PLANT I¥ Descriptive notes furnished mainly by Agr3

Bxplorers-and Foreign Correspondents relative toifflportant introduced plants which have arrived during themonth at the Office of Foreign Seed and Plant Introductionof-the Bureau of Plant Industry of the Department of Agri-culture • These descriptions are revised and publishedlater Inthe Inventory of Plants Imported.

Genera Represented in this Number.

AcrooomlaAnnonaBambosCanariumOGphalOstaohyufflCitrus

Cletnatis •CraccaDendrocalamus

408814083540886408274088740824408934084440894-8954088840889

DioscoreaDurio "Passlflora

Fhyllostachys

PrimulaPyrusZlzlphus

408924082640843408524083740842408514085740865-8714085340877-878

• P II aft @ s gA Cashew Tred In an Orange Orchard in<Sahla9 Brazil.A Field of Ginger In Shantung Province, China.

Applications for material listed In these multlgraphedsheets may be made at any time to this Office. As theyare received they are placed on file, and when the materi-al is ready for the use of experimenters It is sent tothose on the list of applicants who can sh6w that they areprepared to care for it, as well as to others selectedbecause of their special fitness to experiment with theparticular plants imported. Do not wait for the AutumnCatalogue. -

One of the main objects of the Office of Foreign Seedand Plant Introduction Is to secure material for plantexperimenters, and it will undertake as far as possible tofill any specific requests for foreign seeds or plantsfrom plant breeders and others interested.

IP@ITffiElflSSD®IlQ ft®

892

Acrocomia fusiformis (Swart z) Sweet. (Phoenlcaceae. ) 40881.Seeds of a palm from Santiago de las Vegas, Cuba. Pre-sented by Mr. Juan T. Rolg, Botanist, Cuban AgriculturalExperiment Station. "Macaw tree of Jamaica, Corozo de Ja-maica of Cuba. Trunk ten to thirty feet high, fusiformor swollen above the middle, armed with spines in rings.Leaves pinnate, petioles and rachis densely armed. In-florescence enclosed in two spathes, Inner complete, spar-ingly armed. Peduncles also armed with long black spines.Fruit depressed-globose, about one Inch In diameter,smooth. Seed very hard, one-celled, foramina lateral. Aremarkably strong fiber called pita de corozo Is extractedfrom the rachis of the leaves of this palm, and is used inCuba in the manufacture of brushes. This Palm has beenerroneously referred to as Acrocomia lasiospatha by Martiusand Grisebach."(C. P. Doyle.)

Annona scleroderma Safford.(Annonaceae.) 40835. Seedsof the flpox-t£" from Cajabon, Guatemala. Presented by Mr.W. E. Curley at the request of Mr. 0. P. Cook. Mr. CookIn his field-notes made the following entry: "The fruitcalled by the Kekchi Indians of Alta Verapaz box-te orbosh-te, is curious rather than beautiful. The shell Isdivided into angular depressed areoles by raised ridges.When mature the ridges are dark brown and the areoles be-tween them green. The pulp Is readily separable intoslender pyramids. These are normally one-seeded, but inmany cases they are seedless. The texture of the pulp isperfect, the flavor aromatic and delicious, with no un-pleasant aftertaste. It is much richer than the soursop,with a suggestion of the flavor of the zapote bianco, ormatasano {Casimiroa edulis) , but not in the least objection-able. It can be eaten most conveniently with a spoon. Themost fragrant pulp is close to the rind. The seeds sepa-rate from the surrounding pulp more readily than in mostannona fruits."

