38 SEEDS AND PLANTS [MPOBTED. 



27779 to 27788. Ci < dmis mixo L. Muskmelon. 



Prom i Presented by Mr. Alfred L. Crowe, British vice consul, Zante, 



Received April 20, L910. 

 E ed oi the following; notes and names by Mr. Crowe: 

 27779 to 27784. From Cephalonia. 



27779. Bekeeria. Large 



winter melon. 



27780. Cassaba. 



27781. Black Cassaba. 

 27785 to 27788. From Zante. 



27785. (No name.) 



27786. White. 



• 



" Directions for planting. — The ground must be most carefully prepared (almost 

 -ifi <-d) to a depth of about half a fathom (3 feet); then divided into 3-foot squares. 

 In these squares horse dung or other pure animal manure, such as dung of goat or 

 sheep, at least 2 years old, and well hand picked, is spread with the hand in each 

 square at a depth of about 25 inches. Throw about 20 pounds of manure in each 

 square and cover with a little earth, over which put another 10 pounds of manure 

 and cover again with good earth. Plant the seed with the fingers at the depth of 

 about 2 to 2 \ inches. The best season for planting is the middle of April. Before 

 planting the seed put it in thin muslin, well tied, and then in a plate or dish full of 

 water, in which you leave it for about tw T enty-four hours to soak; then bury the seed, 

 as it is in the muslin, in manure until it begins to sprout, when it is ready to plant." 

 (Crowe.) 



27789 to 27790. Chrysophyllum cainito L. Star-apple. 



From Culebra, Canal Zone, Panama. Presented by Mr. Alfred Dyer. Received 

 April 28, 1910. 

 "This seed is from the same variety, but from different localities." (Dyer.) 

 See No. 27572 for description. 



27791. Prunus cerasus marasca (Host) Schneider. 



Marasca cherry. 



From Dalmatia. Purchased from Mr. Ludwig Winter, Bordighera, Italy. 

 Received May 2, 1910. 



"The term 'Maraschino' or 'Marasco' is the name of a liquor which is distilled 

 from cherries. This appears to be a well-known product in Dalmatia, and possibly 

 also in other portions of southern Em - ope. The cherries used for this purpose are 

 commonly known as ' Maraschino' cherries. This name, also the names ' Marasquin,' 

 ' Marasca,' and ' Marasco,' are given by Le Roy, a leading French pomological author- 

 ity, as synonyms of a variety the accredited name of which in France appears to be 

 'Griotte d Ratafia (Petite).' This name signifies a liquor made from small black 

 cherries. Whether in popular usage the name 'Maraschino' is applied to other 

 varieties than this one does not appear." (H. P. Gould.) 



"The exact botanical status of the Maraschino cherry is uncertain. It has been 

 variously placed by different botanists, some considering it a form of Prunus cerasus, 

 while others look upon it as a form of P. acida. Still others have classified it other- 

 wise." (W. F. Wight.) 

 208 



