The record-union., 1899-10-23

The following news pertaining 10
agriculture and horticulture will prove
OF general interest:
AMERICAN DATES.
Modesto News: The United States
mails are sometimes used for rather
curious purposes. A number OF years
ago several wagons drove up to the
postoffice at Washington, d. c., and de-
posted a number of large tubs contain
ing handsome palms. Having delivered
themselves of their freight, the wagon
drove off, The postoffice people went
out to see what the performance meant,
and found to their surprise that those
palms were to be sent through the
mails. The local superintendent at
first said that the office would not send
them. 1t was preposterOus, he main
tanned, to mail such things. Each tub,
full of moist earth and a good sized
palm, was as much as two men could
handle and on account of the foliage
they could not be packed to any ad-
vantage. Nevertheless, there were the
tags on the tubs containing the
frank" of the Department of Agricul-
ture and the proper addresses: Las
Cruces, New Mexico; Phoenix and
Yuma, Arizona; Pomona, Tulare, etc.
California, and the only thing for the
Washington postofice officials to do
was to mail them So this was done,
although it necessitated special ar
rangements to care for and water the
palms. Thus practically commenced
date growing in the United States.
OF these trees, about forty are now
living and thriving, fifteen of them
~fracr 80
however are pistillate or fruit bearing
trees. Since this first attempt at Amer
lean date culture, the Agricultural De-
partment has followed up the question,
and Secretary Wilson, during the past
year, has had an expert in Algeria, Mr.
Swingle, making a thorough study of
this subject and sending home plants
The Secretary proposes to spend per-
haps $4,000 during the next two years.
of the money allotted him by Congress
Tor the Introduction of useful foreign
plants. The dates now being secured
IN Algeria and Morocco are of the Very
finest kinds and are shipped in tubs.
the same as was done in the original
importation. Secretary Wilson states
II as his belief that another American
industry will result from this experi-
ment, as he believes that dates will
thrive as well in Arizona as in Arabia.
The regions in which the date palm
reaches perfection are characterized bv
deficiency of rain and a wide variation
of temperature. The summer heat is
intense, 115 degrees or more. though in
winter the temperature may fall as low
as l6 degrees above zero. Although
the date palm requires intense heat in
summer, it will withstand in winter a.
temperature that would be fatal TO the
ng or the orange. These climatic con-
diuons are practically identical with
those that obtain in the more southern
portions of the Colorado desert. So
great is the similarity in fact, Mr. Will
son says, that so far as climate is con-
cerned, we may reasonably expect the
date palm TO fruit satisfactorily in the
arld regions of the southwest. The
experiments carried on through the De-
paFtment show that probably the soil
best adapted to the date palm is one
containing small percentage of CLAW
lalrly free from humus, and charged
with alkah. Irrigation and heat are all
important conditions. Water is indis-
penslble. The roots should be moist at
all times. An old Arabian proverb
says that the date must have its head
III flre and its roots in the water" =" The
water used may advantageously be
quite warm and contain considerable
alkalL Dates may, however, be planted
along streams, or by springs or flood
basins and in such situations will
grow we'll, adding much to the land
seape by their graceful pinnate foliage.
The future of the date industry in the
United States, however, depends upon
irrigation, and upon irrigation which
will not fail in the dryest seasons. Irri-
cation in the Sahara has greatly in
creased the date areas in Africa and