Bambos tulda Roxb. (Poaceae. )40886. Seeds of a bamboofrom Calcutta, India, Presented by Mr, William Bembower,Collins,'* Ohio. "The common bamboo of Bengal, where itgrows in great abundance everywhere, flowering in May.Not uncommon In the deciduous forests of Pegu, generally'occupying lower and molster stretches of ground in companywith tinwa, Cephalostachyum pergradle, the surrounding dryhills being covered with Dendrocalamus strictus." (Brandls.)"An evergreen or deciduous, caespitose, arboreous, gre-garious bamboo. Culm green or glabrous when young, grey-green when older, sometimes streaked with yellow, 20 to 70

893

feet high, not or little branched below, 2"-4 inches in di-ameter; nodes not swollen, the lower ones fibrous-rooted;internodes one to two feet long, white-scurfy when veryyoung, ringed with white below the nodes, the walls thin,three to five-tenths inch; branches many from nearly allthe nodes, those of the lowest ones thin, nearly leafless,horizontal.w(J. S. Gamble, Bambuseae of British India, inAnnals of the Calcutta Botanic Garden, vol. 7, p. 30.) Theculms of this bamboo supply the well-known Calcutta cane,In such great demand for fish-rod-making, and at presentalmost unobtainable. Plants introduced in 1907 have pro-duced canes 70 feet in height at Mayaguez, Porto Rico.This bamboo should be tried for windbreaks in Porto Rico,and may succeed in frost-free parts of Florida where greatdepth of soil is to be had. (S. C. Stuntz.) Both of thespecies mentioned above are described in this number ofPlant Immigrants.

Canarium commune L. (Burseraceae.) 40827. Seeds fromthe Botanic Garden, Buitenzorg, Java. WA large handsomeMalayan tree, characterized by a remarkable buttressedtrunk and laterally compressed aerial basal roots; thelatter develop enormous erect flanges of uniform thick-ness, so that solid circular pieces may occasionally becut out from them to form ready-made cart wheels. Thetree is much cultivated for shade or ornament in Java. Itbears in great abundance large pendant clusters of dark-purple fruits, which are of the size of small plums; theseare produced all the year around, but chiefly in June.The kernel of the fruit is edible, being similar in flavorto sweet almonds; it yields, by expression, an oil usedfor burning in lamps and for cooking purposes. A desir-able tree for planting in avenues, etc. It thrives in hotand moist districts up to about 1500 feet elevation, andprefers deep, well-drained soil. Propagated by seed,which may be sown in nursery beds, and kept moist andshaded until germinated."(Macmlllan, Handbook of TropicalGardening and Planting.)

Cephalostachyum pergracUe Munro. (Poaceae.) 40887. Seedsof a bamboo from Calcutta, India. Presented by Mr. WilliamBembower, Collins, Ohio. !'A deciduous, arboreous, tuftedbamboo, with glaucous-green culms 30 to 40 feet high, twoto three inches in diameter, and rather thin walled, thewalls usually about one-half inch thick. It Is one of thechief bamboos of Burma and one of those most frequentlyfound in association with teak. This beautiful species

894

is probably the most common of all Burmese bamboos exceptDendrocalamus strictus, and, as I am informed by J. W. Oliver,it may be found almost any year flowering sporadicallylike D. strictus and D. hawiiltonii, but not generally pro-ducing good seed on such occasions. The Kolhan and Assamlocalities would point to its having a wider range thanis generally supposed. The culms are largely used forbuilding and mat-making and other purposes, and in Burmathe joints are used for boiling kauknyin or glutinousrice, the effect being to make a long mould of boiledrice which can be carried about to be eaten on journeys.It is at once recognized by the characteristic inflores-cences, the short sheaths with rounded, long-fringed auri-cles, and long blfidly-mucronate palea." (J. S. Gamble,Bambuseae of British India, Annals Calcutta Botanic Gar-dan, vol, 7, p. 109.)

