30 SEEDS AND PLANTS [MPOB CED. 



25538 to 25540 Continued. 



-•I thru put Beveral melons on ice — imagine in February —and they were served. 

 At first they hesitated, and could uot believe that a green looking melon, at that 

 time of the year, could be eaten. They tried it, and asked that others be put on 

 ms they had never tasted so delicious a fruit in their lives. They took with them a 

 e quantity and asked me the address of a dealer to have a lot sent to them 

 in New York. The next day they unite me a letter and asked if they could come 

 to tea and if I would have some more of these melons on ice. 



"This fad will show you really what they are. These melons can easily be kept 

 until March by paying great attention to the dryness of the cellars where they are 

 kept. The yield per acre is very large and the great question is to obtain pure 

 seeds. There are, however, planters who pay great attention to the matter and 

 grow on their estates only the pure melon. In Guadalajara there are some and in 

 Valencia there are the best. 



"They are never hung in the sun to ripen. They are picked just before ripening, 

 covered with a jute net, and hung up in a dark, dry place. When they are to be 

 eaten they are taken out, hung in the sun for a short time, and when soft at the 

 ends are ready for use." (Extract from letter of Hon. Maddin Summers, April 20, 

 190'K ) 



25541 and 25542. 



From Sibpur, Calcutta, India. Presented by Prof. A. T. Gage, superintendent, 

 Royal Botanic Garden. Received June 2, 1909. 



Seed of each of the following: 



25541. Terminalia bellerica (Gaertn.) Roxb. 



"A handsome tree, native in southern Asia, the fruits of which, collected 

 when full grown but still unripe, and dried in the sun, form the Beleric 

 myrobalans of commerce. These fruits contain about 12 per cent of tannin, 

 but as a tanning material are inferior to the fruits of the following species." 

 (jr. W. Stockberger.) 



Distribution. — A large tree, found throughout India, and in Ceylon and 

 the Malay Archipelago. 



25542. Terminalia chebula Retz. 



"A large deciduous tree, occurring chiefly on the mountains of India. The 

 fruits, known as Chebulic myrobalans, are extensively used in tanning, over 

 20,000,000 pounds being imported into the United States in 1908 for that pur- 

 pose. These fruits yield from 30 to 40 per cent tannin, which occurs chiefly 

 in the pulp surrounding the kernel. The tree is occasionally cultivated up to 

 5,000 feet in the Himalayas. Seedlings grown at Chattanooga, Tenn., were 

 cut down by frost." ( TV. W. Stockberger. 



Distribution. — A tall [tree, native of India, extending from Kumaon to Ben- 

 gal, and in Ceylon and the Malay Archipelago. 



25543. Acacia catechu (L.) Willd. 



From Saharanpur, United Provinces, India. Presented by Prof. A. T. Gage, 

 superintendent, Royal Botanic Garden, Sibpur, Calcufta. Received June 

 2, 1909. 



"A leguminous tree, native of India and East Africa, naturalized in Jamaica, 

 where it is common in dry locations. It is said to bear some frost and may prove 

 hardy in favorable localities in the southern United States. The extract from the 

 168 



