the leaf bases. This offshoot production on the trunks is in 
part a varietal character, being continuous in some varieties for many 
years, but their growth is greatly stimulated by conditions of ex- 
cessive ground water and high atmospheric humidity. Notable 
Fig. 6. — Tools used by native workers in Egypt in 
. and other articles from date-leaf midribs (geridj 
shows the relative sizes of the tools 
the manufacture 
The 20-centimc 
of crates 
ter scale 
examples of such shoot production can be seen on the Hay any 
trunks near the villages of El Marg and Birket el Haggi, a few 
miles northeast of Cairo. 
As with most date-palm operations, pruning after a few years 
becomes one of the jobs for the tree climber, but the tools used vary 
with the neighborhood. Around El Marg much use is made of a thin- 
backed saw with a curved blade which shuts up into a groove in a 
hardwood handle (fig. 6, G). Others have a slightly hooked steel 
