Page 412 - PERSIAN 1 1873_1879 Admin Report1_Neat

M ADMINISTRATION RETORT OP TUB PERSIAN GULP POLITICAL RESIDENCY

When through neglect or oversight the female tree fails to he
impregnated, it is asserted that the fruit it bears does not come to jperfec-
tion, is seedless and insipid.

The blossom of the date tree is known in Persian by the name of
Tarali ( ), the process of impregnating Budadan ( eufajJ ), the
male tiec Nar ( j* ), the female Madak ( ).
About May the fruit begins to form, and from this time to Septem­
ber, when the fruit is perfectly ripe, the tree shells the superabundance,
which is used as food by the proprietor or those he employs to watch his
property. At this period the fruit is known as Khumal ( JUa. ), and is
green in color.
In June and July the fruit is known as Kharek ( and ;8
either red or yellow in color. It is now fit to be eaten, and where marts
are close, such quantities as are saleable are cut down for the purpose.

In August the date becomes soft and juicy; it is known as Ratab
( ), and sold in the bazaars as food, but is not yet in a fit state
for preservation, as if kept for two or three Jajs it would turn sour.
In September the date is known as Khurma (). It is now
in a fit state for preservation. After being taken off the tree it is
gathered into a tank or trough and exposed to the air and sun, where it
throws off its extra juice and sufficiently hardens to allow of its being
|Kicked up in baskets and prepared for exportation.
The juice is gathered and stowed in skins or jars; it is called
Dushab ( )> and is used by the poorer classes iu lieu of sugar.
'Phis juice is also used in preserving dates in jars, this is done by
mixing these with sesame seed, ginger powder, and the kernels of
waluut8. This preserve is called Khurma-Shirah ( ), aud is
much prized both for use in the Pcrsiau Gulf and for exportation.
'Hiere is a species of date called Kharak Bereymi ( ) which
d«H»s not rifKMi l>eyond the Kharak stage. The mode of preserving this
has been to boil it well in water, and then to expose it to the sun and
air till hardened. If well packed and preserved from damp, this will keep
for sometime, but if kept in air-tight tins, might keep for an indefinite
|»eriod in a dry climate, this is called Kbarek-i-pukhtah ( ).
Another species, the Zuliidi ( ), does not ripen beyond the
Ratah stage. In fact, it ceases to progress between the Kharak and Ratab,
and is left to reinaiu on the tree till hardened by the sun and atmosphere.
It U then cut down and packed in baskets. This species is not much
used for food, as it finds a more profitable mart iu India, where it is much
sought after by distillers of arrack.
There are more than a hundred varieties of date known by different
names which it would not be easy to enumerate or describe, nor would
there be much utility in doiug so, for they would only l>e understood by
the natives of these parts, to whom it is a mutter of great eousequeuoe,