Rensselaer Union, Volume 9, Number 25, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 8 March 1877 — Dates and the date Palm. [ARTICLE]

Dates and the date Palm.

EvE*taose whofc knowledge of thb the Oriefit extend? bo further than or that tinie-Wmored rtprV Book, the “ Ar?biap time nbnemfyrjhl .'-tb« * date has been, the chief »od <>phe 6f the E& Tbfr '‘. bahdful of 4aUe and the gourd •cCjratfrCi/'Torm the typical'meal, and of millions of Auman beings North Africa, and to dietaQujologials hate ascribed fflßyWTne*Tk6culiarcharacter-' istics of tUf people who Jive upon IL reasdn for the inclination to Urn prodigious and grotesque, the. depression' of spirits, and flte faeutloessof life manifest fit that Nation,likewise considers that the morbid temperament of the Arab is a sequence of vegeKhanisml He points out that rice contains an unusual amount of starch, namtfy, between 83 and 85 per cent.; and that fates possess precisely the same nutritions substances as rice does, with the singlfe difference that the starch is already converted into sugar. To live, therefore, on such food iarnot to satisfy hunger; and liuntA,’Ukg. all other cravings, even if partiant satisfied, exercises control over the imagination. “ This biological fact,” says JRjSsltel, “Was and still is the origin «■ made use of ev®ry gajirter of the t w<uld when they ytish,to enjer ipta communhaiitm faith. invisible powers. ’•_ Peschel and, Buckle. however, are at variance to We InfltamcAofW date dies is affecting a racb; ‘and'khh-'fortrier remarks that, “ Milld tio ohe 'frill-deny that the natunsarf.the food, reacts upon the mental 1 powqndbf mam the temperament evoked by different sorts is. different;" yet A* we are still far; from having ascertained anything in regard to the permanent effects of daily food, especially as the human stomach has, to a great degree, the power of acconnhodatiug itself to various food substtabesl is» >that with use even narcotics lose nrucb’ofAheir effect.’t The same author ateowdds that the date, “traits- up independent and warlike desert tribes, which* “have not the most I remote mental relationship to the rice-eating Hin-doos.-u,l‘' !••!> ’ini .’■■■■ •• jl-’ It hHnains for the reader to reconcile this disagreement pf learned doctors according to hfcjqfanJudgmenL' TWevidence of those who subsist. the date is certain)v overwhelming in its favor. The AssyriM, ttalitrnn says, resAtefi Ihm it was stteJa gift’ tb theta ’’that its worth could not bq top extravagantly told; for they had fotfrfd'‘tot tHe'leaves, the fruit, the jutefe/ and, the faodd of '. the idee three hundred and sixty different uses. The "Whatsiitaedans adopt the date-palm into their religion as •an emblem of uprightness, ,qnd say thatit miraculously sprang JntaeXistemce,fully grown, at the .as jsynibols of rejoicing, into Christian ceremonies; and throughout’ Palestine constant reference is found to; the ’daite arid the palm in the naming/bl. tbfans. , BeflianV means a ‘ * hofries" dates. ” AhiiieritPalmyra Whs a “ and the 'Hebrew female faa&6 Tamar is derived from the word'lfi'fhAC language sigtiifying palm. In Africa there is ariimmense' tract' of land betwear Barbary andthag rest des- . ert, twqed,Bilidulgcrid, “the land of datea^.’ x Xxom -the profusion of the.trees ,h iS i «rahtbei» te , MaO^de o f food Wa^^^-t| P^pS ji fl?l .the hi and the tamarind,To be used merely as a luxury. We find it coming to the markets at just about*,thlgTime of year in the greatest quantities® packed'’ in baskets roughly made from dried palm-leaves. The dates, gatheredwhile ripe arid soft, are forced inloThese receptacles until almost a pastyriMg>q, ? eftennot over-clean, is formed. Itliefr natural sugar tends to preserve tibetti ;;but after long keeping they bccOTiie dff and hard. This renders them uuft for - use; but they still find a sale to vehdnrn who, after steami»g4|l€Wre to render them soft (of course fit , 4 tjfe expense pf the flavor), hawk wiHaßStft the 'streets.. Dates in the pasty condition are not rclTSlied by those who live on them-; nor;umthe other hand, would we probably fancy the dried,’ almost tasteless fruTT which, Strtffig <Jii long straw, is carried in bunches by the the SWuMipofrant vpecfek of the lldMn which make up its genus. Though slow in growth, iU -shoots up « magnificent stem, to the height sometimes of eighty feet, tlw summit. of which is covered -with lajrapf&il Crown of pinnated leaves. The trofiklS ocieaingly rough And spiny; the flower which appear in the axils far‘nreleaves, 'hre'woody, and Contain branched spadices with many flowers; more than 11,000 have been counted on tails IptttMx. At frrfmThro ten years of age the tree bears, and then remains fruitful for upward of 200 years. Thefeit Awieswnkeh an size and Quality; and in the oases of the Sahara forty-six varieties have been named. The utilizations of the date palm and its products are very numerous. The stemnfWrtsMutaddijoberifcuhOusee, boats, fences, fuel, etc., as well as an inferior kind of sago. The leaves serve as s°r material tor roorfcovenng, baskete, brushes, mats, and I AAtliSir tatsb a which, by fermentation, becomes wide (the “ toddy" of boiled down inCMhgat'. Tm> young shoots, when cooked, resemble asparagus; are dried and ground into meal, from which bread is