INTRODUCTION 
dates in the oases of Africa. He knows how they are 
alike and how different. He sees a rosebush in bloom and 
knows that it makes an apple, quite skimpy as to meat, 
just as does its cousin that supplies the market. 
The purpose of this little book is to give a few peeps 
into this mysterious vegetable world with the hope that 
it may reveal a degree of the interest that is hidden there 
and lead the reader to a further investigation. 
William Atherton Du Puy 
XI 
