form, though there is much difference of opinion on this point 
among the authorities. From Concord, Mass., the Concord came, 
a result of the interest and work of Ephraim Bull. This variety 
produces most of our grape juice, and a large share of our fresh 
fruit. 
What our cereals, meat and fruit are to us, the date is to the 
Arab. According to an ancient legend, when God created Adam, 
a few grains of dust slipped between his fingers, and from these 
sprang the date-palm trees. Thus among the Arabs this tree is 
referred to as “My aunt”. Its cultivation is more ancient than the 
Arabs themselves. The clay tablets of the Assyrians describe its 
culttire and uses in minute detail. According to De Candolle and 
others it was probably native to the ravines of the desert regions 
of Arabia and northern Africa. Apparently it was first cultivated 
by the Assyrians in the region of the Euphrates river, later in an- 
cient Egypt (2000-3000 B. C.), and still later it became the friend 
and the basis of the national industry of the Arabs. A form of 
the date-palm with sourish fruit is sometimes doubtfully referred 
to as the wild ancestor. The date was brought to America from 
Spain, where it had been introduced by the Moors. Recently in 
this country, date culture has been tried from a commercial 
standpoint and an experimental orchard set out by our govern- 
ment at Tempe, Arizona. Fresh fruit of the finest kinds are now 
sometimes procurable in small quantities in our markets. Dates 
exist in hundreds of kinds, with a great range in quality. The 
finest varieties, such as the Deglet Noor and Bentamouda, are 
very difficult to obtain for propagating purposes, as their owners 
refuse to sell offshoots of them, but give them away as tokens of 
great esteem. Three general types of dates are recognized, only 
one of which (the soft date with high sugar content) commonly 
comes to this country. Of the other two types, one contains a 
much smaller percent of sugar, hence will not stand transporta- 
tion as well, and is used as we eat grapes. The other type is a 
dry, hard sort, not sticky, but often of excellent quality, which 
may be stored for several years without deteriorating. Date cul- 
ture was once practiced in China, but now the jujube and the 
persimmon, both of which are natives, largely takes its place. 
The jujube is sometimes referred to as the date-plum. It is a 
sweetish fruit, existing in many varieties, some of which are as 
large as a hen’s-egg. I have never seen it in our markets, though 
doubtless it is locally procurable in California. One of our ex- 
plorers predicts its commercial planting on a large scale in the 
near future. In China, jujubes are dried. Some varieties are 
used to bake in bread as we do raisins. 
A delightful Chinese fruit that is common in fruit-stores dur- 
ing the winter is the “kaki” or persimmon. In color it resembles 
a tomato, but the common variety here is top-shaped, though in 
China there is great variation in shape, some being ribbed and fur- 
rowed, others smooth and flattened. Seedless varieties of these 
7 