Citrus aurantium scuponacea Safford. (Rutaceae.) 40824.Seeds of the Samoan wild orange from Tutuila, Samoa. Pre-sented by the Governor, through Mr. W. E. Safford, of thisBureau. "Seeds of the wild orange of Samoa, probablyCitrus hystrix DC. {Citrus aurantium saponacea Safford, Contr.U. S. National Herbarium, vol. 9, p. 226, 1905) called molior moli vao(} forest moliT),or moli u*u( f anno int ing moli|S)by the natives, who use it for washing. On account of itsuse as a detergent the name moli is applied by the Samoansto soaps of all kinds. The moli vao is a thorny tree grow-ing spontaneously in the forests of Samoa, where it wasundoubtedly established in prehistoric times. It alsooccurs in Fiji, and bears the same common name there. Theglossy dark-green leaves have a crenate margin and a verybroadly winged petiole, sometimes almost as large as theleaf itself. The flowers occur in axillary or terminalclusters. The smooth spheroid fruit when ripe Is usuallygreenish-yellow or lemon colored. The pulp is pleasantlyaromatic but not edible. It leaves a peculiar fragrance inthe hair when used as a shampoo, and the natives say thatit prevents dandruff and stimulates the growth of the hair.They make an Infusion of the scraped bark of the tree asa remedy for pectoral affections and use a hot decoctionof the leaves for asthma. This species is introduced as apossible stock for other less robust species of Citrus."(Safford.)

Citrus grandisCL. )Osbeck. (Rutaceae.) 40893. Seeds of apomelo from Nagasaki, Japan. Collected by Mr. W. T. Swin-gle, of this Bureau. "I found at Nagasaki Experiment Sta-tion a most excellent pomelo, the Eirado Buntan, better

895

than the Hongkong Pumelo, though not seedless. I sendseeds from a choice fruit given me at the Experiment Sta-tion, May 23. The pith of the fruit is small and solid,the color like a good grapefruit. "(W. T. Swingle.)

Clematis stanleyi Hooker. (Ranunculaceae.) 40844. Seedsof a clematis from Johannesburg, Union of Soyith Africa.Presented by Mr. J. Burtt-Davy, Botanist, AgriculturalSupply Association. "An erect robust herb, three feet inheight with blternate, silky, wedge-shaped leaves andlarge white to pink-purple flowers, one to three inchesacross."(Burtt-Davy.)

Cracca candida(T>0. )Kuntze. (Pabaceae.) 40894. Seeds fromPeradenlya, Ceylon. Presented by Mr. H. P. Macmlllan,Superintendent, Royal Botanic Gardens. "Well-known in theEast as Boga-medelloa. This grows rapidly and attains aheight of eight to ten feet or more. It is a favoriteplant for planting among crops for green maturing, and isprobably the best for the purpose in tropical latitudes."(Macmillan.)

Cracca villosa purpwrea{h. )Kuntze. (Pabaceae.)40895. Seedsfrom Peradenlya, Ceylon. Presented by Mr. H. P. Mac-mlllan, Superintendent, Royal Botanic Gardens. "A peren-nial herb, one or two feet high, with few-flowered ra-cemes of purplish-pink flowers, used in the low country ofCeylon as a green manure, and in the dry regions as amulch and sand-binder. A decoction of the bitter root isused by the Hindoos for dyspepsia, diarrhoea, and flatu-lence. "(Macmillan, Handbook of Tropical Gardening.)

Dendrocalamus hamiltonii Nees & Arnott. (Poaceae. ) 40888.Seeds from Calcutta, India. Presented by Mr. William Bem-bower, Collins, Ohio. "A common bamboo in the eastern^Himalaya from Kumaon to Assam. It is generally a tallgrass 40 to 60 feet in height, but sometimes found as along and tangled bush. The young shoots are used as food,being boiled and eaten in Sikkim, Bhutan and Assam. Thehalms are large, three to six inches in diameter, ratherhollow and not always straight, but they are used forevery variety of purpose. This is the common bamboo ofthe Darjeeling Hills and Teral, of the Dours and the AssamValley, and Is in universal employment for building andbasket and mat work, though as a building bamboo Its com-parative softne&s and thin walls make it inferior to suchspecies as Bambos twlda and balcooa. The young shoots areeaten as a vegetable. The inner layer of the culm-sheath

896

is used for covering Burmese cigarettes. This bambooflowers usually sporadically, so that clumps In flower mayalmost always be found; and consequently it has beenlargely and often collected; at the same time, like otherspecies, It sometimes flowers gregariously as it is doingthis year (1894) both in Sikkim and in Dehra Dun. Of itsstraggling habit, so noticeable in the forests of Bengaland Burma, but curiously much less so in the Dun, J. W.Oliver remarks, 'When they have no trees to support them,the main stems bend over, forming impenetrable thickets,and the lateral branches ascend vertically often formingshoots nearly as long as the main stems.1 This species isvery easily Identified by its panicle of bright purple-redflowers, and when out of flower the grey stems, long,nearly glabrous stem sheaths and straggling habit cause Itto be easily recognized. The long hairy points to the an-thers are also remarkable.M(J. S. Gamble, Bambuseae ofBritish India, Annals of the Calcutta Botanic Gardens,vol. 7, p. 85.)

