Proceedings of the Society of Biblical Archaeology

Jine3] SOCIETYOF BIBLICAL ARCH.EOLOGV. [189a

the difference betweenthe male and femaleflowersin a passage of

great interestto botanists as distinguishing plant-sex. Furtheron,

afterdescribingthe caprification (i>w««(kjof the fig, he continues :

" In the palms these" [aids are given] " by the males to the females.

For they causethe staying-on andripening. Whichsomecall from

the similarity i\mr0a£fi*. It takes place in this way. When the

maleblossomstheycut awaythe spathe on which is the inflorescence

forthwithas it is, and shake downthe bloom andflowerand pollen

uponthe fruit of the female. Andwhenthustreated,it keeps on

.anddoesnot fall away." *' To<* ft 0wV<fic a! i-a-'o tH-v uppivwvrpii

to*0r)\tiat oitoi fap noivo« erifuvetv roiovtrrei na'ittrri-rniv- o

KaXovaiTire*cc t^9 oaoio-ifTov'>\vvUa£ett'. VYi'tTaire -rovec top TpoTov.

*OtovarOij to upper* aroTtfivovot tijp o~— afyi',t<p t/v to uvOos, *i'0i'v

irtnrcp^\ttjToVtc -^yovv *at to uv&os raito*KovtoprcvKaratTet'ovoiKara

tovxaprotft^vOrfXttai- kqvloino xafty,(tart/pci)ku\ ovkti— ofiaWei.

Plinyfollowsin his "Natural History,"remarkingon the sexes of the

date-palm,and adds thatthe fecundation is even contrivedby man,

fromthe males by the flower and down, sometimesevenonlyby the

dustbeingsprinkledon the females. " Adeoque est Veneris intel

lects,ut coitus etiamexcogitatussit ab homine, ex maribus floreac

lanugine,interimverotantumpulvereinspersofeminis."f

From these ancientaccountswe may passto that of a well-

knowntravellerof the last century, ThomasShaw,whoin describing

the date-palm cultivation, states: " It is well known that these

treesare male and female, and that the fruit willbe dry and insipid

withouta previous communicationwiththe male. In the month of

Marchor April therefore,whenthe sheaths thatrespectivelyinclose

the young clustersof the male flowersandthe female fruitbeginto

open,at which timethe latter are formed and the first are mealy,

theytakea sprig or two of the male cluster,andinsertit into the

sheathof the female ; or else theytakea whole clusterof the male

tree and sprinkle the meal or farina of it over severalclustersof the

female. Thelatterpractice is common in Egypt, where theyhave

a number of males; but the trees of Barbary are impregnated by the

formermethod,one male beingsufficientto impregnate fouror five

hundredfemales."}

■^

* Theophrast. " Hist. Plant.,"II, c. 2, 6, c. J, 4.

t Plin., " Nat. Hist.,"xiii,c. 7.

J Thomas Shaw,"Travelsor Observations relatingto Barbary." Oxford,

1738,PartIII,chap.i.

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