The Arizona sentinel., 1905-07-12
Money in Date Growing.

concerning the inducements that
are offered young men Of horti-
cultural inclinatlonS in the grow
ing of dates out on the desert.
[ wish once more to call attention
to what the date growing indus
try promises on the Southern
California arid wastes, now that
its primeval deserts are irrigated
and the United States govern
ment is spending some thousands
Of dollars ia demonstrating what
can be done in date culture.
If | we're young man and had
the vitality of forty years ago [
would not lose a day in throwing
all my energies in mastering the
science Of date culture. There
are gOing to be some wealthy
men created by date growing on
our Southern California deserts,
and the pioneers who master the
science and are first in the field
of activity will be rich in twenty
years more. When you consider
that the yearly importation from
Persia, Arabia and Algiers Of
dates in America has averaged
81, 367, 900 for eleven years, and
when competent government ag-
ricultural scientists, who are
planting the new date plants on
our California deserts say that
we can grow as good date crops
here as anywhere in the world,
It would seem that ambitious
Americans can keep about two
million dollars annually Of this
money for foreign dates here at
home. Dates can be grown in
but few spots in the United
States. The desert near Mecca
is one Of them. So the growing
Of the fruit may be almost mo-
nopolized by the Southern Cali
fornia growers. [ know of moth
ing that offers SO fattering
promises of swealth creations
from the mother soil as date cul
ture on the cheap desert lands
of this region. All, how quickly
would [ devote my energy and
best brain effort to this new ag-
ricultural industry if [ were a
middle-aged oryoung man again,
instead of white haired one.
The date palm has lived in this
country for 100 years, but so lit
tie attention has been paid to
the fruit it bears as a CONNER
cial staple during that period
that it will surprise many to
learn that the government has
for a long time been experiment.
ing with it on the Colorado des-
ert. The few samples exhibited
at the worlds fair last summer
satisfied those who tasted them
that is quite possible to produce
the fruit in this country and thus
to save perhaps to our own pro-
ducers the two and a half million
dollars Americans pay annually |
for twenty million pounds of i'm
ported dates.
Some twenty-five years ago
the first importationS of rooted |
suckers were made. The depart
ment of agriculture secured some
as far back as 1889, but through |
food, cold weather and other
difficulties, few Of them amount
ed to anything. Ever since 1899
the department has received,
year by year, a succession of
specimens of many varieties.
A year ago another date gar
den was established in the Colo
RADIO desert and specimens of AZ
varieties were obtain
ed, partly from the Algerian Sa-
hara region and partly from the
oasis Of M'Zah. Last autumn
the department dispatched an
other scientist to the date re-
gions of Southern Tunis and
Eastern Algeria, where the date
trees grow in the narrow shell
tered valleys between enormous
sand dunes. Similar sand hills
exist in some parts Of California,
and it is already proposed to
plant date trees in the protected
hOllOws.
The fact that the best African