INVENTORY. 



26048 and 26049. Prunus spp. 



From the Himalayas. Presented by Mr. E. Shearer, Assistant Inspector-General 

 of Agriculture in India, Nagpur, Central Provinces, India. Received October 

 2, 1909. 



Seeds of the following: * 



26048. Prunus armeniaca L. Apricot. 



"Shari. A nursery of shari plants is prepared in January each year. The 

 soil is first dug, properly cleaned, and manured; ditches are then made about 

 4 inches deep and the seeds are put in and covered with earth. These seeds 

 germinate in the following March. 



"These plants are then transplanted where desired in January next, i. e., 

 after one year. They are planted in pits dug deep enough and are watered 

 every second or third day until they take root in the ground. Shari plants 

 when grafted with aru (peach) give a better variety of shari fruit." (Shearer.) 



26049. Prunus sp. Plum. 



u Alo»cha. The season and process of sowing this seed are the same as that of 

 shari (apricot) (S. P. I. No. 26048). 



"Jamun (wild cherry) and aru (peach) when grafted on aloocha plants pro- 

 duce fine varieties of jamun and aru, respectively." (Shearer.) 



26050. Aleurites trisperma Blanco. Banucalag. 



From Philippine Islands. Presented by Mr. Elmer D. Merrill, Bureau of Science, 

 Manila. Received October 2, 1909. 



"As there are probably no live specimens of this species in America to-day, these 

 seeds were procured to grow plants for trial in the tropical possessions of the United 

 States. A portion of them will also be used for the expression of a sample of oil to 

 be tested in the Bureau of Chemistry of the United States Department of Agriculture 

 in Washington in comparison with oils derived from other species of Aleurites. 



"This species, which yields a valuable drying oil, is found in the Philippines; so 

 far as known, it is restricted to these islands and is comparatively rare but quite gen- 

 erally distributed. This plant is botanically known as Aleurites trisperma Blanco, 

 but carries also the synonym Aleurites saponaria Blanco. It is known locally as 

 'banucalag,' 'lumbang banucalag,' ' lumbang banucalad,' 'baguilumban,' 'calumban,' 

 or ' lumbang gubat, ' besides having a variety of other names in the different provinces. 

 It is much mixed and confused with the true lumbang (Aleurites moluccana), espe- 

 cially when information in regard to it is sought. 



" Aleurites trisperma belongs to the same section of Aleurites as the Chinese and 

 Japanese species; this may readily be seen by comparing the seeds and foliage of 

 these three plants. The seeds resemble those of Aleurites fordii, while the leaves 

 resemble those of Aleurites cordata. The seeds are somewhat larger, however, than 

 those of the China wood-oil tree, besides being thicker shelled and of a distinct brick- 

 red color." (W. Fischer.) 



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