JANUARY 1 TO MARCH 31, 1909. 41 



24757 and 24758. Medicago spp. 



From Bavaria, Germany. Presented by Mr. John S. Haas, with S. B. Bing Sons, 

 Nuremberg, Germany, who procured the seed from Mr. George Liebermann, 

 Nuremberg, Germany, at the request of Mr. J. M. Westgate. Received 

 February 15 and 18, 1909. 



Seeds of the following: 



24757. Medicago sativa varia (Mart.) Urb. Sand lucern. 



24758. Medicago sativa L. Alfalfa. 

 Provence. 



24759 to 24761. Phyllostachys spp. Bamboo. 



From Nagasaki, Japan. Purchased from Japanese bamboo growers by Mr. 

 William D. Hills, agricultural explorer. Received at the Plant Introduction 

 Garden, Chico, Cal., February 9, 1909. 



"This importation of the three most valuable Japanese timber bamboos was made 

 for the planting, on a larger scale than any hitherto yet attempted, of experimental 

 bamboo groves in Florida, Louisiana, and California, in order that the feasibility 

 of growing them on a commercial scale might be definitely determined." ( W. Fischer. ) 



24759. Phyllostachys mitis (Lour.) Riviere. Moso. 



"This is the great edible bamboo of China and Japan and the largest of the 

 hardy species, the culms attaining a maximum height of 70 to 80 feet and a 

 diameter of 6 to 8 inches. It may readily be distinguished from the Madake, 

 the next largest species, by the comparatively shorter internodes, the gentle 

 curving of the culm just after it leaves the ground, and by the broad-based 

 pseudophyll, which tapers to a point with the fringe of hairs on the sheath 

 near its base." ( W. Fischer.) See No. 12178 for previous introduction. 



24760. Phyllostachys quilioi Riviere. Madake. 



"The great timber bamboo of China and Japan and the second largest in 

 size, the culms attaining a maximum height of 60 or 70 feet and a diameter of 6 

 inches. Besides the proportionately longer internodes and the habit of the 

 culm in rising straight from the rhizome it is distinguished from the Moso by 

 the wavy outline of the pseudophyll and by the more pronounced purple or 

 reddish blotches on the sheath. This species is considered somewhat more 

 hardy than P. mitis; the rhizome is more vigorously spreading, and the wood is 

 harder. It is the most useful of the East Asiatic bamboos." (W. Fischer.) 

 See No. 12180 for previous introduction. 



24761. Phyllostachys henonis Mitford. Hachiku. 



"Next in importance and smaller than the two preceding species, with a 

 height of from 30 to 40 feet and a diameter of from 3 to 4 inches. The sheath 

 has fine lines, forming purple markings but no blotches. The stem nodes are 

 flatter than those of the Madake, the culms are thinner walled, and the sprouts 

 are produced earlier." (W. Fischer.) See No. 12177 for previous introduction. 



24762. Sclerocarya caffra Sond. Morula. 



From Pretoria, Transvaal, South Africa. Presented by Prof. J. Burtt Davy, gov- 

 ernment agrostologist and botanist, Department of Agriculture. Received 

 March 1, 1909. 



Seed of a tree with compound, alternate, unequally pinnate leaves clustered at the 

 ends of the branches. The flowers, borne in spicate racemes, are one-fourth inch in 

 diameter, with recurved petals. The fruit is a two-seeded drupe, about the size of a 

 small walnut, with an acid and resinous pulp. The thick, oily cotyledons are eaten in 

 times of famine. 



Distribution. — A native of Africa, found near Lake Nyassa and other localities in the 

 Zambezi Valley, in the Macalisberg Mountains, and in Cape Colony. 

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