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RESIDENCY AND MUSCAT POLITICAL AGENCY FOR 1883-84. 43
tlicso fins arc put in, and allowed to macerate in tho tank of water which feeds the plantation,
and the palms are regularly fed hy water so impregnated. In other places whore this is not
available, the dung of the cow, sheep, and goats, &c., and surface sweepings are used.
Tho best spot for extensive date plantations would be, as at Busrah, Mohammerah, and 3
Minab, along tho river banks abounding in alluvial soil. Excess of water generally is said to
spoil the date fruit, arid if the plantations become flooded and continue so any length of time
by auy very unusual rise of river waters, not only is the fruit damaged, but the palms have
been known to die. So also damp air, when the fruit is forming, is said to be prejudicial, as a
great deal of it drops off in a green slato; this green date is called “ Khamdl," and is given to (
sheep and cattle ; but the poor people consume it with fish. Moderately dry winds are said to
l>o very beneficial.
To secure a vigorous growth to the palm, as also to obtain materials for economic purposes,
the following points require to be attended to. As the date palm grows each year the lower whorls
of tho leafy stalks, as their vitality diminishes and they become dry, are chopped off; the long
stalks called “Goorz ” are made into jowlics for covering sheds, roofs of houses, and various
economic purposes. Their lower thick ends, called “ tapool,” nre used for fuel, but those which
are broad and light are used as floats for fish-nets.
The flower spadix and its spatbe must also be removed. Tho green spadix, when well
beaten with billets of wood, yields a quantity of fibre useful for rope-making. In a dry state
it is used as fuel, but if allowed to macerate and soften in water on being pounded between
billets of wood yields fibres for ropes. From the fresh spathe, called “Tara,” is obtained the
“Tara” water, by distillation. It is of a strong but agreeable smell, and is prepared at Busrah
and Bahrain; sold in carboys at one and a half to two rupees each. It is made into a sherbet,
and is greatly prized by the Arabs and Persians.
The young offshoots sprouting at the base of the palm, if they are not intended for trans­
plantation, must be removed in the spring of each year, as they prevent it from thriving. In
the same way the buds, which sometimes form and grow from the crown of the palm, resembling
the offshoots at the base, must also be pulled away, as they weaken the palm. These buds are
sometimes said to have grown and yielded fruit when allowed to grow on the palm.

(Signed) A, R. HAKIM, L.M.,
As si, (o Pol. Resident, Persian Gulf,

BoaniRB,
26th June 1884..

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