phoenix dactylifera_) is the most important species
of the dozen which make up its genus. Though slow in growth, it
shoots up a magnificent stem, to the height sometimes of eighty feet,
the summit of which is covered with a graceful crown of pinnated
leaves. The trunk is exceedingly rough and spiny; the flower spathes,
which appear in the axils of the leaves, are woody, and contain
branched spadices with many flowers; more than 11,000 have been
counted on a single male spadix. As the flowers are dioecious, it is
necessary to impregnate the female blossoms artificially in order to
insure a good crop; and to this end the male spadices are cut off when
the pollen is ripe and carefully shaken over the female ones. At from
six to ten years of age, the tree bears, and then remains fruitful for
upward of 200 years. An excellent idea of the palm in full bearing may
be obtained from our illustration, which represents the mode of
gathering the dates, of which a single tree will often yield from one
to four hundredweight in a season. The fruit varies much in size and
quality; and in the oases of the Sahara forty-six varieties have been
named.

The utilizations of the date palm and its products are very numerous.
The stem yields starch, and timber for houses, boats, fences, fuel,
etc., as well as an inferior kind of sago. The leaves serve as
parasols and umbrellas, and for material for roof covering, baskets,
brushes, mats, and innumerable utensils. At their base is a fiber,
which is spun into excellent rope. When the heart of the leaf is cut,
a thick honey-like juice exudes, which, by fermentation, becomes wine
(the "toddy" of India), or vinegar, and is also boiled down into
sugar. The young shoots, when cooked, resemble asparagus; and the
dates themselves are dried and ground into meal, from which bread is
prepared.

* * * * *

PANTHERS AS SEED DISTRIBUTORS.

It is well known that bees carry pollen from flower to flower, and
that eggs of marine animals are often carried long distances in the
stomachs of aquatic birds. A very curious instance of this kind,
showing how vegetable species may be diffused by means which no
botanist, however acute, would be likely to think of, is mentioned by
Mr. Alfred Smee, who states that, attached to the skin of a panther
recently shot in India, were found numerous seeds, each of which had
two perfect hooks, manifestly designed to attach themselves to foreign