[9. AMONGST THE ARABS.—II.]
1. Date palms grow on every oasis. The date palm is a beautiful tree. It is very tall, and has a crown of leaves at the top.
2. The fruit grows in great golden clusters. Sometimes a cluster of dates weighs twenty-five pounds.
3. The date palm is beloved by the Arabs, because it is so useful to them. They eat or sell the dates, and they use the wood for their tents or houses. From the sap they make wine. Out of the leaf-stalks they weave baskets.
4. Some of the Arabs are traders. They carry their goods from oasis to oasis on the backs of camels. A large number of laden camels form a caravan.
5. A camel is not pretty to look at, but the Arab could not do without it. I think you can easily understand why the camel is called the "ship of the desert." It carries its master or its load across the sea of sand from one green island to another.
6. The hoofs of the camel are broad, and this prevents them from sinking into the sand. The camel can go for a long time without food or water.
7. The camel is very useful to the Arab, both when it is alive and when it is dead. It gives him milk to drink, and its hair is useful for making clothes, tents, and ropes.