THE DATE TREE. 1. The date tree is one of the large family of palms. It is a native of both Asia and Africa, and will grow readily on any sandy soil where the climate is not too cold. The cultivation of this tree is an object of the highest importance in the countries of the East. In the interior of Barbary, in Egypt, in the drier districts of Syria, and in Arabia, it is almost the sole object of agriculture. 2. The date palm is a majestic tree rising to the height of sixty feet and upwards without branch or division, and of uniform thickness throughout its entire length. Its trunk is elegantly divided by rings. From its summit it throws out a crown of large leaves, which are equally graceful in their formation and arrangement. The tree begins to bear fruit about eight years after it has been planted, and continues to be productive for from seventy to one hundred years. The fruit is disposed in ten to twelve long pendent clusters from the summit. These clusters sometimes weigh from twenty to twenty-five pounds each. 3. Dates form the principal food of the inhabitants of some of the countries of the East, and are an important article of commerce. They are oval in shape, having a large stone. The best are firm and of a yellow colour. They are sugary, nourishing, and require no preparation. When they are intended to be eaten fresh they are allowed to ripen perfectly. In this state they possess a delicious per fume, and are very refreshing and agreeable to the taste. Ripe dates cannot, however, be kept any length of time or conveyed to any great distance without fermenting or becoming acid. Those, therefore, which are intended for storing up, or for being sent to a distant market, are gathered a little before they are ripe, and dried in the sun on mats. The travellers in the desert often carry with them a bag of dried dates as their only or chief subsistence during a journey of many hundreds of miles. The Arabs make what they call date flour by grinding the dried dates to powder. It is packed in tight sacks, and if stowed away from the damp will keep for years. This is food in its most compact form, easily carried about, and requiring no cooking. It has only to be moistened with a little water, and the meal is ready for eating. 4. Almost every part of this valuable tree is converted to some use. The trunk is hard, and answers well for posts, railings, and other coarse purposes; the fibrous parts are made into ropes. The leaves are manufactured into hats, mats, and baskets. The stalks of the bunches as well as the kernel are softened by boiling water, and used for feeding cattle. From the sap, which is collected by cutting off the head of the palm and scooping out a hollow in its stem, palm wine is made. The branches, under the name of palm, are sent in very considerable quantities to Italy and other southern countries of Europe, to be used in the grand religious ceremonies of Palm Sunday. 5. The date palm is most abundant on the margin of the mighty desert which extends, with few interruptions, from the shores of the Atlantic to the confines of Persia, an extent of nearly 4000 miles. Over this vast region, and in the smaller oases, it raises its trunk and spreads its branches, and is the sole vegetable monarch of the thirsty land. The sight of the date tree is always welcome to the wanderer of the desert. It announces to him a halting place, with food and cool shadow overhead, and wells of water underneath. Associated with glad tidings of rest and refreshment, it naturally has been looked upon, from remote ages, as a symbol of triumph and rejoicing. productive, bearing fruit. | manufactured, made. mon-arch e-qual-ly soft-en-ed fer-ment-ing un-der-neath tri-umph be-com-ing de-li-ci-ous as-so-ci-at-ed na-tu-ral-ly Where is the cultivation of the date an object of the highest importance? Name any countries where it is con-sid-er-a-ble in-ter-rup-tions cultivated. Describe the trunk of the date tree. The leaves. How does the fruit grow? Describe the fruit. Why cannot ripe dates be kept any length of time? How are dates preserved? What do the Arabs make from the date? How is it made? Name any of the uses of the date tree. Where is the date tree most abundant? Why is the sight of the date tree welcome to the wanderer in the desert? BEAUTIFUL THINGS. 1. A gentle voice, a heartfelt sigh, 2. A ready hand, a loving heart, 3. A mother's prayer, an answer mild, A happy home, a cheerful hearth; 4. A joyful song, a chorus sweet, 5. A sister's love, a brother's care, |