408  7he  Date  Tree  and  its  Products.  {kvhllTiVm^ 
mastic  or  essence  of  aniseed  has  been  dissolved  in  it.  By  a  prolonged 
fermentation  a  good  vinegar  is  obtained.  The  fine  yellow  dates  of 
Rosetta  and  Burlos,  "when  not  quite  ripe,  are  preserved  and  much 
sought  after  in  Europe,  and  might  become  the  object  of  an  important 
commerce.  In  making  this  the  epidermis  is  removed,  and  the  two 
ends  cut  off ;  the  stone  is  taken  out  by  means  of  a  small  piece  of  wood, 
and  the  fruit  thus  prepared  is  boiled  in  water  to  soften  and  separate 
an  astringent  principle  ;  they  are  then  put  to  drain  in  a  basket,  after 
which  they  are  put  in  a  glazed  pot.  There  is  then  added  some  hot 
concentrated  essence  of  sugar,  in  which  they  are  left  for  six  hours; 
at  the  end  of  this  time  the  syrup,  having  lost  its  consistency  by  rea- 
son of  its  mixture  with  the  water  contained  in  the  dates,  is  put  on  the 
fire,  and  it  is  concentrated  as  before.  Some  more  dates  are  then 
added,  into  which  torrefied  almonds  have  been  placed,  or  some  pista- 
chios instead  of  the  stones,  in  order  to  keep  them  from  getting  out  of 
shape.  It  is  then  boiled  again  until  the  syrup  becomes  more  solid, 
and  afterwards  put  in  earthenware  pots.  After  cooling,  a  little  pul- 
verized sugar,  impregnated  with  essence  of  lemon,  is  added  to  flavor 
it.  The  stones  or  kernels  (Naoua)are  also  put  to  several  uses.  The 
nomad  Arabs  of  the  deserts,  who  consume  a  large  quantity  of  dates, 
pulverise  the  stones,  which  they  mix  with  dates  of  inferior  quality^ 
and  make  into  balls  ;  these,  after  being  slightly  dried,  are  given  to 
their  camels  for  food.  The  stones  of  certain  kinds  of  dates  like  those 
of  Bosetta  and  Burlos,  being  rather  large,  are  carved  and  pierced  to 
make  beads  for  rosaries.  They  are  also  greatly  used  for  fuel.  It  is 
said  that  the  Chinese  mix  a  quantity  of  charcoal  made  from  a  species 
of  date  stone  with  their  Indian  ink.  They  also  use  this  charcoal  as 
a  dentifrice.  A  tree  of  such  great  utility  as  the  date  ought  to  be  very 
rarely  destroyed.  Generally  only  the  males  are  cut  down  when  they 
are  too  numerous,  cr  the  females  when  their  great  age  renders  them 
unproductive;  but  previously  a  soft  milky  sap  is  obtained  from  the 
extremity  of  the  stipe  by  cutting  a  horizontal  hole  in  it,  deep  enough 
to  reach  the  heart  of  the  tree.  A  reed  is  shaped  to  fit  it,  which  con- 
ducts the  sap  to  a  vessel.  This  liquor,  called  palm  milk,  ferments  in 
a  few  hours,  and  is  converted  into  a  sort  of  wine  of  a  pleasant  flavor. 
The  tree  is  then  cut  down  ;  the  branches  and  leaf  stalks  are  cut  off, 
and  after  having  removed  the  woody  fibres  which  surround  the  cab- 
bage or  heart  (goumar),  this  is  taken  out.  It  is  a  terminal  shoot,, 
formed  of  white  and  tender  scaly  superposed  layers,  of  the  consistence 