Dendrocalamus strictus(Roxb. )Nees. (Poaceae. )40889. Seedsof a bamboo from Calcutta, India. Presented by Mr, WilliamBembower, Collins, Ohio. "A very useful and strong bambooof India, formerly used universally for spear shafts. Theplant flowers frequently and does not die down after flow-ering as is the case with so many bamboos. The culms aresaid sometimes to reach a height of 100 feet. This is themost common and most widely spread and most universallyused of the Indian bamboos, and is commonly known as the'male bamboo.1 Its culms are employed by the natives forall purposes of building and furniture, for mats, baskets,sticks and other purposes. It furnishes, when solid culmsare procurable, the best material for lance shafts. InBurma, when large culms are obtainable, they are much inrequest for mats for native boats. It flowers gregarious-ly over large areas, as it did in the Central Provinces in1865, but it may be found flowering sporadically, a fewclumps at a time, almost every year, in any locality, andsuch clumps then usually die off. These flowerings how-ever, do not produce as much good seed as when the gregar-ious flowering takes place. The flowers appear In thecold season between November and April, the seed ripeningin June. The leaves fall in February or March, and theyoung new ones appear in April. The young culms arerather late, usually beginning to appear in July sometimeafter the rains begin."(J. S. Gamble, Bambuseae of BritishIndia, Annals of the Calcutta Botanic Gardens, vol. 7,p. 79.)

A CASHEW TREE IN AN ORANGE ORCHARD IN BAHIA, BRAZIL.

Although the Cashew (Anacardium occidentals) has grownand fruited in Florida, the attention of horticulturistshas not been forcibly attracted to it. In Southern BrazilIt appears as an important market fruit and on the islandof Itaparica a strain occurs which is especially famed forits large excellent fruit. The mild acid fruit is eatenfresh or made into wine, jams or jellies. The hard kid-ney-shaped nut borne upon the blossom end of the fleshypear-shaped receptacle (the cashew apple) contains a richhighly flavored kernel, which if served hot is one of themost delicate nuts known. These are the cashew nuts ofcommerce. The hard shell which surrounds the nut, has in-side a layer containing a most acrid corrosive oil whichattacks the skin more actively than does poison ivy. Thisoil can be easily driven off by heat but the fumes areextremely acrid. Photo No. 14468 by Dorsett, Shamel andPopenoe, Dec. 9, 1913, in Bahia, Brazil.

p

A FIELD OF GINGER IN SHANTUNG PROVINCE, CHINA.

The consumption of Chinese Ginger {Zinziber officinalis)in America, although it might still be ranked as a deli-cacy, amounts to half a million pounds yearly. Its prep-aration as preserved, dried or candied ginger is so ..simplethat any housewife could learn how to do it and since theunderground rhizomes will stand quite low temperatures itshould be worth while to distribute it throughout theSouth and Southwest for dooryard garden cultivation eitherwith or without Irrigation. The Chinese use it fresh aswell as preserved. Photo by F. N. Meyer, No. 5342, takenSept. 8, 1907, at North Ninyang, Shantung, China.

897

Dioscorea fasciculata Roxb. (Dloscoreaceae.) 40892. Tubersof a yam from Manila. Presented by Mr. H, T. Edwards,Director, Bureau of Agriculture. "Tugue. Flesh white,and mealy but firm and a little fibrous, sweetish. Thequality Is not equal to that of the yampi of Jamaica."(R. A. Young.)

