scales render it very easy to climb the tree. 
It is also true, that the Date resembles much 
the Jujube and for this reason also the Eu- 
ropeans call the large Chinese Jujubes, 
Chinese Dates. That the fftiit of a Date- 
palm ^rowing in Ssu-ch‘uan cannot be edible 
is also easily understood; for it is a fact, that 
the fruits of the Date-palm ripen only in a 
rainless climate. Cheng-tu lies under the 
30th degree of latitude, in a climate, which 
permits the thriving of a palm tree, planted 
in favourable conditions. 
The Kuang -Ml n -fang -pu (Chap. 79 p. 14) 
quotes two works of the 12th century, which 
mention, also some rare trees, called Hai- 
tsung (Ocean Palm) at Cheng-tu-fu. There 
it is further stated, that once an attempt was 
made to transplant them to j|^ Kin- 
ling (an ancient name for Nan-king.) But they 
could not grow in the climate of Nan-king 
and had to be brought back to Clieng-tu. 
These trees were carefully treated there and 
protected against injury by a wall. 
The Hai-tsao (Ocean Jujube,) which is 
said by Li-shi-chen to be identical with the 
Date-palm is described in the repeatedly 
quoted Nan-fang-ts‘ao &c., (4th century) as 
follows : An erect tree without lateral 
branches. The branch-like leaves on the 
top of the tree diverge in every direction. 
The tree bears fruit only once in five years. 
The fruit is as great as a cup and resembles, 
a Jujube. The Kernel is not pointed at the 
ends, as the Jujube. It is rolled up from 
the two sides. The Hai-ts‘ao is sweet and 
well tasted, superior to the Imperial Jujube 
in the Capital. . In the year 285 A. D. Lin- 
yi (a kingdom to the South of China) (see 
above) offered to the Emperor Wu-ti ( Psin 
dynasty) 100 trees of the Hai-ts'ao. The 
prince Li-shci told the Emperor, that in his 
travels by sea he saw fruits of this tree, 
which were, without exaggeration, as large 
as a Melon (!) 
Under the name of Po-ssu-tsao (Persian 
Jujube) or Wu-lou-tsu the Date is first 
described in Chinese works of the 8th cen- 
tury. These authors state, that the tree is 
found in Persia, where it bears the name 
% ft Ku-mang ( probably a distorted 
transcription of khurma) It is said to re- 
semble other Palms, as regards the stem 
and the leaves, which do not fall in winter 
and are in shape like the leaves of the -jp 
j||| Tu-feng (probably a Rattan.) It flour- 
ishes in the second month; the blossoms re- 
semble the Banana blossoms. It opens grad- 
ually (thespathe, ) and some ten bunches 
spring from them. Each cluster ) 
has 20-30 fruits. The fruit is 2 inches in 
length, at first of a yellowish white colour 
and like the fruit of the | i l|§ Lien (Melia 
Azedarach.) It ripens in the 6th-7th month 
and then becomes dark, resembling the fruit 
of the H j|| T-sing-tsao (dark Jujube) 
from Northern China, but the flesh (pulp) 
is crumbling. It is of a sweet taste like 
sugar and has the colour of the ylf 
Sha-t‘ang (brown impure sugar.) The ker- 
nel differs from the kernel of the Jujube 
by the absence of the pointed ends (the 
kernel of the Jujube is very pointed.) It is 
rolled up from the sides ( The 
Po-ssil-tsao is brought to China in vessels by 
merchants from those countries, where it 
grows. 
The description here given of the Date- 
palm and particularly of the fruit and the 
kernel is very correct. There can there- 
fore be no doubt, that the Po-ssu-tsao is the 
Date. But it is clear, that many of the 
synonymns, as given in the Pen-ts‘ao, relate 
often to other Palms, which is easily under- 
stood, ior the Date-palm is not indigenous 
in Eastern Asia, and, although some Chinese 
writers assert, that it was planted here in 
ancient times,— now-a-days, I think, the 
Date-palm occurs nowhere in China. The 
Pen-ts‘ao gives a good drawing of it, but the 
Ch. IV. (XXXII) represents under the 
name of Wu-lou-tsu a palm with fan-shaped 
leaves. Nevertheless it is certain, that at 
the time of the T‘ang dynasty (618-907) 
tue Date-palm and its fruit were well known 
in China. Embassies were often sent from 
the Persians and the Arabians to the Chinese 
court and even Chinese envoys and travel- 
lers visited the Date growing countries. (See 
my article: Chinese Ancient Geographical 
Names in Notes and Queries No. 4.) Dur- 
ing the Yuan dynasty (1286-1368) and the 
Ming dynasty 1368-1644 likewise relations 
existed between China and those countries 
of Western Asia. — Air. Sampson quotes a 
Chinese author, who states, that the Dates 
(Ts"ien-nien-ts‘ao) come from SS 
Jv F Hu-lu-mu-ssu. As I have proved in 
Notes and Queries (I. c. p. 53) the country 
here meant is Ormuz in the Persian Gulf 
Ritter (Asien VI p. 724) is, of opinion, that 
the name Ormuz is derived from the Persian 
word “khurma,” (Date,) for the Date-palm 
grows plentifully on the shores of the Persian 
Gulf. 
