JULY 1 TO SEPTEMBER 30, 1922. 3 



It seems strange that a luagnilit-eiit tree in tlu- inoimtaiii j^or^ea 

 of the great African continent should be in danger of U'coniing »>x- 

 tinct, but such is the case. In fju-t, so fast aie some of tlie wondeifid 

 forest tree^ of the globe disappearing that our granddiildivn. even 

 when they circle the world thiough the air, will not hav*- the supreme 

 pleasure which the Africanders iuid, as, traveling at a snail's jiace 

 with ox teams across the veldt, they stood in the presence of the leafy 

 giants of the Milanji cyi)ress, wliose crowns ros*- 140 feet above the. 

 earth. From Southern Rhodesia VV. L. Thompson, of the American 

 Board Mission, has sent the department seed of this wonderful tree 

 {CaUitris whi/tei; No. 55602) which survives now only in the gorges 

 of that region not visited by forest tires, and it is hoix'd that these 

 ma}' grow and establish themselves in other regions. 



G. H. Cave, the curator of the Lloyd Botanic (iardens at Darjiling, 

 to whom in the past the department has been indei»ted foi- many 

 courtesies, has sent a remarkable collection of seeds of Ilimalavan 

 ornamental and economic trees and shrubs (Nos. artiiO!) to r)."»T")«i). It 

 includes one of the hill bamboos {C e'phalo}<taehi/iim. ra/nttituin; No. 

 55676) ; a yellow-floAvered clematis (C. qreiviaefoni : No. 55677) : a 

 species of that small genus to which belongs the .Ia])anese lo(piat 

 {Eriohotrya hookenoiw.; No. 55()7S)) with egg-shaped yellow fruits 

 three-fourths of an inch long,- i)OSsibly useful for breeders or as a 

 stock: Ilex insignh (No. 55682), which has j^roved hardy in Ireland: 

 a bright-flowered Indigofera (No. 55688) ; the famous pink-Howered 

 Himalayan magnolia (Magnolia conipheUii: No. 55688) : three species 

 of Michelia (Nos. 55689 to 55601), trees with magnolialiki' flowers 

 and foliage, one of them the principal timber tree of the Daijiling 

 Hills; the Himalayan spruce {P/'cca umifhiana: No. 55694) : and a 

 Himalavan cherrv (Piiimis )iapaif7eiv<ls- 'So. 55696) from an altitude 

 of 10,000 feet. 



Guarana is a paste that is much used by the natives of the .\mazon 

 Valley to make a beverage which contains callein and. like cacao and 

 coffee, is a stimulant. It is prepared from the grapelike fruits of a 

 climbing shrub (PauUinia cnpnrm; No. 55738), the culture of which 

 in Brazil has been a lucrative industry. Seeds of this shiub have been 

 presented by Doctor da Costa, of Rio de Janeiro. 



The so-called kiffy of Sierra Leone is the roasted seed of a cucinn- 

 berlike plant {Cucvmeropsis manmi; No. 5579-2) which is used as a 

 condiment by the natives in the preparation of tlieii- icnmrkable dish 

 known as dumboy. 



Doctor Shirai. of Komal)a, Japan, has presented jjiants of two dis- 

 tinct varieties of Elaeagnus multifora (Nos. 55771 and 55772). the 

 " Ogumi " and the " Togumi." As this species grows well on the 

 Atlantic seaboard, these two lai-ge-fruited varieties will be wanti-d by 

 those who have the ordinary small-fruited form. 



Doctor Shantz has imixnted, in order to test agairi, the narras 

 {Acanthodej/ox honUhi: No. 55768). a meloidike fiMiit which the 

 Ilottentots grow on the sand dunes of the Kalahari Desert and u|H)n 

 which they live for months. 



The wild black cherry {Pninus xerof'nui) ha> been determined to 

 be botanically identical with the capidin of Central America and 

 northwestern' South America; but. whei-eas Americans have done 

 nothing to improve this native cherry, our southern neighbors have 



