Passing from California to the countries of the east, let us next glance
at the palm-tree. This tree, which is called by Linnæus, from its noble
and stately appearance, “the prince of the vegetable kingdom,” is of
several kinds, the chief of which are the doum-palm, and the date-palm.
They are chiefly found in the tropics. The doum or Theban palm, the same
that is found in Florida, differs from the columnar date-palm in the
form of its leaves, which are fan-like, and so thickly set as to
resemble a huge bushy mop, though they are always gracefully disposed,
and also in having a branching trunk. The main stem divides a few feet
from the root, each of the branches again forming two, and each of these
two more, till the tree receives a broad, rounded top. The fruit hangs
below in clusters, resembling small cocoa-nuts, (or, says a late
traveler, still more of the size, shape, and appearance of a
yellowish-white potato, of full growth,) and has a sort of gingerbread
flavor, which is not disagreeable. When fully dry and hard, it takes a
polish like ivory, and is manufactured by the Arabs into beads,
pipe-bowls and other small articles.
[Illustration: THE DATE-PALM.]
The more common, or date-palm, a view of which is given in the cut,
produces the sweet fruit which is brought to us from Smyrna, and other
ports of the Mediterranean, with which all are familiar, under the name
of the date. In the regions between Barbary and the great desert, the
soil, which is of a sandy nature, is so much parched by the intense heat
of the sun’s rays, that none of the corn-plants will grow; and in the
arid district, called the _land of dates_, the few vegetables that can
be found are of the most dwarfish description. No plants arise to form
the variety of food to which we are accustomed; and the natives of these
districts live almost exclusively upon the fruit of the date-tree. A
paste is made of this fruit by pressing it in large baskets. This paste
is not used for present supply, but is intended for a provision in case
of a failure in the crops of dates, which sometimes occurs, owing to the
ravages committed by locusts. The date, in its natural state, forms the
usual food; and the juice yielded by it when fresh, contains so much
nutriment as to render those who live upon it extremely fat. As, by the
Moors, corpulence is esteemed an indispensable requisite of beauty, the
ladies belonging to the families of distinction among them, nourish
themselves, during the season, solely with the fresh fruit, and by
continuing this regimen during two or three months, they become of an
enormous size! The date-palm flourishes very generally on sandy soils in
the hot countries of Asia and Africa. Not always, however, is the soil
that supports it so barren as the one we have described. It is
frequently found by streams, and as the tired traveler sees its foliage
waving afar, he hastens toward it, hoping to find a stream of water.
Sometimes its tall stem is surrounded by beautiful climbing plants, and
the most brilliant flowers flourish beneath. This kind of palm not only
rises to a great hight, often sixty or eighty feet, but is also
frequently of great diameter and strength; being unlike in this respect,
some other species of palm, whose slight forms yield to the winds. It
was to this tree that the psalmist alluded when he said, “The righteous
shall grow as the palm-tree;” firm and unmoved by the shocks of
temptation and the storms of adversity.
The clusters of dates are sometimes five feet in length, and when ripe
are of a bright gold color, surrounded from above with the deep, rich
leaves, as with a crown. This kind of the palm is trained to its high
growth, without a single branch on its solitary, upright trunk, by
trimming off the leaves every year from the young stalk; so that its
strength shoots upward; and by this process, also, the bark is formed
into a succession of steps or notches, by which the barefooted Arab
easily mounts to the top. From the very top of the tree, the long,
pointed leaves curl gracefully on every side, like the close-set frame
of a parachute; and just where the broad, ridge-shaped base of the leaf
adheres to the tree, the fruit hangs in clusters, all around the trunk.
When its early training is neglected, the palm-tree grows less
gracefully; sometimes dividing at the root into several trunks, which
grow without branches to various hights, and then spread out their leafy
crests. The palm-tree looks most majestic and picturesque, when it
stands alone upon some broad plain or gentle bluff, and when its leaves
are gently stirred by the wind. The eye then takes it in at one view,
measures it by some mental standard, or disdaining all mathematical
proportions, dreamily contemplates the waving lines of beauty, and the
straight, slender, yet stately stalk that stands in bold relief against
the stainless sky. The date-palm is unknown in the United States, except
in rare garden culture; but in Egypt it grows everywhere, and is to the
people food, shelter, shade, fuel, raiment, timber, divan, cordage,
basket, roof, screen. Its fruit is found in perfection on the confines
of Nubia.