20 
BULLETIN 1457, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
SMALL-FRUITED TYPE 
Near El Marg, besides the normal type of Hayany, a smaller 
muted type occurs in considerable numbers. 
On September 26, 1921, the writer purchased a full bimch, weigh- 
ing about 20 okes, or 56 pounds (the oke is equivalent to 2.82 pounds) , 
of which the following 
description was made: 
The fruiting stalk to the 
first shamrokh is 36 inches 
long, breadth 2 inches. The 
fruiting head is 15 inches 
long and bears 75 strands, 
or shamrokh, which are one- 
eighth to three-sixteenths 
of an inch in diameter. The 
proximal strands on the 
head are 25 to 28 inches 
long, the distal ones 15 to 
16 inches long. 
At the proximal end 12 
to 14 inches of the long 
strands are without fruit. 
The longer strands bear 25 
to 30 fruits each. 
The .color of the fruiting 
stalk and shamrokh is close 
to " capucine yellow" 
(R. III). 
Most of the fruits are 1% 
to 1% inches long, 2 inches 
being the extreme length and 
1 inch the usual diameter. 
The color of the fruit is 
pure "carmine" (R. I), 
with occasional longitu- 
dinal streaks of a darker 
shade and with a clear lilac 
bloom over all the undis- 
turbed surfaces. The ripe 
color is " dark livid brown " 
or "seal brown" (R. 
XXXIX), but less brilliant 
than either. When ripe the 
skin slips readily on a thin 
layer of sirup, beneath 
which the flesh is rather 
mushy. 
There were many ripe 
fruits in the bunch among 
those still hard, and some 
from the inside were over- 
ripe, soft, and moldy. 
This El Marg locality is 
a bad one in respect to high 
ground water, as well as 
high humidity, with night 
dews and fogs. 
A good deal of the fungus GraphioJa Phoenicia was present on the foliage, 
which is an excellent humidity index. This small-fruited type of the Hayany 
appears to be more than usually susceptible to humid conditions, possibly on 
account of the more crowded structure of the bunch. 
Figure 4 shows the exact-size outlines of two typical fruits of this 
small-fruited type of Hayany dates, with their seeds. 
Fig. 3. — Outlines of normal large-fruited types of 
Hayany dates from El Mar?, Egypt, September 26, 
1921 (natural size): A, Common size; B, ex- 
treme size 
