20 SEEDS AND PLANTS IMPORTED. 



26619 to 26620— Continued. 



stone jar a metal jar will not do. as corroHion of the metal by the acid makesthe 

 fluid poisonous. Pill the jar with calyxes and press firmly, then pour on enough 

 (did water t<> cover tli«' calyxes and leave for 18 hours. Pour off liquid and 

 Bweeteo it with best refined sugar, making it rather sweet. Pour the liquid 

 into bottles, leaving a lew inches of airspace, and place in each bottle 2 or 3 

 bruised cloves. The corks should be well wired so that the gases generated 

 during tie' fermentation can not force them out. The wine is fit to use after 

 about three days, and has the color of champagne and is almost equal to it 

 in taste. 

 "The calyxes of the red variety (S. P. 1. No. 26620) may be utilized in the 

 line way, but they make a red wine." ( Wester.) 



26620. Victor. "A few roselle plants were obtained from Mr. W. A. H. 

 Eobbs, Cocoanut Grove, Fla., in 1904, and planted in the Subtropical Gar- 

 den at Miami. Some of these plants bore very much larger calyxes than 

 the rest and seed was saved from these for breeding purposes. The selection 

 work from this stock has been carried on from year to year with the result 

 that a strain of roselle has been obtained that has much larger calyxes than 

 the common kind and which has been named Victor. In south Florida the 

 plants of this variety are more dwarfed than those of the common kind, 

 seldom exceeding 5 feet in height. On the richer soil in the Gulf States 

 farther north it is of exceedingly robust growth, frequently attaining a height 

 of more than 8 feet. 



"The measurements of the calyxes are 49 mm. in length and 28 mm. in 

 diameter. They are strongly ribbed longitudinally and frequently inclined 

 to be convolute at the apex. 



"The seed may be planted where the plants are to grow, a few to each hill, 

 4 to 8 feet apart, in rows 6 to 10 feet apart, according to the fertility of the 

 land and the moisture supply, or the seed may be sown in a seed bed and the 

 plants transplanted to the field when they are 3 to 4 inches high. They do 

 not succeed on poorly drained land. The roselle plant is peculiar in that no 

 matter what time seed is planted it does not bloom until the latter part of 

 October, the first calyxes being ready for picking 15 to 18 days from the 

 time of blooming, consequently, the plant can be grown for its fruit only in 

 the extreme south. A fruit sirup may be made from the leaves and tender 

 stems of the plant, and jelly has also been obtained, but it lacks the brilliant 

 color and also the firmness of the jelly made from the calyxes." ( Wester.) 



26621 to 26642. Medicago sativa L. Alfalfa. 



From Stockton, Kans. Grown under the supervision of Mr. Charles J. Brand, 

 on the farm of Mr. E. Bartholomew, Stockton, Kans. Received January, 

 1909, and numbered for convenience in recording distribution, January 28, 

 1910. 



"The following samples of seed were all produced in a comparative test of the 

 behavior of the varieties in cultivated rows." (Brand.) 



26621. Colorado. "Grown from S. P. I. No. 12398." 



26622. Montana. "Grown from S. P. I. No. 13237." 



26623. Germany. "Grown from S. P. I. No. 12748," the Eifeler lucern, a 

 strain of alfalfa that is. highly prized in the restricted area of southern Ger- 

 many, including the Rhine Province and Hesse. It is grown especially in 

 the region known as the Eifel, a range of hills reaching a maximum height 

 of about 2,500 feet. It is not a region of great cold, the mean for the coldest 

 month being practically identical with the mean for November at St. Paul, 

 Minn. The Eifel has a mean annual rainfall of 25 to 36 inches." (Brand.) 



207 



