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FRUITS IN THEIR SEASON. 123
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.
¦ - - A » Vi. Data. Respecting Dates. Th...
green setting that the " diamond of the desert ' ' sparkles , and where the paljn-tree isthere also will be— -water ! Entwined too must it
be with desires , and feelings deeper , if not more engrossing , than those of _23 hysical necessityfor the date-tree is a sort of medium of
exchange , and it is in this , currency that the bridegroom often pays the price demanded by her father for the damsel who is to be the
light of his tent and the sharer of his lot . In comparatively small space too can such riches be stowed , for a full-grown palm _occupies
but about four feet of space , and as they may therefore be planted within eiht feet of each othera limited area suffices for a large '
plantation g ; and as it is reckoned , that each tree affords a sequin profit annuallthe owjier of three or four thousand trees , not an
uncommon numb y , er for a wealthy Arab to possess , has a profitable estate within a very contracted ring-fence . Considering all these
tilings , well may it be that the first - question asked by a Bedouin of " What any passenger is the price he of may dates chance at Mecca to or meet Medina , should ? ' invariably be ,
Date paste , called adjone , and consisting of the ripe fruit pressed into large baskets and forming a sort of cakeis the staple Arab
, subsistence during the ten months of the year when fresh dates are out of seasonthe fruit is also eaten boiledstewed with butter ,
simmered to a ; pulp with honey , in short , Soy . erized , in so many ways , that it may be fairly said , a date in an Arab tent can even rival an
_eg-g or a potato in a French restaurant , for she is not reckoned a good housewife who cannot furnish her husband , every day for a
monthwith a dish of dates differently prepared . The young tender , leaves too are eaten with lemon-juice as a salad ; the pith of
the tree when cut down—called the " marrow" of the date—though inferior to true oforms yet a sweet and nourishing diet ; and
the " cabbage , " or sag unexpanded , central bud , tastes much like a fresh chestnut : but asto obtain this luxury , the life of the tree must be
sacrificed , it is onl , y indulged in occasionally , and taken from trees alreadcondemned to perish for the sake of their sap ; for , blest by
BacchVs y as well as bCeresthis tree furnishes drink in addition to foodand beverages y too of various , kinds and qualities . The date
paste , , simply infused in water , forms a pleasant and wholesome draug and refreshing ht ; incisions li too thus are extracted occasionall bearing y made in the the nam tree e of , and date a milk mild ,
quor , which milk , however , yields a very potent " cream of the valley " when subjected to the process of distillation ; but " on weddings and
great occasions , " says Shaw , " guests are entertained with what is called the honey of the date . " It is only the older trees which are
becoming barren that are doomed to furnish this vital " honey , " the very life-blood of the plant ; the fatal process by which they are
forced to yield it being thus carried on . The head of the tree ( inthe cluding top of the the daint trunk y" " cabbage into which " ) is the cut * sap off rises , and at fi rst asin at the scooped rate of
several pints a day , , but diminishing gradually , in abundance , till in
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Fruits In Their Season. 123
FRUITS IN THEIR SEASON . 123
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Citation
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English Woman’s Journal (1858-1864), April 1, 1861, page 123, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ewj/issues/ewj_01041861/page/51/
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