Dwrio zibethinus Murray. (Malvaceae. ) 40826. Seeds fromthe Botanic Gardens, Bultenzorg, Java. Presented by theDirector. "A very large, handsome, pyramid-shaped tree,native of the Malayan Archipelago, and commonly cultivatedIn the Straits, Burma, Java, etc., for the sake of itscelebrated fruit. The latter is produced on the olderbranches, varies somewhat from round to oval in shape, andusually weighs from five to seven pounds or more. It isarmed with thickly set formidable prickles about one-halfinch long; when ripe it becomes slightly yellow, and pos-sesses an odour which is Intensely offensive to mostpeople, especially on first acquaintance with it. Thecream-coloured pulp surrounding the seed is the edibleportion; this is most highly prized by the Malays andoriental people, and is also relished by Europeans who ac-quire a taste for it. Plrmlnger describes it as 'resemb-ling blanc -mange, delicious as the finest cream,1 whilstMr. Russell Wallace considered that 'eating durlans is asensation worth a voyage to the East.1 The large seedsmay be roasted and eaten like chestnuts. Pounded intoflour, they are said to be sometimes made into a substancelike 'vegetable-ivory.' The durian tree thrives in themoist low-country of Ceylon up to 2000 feet elevation, andluxuriates in deep alluvial or loamy soil. In PeradeniyaGardens, there are magnificent specimens well over 100feet in height. They usually flower in March or April,and the fruit is ripe in July of August. Durian fruitsare variable in size, shape, flavour and quantity of pulp,according to variety. The trees also vary in productive-ness, some varieties being almost barren. Selection andhigh cultivation should therefore be practised in order toobtain the best fruits. The tree is readily propagated byseed if sown fresh; the seed is of short vitality and ger-minates in seven to eight days."(Macmillan, Handbook ofTropical Gardening and Planting.)

Passiflora alata Curtis . (Passlf loraceae.) 40843. Seedsof a passlon-frult from Honolulu, Hawaii. Presented byMr. Garret P. Wilder. "This is a strong vigorous vine,very suitable for arbors and trellises. It is not common-ly found in Hawaii; however, a very fine specimen of its

898

kind Is growing in Dr. St. D. G. Walter's garden in Honolu-lu. The leaves are oval to ovate, the petioles having twoglands. The fragrant purple flowers are about two inchesin diameter. The ovoid-pointed fruit has a tough, leath-ery shell which, when green is six-striated, with whitestripes; when quite ripe the fruit is a dull orange-yel-low. The numerous seeds are Imbedded in the juicy, scent-ed pulp, which is aromatic and delicious. Propagation isby seed and by cuttings." (G. P. Wilder, Fruits of theHawaiian Islands.)

Passiflora edulis Sims. (Passifloraceae. ) 40852. Seeds ofa passion-fruit from Guemes, Argentina. Presented by Mr.H. P. Schultz, Director, Agricultural Experiment Station."At Jujuy I found another variety of edible Passiflorawhich, I think, is superior to the variety I mailed youbefore. The fruit is roundish, smooth and of a very at-tractive yellow color, of a rather pale shade and not un-like a Yellow Richard apple. The fruit measures about 7 to8 cm. in diameter* The pulp is bluish purple in color,and, in my opinion, is more spicy than the other variety.The plant is very precocious and a good, strong grower,for which reason it should be planted about 8 meters onefrom the other and be trained on four or five wires, afoot apart, each, the upper one about 1.80 meters high. Ido not know where the variety originally came from; afriend of the proprietor purchased some fruits in CoventGarden, London, and brought him the seeds. The price forthe fruit there, at that time was two pence each, whilethe fruits of the Queensland variety sold at three penceeach."(Schultz.)

