JANUARY 1 TO MARCH 31, 1910. 91 



27418 to 27462— Continued. 



27435. Lolium multiflorum Lam. Italian rye-grass. 



"Probably Chile's best all-round wild pasture grass. May be classed as 

 equal to timothy. Annual. ' ' 



27436. Maytenus magellanicus (Lam.) Hook. f. 

 " Molten" 



27437. Medicago lupulina L. 



"Gualpata. A new sort from the highlands of the Cordilleras." 



27438. Medicago sativa L. Alfalfa. 



"Seed from a wild alfalfa plant found in the virgin forest of the inner Cor- 

 dilleras at a high altitude." 



27439. Melilotus indica (L.) All. 



"A wild sweet clover, yellow flowered, highly esteemed for fodder; eaten 

 by all animals." 



27440. Nothofagus sp. "White oak." 

 "A fine timber tree for any industrial use." 



27441 to 27450. Rubus fruticosus L. Blackberry. 



"The fruits of these are round, uniform size, from five-eighths to three-fourths 

 of an inch in diameter; they are all sweet and good flavored, some especially so. 

 All of them may be considered as early sorts. The later kinds are the same, 

 except as to their fruiting time. The fruits are good and not overseeded, and 

 have an abundance of sweet, agreeably flavored flesh and juice. In their wild 

 state they would serve well for commercial and domestic uses if the people had 

 learned to esteem them. The only objection is their excessive plant growth, 

 for they are extra productive. The plant growth of all the strains is about 

 equal; 15 feet would be an average height; they spread quickly, birds eat the 

 fruit and sow the seeds, or if a tiny bit of root be left in the ground they soon 

 thrive again under any conditions. They make an effective hedge or impass- 

 able barricade, but need annual pruning to keep them in their required place, 

 or they will spread, fill irrigating canals, usurp adjoining land, and become a 

 pest. The southern classes have less plant growth, different-shaped fruit, and 

 smaller bunches, with flavors of their own. I consider the blackberries of the 

 south as superior to those of central Chile (Xos. 27442, 27443, and 27446), but 

 incomparably less productive. If by crossing you can obtain their flavors and 

 great productiveness upon dwarf plants, you have made a progressive advance." 



27451. Spartium junceum L. 



'• Retama. A beautiful leafless bush or treelet, 6 to 8 feet high, with large, 

 yellow, delightfully fragrant flowers, which remain in bloom a long time." 



27452 and 27453. Solanum sp. Potato. 



27452. "From the far South." 27453. (Xo note.) 



27454. Sophora macrocarpa Smith. 



"A beautiful tree, whose fruit is comestible." 



27455. Strychnos sp. 



"A beautiful dwarf ornamental tree, from the innermost Cordilleras near the 

 perpetual-snow line." 



27456. Trachycarpus excelsus (Thumb.) Wendl. 



"A dwarf palm, trunk covered with hair. For lawn decoration or garden." 

 207 



