26 BULLETIN 1457, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
about 20,000 " Sewi " (Saidy) palms. Of these but a few are placed 
as " more than 100 years old." Most of them would not exceed 40 
or 50 years. This is a territory of rather lean, sandy land, chieliy 
given to date culture, and trees of the Haj^any and Amhat varieties 
greatly outnumber those of the Saidy. 
Between the drainage canal and the Nile the country has abundant 
canal irrigation, and the soil is heav}^, generally fertile, and devoted 
to field and orchard crops, date trees being only incidental. Most of 
the villages have groves of tall and striking old palms, mostly 
Amhat, but with a small number of Saidy, not on an average more 
than 10 per cent. El Maatemdiyeh has the most, and the owners 
assert that their old trees are older than those of Kerdaseh. Here 
also some younger plantations have been made, but the total number 
is not more than 25 per cent of the whole. 
El Baragil, farthest north, Mit Ukbeh, not far from old Bulak, 
and Saft el Leben all have small groups or scattering trees of Saidy 
of great age, mingled with the much taller Amhat, invariably 
said to be of about the same age — 80, 100, to 120 years. With many 
of the older trees there was a distinct falling off in fruit production, 
which was especially to be noted in the more salty ground. 
Crossing the pyramid boulevard, the notably tall palm groves 
along the river front are nearly all Amhat, with a few scattered 
specimens of Saidy. The first considerable garden of the latter 
variety, 15 or 20 years old, is at Esbit Monib. 
At Tamweh a few trees of Saidy were 50 to 60 years old, two doubt- 
fully 100 j^ears old. At Umm Khanan, in a mixed plantation of 
Amhat with about 30 per cent of Saidy, the trees were estimated at 
60 years, this apparently being the pioneer older planting of the 
date from Siwa Oasis on a commercial scale. The incentive to this 
may have been a few fine old trees, two of which were 60 feet and 
61 feet 10 inches high, respectively (the highest yet recorded), and 
were estimated by their owner to be 120 years old. 
Around the thriving village of Abu Nemrus (pi. 2) are some of 
the finest date-palm groves in the entire Province, from 10 to 30 or 
40 years old, in which the Saidy largely predominates. Really old 
Saidy trees were not seen, but a few were found that would pass the 
claim of being 80 years old. 
El Hawamdiya again has some of the finest date trees in the 
valley, with two champion Amhat trees, 90 feet 7 inches and 92 
feet 5 inches high, respectively. With these were a few Saidy which 
were said to be the same age — 120 years. Here, as at Abu Nemrus, 
the important commercial area is composed of gardens from 15 to 
30 years old, but with the Amhat trees rather more abundant than 
the Saidy. 
From Bedrashen to Mit Rahineh, a country which was largely 
occupied by the site of ancient Memphis, is another of the important 
date-growing districts of upper Giza Province. The land immedi- 
ately west and north of Bedrashen is occupied by thrifty young 
plantations from 10 to 30 or 40 years old (pi. 9, 7?), in which the 
Saidy variety largely predominates over the Amhat. 
Farther to the west is an irregular strip with a north and south 
extension, lying too high for irrigation from gravity canals ancl at 
present badly watered. Here, surrounding the three great statues 