Passiflora laurifolia L. (Passifloraceae. ) 40837. Seeds ofa passion-fruit from Honolulu, Hawaii. Presented by Mr.Garret P. Wilder. "This strong-growing, glabrous vine,climbing by tendrils, is a native of tropical America andknown there as the Yellow waterlemon. The date when it wasintroduced to Hawaii, and by whom, is not known, but inthe Hilo and Hamakua districts of Hawaii this varietygrows wild. Its thick leaves are oval, oblong and entire,and have a short, sharp point. The flowers are about twoand a half inches across, are white, with red spots onthem. The fruit is slightly oblong, 2 inches in diameter,and very regular in size and shape. When ripe, it isyellow, spotted with white. It has a medium-hard shell orskin, and the edible pulp is whitish-yellow, and containsmany flat, black seeds."(G. P. Wilder, Fruits of the Ha-waiian Islands, )

899

Phyllostachys sp. (Poaceae.) 40842, 40851. Plants of abamboo from Burroughs, Ga. Secured through Mr. S. B. Day-tpn, by Mr. Edward Slmmonds, of this Office. A bamboo,reported to have been brought from India about 1890 by thelate Andres ?. Moynelo, but from all appearances, a Japan-ese species, probably P. ha^iby^soidesy This bamboo wasfirst called to the attention of the office by Mr. DaytonIn April of, this year when he sent us a large shoot, suchas he had been recalling to a Savannah restaurant at twen-ty-five cents. On examination the plantation was found toconsist of gopd-slzed old canes, attaining a height ofperhaps 60 feet, and showing Its perfect adaptability tothe climate of Savannah. The canes on test have shownthemselves for certain industrial purposes oqu&l to theImported Japanese forms of nvadake, P. bambu$Qicle$. (S. C.Stuntz.)

Primula littoniana G.Forrest. (Prlmulaceae. ) 40857. Seedsof Litton's primrose from Tallfu, Yunnan, China. Purchasedfrom Dr. C. C. Schneider, Arnold Arboretum. "P. littoniana,though by no means the most beautiful of the new hardyChinese primulas, has-an altogether unique character thatis bound to carry it into a permanent place In the heartof the primrose lover. The smaH lilac blossoms, as wellas the lilac leaves, are somewhat like those of P. denticu-latdj but here resemblance ceases. Instead of the usualprimula umbel, the scape terminates in a long flowerspike, set thickly with bloom. The calyces are a rich ma-roon and the remarkable effect comes when these form apoint above a sort of ruff of the lilac blossoms. Smallwonder that it fairly dazzled George Forrest, the collect-or, when he found it massed naturally in the high moun-tains of China. There thp flower stalks sometimes rise toa height of two and a half feet." (H. S. Adams, GardenMagazine, May 1914.)

Pyrws sp.(Malaceae.) 40865-871. Seeds of pears fromTallfu, Yunnan, China. Purchased from Dr. C, C. Schnei-der, Arnold Arboretum. All from cultivated fruits fromthe Talifu market, of varying sizes and shapes. No Infor-mation as to qualify.

Ziziphus jwjuba Miller. {Rhamnaeeae,) 40877-878. Jujubefruits from Pinchow, Shensi , and Ll-ngpau, Honan, China.40877, "A very good quality of jujube, having large andheavy fruits of elongated shape; considered to be thesecond best in China, the Ta yuan tsao of Pal hsiang chen,Shansi, coming first. Chinese name Chin tsao and Fei tsao,meaning 'Golden jujube1 and fFat jujube. fff 40878, "A medium

900

large variety of jujube, of round-flattened shape and ofbrown-red color. Meat sweet but of loose texture; muchused baked In bread and boiled with millet. Chinese nameTa hong tsao, meaning 'large red jujube.'"(Frank N. Meyer'sIntroductions and descriptions.)

Ziziphus mistol Grlseb. (Rhamnaceae. ) 40853. Seeds of themistol from Guemes, Argentina. Presented by Mr. H. P.Schultz, Director, Agricultural Experiment Station. "Asmall tree with spiny tortuous branches, subrotund, coria-ceous, minutely serrulate leaves, inconspicuous flowers,and small edible drupes with large stones. Introduced asa possible stock for the Chinese jujube, and for com-parison with the Brazilian Jua (Ziziphus Joazeiro). Foundthroughout northern Argentina as far south as the Provinceof Cordoba."(Schultz.)

NOTES FROM CORRESPONDENTS ABROAD.

