APEIL 1 TO JUNE 30, 1909. 31 



25543— Continued. 



bark and wood forms the drug catechu, and the dyeing and tanning agent (Mitch." 

 ( W. W. Stockberger.) 



Distribution. — A medium-sized tree, native of India, being found in the Himalayas 

 from the Punjab to Sikkim, and in Burma. 



25544 to 25546. 



From Alger-Mustapha, Algiers, North Africa. Purchased from Eossier Freres 

 et Soeur. Received May 29, 1909. 



Plants of each of the following: 



25544. Citrus bebgamia liisso. 



"This is the bergamot, grown commercially in some parts of southern Italy 

 for the essential oil which is expressed from the peel of the fruit. This has 

 been imported for the citrus-breeding experiments of the Office of Crop 

 Physiology and Breeding Investigations." ( W. T. Swingle.) 



25545. Citrus nobilis Lour. 

 Clementine. See No. 25196 for description. 



25546. Claucena lansium (Lour.) Skeels. (Cookia punctata Sonnerat. ; 

 Quinaria lansium Lour.; Claucena wampi Oliver.) 



"This is the well-known wampee which is cultivated for its fruits in 

 southern China. These fruits are said to be of a very agreeable though some- 

 what aromatic flavor and are about the size of a loquat, though the tree is 

 probably not so hardy. These plants were imported for the breeding experi- 

 ments of the Office of Crop Physiology and Breeding Investigations." ( W. T. 

 Swingle. ) 



25547. Raphionacme utilis Brown & Stapf. Ecanda rubber. 



From Ochileso, Africa. Presented by Mr. T. W. Woodside, A. B. C. F. M., 

 Benguella, Angola (via Lisbon). Received June 1, 1909. 



"A rubber-producing member of the milkweed family, recently described as a 

 new species. (Kew Bulletin, 1908, p. 215.) The genus already includes about 20 

 species distributed through the subtropical desert regions of the southern part of 

 Africa. The plant may be described as a perennial herb or very low shrub. There 

 is a large, fleshy, flattened, turnip-shaped, perennial root, said to attain a diameter 

 of 5 or 6 inches, though the present supply does not contain roots larger than 4 

 inches. The other parts of the plant are annual, except for a short stem or crown 

 which produces a succession of short branches, but apparently only one at a time. 

 Temporary roots appear to be sent out from any part of the permanent root. 



"The structure and habits of growth indicate that the plant behaves in nature as 

 an extreme desert type able to survive with very little water and requiring several 

 years to reach maturity. More favorable conditions might hasten development, but 

 might also have an adverse effect on the amount of rubber produced. The propor- 

 tion of rubber extracted from the fresh roots falls below 1 per cent, too little to jus- 

 tify any assurance of commercial value. But if simple methods of propagation can 

 be learned we may expect to secure strains that contain larger amounts of rubber, 

 through selection and breeding. It is first necessary to ascertain whether the plant 

 can be grown and multiplied in the United States, either from seeds or from cuttings. 



"The roots should not be buried too deeply, only enough to bring the stem end 

 to the surface of the ground. Soil of a loose, open texture may be preferable, though 

 we have no detailed information regarding the natural conditions." ( 0. F. Cook. ) 



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