State Library of NSW
[Page 109]
[Monday 17 April 1916]
Palm Sunday was really kept up here & the Copts decorated their Church. I watched a Native putting the Pollen from one tree to another, first sprinkling the flowers of the female tree with Sugar cane juice, which he chewed & spat out, so that the other pollen will stick on.On enquiry I hear that it is 7 years before the Female flowers, & 2 years before the Male does, only the former bears dates, but the sex may change in a few rare occassions.Male tree has smaller thorns & harder & blossoms before the Female as a rule.The dates are sown in the fibre of another tree 6" in the ground about 100 stones to the square foot & when they come up the male seedlings are straight & strong the females weaker & bent- the proportion about 2 of the later to 1 of former as the Males do not bear only a few trees are transplanted(I feel a bit sick from Virus)
This page has its status set to Completed and is no longer transcribable.