Yokohama, Japan, Miss Eliza R. Scidmore writes August10, 1915. "The nursery man went up in the air when I sug-gested getting slips from the plum tree by the Forty-sevenRonin's grave. Impossible!! That tree too sacred to letanyone have a hack at it.

"The Glou cherry tree in Kioto quite possible hethinks.

"Many cherry trees at the Arakawa bank are dead anddying. Floods or popularity, the jarring of millions offeet have paralyzed the roots.

"The dog days began a week after I landed, and therice crop ought to be a tremenduous one.

"The most beautiful sight in Japan is now Mr. Hara'sgarden at San-no-taui, beyond the Honmokee bathing beach.A narrow valley with a carriage road crossing and thenfollowing lotus, lotus, lotus! Pink and white, very tall,in full flower, beautifully kept. Like the iris gardens,only the iris has not those beautiful big leaves floppingup and down. I never imagined anything so lovely.

"I ran down the morning glory industry for you lastweek--spent a mosquito night at the hotel in Nyeno park,and at 5 a.m. motored out beyond Kameido, where the Iriyagardeners were driven by the floods six years ago. Theystill grow them--acres of pots—but send them Into thecity for sale. There are no show gardens and places tosit and look at benches, etc., full of rare ones. Allthat is over. Too far out now for people to go at sunriseand wander from garden to garden as at Iriya.

901

"You would think yourself In Berlin now to ride Intothe heart of Tokyo on elevated tracks and descend by ce-ment staircases and tiled tunnels to the great domedfyahnhof. I liked it better the old way."

Mokanshan, Chekiang Province, China, Mr. Prank N. Meyerwrites Aug. 5, 1915. "Concerning this bamboo, Phyllostachyspubescens, I can say this: The ?Mao tsoh1 delights in shel-tered situations on mountain and hill-slopes; it wants arich, porous clayey soil to reach greatest perfection. Inthis latitude, 31°, it seems to thrive best at elevationsbetween 1000 and 2000 feet above sea-level. The height ofcanes varies from about 20 feet, op. poor, exposed places,to about 80 feet in rich, moist gullies, in diameter ofstem from 2 Inches to 5 Inches, and in circumference ofstem from 6 inches to 16 inches. The canes sell locallyat 4 cash per catty (=about £ of an American cent for 1^lb.). A cane often weighs up to 80 catties but the averageis probably about 30 catties. At Dongsi, Mr. Kennedy in-formed me, they receive about 20 Chinese copper cents fora cane of about 40 ft. long; (which is about 8 cents U. S.gold, but the rate of exchange influences prices consider-ably, when American currency is used). As regards cuttingof this bamboo, the best time Is from the end of Octoberuntil the beginning of February. Concerning periodicalcutting, the following advices were obtained. Do not cutcanes less than two seasons old, as it weakens the plantsvery much and the canes themselves do not last long, beingnot fully mature. Do not allow canes to stay on the groundfor longer than 7 years, as the wood becomes too hard andtoo brittle to handle, except for exceptional purposes.The ideal is to cut in a bamboo grove every two years allof the canes that are three years old and over, but shouldthe grove not be very vigorous, be careful in not removingtoo many canes and especially no young ones. Canes of oneseason's growth should, at the approach of winter, havetheir tops cut out, so as to minimize the danger of suchcanes being broken by the snows and the storms of the coldseason; these tops are in general 5-10 feet long, depend-ing upon the length of the cane; they are used, when cutup and arranged suitably, as brooms and they are very last-ing, cheap and efficient and of special value in farm-yards,in sweeping grains and seeds together on threshing floors.When transplanting this bamboo or when starting a newgrove, the aim should be to obtain young, strong rhizomesof considerable length, with as many roots attached aspossible, and to transplant them from the middle of Febru-ary until the end of March; leave no large piece of cane

902

attached to the rhizome. (This Is Chinese advice of course,because the Chinese here do not know the success one canobtain with bamboos, when growing them with confinedroots!) As regards the monetary returns per acre per year,this we find a very hard matter to get cleared up. Onefellow said that a neighbor of his had sixty mow of land,(about 10 acres) with Mao tsoh and after having let themgrow for four years, he received last winter $200 Mex.for the lot* that is, for every cane that was two yearsold. He had to pay, however, 10$ taxes, so he got $180.00Mex. clear money; which is $18.00 Mex. per acre for 4years, or $4.50 Mex. per acre per year. And his bambooswere very fine indeed, added our informant. This is cer-tainly a small return for a crop, according to an Americanpoint of view, but then - these bamboos grow on mountainslopes where it is very hard to grow other crops, with theexception of tea, and they need very little looking after,while the cut-off tops and the culm sheaths (for packing)bring in an additional small income.

"Here are a few fundamentals of working bamboos:never split canes which are perfectly dried out, alwayshave your canes as moist as possible. Straighten yourcanes by means of a hot flame and bend gently, while ap-plying hot pieces of cloth to the stems. When wantingcurves and abrupt bends, saw out a piece and bend above ahot flame. Employ sharp instruments of hard steel. Splitbamboos from top to bottom.

"When wanting the partitions of a large cane piercedthrough, so as to use it for a water pipe, take a thin,hard cane and ram it through.

"If building long irrigation pipes, fit the top endof one cane into the base end of the other, and take fiberwith clay to make the joints tight; they do not stand agreat pressure, however. Later on, when having seen more,i may be able to say more but now I think I am safe insaying this:

"Bamboo culture in the Gulf sections of our SouthernStates and in parts of the Pacific Coast States will becomesuccessful within the next few generations. It probablywill prove to be quite remunerative when taken up by in-dustrial schools and as a home industry. One of the quick-est ways to make bamboo culture popular, Would be by hav-ing a travelling exhibit of bamboo ware and photos, etc.,and showing such things to people in those sections ofthe U. S. where bamboo groves could be established."

SCIENTIFIC STAFF OF THE OFFICE OF FOREIGN SEED ANDPLANT INTRODUCTION OF THE BUREAU OF PLANT INDUSTRY.

Washington Staff.

David Fairchild, Agricultural Explorer In charge,P. H. Dorsett, Plant Introducer in charge of Plant Introduction

Field Stations.Peter Blsset, Plant Introducer in charge of Foreign Plant

Distribution.Frank N. Meyer and Wilson Popenoe, Agricultural Explorers.H. C. Skeels, Botanical Assistant, In charge of Seed CollectionsS. C. Stuntz, Botanical Assistant, in charge of Explorers1 Notes,

Foreign Correspondence and Publications.R. A. Young, Botanical Assistant, In charge of Dasheen Investi-

gations.Allen M. Groves, Nathan Henderson, and G. P. Van Eseltlne, As-

sistants.

Staff of Field Stations.

R. L. Beagles, Assistant Farm Superintendent In charge of Chlco,Calif., Plant Introduction Field Station.H. Klopfer, Plant Propagator.

J. M. Rankln, Assistant Farm Superintendent in charge of Rock-vllle, Md., (Yarrow) Plant Introduction Field Station.Edward Goucher, Propagator.

Edward Slmmonds, Gardener and Field Station Superintendent incharge of Miami, Fla., Plant Introduction Field Station.

In charge of Brooksvllle, Fla., PlantIntroduction Field Station.

Collaborators.

Mr. Aaron Aaronsohn, Haifa, Palestine.Mr. Thomas W Brown, Cairo, Egypt.Dr* Gustav Risen, California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco,

Calif.Mr. E. C. Green, Servlgo do Algodao no Brazil, Rio de Janeiro,

Brazil.Mr. A. C. Hartless, Saharanpur, India.Mr. Barbour Lathrop, Chicago, 111.Mr. William S. Lyon, Manila, Philippine Islands.Miss Eliza R. Scldmore, Yokohama, Japan.Mr. Charles Simpson, Little River, Fla.Dr. L. Trabut, Director, Service Botanlque, Algiers, Algeria.Mr. E. H. Wilson, Arnold Arboretum, Jamaica Plain, Mass.

Date of Issue: Sept* 28, 1915.